Home cinema design matters
Why does design matter?
If you get the design wrong, you can't fix it with installation or calibration.
Equally, if you get this right the rest will follow smoothly.
This is our standard process for a project:
1. Sanity check, budget setting, and demonstration
We're often asked 'how much does one of these cost'? And the answer is 'it depends'. But once we know how big the space is, or how many seats you want, we can give you a budget range, to rule things in or out.
Sometimes the room size changes at this point - for example we could divide a room in two, creating say a 'cinema' and 'games room' - then your cinema budget goes further.
Next we generally have a design meeting and demonstration in our showroom.
Cinemaworks demo room - perfect for an initial meeting and to experience a good home cinema setup
Because our room is around CEDIA/RP22 Performance Level 2 for audio, we have a reference point for that, too - 'one level up' 'one level down' or 'no compromise' are all within reach.
Read more:
RP22 - immersive audio performance levels
2. Design
Good design is all about balancing compromises, and which way we take that depends on you.
This often gets overlooked, or 'phoned in' where everyone gets the same.
Free manufacturer services have their place but it's like finding a mortgage - an independent honest broker should search the whole market for the best solution for you. Design for clients ought to be the same, but isn't always.
If everything in your spec comes from one distribution company, that sets my alarm bells ringing. I worry about balance when I see a proposal that's all speakers, with a noticeably cheaper AV receiver and projector, and designed by a speaker company.
It's all about you
Discovery is where we learn as much as possible about you, your watching habits, your family, friends, style and intentions for this room.
As part of discovery, I'm interested in the 'typical' use case of the room, and the more occasional ones too. For example, let's consider two rows of seats. If the second row is for occasional guest use, I'd optimise performance for the front, but if both rows will get heavy use, or if one of you really prefers to sit in the back row, my design should reflect that.
Some companies always design everything from a 'Reference Seating Position' (RSP) exactly between two rows - that creates a best sounding position in the room but no-one ever sits there. I believe that's wrong.
I also want to know about the social side - chatting can be a big part of gaming, sport watching, and other shared experiences - 'did you see that pit stop / goal / point?' 'Loser!' and so on.
Our experience brings you the best experience
Qualifications and training for home cinema design are optional - unlike electricians and gas fitters which are safety critical. A badly designed home cinema won't kill you, it just isn't any good.
Not all designers are equal. The same equipment performs better when the design is better - although a trained and experienced designer may well choose different products.
Performance engineering
Performance design is iterative - the audio and video goes round in circles and that's even before we look at styling.
My designs are more involved than some - for example I believe in pointing speakers at the audience where possible, because it sounds so much better at all the seats, and needs less digital EQ. So the install costs a bit more, but well worth it for the 20-30% uplift in performance we get.
I also do proper calculations for screen brightness, loudspeaker output and subwoofer placement. I want good, even bass for everyone - that makes your cinema feel right, you really don't want some notes missing and others too loud.
Or in other words, please choose your designer with care and make sure you're comparing apples to apples when getting cost estimates.
A quiet place
At every performance level, we should reduce background noise. That could be as easy as acoustic seals on doors, or as difficult as building a whole inner room suspended on springs.
'Dynamic range' is the difference between the quietest sounds - like whispers, or standing on a twig in the forest - and the loudest, like gunshots, orchestral crescendos, explosions. A quieter room has better dynamics, since the softest sounds can be heard clearly and distinctly, and then the loud bursts have far greater impact.
You'll know when it's wrong if you ever find yourself 'riding the volume' - turning quiet bits up and loud bits down. That means the background noise is too loud, and that your system can't go loud enough without distorting, and that means the system hasn't been designed properly.
People often end up believing they don't like loud sound, but really it's the underpowered system distorting that's unpleasant.
The 2018 film 'A Quiet Place' plays on silence and occasional loud bursts to maximise the suspense and emotional impact of the story. It's one of our most effective clips but it wouldn't work in many demo cinemas - when background noise is too high, the quietest sections aren't clear enough.
3. Styling your cinema
I like to take a style brief right at the beginning - 'what do you want this room to look and feel like' - then I keep that in mind when doing performance design as above.
'Art Deco' home cinema project in Somerset
When the performance design is done, we can apply styling - it must be this way round, just as BMW will engineer the chassis and performance levels before they let Chris Bangle loose on the visual side.
Styling design is often collaborative with us, the clients, the interior designer, and/or architect. It's completely down to you what 'feel' you want - contemporary, retro, 'Tron' and so on - but we should choose colour palettes and textures together.
'The room is a video component'
Muted, darker wall colours work best - you're more immersed, the punchy picture draws you in deeper, and you'll have a great night.
Video calibration works much better when the room is dark enough
Similarly, we should take shiny objects out of your field of view - you can have them, but at the sides and back of the room. As my friend Peter Aylett says - 'Business at the front, party in the back.'
Visualisation
Not always, but often - we've done some very successful projects without it - we can create 3D light modelled visualisations of your room - this allows us to check the layout, colours, and so on, and really give a feel for how things will be.
3D light modelled image for an upcoming small cinema
At this stage we might add visual interest, pops of colour, and make the final choices for wall fabrics and lighting.
I am also Cinemaworks' 3D artist, which has advantages of speed and responsiveness, particularly when there's a revision. That said, dedicated 3D specialist companies can offer better photo-realism, so it depends on your needs.
Now we can think about the installation!
I can design you a better home cinema, and I would love to.
Please get in touch to discuss.
