Ultimate Home Theater Melds Style, Comfort, and Usability

Oct 16, 2006 12:00 PM

The following information is courtesy of the 2005 CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles Designers' Choice Awards. For more information on how to become a member of CEDIA, or information on its awards program please visit www.cedia.org or call (800) 669-5329.

2005 CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles Winner
Designers Choice Awards: Best Home Theater
Level V ($180,000-200,000)

Home Waves

Georgia-based custom AV firm Home Waves worked with a homeowner to make a dedicated theater area as part of their finished basement. The goal was to have multiple viewing areas on the terrace level with the theater to be used for experiencing movies.

By collaborating with the builder, architect, and interior designer, the client was able to make the construction of the theater a success. The theater was designed to include rich stained wood, distressed leather, and distinct architectural features for the perfect mix of style and comfort.

Because of a nearly 30ft. throw distance, Home Waves installed a Runco VX-4000 D projector hidden in the back soffit. Another challenge for the theater was installing a 135in. wall-mounted masking screen so that it was high enough for clear viewing from multiple locations while being low enough so that the front soffit wouldn’t clip the projector beam. Because the soffit was introduced mid-construction, the installers attempted to mount the screen lower. In doing so, they realized the viewing angle for all seats might be jeopardized. This caused Home Waves to redesign the soffit so that it would end into the wall instead of wrapping around the whole room. This solution gave the room more depth as well as solving the screen problem.

The AMX control system completes this theater project by giving total control of the environment from an intuitive touch panel. Even the interface of the touchpanel was custom designed to fit the needs of the client. When all was said and done, the client was extremely happy with their classic, comfortable, and stylish theater.

EQUIPMENT LIST

1 AMX NI-3000 NetLinx integrated controller

1 AMX MVP-7500 Modero ViewPoint touchpanel

1 AMX PLB-AS-16 16x16 audio switcher

1 AMX wireless access point

10 Berkline 087 full leather seats

4 ButtKicker in-chair amplifier

1 Hughes HD10-250 satellite receiver with TiVo

1 Integra DTC-9.4 THX 9.4 preamp

1 Integra DPS-6.5 Universal DVD player

1 Integra NAS-2.3 hard drive audio server

1 Monster HTS 5100 Stage 4 MKII PowerCenter

19 Monster Interlink Junior basic interconnect cable

4 Monster Interlink LightSpeed 100 digital fiber optic cable

1 Runco VX-4000d DLP HD projector

1 Runco DHD ViVix II processor

3 Russound DPA-6.12 amplifier

2 Snell XA 1900 THX cabinet speakers

1 Snell XA 55CR center-channel speaker

6 Snell AMC 900DP in-wall dipole surround speakers

2 Sonance Sonamp 5150 THX Ultra 5-channel amplifier

2 Sonance Cinema Ultra II in-wall subwoofer

1 Stewart ElectriMask vertical screen wall

1 Vantage 4-gang ScenePoint dimmer

1 Vantage 2-gang ScenePoint dimmer

1 Vantage RF master controller

Time and Expertise Worksheet
Task	Hours
Client Interviews	6
Electronic Design and Engineering:	16
Proposal and System Documentation Preparation:	16
Project Management:	24
Pre-wire/Rough-in:	36
Trim-out:	44
Shop Time for Racking and Testing:	14
Programming:	60
Final Installation and Calibration:	28
Client Instruction:	2
Interior Design and/or Architecture by your Company:	12
Interior Design and/or Architecture by Others:	8
Project Management by Others:	0
Other time: builder's interior designs, drawings done on paper:	0
Total Hours to Complete:	266