Whether you are considering having your first home theater installed in your home or already have a home theater you love, it is important to learn about new home theater trends and technology that could improve your viewing experience. Home theater technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and with so many new video and audio products on the market at any given time, you may have to pick and choose which new features to integrate into your home theater to stay within your budget. 

Read on to learn about the biggest home theater trends in 2017 and which may be perfect for your home theater needs. 

1. Ultra HD 4K Televisions

Of course, no home theater is complete without a television to watch your favorite movies and television shows on. For this reason, if you only upgrade one aspect of your home theater this year, then you may want to consider investing in a higher-quality TV, and this now means looking into Ultra HD, often called 4K, televisions.

If you are just building your first home theater, then you need to consider an Ultra HD television as well because, eventually, simple HD televisions will be considered outdated.

How do Ultra HD televisions differ from HD televisions? Just as an HD television provides a clearer, more true-to-life image than a standard LCD or LED television, an Ultra HD television provides an even more true-to-life picture than an HD television.

One of the main features of an HD television that allows it to display a picture much clearer than a standard TV is the high number of pixels on the screen. A standard HD television has about 1080 pixels. An Ultra HD television has an astounding four times as many pixels as an HD television. This is why these televisions are also called 4K HD TVs. 

While every home theater enthusiast should upgrade to an Ultra HD, or UHD, television at some point, when you should upgrade depends on what you like to watch. Right now, only Netflix, Sony, and Amazon offer UHD streaming services. However, you can also purchase a UHD blu-ray player and look forward to watching all of your favorite movies that come in UHD disc format. 

If you mainly enjoy watching television or standard DVDs, then you may want to wait until more UHD content is offered before you upgrade. 

2. Multiple Home Theater Screens

If you have a dedicated home theater or are considering having one installed, then you may not have thought of having more than one screen in it. However, many other people have, and it is one of the biggest trends in home theater today. 

Whether or not multiple screens will benefit you depends on many factors. Do you love sports and often have a difficult decision choosing which game to watch when there are many on television? If so, having multiple video screens will be a great benefit to you. Do you have children and often find yourself watching cartoons with them in your home theater when you would rather be watching adult television? When you have multiple screens, the children can watch their favorite cartoons while you enjoy the latest movies. 

Of course, when sharing your home theater with others and watching different programming on separate screens, you will need a few good pairs of wireless headphones so everyone hears the audio of only the program they are watching. 

3. OLED Alternatives

OLED televisions have been on the market for a couple of years now, but they have not skyrocketed in popularity due to their high price tags. Prices have remained high on them due to the fact that only one company has been making OLED televisions, and there hasn't been competition to drive the prices down. 

Now, several big technology manufacturers are making televisions with technology considered to be OLED alternatives. This technology produces the same effect as OLED, or Organic Light-Emitting Diode, television lighting without the high price tag.

What makes the picture quality of OLED and OLED alternatives superior to standard LED televisions?  The contrast ratio of these televisions is much higher than that of LED or LCD televisions, which produces an image similar to what you see on the big screen at a movie theater. 

If you are considering upgrading your existing home theater or having a new custom home theater installed, then keep these three 2017 home theater trends in mind when choosing your television(s). 

For more information on home theater systems, check out websites like http://www.atechels.com.