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Creating a Stadium-Level Sports-Watching Experience in Media Rooms

When it comes to media rooms and home theaters, the main attraction has traditionally been blockbuster movies. Yet, in recent years, consumers are increasingly augmenting movie nights with other forms of entertainment. High on the list is sports viewing as consumers seek stadium-level experiences from the comfort of their living rooms.

With streaming platforms now offering more events in 4K, HDR, and Dolby Atmos formats, now’s the perfect time—right before the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl—to recommend a few select upgrades that will deliver immersive, stadium-level experiences from home.

Live Sports Interest by the Numbers

According to 2023 survey by Reviews.org, nearly 70% of Americans watch live sports. Underscoring that figure, the National Football League (NFL) recently released the Nielsen ratings for the two games that were broadcast on the streaming service Netflix. The NFL states the Ravens vs Texans game, and the Chief vs Steelers games averaged more than 26 million U.S. viewers, and both games landed in the streaming service’s top 10 list of titles for the week. In total, the NFL emphasizes, the two games added up to a total audience of nearly 65 million U.S. viewers based on the Nielsen data.

Maybe even more surprisingly, the Chiefs game ranked in the top 10 titles for 72 other countries, including Canada, Germany, the U.K., Australia, and Mexico.

Based on those numbers It’s safe to assume many homeowners are willing to invest in AV equipment that elevates their sports-watching experience to provide those stadium-level experiences in whatever room they have set aside for entertainment.

The Future of Digital Lighting & Control

As a custom integrator, lighting is in demand. Effective communication, education and showcasing the value proposition of LED light fixtures in conjunction with integrative control systems are the keys to overcoming challenges and closing sales in this specialized market.

Join us as we discuss the future of digital lighting and control with David Warfel from Light Can Help You and Patrick Laidlaw and Mark Moody from AiSPIRE.
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What You’re Looking For

While most TVs feature a simple sports mode for enhanced visuals, larger, brighter displays can dramatically improve the viewing experience. Aditionally, while a bigger, brighter display is often top of mind, audio is also an important factor when building a better entertainment system for sports, as it’s the one element that can truly recreate the energy of being in the stadium. Now that many live sports broadcasts are available in Dolby Atmos, there’s no better way to bring fans closer to the action. Immersive audio ensures that crowd noise, on-field sounds, and commentary wrap around the audience, creating dynamic and engaging stadium-viewing experiences.

“Clients usually associate premium sound systems with movie-watching in 4K or 8K,” says Alan Crowder, of Digital Home Colorado. “As integrators, we have the opportunity to show customers how immersive audio can transform their sports-viewing experience too.”

Sonos Arc Ultra and Sub 4 Stadium-Level Experiences
Sonos products like the Arc Ultra soundbar and Sub 4 provide a user friendly way to deliver immersive audio into a range of home environments. Photo/Sonos

A premium soundbar paired with complementary subwoofers can optimize multi-channel streaming audio by placing the sound exactly where it needs to be. Easy to install and configure, this solution will have your customers ready for game day in no time. Top-tier soundbars, like the Sonos Arc Ultra or Leon’s Ultima Soundbar, are specifically engineered to enhance vocal clarity, ensuring commentators’ voices cut through the roar of the crowd and other game-day sounds. The audio frequencies of speech are refined, making it easier to catch every play-by-play detail without distraction.

Another advantage of premium soundbars is their scalability. Most models can integrate with additional speakers throughout the home to allow homeowners to experience the benefits of whole-house audio. With a synchronized speaker or two in the kitchen, powder room, or patio, customers can follow the game wherever they are within their home without missing a second of the action.

Why Non-Traditional Sound Systems Might Work Better for Sports

While traditional speaker setups remain a popular choice, don’t underestimate the appeal of a high-performance soundbar paired with subwoofers, which can appeal to a growing number of homeowners that want those immersive stadium-level viewing experiences.

