Coming Soon (to Your Home)
The lights dim, the curtain opens, the film begins. There’s nothing unusual about this scenario when you’re at the local Cineplex, but increasingly this is a scene taking place at home.
Custom electronics design experts predict that home theater systems--big-screen TVs with stereophonic surround sound--will be common in the next three to five years. Those hoping for a glimpse of the future had plenty to see last week at the Home Entertainment Expo in Newport Beach.
Just like at the movies, a long line snaked outside the room housing Ultimate Entertainment’s display: a 120-inch screen with rear projection and four stacks of speakers.
“Our objective is to startle you with picture quality,” said a company representative before showing a five-minute clip from “The Fifth Element.” That was a pretty tall order, since many attendees were already startled by the price: $750,000.
As its name suggests, Phoenix-based Ultimate was on the high end of what is already on the market. Other systems, like those offered by AudioVisions of Irvine, range from $10,000 to $250,000. Some of its home theater systems also integrate a home’s audio, video, lights, climate and security systems, which can be controlled via a single remote and at various touch screens throughout the house. When away from home, the controls can also be accessed by telephone or Internet.
“People are frustrated by how to use their audiovisual technology,” said Mark Hoffenberg, AudioVisions president. “What we do is make all this technology available today simple and easy to use.”
Jon Landau, producer of the Academy Award-winning “Titanic,” was on hand to lend credibility to Costa Mesa-based Atlantic Stereo, from whom he recently purchased a home theater system. Acknowledging that more people see movies at home than in theaters, Landau said, “It gives people the opportunity to see a movie the way it should be seen.”
While Landau bought a custom convertible couch to go with his theater system, a number of other expo attendees were checking out the Theo Kalomirakis seating. The chairs by this New York-based designer, renowned for his home theater designs, are made from suede or leather, and include cup holders. The cost: $1,700 to $3,000.
But a home theater system doesn’t have to have the look of a real theater, or cost as much as the house in which it sits. Expo attendees Eddie and Kirsten Aleman of Orange have already put $15,000 into their home theater system and feel anything more costly is unnecessary.
As Eddie said, “My house shakes if I want it to.”
