The year is quickly coming to a close, and tech junkies and home theater experts alike are eyeing the New Year and the new trends on the market. Here is a run down of a few trends in home theater systems in 2013.

• Multiple-screen rooms – Sports fans who can’t decide on a game might not have to with the multiple-screen room trend. A staple in sports bars and restaurants, the trend of using dual and multiple screens is becoming increasingly popular for home entertainment buffs. Screens range from multiple flat panels, to 3D options, to front-projection screens and small screens built into walls and fixtures.
• Floorstanding speakers – Home theater systems in years past included in-wall speakers, mainly so the speakers are hidden in a home theater or media room. With improvements in speaker function and clarify, speakers now are trending toward floorstanding speakers, bookshelf speakers and flush-mounted speakers. These types of speakers produce a higher-quality and clearer sound. Because the floorstanding models are larger, they have the ability to play unique tones and ranges, giving home entertainment fans sound that can rival a movie theater.
• Combination rooms – Although a dedicated media room might be the dream of any gamer, sports fan or movie lover, the reality is many homes don’t have the capacity to keep one room specifically for a home theater. Homeowners don’t have to sacrifice a great entertainment experience because they don’t have the space – in 2013, experts say home theater areas will blend with the traditional family room or living room for a hybrid living area that can serve many purposes. These combination rooms forego theater seating and dark wall colors, with homeowners bringing in comfortable sofas and light wall colors. With today’s wi-fi enabled players and pokies online streaming media devices, it’s easy to showcase a variety of content in a combination room. With this new trend, the entertainment room can now entertain almost anyone in the family.
• Smart TVs – With this trend, you can watch sports and movies with friends without leaving your home! Many new televisions are being designed with social media in mind, allowing viewers to tweet or Facebook in real time with their friends while they watch games or movies. The Panasonic Smart TV has Facebook and Twitter integrated into the picture, encouraging live tweeting of games and television shows.
• Internet connectivity and apps – Smart phones brought computer technology to consumer’s hands – literally – and now electronics giants are bringing this same technology to television screens. With a networked or wi-fi enabled television, viewers can access apps like YouTube and NBA Game Time, video and audio programs like Flickr and Vimeo, and even streaming video and audio apps like Netflix and Pandora. With wi-fi enabled televisions and set-top boxes (Apple TV and Google TV to name two), viewers can mirror their laptop, tablets and smart phones to their television for a bigger picture and higher quality experience.

What trends are you most looking forward to in 2013?