Recliner-Style Theater Seating: The Ultimate in Home Theater Luxury
Are you thinking about installing a home theater? Perhaps you already have one, but you’re looking to renovate or upgrade it. Here at Experience Audio Video, we love helping our customers achieve fantastic results with their home theaters.
One area where customers can differentiate their home theater experience is with seating. We looked recently here on the blog at two seating options: stadium and theater style seats. Both are great options, but some of our customers want something a bit more luxurious: recliner-style seating.
Recliner-Style Seating Is the Ultimate Home Theater Luxury
Recliner-style seating is the ultimate luxury upgrade for your home theater. It’s a combination of two great things. Everyone loves the comfort of watching TV in an overstuffed easy chair, and everyone loves the experience of sharing a movie with friends and family. With recliner-style theater seating, you’ll get both of those at once.
There are many options available, of course. Most will have cup holders and trays between seats perfect for storing snacks, devices and remotes. Less expensive models may be finished in an imitation leather like at the movies, while higher-end versions are outfitted with luxurious real leather.
A few newer, nicer movie theaters have innovated in this way, providing a recliner experience in every seat. It’s a nice touch of class to be sure, but it’s nothing compared to the intimate luxury you can get at home. You can have larger recliner seats in a more intimate space, and you don’t have to worry about rude guests (unless you invited them yourself!).
Ready to Learn More?
If you’re considering new seating for a home theater room in your home, contact Experience Audio Video today.
HDMI ARC and HDMI eARC: What’s the Difference and What Do They Do?
If you’re running cable to carry video signals in your residence, you’re almost certainly using HDMI cable. The HDMI cable has become ubiquitous in residential applications, connecting nearly every video device in your entertainment system.
Did you know that there are actually many different types of HDMI cable with differing capabilities? Most consumers don’t. That’s because most of the time, the cables work perfectly, and users don’t need to think about the technical specifications.
If your system involves any audio more complicated than the speakers inside the TV, you may have come across the terms HDMI ARC or HDMI eARC. What’s the difference, and what do they do?
HDMI ARC and HDMI eARC: What They Do
The ARC in both terms stands for Audio Return Channel. All HDMI cables carry both video and audio signals. That’s why you can watch a Blu-ray (with sound) over just a single cable. But often this isn’t quite enough. If you’re using an A/V receiver to distribute audio to a speaker system, you also need to send an audio signal from the TV back to the receiver.
Before ARC, you’d need a separate cable to do this. But HDMI cables with either ARC or eARC can send audio both directions—in other words, they have an audio return channel.
What’s the Difference between HDMI ARC and HDMI eARC?
ARC can handle stereo and 5.1 surround signals. eARC is newer and can do more, including technologies like Dolby TrueHD and Atmos. HDMI cables with the 2.1 specification or higher include eARC, while those following the 1.4 specification have ARC. Older cables have neither.
The Takeaway
So, what’s the point? Well, if you’re buying new cables, get those with the HDMI 2.1 specification so you’ll be prepared for any future expansions. And if your fancy new audio gear isn’t working, make sure your HDMI cables are following the needed specification.
Of course, if you don’t want to worry about any of this yourself: give us a call. We’ll happily take care of it for you!
2 Seating Ideas for Your Home Theater
The team here at Experience Audio Video loves assisting our clients in building out the home theaters of their dreams. Of course, a great home theater matches the style and personality of the owner. Seating is one great way to customize your home theater room, giving it a flavor and feel all its own.
There are plenty of great options available for home theater seating. Today we’ll look at two of them.
For the Sports Fan: Stadium-Style Seating
One of the simplest ways to choose your seating style is to consider how you’re planning to use your home theater. Is your family crazy about sports? Are you die-hard Dodgers or Lakers fans? Then consider stadium-style seating for your home theater.
Yes, there are vendors who will sell you the iconic fold-down seats found in stadiums around the country. Colors and even team branded options are available as well.
Are you a true die-hard fan? Most teams have either renovated or moved to a new stadium in the last decade or so, and you might be able to find actual seats from their previous stadium. These tend to be collector’s items and pretty expensive, but it’s worth taking a look.
Of course, most of us don’t find baseball stadium seats to be the most comfortable. If you agree, consider a hybrid of sorts: padded seating in the style of stadium chairs.
For the Movie Buff: Theater Seats
If your idea of relaxation is less sports and more cinematic in nature, consider theater-style seating for your home theater. Install a row or two of comfortable, limited-recline chairs complete with cup holders and even food trays, if you like. With theater-style seating, your home theater gets one step closer to a truly immersive cinematic experience.
’Tis the Season to Upgrade Your Outdoor Entertainment Space
As fall turns into winter, the world grows cool again and families retreat inside for the long, harsh winter months.
OK, not really: this is Southern California, so it’s more like “people break out the sweaters and hoodies.” But you get the idea. We’re heading into winter and the holiday season, and the weather isn’t quite as lovely as it is the rest of the year.
Why not put the dormant winter months to good use by refreshing your outdoor entertainment space? At Experience Audio Video, we say say “’tis the season” to get your outdoor entertainment space ready for another year or ten of beautiful sunny SoCal entertaining.
Winter Is the Perfect Time to Renovate Your Outdoor Space
We think winter is the perfect time to renovate your outdoor space. Consider this: you’re probably not entertaining outside as often in the winter months as you do throughout the rest of the year. Your space is mostly sitting vacant, gathering outdoor grime from the changing seasons.
And that’s what makes winter the perfect time to upgrade your outdoor space. You’re not using it, and it’s undergoing natural wear and tear anyway.
Waiting Until Spring or Summer Takes Your Space Offline
Consider that if you wait until spring or summer to plan your outdoor entertainment space renovation, you’ll end up taking the space offline right when you and your family need it most. It’ll be under construction during some of the most beautiful months of the year, and you’ll be stuck inside, watching the progress. We think it makes more sense to start a project like this in the cooler months, when you’re more likely to be inside anyways.
Ready to Upgrade?
If your outdoor entertainment space is starting to show its age, let us help you refresh it this winter. Contact us today for a free consultation.