The way people enjoy their favorite entertainment has changed drastically in the past five years. Instead of being beholden to a handful of studios and cable companies, people can now take an a-la-carte approach. Choosing from digital libraries, Blu-rays, satellite, cable and streaming it's easy for them to find the movies and TV shows they want to watch. Though this has been a significant development for the end user, it's created a bit of a challenge for DIY home theater designs.

While in the past you could get away with simply hooking up your home theater system to a VCR or DVD player, now you have to find a way to integrate all these new content options as well. In this blog, we'll showcase some ways that a professional helps you bring all these systems together. We’ll also show you the best way to manage them so you can pull up what you want to watch in your Buckhead, GA home in just a matter of seconds. 

SEE MORE: Best 3 Movies to Show Off Your Home Theater 

Incorporate All Your Favorite Entertainment 

All of our home theater designs include stand-alone racks that put all your AV equipment in one place while eliminating clutter and exposed wire. Installed within a niche in your theater or a separate AV closet, these racks incorporate all the devices needed to get access to your favorite entertainment. Below we highlight some of the sources we include during a typical home theater installation: 

• 4K UHD Blu-ray player: This is still the hallmark of most home theater systems to enjoy your favorite movies in the latest 4K Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos technology. 
• Media Server: If you already have a big list of DVDs or an extensive digital library, you can upload all of it to a Kaleidescape media server. This way you can easily browse your collection all at once. You can also buy new movies in 4K Ultra HD quality from their online store.
•  Cable/Satellite: We can integrate your cable or satellite provider into the rack as well. This is a big priority for sports fans who rely on local channels or ESPN to follow their favorite teams.  
• Wireless Components: With the popularity of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Video, you also need wireless capabilities in your theater. There is a variety of Wi-fi enable devices including servers and AV receivers that can be added to your rack for this purpose.

Manage All of Your Sources from One Device 

Managing all of this different content is the other big challenge of this new media landscape; the days of just surfing the channels are long past. Now users are accustomed to switching between different services at a moment's notice to find the content they want. You end up with a separate remote for your Blu-ray, cable, AV receiver, and television. With the advent of streaming, you could also have a different app for each service. 

One of the biggest benefits of a professional home theater design is that you can get access to all these sources from one device. And you get to decide the control option that works best. You can manage all your entertainment from a tablet, dedicated touchpad, smartphone or smart remote. In a matter of seconds, with just a few button presses or swipes of your screen, you can find what you want.  

Want to know how to incorporate entertainment sources that we didn't mention in this blog? Call us at 770-844-5800 or fill out our online contact form for a custom solution.