The Movie Theater Comes Home -- Giant Screens, `Surround Sound' Getting Hot In A Cold World

Spending more time on the couch these days?

With "cocooning" in full spin, many people are staying home because the outside world is scary. It's better to watch a video with spouse, kids or friends.

One of the hottest markets in consumer electronics - and one that taps right into cocooning - is home theater, which involves turning the old TV room into a private screening room suitable for a Hollywood mogul. At home with a giant screen and "surround sound" quad speakers, a person can have a movie-going experience without standing in line or sitting behind a tall guy.

Despite the recession, Americans this Christmas will continue to show a growing appetite for such fancy gizmos, says the Washington, D.C.-based Consumer Electronics Group of the Electronics Industries Association. Spending will be up 3 percent over last year's $33 billion, the trade group forecasts.

"What recession?" asks Russ Kauffroath, salesman with Magnolia Hi-Fi in Bellevue.

Kauffroath says demand for home theater is growing. His store just added space to display the systems. People are typically spending $2,500 for them, but a pair of advanced speakers can go for $7,000, he says.

Alan Haber, director of communications for the Consumer Electronics Group, says many families find home theater affordable compared with cumulative costs of going out. A family of four can spend $50 for an evening at the theater. Count that over time against the purchase price, and consider the hassle of meeting theater schedules, and it's a good buy, he says.

Haber says many people already have a decent-size color TV, VCR and stereo system. To make the initial step into home theater, all they need to do is spend $175 for another pair of speakers and $150 for a "surround sound" adaptor for the stereo. (Haber's group estimates that 28 percent of U.S. homes have stereo TVs and 7 percent have large projection TVs.)

For someone willing to spend big money, the results can be better than what's found in some multiplex theaters. Kauffroath said the sound system can be tuned so the room sounds like an outdoor arena or a concert hall. The technology takes advantage of laserdiscs, videotapes and even some TV programs encoded to work with surround sound.

Staying at home doesn't sound so dull these days.