Cinema rooms - what have you got?
Discussion
Douglas Quaid said:
I never understand why people make dedicated cinema rooms and have lights or in fact anything that detracts from the picture. Stars in the ceiling etc look cool on a picture but the ideal scenario is a completely dark room with treated walls, floor and ceiling so there are no reflections from the screen. Anything else is just fluff and makes the picture and experience worse not better.
Absolutely. Fine to have lighting that can be controlled on as you enter/leave but lighting left on while viewing will just degrade the image. The light source generated by a projector is fighting the ambient light ... the more ambient light, the more powerful projector required to reproduce an image which meets the performance standards, so controlling the ambient light is the easiest (and cheapest way) to gain a better/brighter image. DoubleD said:
Most people dont want to sit in a pitch black room.
The idea of a cinema room is to create an environment for watching films, not watching Eastenders. Most people want a room which differs from their other rooms in terms of viewing experience, so they understand the need for a dark environment (see above). I am referring to watching a projected image from a projector in a dark room, not a TV. A TV does not require control of ambient light, so watching it in the dark is pointless and in this case, when its the only light source, in my experience it tires the eyes so ambient light in the room works. Some of this is also probably down to screen side, with the projector screen creating light over a larger area.
There are projectors which work well in rooms with greater ambient light such as the UST (ultra short throw) models which sit close (150mm in some cases) away from the screen. In this case, the throw distance dictates that there is less ambient light to battle against.
Ours, somewhere further up the thread, has the benefit of being in a separate, single use room so we were able to go for matt black for walls, ceilings, skirting boards and even black carpet tiles. There's some funky red led spotlighting for getting settled and in the mood but it's a proper black box when the projector fires up and the movie starts and it feels just right. We don't often use the big tv that's in there but if we do it's always with a bit of ambient light otherwise you end up feeling like an owl with eye strain.
DoubleD said:
I fully understand what you are trying to achieve with your dark environment, but most people(in my experience) don't like a pitch black room.
I sell cinemas for a living ... no one has ever asked me for a cinema room 'not to be pitch black'. If someone doesn't want or understand the need for a dark environment, then maybe a cinema room isn't for them. Its not for everyone.
JEA1K said:
DoubleD said:
I fully understand what you are trying to achieve with your dark environment, but most people(in my experience) don't like a pitch black room.
I sell cinemas for a living ... no one has ever asked me for a cinema room 'not to be pitch black'. If someone doesn't want or understand the need for a dark environment, then maybe a cinema room isn't for them. Its not for everyone.
Yes, see above. Any ambient lights are programmed to be off whilst a film is being viewed.
In this particular cinema, we have:
Stay ceiling lights
Hanging pendants
Wall LED strip
Coffer downlights
Step LED strip
When 'play' is pressed on the remote, all these lights will dim down to zero, when pause is pressed, they will come on to a preset level.
In this particular cinema, we have:
Stay ceiling lights
Hanging pendants
Wall LED strip
Coffer downlights
Step LED strip
When 'play' is pressed on the remote, all these lights will dim down to zero, when pause is pressed, they will come on to a preset level.
JEA1K said:
When 'play' is pressed on the remote, all these lights will dim down to zero, when pause is pressed, they will come on to a preset level.
That's a really cool feature.What system is that with?
I just do the same with Alexa controlling the lights via Smartthings hub and Fibaro units in the light switch wall boxes. But my use of automations in general is very simple and I've not really explored what the systems can do.
JEA1K said:
Yes, see above. Any ambient lights are programmed to be off whilst a film is being viewed.
In this particular cinema, we have:
Stay ceiling lights
Hanging pendants
Wall LED strip
Coffer downlights
Step LED strip
When 'play' is pressed on the remote, all these lights will dim down to zero, when pause is pressed, they will come on to a preset level.
Via a harmony remote?In this particular cinema, we have:
Stay ceiling lights
Hanging pendants
Wall LED strip
Coffer downlights
Step LED strip
When 'play' is pressed on the remote, all these lights will dim down to zero, when pause is pressed, they will come on to a preset level.
JEA1K said:
Just completing this room for a client, going to be pretty amazing, hopefully have them in for Xmas. This was a room I designed with a unique feel based on the space available ...sadly I neither have the time nor the budget for my own room to be at this level 
Nicely done mate! Looks good and nice to see a fellow pro shouting up!NorthDave said:
Nicely done mate! Looks good and nice to see a fellow pro shouting up!
Thanks! If you're a fellow pro and not on Smarthomee on FB, get yourself on there. You'll see ours and lot of other people's work. In terms of control, we use Control4 and Crestron depending on the kit specification and if we really need bespoke programming. The above isn't particularly difficult to add programming wise. We use Aurora for control of LED strip lights for instance for which there is an Control4 driver ... then we're using the Control4 dimming and relay units to control the rest of the lights.
I love seeing what you pros can do.
