A home theater is the combination of top of the line audio and video equipment and theater seating in an acoustically controlled environment, meant to mimic (or exceed) the commercial theater performance and experience, also known as a home cinema. In modern times a home cinema has the same quality and performance of a theatrical cinema except it is in the comfort of a private home. Home theaters (also known as home cinema) are the culmination of high end audio and video equipment that is intended to rival a visit to the theater itself, they are designed to set the mood with the help of an acoustically controlled environment and comfy theater seating.

In the mid 1900′s, playing movies at home became very popular as the Kodak 8 mm film projector equipment became affordable and more people could purchase the setup. This technology quickly evolved and turned into multichannel audio systems which blew the previous technology out of the water, in time LD (Laser Disc) was released and it changed the home theater and audio system game forever. By feeding a Laser Disc system or a VHS to an audio projector, people were able to enjoy the home theater experience at higher qualities than anything available before. In some situations some people went all out in the early 1990′s and purchased a front screen projector and set up a dark-lit room that was specifically designed for the best home viewing experience possible at that time. By the time the DVD had been invented and mass distributed, Dolby Digital 5.1-channel audio (“surround sound”) speaker systems, and high-definition television (HDTV). In the 2010s 3D television technology and Blu-ray Disc have ushered in a new era of home theater once again.