The term “home theater” is pretty self-explanatory: A home entertainment system assembled to get the closest thing to a movie theater-style experience that you can fit into your home. Generally speaking, it’s used to refer to a combination of a large TV (or projection screen) and a surround sound system. Though surround sound is also used for TV shows, video games, and even multichannel music, it’s most closely associated with the theatrical movies where it originated.
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Over time, the potential scope of a true surround sound system has changed. For a long time, the default was called 5.1 channels, or two pairs of front and rear speakers, a center channel, and a subwoofer. Eventually, it expanded to include 7.1 channels, which split the rear channels into two pairs of side and rear channels. In the last decade, spatial audio formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X have become the newest standard, adding height-level channels from upward or downward-firing drivers. Now, it’s common to see movie soundtracks listed as something like 5.1.2 channels or 7.1.4 channels, with the last digit referring to the height channels, opening up new avenues for attacking the viewer’s senses with sound design.
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If you’re new to surround sound and are looking for a movie that could best show off your system, we’ve got some recommendations to show off what your speakers can do. So let’s take a look at some of the best movies with surround soundtracks that make for great demo material.
