Case Study
A Rugged Yet Charming Home Theater With Top-of-the Line Audio Preformance. Electronics Design Group www.EDGonline.com
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© 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
Overview When this project began, EDG was contracted to create a “smart house” with integrated audio, visual, lighting, security, and climate control. As the project progressed, we were asked to build a theater in the home’s lower level recreation area. The theater quickly became the heart of the project, ultimately leading to a visually stunning, high performance viewing room. The finished product represents the ultimate marriage of both form and function. EDG coordinated a team of acoustical engineers, designers, and builders to create a complete home theater experience.
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Client Requirements Quick Facts
1:24 scale model made from paper and bristol board
© 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
The Client Required: * A theater with a “screening room” feel. * Custom design to match his home. * High performance. * Open space to accommodate guests.
The client wanted high performance, but expressed a willingness to step outside the realm of traditional theater design to create something special. The client described their vision for a home theater as “a room where you have all the benefits of a home theater, but have the freedom and accessibility so that when you entertain, everybody can participate in it.” “It was more to have the look of a screening room rather than some ornate copying of the Sanger Theater in New Orleans or the Rivoli in New York.” said the client. “To me, on a miniature scale, those look silly. This has more of a screening room texture than a movie theater or a grand palace. It’s more subtle, but it fits into the whole design of the house.” The client asked that the theater blend seamlessly into a larger mingling room for entertaining and relaxation– no small feat for a room of such acoustical complexity.
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Solutions Quick Facts
EDG Provided: *Coordination between designers and engineers. *High level acoustic performance. *Beautiful design and installation. *Integrated audio and video from multiple sources.
Our first step was to bring the client’s designated theater designer for the project, a highly acclaimed Broadway set designer, together with the acoustic specialists at RPG Diffusor Systems. After discussion, the team concluded that a mix of wood on the ceiling and fabric on the walls (with acoustic treatments hidden behind) would be ideal from a performance standpoint. The designer created a 1:24 scale model of his design out of paper, bristol board, and foamcore to allow the homeowner and our engineers to better visualize the theater. We chose a Crestron control system for home management, giving the owners fingertip control over the home’s security cameras, satellite TV channels and a Kaleidescape music and video server from a wireless touchpanel. The owners tap the icon for The Weather Channel and get the forecast without having to memorize a number. Favorite channels are grouped together on a single page.
© 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
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Solutions A mix of wood on the ceiling and fabric on the walls (with acoustic treatments hidden behind) was ideal from a performance standpoint.
Scale Model
Š 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
They can select any source from any room and control volume from the wireless touchpanel as well. Gone are the days of removing a DVD from the family room disc player when you want to finish the movie in another room. This couple presses pause on the remote control in the theater, picks up another remote in the bedroom and resumes the movie where they left off. Thanks to the Kaleidescape server, all the family movies are stored on a hard disk, leaving the DVDs free to travel on road trips or vacation.
Completed Project
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Technical drawing of the theater, side view.
Š 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
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Technical drawing of the theater, top view.
Š 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
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Challenges Quick Facts
EDG Overcame: * An irregularly large theater area. * A room with an open back. * The need for thematic consistency.
An unusual feature in this theater is its open back, an architectural decision that maintains the room’s open floor plan and provides site lines from the rest of the large space for viewing sports. But it required careful placement of a second set of surround speakers toward the back edge of the theater to insure a thrilling experience for rear seat viewers. The engaging wave ceiling provides no less than four acoustic functions that balance the sound and help eliminate direct reflections that can muddy clarity. The four-inch wide planks that make up the ceiling provide high frequency diffusion thanks to the depth and shape of the grooves separating them. The precise shape of the wave itself is designed to provide mid-frequency diffusion. Although difficult to see from a distance, the planks are micro-perforated, which helps absorb bass being pumped into the room by passing it into the cavity above the planks. Finally, fiberglass filling in the cavity further adds Š 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
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Challenges
The engaging wave ceiling provides no less than four acoustic functions that balance the sound and help eliminate direct reflections. Rebecca Day Electronics Journalist
© 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
to bass absorption and dampens the cavity, working to even out bass response across all seating areas. The dramatic scoop below the screen is a major architectural element that ties the room together visually, but also performs several functions. Built from the same microperforated planks and stuffed with fiberglass, it serves mostly as a giant bass trap to absorb low-frequency energy moving around the room. It also proved to be the perfect place to hide the system’s two subwoofers, which straddle the centerline of the 132-inch wide Stewart screen. More traditional acoustic treatments (as well as the rest of the speakers) are hidden behind the theater’s fabric walls. They include broadband absorption panels up front in areas prone to first reflections, and combination panels at the rear that offer a mix of high frequency diffusion and mid/low frequency absorption. Top notch A/V components were used throughout, including a Lexicon processor, Genelec speakers, and a Runco projector.
