Best Buy’s Home Theatre department is all new

Several Best Buy stores have undergone a massive renovation. More than just fresh paint and new shelving, these renos have given stores a completely new look. Gone are the dark colours and overhead fluorescents. Now the renovated stores are more open, brighter and better organized, which Best Buy says will create a nicer, easier and smarter shopping experience for customers.

Home Theatre Section all new

We’ve looked at how the Appliances section has been revamped, but the Home Theatre section is also transformed.

Where lines of shelving once stood, there’s more open areas categorized by brand; for example you can look at the entire Sonos speaker line all on one display. Each speaker is connected and it’s possible to listen to a variety of audio for testing. The hands-on experience is meant to give customers a more targeted look at the products so they can be sure they know exactly what they’re getting.

New technologies on display – Dolby Atmos & 4K

Helping gain an understanding of some of the new and emerging technologies in Home Theatre is part of the reason the stores have been made over. In Calgary’s Deerfoot Meadows store for example, it’s possible to sit in a lounge chair and bombard yourself with the sounds of Dolby’s Atmos Audio system. This high tech audio system is designed to fill spaces with sound from all directions so being able to experience it goes a long way to helping understand what makes it new, exciting and desirable.

Televisions have undergone a massive change in technology too in recent years.  4K or Ultra HD TVs are now becoming the standard for viewing, but many people still don’t know what 4K is, and even if they’ve read about it (like here on the blog) it’s still somewhat intangible. Being able to go to a store and stand in front of a variety of 4K TV sets is eye-opening.  The sharp resolution, vivid colours and extraordinary realistic effect of 4K resolution is something you need to see to fully appreciate.  In the renovated stores customers are able to have that experience with all the major brands like Sony, Samsung, LG and more. Different sizes and styles of TV are on display so you can get a realistic idea of what they’ll look like in your home. Best Buy staff are on standby to answer questions and provide help.

They layout of the new Home Theatre section uses subtler overhead LED lighting to simulate a more homey effect; where before darkness ruled, today you can really see what these TVs are like in an environment that’s lighter and brighter and more like most people’s homes.

Experiencing new technology like HDR

Comparison shopping is easy too. TVs including the 4K sets are arranged by brands and HD/1080p sets are side-by-side with the 4K/UHD sets so it’s possible to get a realistic comparison of resolution. Samsung’s new SUHD or “Super Ultra HD” TVs are also on display so it’s easy to see for yourself the features touted as even better than UHD.

HDR sets are also featured. HDR’s more realistic contrast ratio and richer and more vivid colour gamut are on display for comparison viewing too.

Home Theatre Audio is open for testing

Will enjoy their home theatre experience in the new stores as well. From Bose to Polk, Sonos, Onkyo, Denon and Pioneer many different home theatre systems and their multitude of components are out on display and available for hands on testing. Whether you’re looking for a new amplifier, speakers, or a sound bar, it’s much easier to test and compare.

If you haven’t been to a Best Buy store in a while, it’s a great time to take a look.

Where to see the new Best Buy stores

There are many of these new Best Buy stores already open. Several more will be renovated to the new look in 2017.