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Thursday, December 19, 2013

Are ‘Second Screen’ Devices Becoming Top Dog in the Living Room?

Dog Holding Smartphone and Tablet
Image from Shutterstock.com
These days, more and more people getting their news, entertainment and game fixes off their mobile devices. This has given rise to the term ‘Second Screen’, with the smaller mobile device becoming a companion to the ‘first screen’ or home TV set. Not only do smartphones allow TV shows and movies to be taken out of the living room and enjoyed on the go, they also offer a way for people to get extra content about the shows that they are watching. Want to look up a map of Middle Earth while watching Fellowship of the Ring? No problem! Want to get the recipe for the soufflé featured on your favorite cooking show? Easy. You can even search local stores for the best prices on ingredients. Streaming Media magazine first reported on this phenomenon in 2011, and it has grown ever since.

Now it looks like the second screen may be overtaking the first screen in popularity. A recent article on TechCrunch noted that 50% of online entertainment giant Hulu’s viewers are using their mobile devices exclusively. This number is a sharp rise from previous years, and it does not take into account those who watch on desktop computers. The interesting thing is much of this mobile viewing is taking place in the living room with the TV turned off or completely absent.

iPad Holder from Palliser Home Theater Seating
Image from TheaterSeatStore.com
With mobile devices getting less expensive and cable TV costs going up, it looks like more and more people will “cut the cord” and enjoy their content on the go. What does this mean for us? At TheaterSeatStore.com, we also recognize this trend and now offer removable tray tables and specialized tablet holders on many of our home theater seat models. This allows the mobile user to enjoy all of the comfort and convenience of home theater seating while offering easy access to their mobile device of choice. Whether they prefer to watch the small screen, or search for more information while watching their favorite movie on a 105” 4K TV and Dolby surround sound system.

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