Transform Your Theater with 4K Video, Immersive Surround Sound, and Your Own Movie Jukebox

Who doesn’t love movies? And here in Beverly Hills and Hollywood, the heart of the film industry, chances are you know someone – or maybe you are someone - who works in the business. We have a special affinity for movies.

Since this is Beverly Hills, we have our fair share of home theater systems in the many beautiful homes around us. Even though we have unique theaters like the historic TCL Chinese Theater and Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema, what can be better than to screen epics in your own home theater with a small group of friends? No crowds, no worrying about where you sit; every seat is the best seat in the house.

Maybe you already have a home theater, or perhaps you are looking building a new one. In any case, we want to tell you about three things you absolutely must have in your next theater. Ready to see how to bring the magic of the movies home? Just keep reading.

SEE ALSO: Streaming Versus Owning Movies: Why Archiving Makes Sense

4K and HDR

You may have invested in a very expensive projector that was state of the art – in its time. If you haven't experienced the sharpness and color depth of a 4K picture in your theater, you have been missing out. 4K projector technology is now mainstream, and of course, flat-panel TVs with 4K are commonplace. If you are looking at a smaller home theater space, there are flat panel displays over 100 inches that can make a viable home theater display, especially in mixed-used rooms with lots of windows and ambient light. High Dynamic Range (HDR) is just as important as 4K, as the high contrast achieved with it makes the picture almost pop off the screen.

If you have a larger space for a home theatre, a projector is the way to go. 4K projectors are capable of putting up a picture up to 300 inches. A more typical size for a projection screen is 100-150 inches, and the latest models also feature HDR technology that is critical to making today's films look their best. Another option for large screen size in a smaller space is the short-throw projector. These models can be installed very close to the screen wall on media consoles (we recommend customized consoles) and are excellent for spaces where a ceiling-mounted or back wall-mounted projector is not a good fit.

Enveloping Surround Sound

Home theater audio has evolved steadily over the years, completing a transition from analog to digital and lossless formats, each one dramatically improving movie sound. In the past few years, the biggest thing in home theater sound has been Dolby Atmos. They introduced the concept of object-based surround audio which allows an unprecedented amount of flexibility for professional sound mixers to place film sounds in an almost 3D sound field.

The result is an aural realism that makes you feel like you are in the scene, with sounds emanating from all round in a natural way that will make you forget what speaker it's coming from. Dolby Atmos is now almost ubiquitous across a wide range of home theater receivers and processors, and more importantly, there is a wide array of content to watch with this immersive sound format.

A Digital Movie Library

Going back 25 years, your movie collection was on videotape. The introduction of the DVD moved the technology to digital, and the discs last a very long time. Blu-ray disc improved on resolution and audio quality, but it’s still a physical disc. Ultra HD Blu-ray has brought 4K and HDR to the disc format. While the UHD format offers superior video and audio quality to streaming movies on iTunes, Amazon Video, Netflix, and other services, it’s hard to beat the convenience of having a vast library of content on demand.

If you like to keep a big movie library, watch in the highest quality, and not sift through many discs to find what you want, there is another option. A Kaleidescape movie server will digitally archive your entire movie collection. Their Terra movie server has 40 terabytes of storage, allowing it to store up to 1000 movies and cueing one up at the touch of a button. With a Kaleidescape server, you can browse all the details of the film, and search by actor, genre, years, and other information. When you need fresh titles, the Kaleidescape download service gives you access to 10,000 titles, with many new releases available before they are out on disc.

DSI is proud to update home theater systems and screening rooms for clients in the film industry – let us do one for you too. Click below to connect with one of our experts, or contact us today!