A Modern Guide to Home Theater Picture-in-Picture Options
Back before flat-screen televisions and streaming networks, one of the biggest features found on analog televisions was picture-in-picture. The televisions would display one cable channel on a majority of the TV and then a second channel or input on the bottom corner of the television. The feature has slowly faded away on most TVs as streaming services rose in popularity.
Despite a lot of advanced features, a picture-in-picture feature can still come in handy for many people. When you have a home theater installed by professionals, you can rig the system to ensure you have plenty of picture-in-picture options for watching sports, checking news, or enjoying multiple programs at the same time.
Follow this guide to learn about your set-up options and ways to enjoy picture-in-picture options with modern streaming services.
Dual Input Selectors & Streaming Boxes
On a majority of smart televisions, you cannot pause a program on a streaming service and go to another show on another streaming service without exiting the service completely. If you want to flip back and forth between services with speed, then you can have home theater experts install multiple input selectors and streaming boxes.
While you cannot completely get the classic picture-in-picture experience with this method, you can leave movies and shows paused as you move to another type of media. For example, you could have a streaming box plugged into HDMI port 1 and another one plugged into HDMI port 2.
You can pause your show on port 1, go to port 2 and start a different show on the separate device. When you want to go back to the original show, you simply need to change inputs. Without the dual options, you would need to reload the app, choose your account, find the show again, and resume the position.
Much like the fast switch options of classic picture-in-picture, you can go back to your original shows with ease. If you watch multiple sports games on streaming networks, then you can easily switch back during commercials and do not have to miss plays while you wait for apps to load.
Smart Home Shortcuts
When you have professionals install a home theater, you can connect everything to a smart remote. A tablet-based smart remote will give you a lot of advanced options. For example, you could have programmed shortcuts that will automatically load streaming services on your television.
Some smart remotes may include visual screens so you can check out content right on the tablet rather than interrupt the show on the television.
Multiple Flat Screen Televisions
If you want a true picture-in-picture experience, then your best option is to wall mount two televisions right next to each other. Televisions have become affordable over the years and the thin designs mean they take up less space in your home theater. With two televisions mounted side-by-side, you can enjoy multiple forms of entertainment at the same time.
For example, one television could display a news program while you use the other one to play a video game. Home theater specialists can customize and set up the televisions based on your preferences and the various devices you have to use.
Samsung Televisions
While many companies have excluded picture-in-picture mode from their newest models, Samsung continues to feature the mode. The modern version found in Samsung televisions allows you to use their Smart TV features and then display a smaller image from one of the TV’s inputs.
For example, you could load a streaming service as the main picture and then use a Blu-Ray player for the picture-in-picture setting. The televisions come with multiple customization options including the ability to change the size and placement of the second input.
A home theater professional can help set up and program a Samsung TV to match your preferences.
For all of your home theater needs, contact us at A Tech. We have years of experience with home theater technology and can optimize every element to fit your vision and needs.