Pro-Install

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Mark Craven  |  Jul 17, 2014  |  0 comments

From a lack of legroom to unforgiving upholstery, we’ve all had a movie experience affected by an uncomfortable seat. At your local cinema this is just about sufferable, but in your own room it shouldn't be tolerated – spending thousands of pounds on AV hardware and software but ignoring where you park your fundament is home cinema heresy. The good news is that there are numerous options available, suited to most budgets and tastes, so before you start saving for a 4K projector, perhaps it's time for a seating upgrade...

Mark Craven  |  Apr 18, 2014  |  0 comments

An attic is an obvious place for any ambitious cinema fan to install a dedicated system. Firstly, it's probably not being used for much beyond storing boxes of junk. Secondly, it's not likely to get much (if any) walkthrough traffic – you can retire to the loft and relax with a movie in peace. The setup featured here has been achieved by custom install professionals, and the price tag, we're told, is commensurate with the level of hardware, control and acoustic treatments employed. But even for those with limited budgets it's certainly an inspirational makeover that could give you some ideas for your own project.

Mark Craven  |  Feb 22, 2014  |  0 comments

You know how it is. You've decided you want a dedicated cinema room in your house, so you call in the professionals. Then, when they arrive, they notice that the space you originally had in mind isn't quite as impressive and up to the task as your basement, which you'd already planned to be an all-purpose party space – and had got as far as installing cabling for PA speakers and disco lights. And fitted a dancefloor...

Mark Craven  |  Dec 06, 2013  |  0 comments

The owner of this smart-looking media room didn't originally set out to own it. He'd actually called upon custom install outfit The Big Picture to establish home automation electronics throughout his house, with the idea of constructing an additional space for a dedicated cinema. But when this proved untenable, The Big Picture suggested turning the family snug into a movie palace. 'Being open to ideas, I challenged them to impress me,' he tells us. 

Mark Craven  |  Nov 09, 2013  |  0 comments

This luxurious cinema room is the end result of a full makeover by North Yorkshire's Harrogate Home Cinema, and is affectionately known as The Modeon by its happy owner. An existing customer of the professional install firm, the project arose when he decided to fulfil a long-term dream and convert the old playroom in his house into a dedicated movie den.  The initial stage of the build involved the creation of 3D visuals to ensure the owner was getting exactly what he wanted. Then, once a layout design was approved, Harrogate Home Cinema began creating the technical specification, working, we're told, to a 'strict budget'. We haven't been given the exact cost of the whole setup, but we imagine the said budget wasn't exactly miserly...

Mark Craven  |  Sep 20, 2013  |  0 comments

Custom installers get given some very specific briefs, but Portugal's ProjectionDreams had probably never been asked for a Stargate-themed cinema room that offered 'a sense of mystery and movement; a mixture of sci-fi and ancient civilisations.'

Mark Craven  |  Sep 11, 2013  |  0 comments

If you’re hunting for inspiration for your own home cinema project, or thinking of engaging a professional outfit to work its magic in your house, then there's no better place to start than the annual CEDIA Awards. Each year, they highlight the very best custom installations from the UK, Europe and beyond, covering everything from affordable media rooms and dedicated cinemas to whole-house makeovers, eco projects and even the crazy world of hi-tech yachts.

Mark Craven  |  Aug 01, 2013  |  0 comments

This cinema room is part of a wider, whole-house installation conducted by Surrey/Sussex-based company Audio7. At first glance it doesn't look unusual, until you discover that the house itself was designed and built in Germany by bespoke home builder Baufritz and then assembled in mere days once it arrived in the UK. Oh, and that Wi-Fi isn't featured and the entire property aims to stop external RF entering by creating essentially what is a Faraday cage, with foil-backed and earthed boards...

Mark Craven  |  Jul 11, 2013  |  0 comments

This subterranean cinema room, the work of ET Home Cinema from South Yorkshire, doesn't want to hide its light under a bushel - with the owner adamant that Bowers & Wilkins Diamond speakers were to be used for the front soundstage, there was little choice but to let these stunning-looking cabinets steal the show.

Mark Craven  |  Jun 10, 2013  |  0 comments

There are many things you could do with a 'disused' room in your house. Install a gym, house a collection of rare snakes, set up a tiny restaurant... Or you could opt for your very own high-end cinema room. To us, and the owner of this four-seat movie den, that's the obvious option.

Mark Craven  |  May 04, 2013  |  0 comments

The professional cinema installs featured in HCC sometimes look like part of the lifestyle of the rich and famous – and 
here that's most certainly the case. 
This impressive 16th century barn conversion 
in Oxfordshire, brought up to 21st century standards via some cutting-edge home automation and AV hardware, is where British Touring Car legend and Fifth Gear presenter Jason Plato kicks back after a hard day behind the wheel. Because, although driving cars at ridiculous speeds is his passion, he's also a bit of an AV freak, and has been known to pop down to the Bristol Sound & Vision Show in the past.

Anton van Beek  |  Aug 26, 2012  |  0 comments

So, our kind-of-D.I.Y. home cinema project is finished. We’ve taken the sensible route of doing what we could ourselves, and calling on the professionals (builders, electricians and so on) when we came across something we couldn’t (or shouldn’t) sensibly handle. Of course, if you have the money, you can turn the whole job over to a professional installer – but where’s the fun in that? What we’ve learned about specifying, fitting and tweaking a home cinema is just as valuable.

Anton van Beek  |  Aug 09, 2012  |  0 comments

In Part 1 and Part 2 you’ve seen how we designed and specified this mid-range home cinema room project. Now we’ve arrived at the delicate point of fitting the rear speakers and the projection screen casing. It’s a case of ‘all hands on deck’, as the massive screen arrives and we start to wonder whether the ceiling will hold it…

Mark Craven  |  Jul 02, 2012  |  0 comments

If your attic is currently used to store Christmas decorations, old Scalextric sets and musty suitcases, it’s fair to say you aren’t putting it to its best use. Maybe the sight of this alluring loft-based home cinema will spur you on to build your own top-floor movie den.

Martin Pipe  |  Jun 12, 2012  |  0 comments

The proud owner of this stunning cinema room in South Africa – complete with unique 5000-element fibre-optic star ceiling – is a true movie-holic, to the point where the cinema was the first room to be completed during a comprehensive home-renovation project. In fact, the property already featured a home cinema, but during initial discussions with installer Sphere Custom it became clear that the existing room would not accommodate what the film-mad owner had in mind. It was decided instead to start from a ‘clean slate’, and a dedicated extension for the proposed 12m x 7m room was constructed.

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