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In the 1950s, home movies became popular in the United States and elsewhere as Kodak 8 mm film and camera and projector equipment became affordable. Projected with a small, portable movie projector onto a portable screen, often without sound, this system became the first practical home theater. They were generally used to show home movies of family travels and celebrations but also doubled as a means of showing private stag films. Dedicated home cinemas were called screening rooms at the time and were outfitted with 16 mm or even 35 mm projectors for showing commercial films. These were found almost exclusively in the homes of the very wealthy, especially those in the movie industry.

Portable home cinemas improved over time with color film, Kodak Super 8 mm film film cartridges, and monaural sound but remained awkward and somewhat expensive. The rise of home video in the late 1970s almost completely killed the consumer market for 8 mm film cameras and projectors, as VCRs connected to ordinary televisions provided a simpler and more flexible substitute.

1980s

The development of multi-channel audio systems and Laserdisc in the 1980s added new dimensions for home cinema. The first known home cinema system was designed, built and installed by Steve J. LaFontaine as a sales tool at Kirshmans furniture store in Metairie, Louisiana in 1974. He built a special sound room which incorporated the earliest quadraphonic audio systems and he modified Sony Trinitron televisions for projecting the image. Many systems were sold in the New Orleans area in the ensuing years before the first public demonstration of this integration occurred in 1982 at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, Illinois. Peter Tribeman of NAD (USA) organized and presented a demonstration made possible by the collaborative effort of NAD, Proton, ADS, Lucas film and Dolby Labs who contributed their technologies to demonstrate what a home cinema would "look and sound" like.

Over the course of three days, retailers, manufacturers, and members of the consumer electronics press were exposed to the first "home like" experience of combining a high quality video source with multi-channel surround sound. That one demonstration is credited with being the impetus for developing what is now a multi-billion dollar business.

1990s

In the early to mid '90s, a typical Home Cinema would have a Laserdisc or VHS player fed to a large screen: rear projection for the more affordable setups, and LCD or CRT front projection in the more elaborate. In the late 1990s, the development of DVD-Video, Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel audio, and high-quality front video projectors that provide a cinema experience at a price that rivals a big-screen HDTV which sparked a new wave of home cinema interest.

2000s

In the 2000s, developments such as high-definition video, Blu-ray Disc (as well as the now-obsolete HD DVD format) and newer high-definition 3D display technologies enabled people to enjoy a cinematic feeling in their own home at an affordable price. Newer lossless audio from Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio with more audio channels, like 6.1, 7.1, 9.1, 9.2, 10.2, and 22.2 were also introduced for more cinematic feeling

Design

Today, Home Cinema implies a real "cinema experience" and therefore a higher quality set of components than an average television with only built-in speakers provides. A typical home theater includes the following parts:

Flow Diagram

Component Systems vs. Theater-in-a-box

Home cinemas can either be set up by purchasing individual components or a HTIB (Home Theater in a Box) which includes all of the pieces from a single manufacturer. The benefit of component purchasing is that one can attain improved quality in video or audio with proper knowledge and research. For instance, some speakers perform better in smaller rooms while others perform better in larger rooms and seating location must be considered. HTIB systems are a simpler and more cost-effective solution for most families.

Dedicated home theater rooms

A large projection screen in a media room.

This example is of home theater screening room with video projector mounted in a box on the ceiling. Built-in shelves provide a place for movie decor, DVDs, and equipment. Note the component stack on the right, where the audio receiver, DVD player, secondary monitor, and video game system are located.

Some home cinema enthusiasts go so far as to build a dedicated room in the home for the theater. These more advanced installations often include sophisticated acoustic design elements, including "room-in-a-room" construction that isolates sound and provides the potential for a nearly ideal listening environment. These installations are often designated as "screening rooms" to differentiate from simpler installations.

This idea can go as far as completely recreating an actual cinema, with a projector enclosed in its own projection room, specialized furniture, curtains in front of the projection screen, movie posters, or a popcorn or vending machine with snack food and confectionery. More commonly, real dedicated home theaters pursue this to a lesser degree. Presently the days of the $100,000 and over home theater is being usurped by the rapid advances in digital audio and video technologies, which has spurred a rapid drop in prices making a home cinema set-up more affordable today than ever before. This in turn has brought the true digital home theater experience to the doorsteps of the do-it-yourself people, often for much less than what you would expect to pay for a low budget economy car. Current consumer level A/V equipment can meet and often exceed in performance what you would expect to experience at a modern commercial theater.

Seating

Home theater seating consists of chairs specifically engineered and designed for viewing movies in a personal home theater setting. Most home theater seats have a cup holder built into the chairs' armrests and a shared armrest between each seat. Some seating is movie theater-style chairs like those seen in a movie cinema, which features a flip-up seat cushion. Other seating systems have plush leather reclining lounger types, with flip-out footrests. Additional features like storage compartments, snack trays, Tactile transducers (nicknamed "Bass Shakers"), or even electric motors to recline the chair are available.

This seating is more like to be a row of recliners made by companies such as Berkline and in many cases even includes a built in cup holder. There are many different styles and brands to choose from so that you will be far more comfortable than you would be in a theater, but still get that same movie theater feeling.

Backyard theater

In places that have the proper outdoor atmosphere, it is possible for people to set up a home theater in their backyard. Depending on the space available, it may simply be a temporary version with foldable screen, a projector and couple of speakers, or a permanent fixture with huge screens and dedicated audio set up poolside. Due to the outdoor nature, it is quite popular with BBQ parties and pool parties.

Some specialist outdoor home cinema companies are now marketing packages with inflatable movie screens and purpose built AV systems.

Some people have built upon the idea, and constructed mobile drive-in theaters that can play movies in public open spaces. Usually, these require a powerful projector, a laptop or DVD player, outdoor speakers and/or an FM transmitter to broadcast the audio to other car radios.

History

1950s, 1960s, and 1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Design

Flow Diagram

Component Systems vs. Theater-in-a-box

Dedicated home theater rooms

Seating

Backyard theater