One of my best friends lives in Marin, California owns and runs Acoustic Frontiers. The stuff he does, and his attention to detail, is amazing. Complete geekery of the highest order in terms of measuring sound waves, interference, etc. etc. Problem is, I never get to watch a film in his room when I am at his house, as it is always in some state of disassembly while he tests some new equipment or theory.
I also love his lack of compromise. In our last house, I asked for some advice on setting up my living room. His immediate answer, immediately vetoed by Lady F, was "well to really get the sound right, you need to board up, insulate and flatten out that (bay) window - And I think we could put the amp rack and power supplies in that space to make the room cleaner."
Needless to say, that didn't happen. He is used to designing and building rooms in US houses at construction or renovation stage, often in basements. A 1930's London semi just wasn't the same as some mansion in Colorado, as beloved by his clients.
When the kids are older, I'd like to do an outside projector and screen for film nights in the garden. Rather a low priority right now, sadly.
One of my best friends lives in Marin, California owns and runs Acoustic Frontiers. The stuff he does, and his attention to detail, is amazing. Complete geekery of the highest order in terms of measuring sound waves, interference, etc. etc. Problem is, I never get to watch a film in his room when I am at his house, as it is always in some state of disassembly while he tests some new equipment or theory.
I also love his lack of compromise. In our last house, I asked for some advice on setting up my living room. His immediate answer, immediately vetoed by Lady F, was "well to really get the sound right, you need to board up, insulate and flatten out that (bay) window - And I think we could put the amp rack and power supplies in that space to make the room cleaner."
Needless to say, that didn't happen. He is used to designing and building rooms in US houses at construction or renovation stage, often in basements. A 1930's London semi just wasn't the same as some mansion in Colorado, as beloved by his clients.
When the kids are older, I'd like to do an outside projector and screen for film nights in the garden. Rather a low priority right now, sadly.
Gingerbread Man said:
Via a harmony remote?
Pretty much any control system will do that.I use Control 4 with Alexa. The lights come up to a set scene whether the film is paused via Alexa, the control4 remote, the phone or my watch.
Also when the doorbell rings. Everything pauses, lights come up, and the doorbell camera comes up on the screen
Davetheraver said:
Pretty much any control system will do that.
I use Control 4 with Alexa. The lights come up to a set scene whether the film is paused via Alexa, the control4 remote, the phone or my watch.
Also when the doorbell rings. Everything pauses, lights come up, and the doorbell camera comes up on the screen
That's fantastic! I use Control 4 with Alexa. The lights come up to a set scene whether the film is paused via Alexa, the control4 remote, the phone or my watch.
Also when the doorbell rings. Everything pauses, lights come up, and the doorbell camera comes up on the screen
Outgoing cinema setup below. Room is 4.4m wide by 6.6m long. Acoustic treatment to internal walls and ceiling. Out of shot are a pair of Meridian DSP3100’s used as surrounds, and a Meridian MF10 projector. And a five-seater Boconcept Mezzo in soft black leather.
New setup (very different..!) to follow in two weeks time when I’ve set it all up.
New setup (very different..!) to follow in two weeks time when I’ve set it all up.
I love that it can be relatively inexpensive to create a room which for the majority of people would feel pretty special, 10 years ago I rented a house which had a loft conversion which ended up making a nice room with next to no work required, just a 92" screen 720p Optoma projector, 5.1 sound, could of sources and a load of comfy bean bags to sink into, dark walls, no windows or doors (the door was at the bottom of the stairs and so pitch black with the light off. Pretty good value for £500ish all in.
Now the compromise is for space as well as cost, we don't have space for a dedicated room so currently a Short Throw projector, and a motorised 120" screen which drops in front of the TV and Soundbar recessed into the wall. It works surprisingly well for all the compromises made and holds up to the poor environment (light walls, hardly any light control, mirrors etc) even being watchable during the day.
Now the compromise is for space as well as cost, we don't have space for a dedicated room so currently a Short Throw projector, and a motorised 120" screen which drops in front of the TV and Soundbar recessed into the wall. It works surprisingly well for all the compromises made and holds up to the poor environment (light walls, hardly any light control, mirrors etc) even being watchable during the day.
WindyCommon said:
Outgoing cinema setup below. Room is 4.4m wide by 6.6m long. Acoustic treatment to internal walls and ceiling. Out of shot are a pair of Meridian DSP3100’s used as surrounds, and a Meridian MF10 projector. And a five-seater Boconcept Mezzo in soft black leather.
New setup (very different..!) to follow in two weeks time when I’ve set it all up.
Time's up! New setup (very different..!) to follow in two weeks time when I’ve set it all up.
JEA1K said:
Just completing this room for a client, going to be pretty amazing, hopefully have them in for Xmas. This was a room I designed with a unique feel based on the space available ...sadly I neither have the time nor the budget for my own room to be at this level
A few small jobs to complete but we're up and running. The image from the Sony is stunning with a 4m wide image. Great clients to work with/for and they are absolutely delighted, as are we 
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