Video
Given the work put into the acoustics, as well as the variable created by the open back, great care was taken in tuning the system’s channel balance. The projector was calibrated according to the highest professional standards, in order to provide eyepopping picture quality from all viewing angles.
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Benefits The successful and near perfect symmetry of acoustic, electronic, and architectural design in this theater is a rarity. Putting together the right experts with a willing and engaged client resulted in an amazing theater that rocks both sonically and visually. “I’m quite pleased with it!” said the client. “The area, the sound quality, the picture quality, the comfort of the seats...it came out well—aesthetically and architecturally. It doesn’t look like a multiplex cinema. It has style and definition to it, and the concept of using all of the acoustical material gave it a very rich and sophisticated look.”
Bob Gullo
President Electronics Design Group, Inc.
“The really great thing about this project is that there’s something for everyone. Most people who see it fall in love with the wave ceiling and beautiful design, but industry professionals are also stunned by the level of integration and acoustic performance. And of course, everyone can appreciate a good film on the big screen.”
Jeffrey S. Madison
Brian Webb
“This is the best case scenario of marrying architecture with performance. When you’re really able to build the acoustics into the room and have it look beautiful, that’s the ideal for us. Most people walking into that room would just be impressed by the design and not know that there was real acoustic science going on there.”
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Vice President RPG Diffusor Systems, Inc.
© 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
Interior Designer
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Technology
Equipment Used Crestron CP2E Control Processor • Crestron CNRFGWA 418 RF Receiver • Crestron TPS-3000 Touchpanel • Crestron CNXRMC Room Interface • LG BH200 Blu-ray/ HD DVD Player • Kaleidescape Kplayer-5000 Movie Player • Sony Playstation 3 Game Console • Key Digital KD-CSW4X1 4x1 Audio/Video Switch • Gefen EXTHDMI-441 1x4 HDMI Switch • Audio Authority 977RPO Toslink/Coax Audio Converter • Intelix AVO-V3AD-F A/V Balun • Lexicon MC-8 Digital Surround Processor • Genelec RAM1 AIW26 Amplifier • Genelec AIW26 Speaker • Genelec HT210B Speaker • Genelec HTS4B Subwoofer • Runco VX2-IX Projector • Stewart B.R.I.C Screen/Masking Controller • Stewart 132-inch Projection Screen • Middle Atlantic PD915R Equipment Rack • Richard Grey 600 Pro Power Conditioner • CinemaTech Vantage Theater Seats • RPG FlutterFree/Abffusor/BAD Acoustic Treatments
© 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
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Partners Architecture by Shope Reno Wharton Architecture www.shoperenowharton.com/
Construction by The L.M. Reid Group, LLC www.thelmreidgroup.com/
Photography by Bill Psloka www.psolka-photo.com
Acoustic Design by RPG Diffuser Systems www.rpginc.com/
Portions of this document written by Rebecca Day rebday@aol.com Interior Design by Brian Webb brianwebb333@gmail.com
Š 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
www.EDGonline.com
About EDG For more than 20 years, EDG has been a onestop provider of home theater and technology consulting services, engineering and implementation. We deliver solutions to clients making critical decisions on home theater construction, and design innovative solutions incorporating the latest software and control system technology. EDG provides expertise in all aspects of residential and corporate environments, including whole-house audio/ video systems, home automation, home theater acoustics, media room design, lighting control systems, HVAC, telecommunications and motorized control of shades, lifts, gates, and other mechanical devices.
Š 2010 Electronics Design Group 60 Ethel Road STE 5 Piscataway, NJ 08854 www.EDGonline.com Š 2010 Electronics Design Group, Inc.
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