ESSENTIAL CASE STUDY GIBSON INTEGRATION

GIBSON RACES AHEAD WITH FIRST CLASS CINEMA

Precision and high performance where the watch words for this attractive home cinema.

Formed back in 2011, Gibson Integration is spearheaded by Company Owners & Directors Colin Scrivener and Kevin Dawkins, with combined industry knowledge from their 50 years in the industry. An existing client recommended the company to the owner of this latest project, as did the client’s interior designer who Gibson has worked with on a number of projects.

Colin explains, “With two firm recommendations in our favour, the client was keen to entrust Gibson Integration with design and implementation of the audio visual and systems integration element of his project. Our client is a very straight-talking practical individual, which reflected very much in his brief for the cinema room.

“It had to be a useable room that was simple to operate, should be able to seat 10 comfortably and must look impressive and sound great. We were not tied down to a particular budget figure for the cinema, however having worked closely with the client on the design of the control systems throughout the rest of the property, we knew exactly where to pitch the specification.”

Colin continues, “Once the specification had been approved, we were able to produce a full suite of design drawings including screen wall construction, panelled wall layout, tiered floor design, speaker positioning and wiring schematics, as well as information on the essential installation of acoustic room treatments. We also worked closely with the interior design team to discuss lighting, floor coverings, acoustic fabrics for the wall panelling and suede colours for the seating.”

THE PROJECT

Gibson Integration had specified a Dolby Atmos 7.2.4 configuration for the cinema and decided on a Paradigm speaker package with base reinforcement by Klipsch. Three Paradigm Elite E5 speakers accompanied by two Klipsch Pro-1000 subwoofers were installed in the screen wall - behind the acoustically transparent Screen Research projector screen.

Four Paradigm Elite E80-IW speakers made up the surround and back channels, whilst four Elite E80-R speakers provided the height channels. For the amplification, the team selected an Anthem MRX 1140 AVR to drive the side, back and height channels. To provide some additional ‘Oomph’, an Anthem MCA 325 was employed to drive the left, centre and right channels. Both Klipsch subwoofers were powered by a single Klipsch KLI-KDA-1000 DSP Sub Amp.

The imaging had to be of an equally highstandard of course, Colin explains, “Having been impressed with Wolf Cinema projectors on a number of our recent cinema installations, we arranged a demonstration at our head office for our client. With demo complete and client impressed, we settled on a Wolf Cinema TXF-1100 UHD/4K DLP Laser projector. We mounted the projector on the ceiling at the rear of the cinema and set to work on carrying out the relevant adjustments to calibrate the projector to produce a stunning image onto the 120in wide 1:78:1 (16/9) screen with top and bottom motorised masking.

“Having utilised Crestron to control all systems throughout the rest of the property, including a Crestron lighting control system responsible for controlling some 221 lighting circuits and a vast Crestron NVX 4K distribution, we naturally continued with the theme and programmed a Crestron TSR310 to control all components in the cinema, as well as lighting and climate control.”

Paradigm and Klipsch speakers in place behind the screen

The cinema also enjoys some protection and power management courtesy of Furman and sources include Apple TV 64GB and a Sony UBP-X800M2 4K Blu-ray player.

So, any particular issues or challenges with the cinema? Colin reveals, “To be fair, the room itself did not present any major challenges with regards to design since it was an ample sized room with plenty of head height, so factors such layout, head clearance, leg room and throw distance etc posed no real problems. The challenge however presented itself by the way of deadline. The set deadline for completion was highly ambitious and under no circumstances was the deadline date to be exceeded!

“With supply challenges proving to be a real threat to the deadline due to Brexit, Covid and the semiconductor shortage, the client instructed us to order everything required for the project in one go and as early as possible. We had little choice but to store all equipment at our Head Office with the purpose of calling on the various components as and when required. Constantly chasing orders and arranging deliveries (sometimes out of hours) my role in the latter stages of the project was more akin to Logistics Manger rather than Project Manager, however the strategy worked and thankfully we met the deadline with a number of days to spare!”

Deadline met; the team still wanted to make sure the customer knew that they were going that extra mile. Colin says, “During the handover of our completed cinemas, we present our clients with a complementary hamper containing various goodies such as popcorn, savoury nibbles, a couple of bottles of bubbly and a selection of classic DVD titles. Due to the fact that our client is heavily involved in the motor racing industry, we thought it would be a nice touch to include a number of racing themed movies. The gesture certainly met with his approval and was received very well.”

When asked what his favourite part of the project is, Colin replies, “I think the scale of the room is my favourite part. In many cinema room designs, particularly in central London, space is at a premium and we are more often than not working to the nearest millimetre to ensure that everything fits perfectly and every seating position has a clear view of the screen. However, in this case, due to the fact that we advised on the internal dimensions of the room prior to its construction, we were presented with a space that was dimensionally perfect!

“If you were to ask me what client’s favourite part of the cinema is, it’s undoubtably the centre seat in the front row. He told us before construction that the centre seat in the front row would be ‘Dad’s Seat’. He has also commented that the sound and picture quality when the cinema is in full swing is “First Class”.

The company has been impressed with the performance of the Wolf Cinema TXF-1100 UHD/4K Laser Projector

Essential Cinema Kit List

Wolf Cinema TXF-1100 UHD/4K Laser Projector

Screen Research ETC-120-1.78-UWB

Anthem MRX 1140 AVR

Anthem MCA 325 Power Amplifier

Paradigm Elite E5 (Left, Centre & Right Channels)

Paradigm Elite E80-IW (Surround Left & Right Channels & Back Channels)

Paradigm Elite E80-R (Heights)

Klipsch Pro-Subwoofer x 2

Klipsch KLI-KDA-1000 DSP Sub Amp

Apple TV 64GB

Sony UBP-X800M2 4K Blu-ray Player

Furman AC-210 Compact Power Conditioner (Projector)

Furman PL-PRO DMC Power Conditioner (Local Cinema Equipment)

Crestron TSR-310 Handheld Touch Screen Remote

Crestron Lighting Control

Ineva Cosmo Custom Seating x 10

Luxury seating is provided for the whole family and guests too