Our goal was to create a room that the Home owners could use as an escape from everyday life, a room where reality ceased and the magic of movie fantasy began. To this end, soundproofing the room and audio/video quality became paramount. Design parameters were conveyed and a tasteful, elegant room took shape.
Theater Control is from the Elan G IP based system, as well as the theater; it also manages the entire home’s subsystems. The Home’s Subsystems are all also accessible from the touch panel and the remote within the theater (Cameras, Security and Climate). The interface was designed to be very user friendly as this room will be used by the Clients, their Children and Nannies. This also allowed us to have a continuity of user interfaces throughout the entire home on all touch panels.
We chose a three chip DLP projector to accurately reflect realism in film. The acoustics were engineered from the build stage forward and include isolation of the entire room as well as suspending and wrapping all HVAC Ducts and drain pipes. The finishing touch was a full room acoustical treatment with properly designed and placed panels.
The request was for powerful sound without visible speakers, not an easy task. This meant close collaboration with the Interior Designer to allow for spaces that would accommodate speakers and sub woofers capable of very high sound pressure levels and not have them rattle of reverberate cabinetry or mill work. This also meant acoustical treatments and barriers to line certain spaces and isolate the speakers from their surroundings. Two sub woofers were used in the design, one in the front mill work, and one in the rear pilaster. By using two sub woofers we were able to get consistent bass throughout all seating areas with no hot spots. Bowers and Wilkins Custom Theater Series speakers and Sub woofers were chosen for their ability to accurately reproduce the nuances of movie soundtracks and also their ability to rock the room when required. Bowers and Wilkins rear speakers were installed in ceiling over the seating area, so as to keep all speakers out of sight.
Luckily we had the good fortune of designing this room from foundation on. With proper design, engineering and acoustical consideration in check, the room came together as planned. Working in unison with the Interior Designer, Builder and Architect at every avenue helped this cause tremendously.
Our aim was to achieve Video and Audio quality that would surpass the client’s expectations. A representative from Digital Projection calibrated all video settings upon install and after 100 hours of service. Audio calibration was done using a sound meter and final tweaking in conjunction with the Clients ears.
This System is a testament of what can happen when a Systems Integrator, Interior Designer, Architect and Builder all work together in harmony towards an end goal; designing, building and executing a room that is a true show stopper.
This room contains many unique materials including, Cultured Stone, Caesar Stone and Bamboo, all melded to form a truly unique movie going experience.
Winner of Level I SILVER Technical Design award for Large Home Theatre – $241,000 to $315,000 – in CEDIA’s Electronic Lifestyles Awards competition.
