ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the differing conceptions of home theater, exploring a few aspects of how each affects home-theater technology, audience usage, home theater turns out to be a major factor impacting how movies are altered from their original theatrical versions for home releases. It explores home theater through several different lenses, and illustrated the importance of taking such a multifaceted approach to understanding how home theater impacts, and is impacted by, changes in sound technology, cinematic style, and audience experiences. The chapter examines some key questions and challenges for contemporary film scholarship, such as the diversity present within the broad concepts of 'home theater' and 'home viewing,' and the problematic nature of authenticity in reference to film soundtracks. It examines the more 'meta' question of why home theater has received such little scholarly attention despite its prevalence. The vast differences among individual home-theater systems, moreover, are just the most visible surface aspects of this multiplicity.
