Optoma
| Industry Home cinema |
| Region UK |
|
Type of Solution Home cinema system with Optoma UHD65 |
|
Installation Company Connected Distribution |
| www.connecteddistribution.com |
| Originally set up as a custom installation company, Connected Distribution is a Cheltenham-based trade distributor of hi-fi and custom installation products. |
“We chose the UHD65 because it provided the best image quality and value for money of any projector we had seen or used at this price. It was important to include 4K and HDR and the Optoma ticked all the right boxes for this project. And, given the proximity of the top of the screen to the low-ish ceiling of the room, the vertical lens shift was a must-have which enabled us to position the projector close to the ceiling.”
Phil Hansen from Connected Distribution
“It’s beyond my wildest dreams what has been achieved here. I don’t think I’ll ever need to go to the cinema again as the home experience is so much better than the local multiplex. I’ve even got a waiting list of friends who want to come round for the full cinema experience.”
Joy Heath
Cotswold home cinema is pride and joy
The Challenge
Challenge
Film fan Joy Heath wanted to convert her Cotswold home office and create a fully immersive audio and visual experience with the feel of a ‘real’ cinema, while still retaining a homely feel as it would also be the family’s main TV room.
The low ceiling represented a real challenge as the screen would need to be positioned close to the ceiling to achieve the right viewing height and to clear the top of the equipment rack and TV housing.
Solution
Gloucestershire hardware specialists, Connected Distribution, worked with the installers to design a system around a 7.2.4 Dolby Atmos speaker array with visuals supplied by Optoma’s award-winning UHD65 4K UHD projector.
Phil Hansen from Connected Distribution said: “We chose the UHD65 because it provided the best image quality and value for money of any projector we had seen or used at this price. It was important to include 4K and HDR and the Optoma ticked all the right boxes for this project. And, given the proximity of the top of the screen to the low-ish ceiling of the room, the vertical lens shift was a must-have which enabled us to position the projector close to the ceiling.”
With the full 8.3 million on-screen pixels, the UHD65 meets the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) requirements for 4K UHD and complies with the CTA High Dynamic Range (HDR) compatible display standards.
It has sophisticated PureMotion frame-interpolation technology. This advanced processing eliminates motion blur or image judder, even in high-speed action films or fast-paced sports. An RGBRGB colour wheel provides accurate, true to life colour, which together with the projector’s sleek black casing and 1,200,000:1 contrast ratio makes it perfect for dedicated home cinemas.
Set-up is simple with vertical lens shift and a host of connection options such as two HDMI ports and Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL). In addition, the UHD65 can be turned into a smart projector by connecting an HDMI dongle like the Google Chromecast™ or Amazon Fire TV to access popular media services and stream TV shows and films, play games and share photos on the big screen.
The projector was calibrated to ensure a natural presentation on the 110” 16:9 Draper perforated screen. Nestling behind the screen are three Cabasse Altura IW three-way custom install speakers, with four Cabasse Minorca three-way in-wall surround speakers built into the side and rear soffits. The ceiling effects come courtesy of four Cabasse Archipel 17ICD two-way speakers, which share the same cone and tweeter materials with the surround speakers. All the wall-mounted speakers feature the same Cabasse co-axial drive unit for tonal accuracy throughout the room. The soffits are also cleverly designed to hide the room acoustics treatment, providing just the right levels of damping.
Low frequency effects are supplied by two Cabasse active subwoofers, positioned asymmetrically in the room. The front unit is the DSP equipped Santorin 30-500 and the supplementary rear sub is a Santorin 25.
Power and Atmos processing is supplied by Yamaha’s Aventage RX-A3070 AVR, with the addition of a Parasound power amplifier for the ceiling speakers. Connected to the projector and amplifier, via a Pulse-Eight 4K video matrix, are a Panasonic Freeview box, Sony Ultra HD Blu-Ray Disc Player, 4K Apple TV and an Outclass media server. System control is via an iPad mini running the DemoPad control software.
Finishing touches to the room are authentic cinema seats, previously used in Dolby’s London screening room, that have been re-upholstered to suit their new environment and mounted on two raised platforms to provide unobscured viewing from any seat. A popcorn machine adds a little extra for the true cinema experience!
To fulfil its secondary role as a family TV room, a luxurious sofa sits in front of the cinema seats, providing a location to watch the 49” Sony UHD television that is mounted on a remote controlled motorised TV lift in the matt black enclosure.
Hidden Philips Hue lighting helps create atmosphere to the room. Automated velvet curtains simultaneously reveal the screen and black out the room’s rear windows. This is controlled via iPad.
Results
Before the cinema was created the main TV viewing area was in the kitchen/diner which had a large TV affixed to the wall. The cinema room is dual purpose with a 49” Sony TV enclosed in the black cabinet at the front of the room on a remote controlled lift. This is used for general TV viewing with the projection system reserved for films and concert videos etc. The TV in the kitchen is now only switched on when the family is working in the kitchen.
Joy said: “It’s beyond my wildest dreams what has been achieved here. I don’t think I’ll ever need to go to the cinema again as the home experience is so much better than the local multiplex. I’ve even got a waiting list of friends who want to come round for the full cinema experience.”
Connected Distribution
Originally set up as a custom installation company, Connected Distribution is a Cheltenham-based trade distributor of hi-fi and custom installation products.
01242 511 133
[email protected]
www.connecteddistribution.com
Facebook: @ConnectedDistribution
Twitter: @connected_dist
Pictures
Image copyright ©Connected Distribution