Commercials may be a beloved part of the Super Bowl tradition, but those who prefer uninterrupted energy, which is a characteristic of stadium-level experiences may find that soundbars offer a unique option to switch to music during commercial breaks. This keeps the momentum going, particularly for late-night games. Additionally, features like Sonos’ “Night Mode” setting help control sudden volume spikes, delivering an immersive experience without waking up family members in other rooms.

Alternatively, integrators can recommend a pair of headphones, like Sonos Ace to swap the sound from the soundbar to the headphones with just the touch of a button in situations such as late-late games when households put their young children to bed.

“Whether it’s a retrofit or new build, my go-to solution is the Sonos Arc Ultra with dual Sub 4s and Era 300s or an Amp for surrounds,” says Jesse Silva from The PAVE.

“It’s a clean, easy-to-implement solution that delivers a fully immersive experience. When clients hear the 360-degree crowd cheering and feel the big booms from the subs, they’re blown away. It often rivals—or even exceeds—systems costing $10,000 or more from other brands.”

And How Video Walls Can Increase Immersion Over Projectors

For clients looking for a larger-than-life display without the constraints of projection systems—which often require room darkening and the audience to stay seated—video walls are a great solution for watching sports. Video walls can be used for a variety of entertainment outside of sports, but when watching sports, video walls allow fans to watch the big game without worrying about blocking the image or compromising visibility in brighter, ambient light conditions in the room.

Whether it’s a single, massive display or a multi-panel configuration, video walls can deliver immersive stadium-level viewing experiences that transforms any media room into the ultimate entertainment hub.

These state-of-the-art displays support advanced imaging technologies like Rec. 2020 for lifelike colors, HDR (High Dynamic Range) for enhanced brightness and contrast, ultra-high resolutions and refresh rates of 120 Hz toensure smoother motion, reducing motion blur during fast-paced sequences like a football pass. These features make video walls especially well-suited for lively sports viewing in ambient light, a setting most fans prefer for an engaging, social experience when gathered in the same room.

Brands like Digital Projection with its Radiance Home video wall and Quantum Media Systems with its XDR3 Pro Cinema LED Video Wall are among the manufacturers that offer residential-grade solutions that produce high levels of image quality, scalability, and flexibility.

Quantum Media Systems Stadium-Level experiences

When video walls from companies such as Quantum Media Systems aren’t used for sports, they also make for a reference home theater solution when paired with products like the Kaleidescape platform. (photo credit: Bob Archer CE Pro)

They’re Also Incredibly Customizable

The customizable nature of video walls—including options for pixel pitch, brightness, size, and shape— also allows integrators to design systems tailored to clients’ unique viewing preferences and environments. For example, Quantum Media Systems offers dynamic brightness adjustments, enabling seamless transitions from bright sports-viewing modes to dimmer settings perfect for movie nights when the lights are off to provide homeowners with increased versatility for activities beyond those sports-themed stadium viewing parties.

Video walls can also be sized to suit the viewing environment to enable integrators to scale these stadium-level experiences to a range of room sizes. Whether a client wants the perspective of a 50-yard-line seat or a bird’s-eye view from the back of the stadium, a video wall can deliver. Built-in features such as fast configuration of user-defined presets, Wi-Fi connectivity, and interoperability with third-party control systems add further value. Some of the system scenarios dealers can create include the creation of a “Super Bowl Mode” that synchronizes the video wall, whole-house audio system, and team-colored lighting for an unforgettable game day experience.

During the NFL playoff season leading up to the Super Bowl, the multi-pane viewing capabilities of these displays provide a nice solution for those that want to follow their key fantasy football players.

One Last Thing When Building the Ultimate Sports Room

Less sexy or exciting, but just as essential as surround sound and a big screen is power management. The bigger and more powerful the AV equipment, the greater its electricity demands. For instance, an LED video wall typically requires two or three 20-amp circuits to operate. However, noise and interference on electrical lines can negatively impact AV performance. To ensure optimal performance and protect homeowners’ investment into their systems, the inclusion of proper power conditioning and protection supports the long-term happiness of stadium-level viewing experiences for sports rooms. Some of the top choices for power management and protection include the Torus Power range of solutions.

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