Jul 12 Podcast #904: Dedicated Home Theater vs. Media-Friendly Living Room
We saw this poll over at AVS Forum, Dedicated Home Theater vs. Media-Friendly Living Room and since we are going through this same analysis we thought it would be good to share the results and discuss the pros and cons of each.
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Today's Show:
News:
- Target takes aim at Prime Day with no-membership-required Deal Days, July 15-16
- Fire TV gets YouTube app; Chromecast gets Amazon Prime Video
- WarnerMedia confirms its Netflix rival will be called HBO Max
- IKEA to expand smart home products
Other:
- Ara's Woodworking Projects
- Back to You Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine
- Signstek HiFi USB to Coaxial S/PDIF Converter Convert Digital to Analogue Signal Mini USB DAC PCM
Dedicated Home Theater vs. Media-Friendly Living Room
We saw this poll over at AVS Forum, Dedicated Home Theater vs. Media-Friendly Living Room and since we are going through this same analysis we thought it would be good to share the results and discuss the pros and cons of each. At the time of this writing the results are:
Dedicated Home Theater 51%
Huge TV in Living Room 45%
Projector in Living Room 4%
Dedicated Home Theater
Pros
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Replicates the distraction-free environment of commercial cinema
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Optimal speaker placement
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Total control over lighting
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Huge screen sizes are achievable with front projection
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A basic rig is not expensive
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Acoustically transparent screens are available for realistic dialog placement
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3D still supported
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Dedicated seating includes features like reclining and cup holders
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Maximum immersion for movies and gaming
Cons
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Requires dedicating a room to nothing but home theater
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Can’t do “true” HDR (i.e. reproduce 1000-nit highlights)
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A high-end room is very expensive to put together
Huge TV in Living Room
Pros
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You have an excuse to put a huge TV in the living room
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Reproduces HDR as its mastered (>1000 nit highlights)
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Compatible with Dolby Vision
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Also usable for sports and gaming and regular TV
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Living rooms already have seating, no need to buy more furniture
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Usable in the daytime
Cons
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Huge TVs are expensive
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Limited speaker placement options
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Easier to get distracted in a living room
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You still need to control lighting (shades, dim lights) when watching movies
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Limits in terms of screen size, extremely high prices above 85”
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A great projector in a dedicated room can look better than most TVs when playing SDR content
Projector in Living Room
Pros
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You can have a huge screen in your living room, larger than any TV
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Roll-up screens can make the system “disappear” when not in use
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Can be combined with a TV for “best of both worlds”
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UST laser light source projectors sit inches for the screen and last for years
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Affordable 4K e-shift projection gets bright and looks good
Cons
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Installation costs are high
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UST laser light source projectors remain expensive
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No true HDR (i.e. reproduce 1000-nit highlights)
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Limited options for acoustically transparent screens
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Requires control over ambient light for daytime use
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Limited speaker placement options
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Easier to get distracted in a living room
Reader Comments (1)
I suggest an additional Pro for the dedicated home theatre is the ability to control the sound in the room. You can add appropriate sound treatments like diffusers on the side walls or ceilings, bass absorbers behind the screen or the rear wall or inside a raised seating platform. The older we get it seems as the ability to decipher dialog is just as important as feeling the loud booms in an action movie, for example. With a dedicated room you can make those enhancements within worrying so much about how they might look in a living room which is used for multiple purposes.