Home Theater Screen – What Defines a Home Theater?

Home theaters are starting to become more mainstream as technology is improving how we are able to watch movies and television in our homes. Its somewhat similar to when big screen televisions started to become more mainstream within the last 10 years. You usually can tell this because big mainstream department stores start to carry these products. These stores are known for being discount superstores so when they start to carry something new, it usually means that product is starting to take off. Another sign is that there are businesses dedicated to setting up home theaters in your home or business. They will guide you through the whole process.

Now what exactly defines a home theater? Many people will think that a big screen television hooked up to a media center or DVD player and a surround sound system is a home theater. That’s completely fine and I hope that their home theater makes them happy but to me, that is simply a home entertainment center and they have been around for decades. For the most part everyone has a home entertainment center while a lower percentage of the population have a home theater or at least a dedicated home theater.

My definition of a home theater is a room dedicated to watching your movies and other home entertainment. It has a home theater screen, an amazing sound system and very comfortable seating. For the most part, it isn’t used for everyday television watching or for the nightly sports game. You use it when you want to watch a movie and for special events like the Super Bowl or parties or whatever. There’s a home theater screen in it that is bigger than any big screen TV you can buy. The screen could be motorized or be a fixed frame screen. The room is sound proofed so you can have the volume as loud as you want without disturbing the neighbors or other people in the house. The room could have a theme, be it a sports theme, music theme or something from a favorite movie. It would have a couple rows of seating and basically be a small movie theater in your home, thus the term Home Theater.

A home theater screen is one of the primary components of a home theater as it completes the home theater experience. Its where the image is projected and where everyone’s eyes are. A screen can make a huge difference in getting the most out of your home theater. Yes, you can use a white sheet or a wall as your screen but that’s like watching blu-ray movies on a standard definition television. Also, a screen is a going to last a long time so its not something you have to worry about becoming obsolete.

What defines a home theater for you? Does it have to have a home theater screen?