Introduction
We first interviewed our client to discuss theatre designs, equipment preferences and budget. After drawing up the necessary plans, whilst considering the client's wishes, the plans were then presented. As our client is a doctor, he leads quite a busy life. He needed a theatre that he could enjoy a movie after a hectic day and also a lecture theatre, where he could hold lectures for his students and colleagues, incorporating an area where guests could enjoy a light meal or snack.

Room
When we initially viewed the room, the first aspect we noted was its "L" shape. This presented a significant acoustic problem. After drawing the room to scale several times and trying to fit all necessary paraphernalia into the room, we decided to divide the room in two. During a lecture, a motorised dividing curtain would be left open, showing the room where a table had been prepared with light refreshments. During a movie, this curtain would close, to completely transform the room into a movie theatre. This concept worked extremely well and the client was very pleased with the end result.

Seating is completely custom made to fit the room, with the client choosing the chair design and fabric. The second tier of seats sits on a 300mm riser, this is a calculated measurement. The second tier of seats needs to be raised to provide an adequate line of sight clearance from the front seats while allowing for a specific amount of headroom from the ceiling.

All framework is built to the desired theatre design. Commercial acoustic treatments are applied to the front and side walls in the room to reduce reflection from the speakers. Acoustic friendly curtains were used to conceal the wall treatment, which was fundamental in the original design.

Equipment
At Home Theatre by Design, we don't stock electrical components in a warehouse or store room, so we are always able to source the very latest components. This is very important in any industry where products are updated and new lines are released.

Lighting
• Lighting is very important in a home theatre environment. It allows the client to set a particular mood for the presentation or feature film. We specialise in the use and installation of C-Bus lighting control. It allows us to set the desired percentage of light from any fixture and to program multiple scenes.
• We installed two down lights at the front of the room and two down lights at the rear of the room, with one over the component rack. All lights are positioned so they do not shine directly into the eye when seated. A four button infrared blue backlight Neo wall plate was programmed with four individual lighting scenes, all selected by the client.
Audio Video Components
At Home Theatre by Design our business is to design and craft custom home theatre's. We do not sell or stock audio video components. However we are able to source the very latest audio and video components.

When choosing an amplifier or receiver, the size of the room, type of speakers and necessary multi-channel decoding need to be established. At Home Theatre by Design we try to work with only a few specific product lines. We know which products work well with each other and how to achieve the most from them separately and as a complete system.

Audio
• x1 Yamaha RX-V1300 receiver.
• Klipsch synergy LCR speakers.
• x1 pair Klipsch synergy dipole surround speakers.
• x1 M&K V-75 II subwoofer.
• An existing 5 disc CD-changer was coupled with the new gear.
Video
• x1 Optoma H-56 DLP home theatre projector.
• x1 Custom matt white 90" screen.
• x1 Yamaha multi-region DVD player.
• x1 JVC S-VHS player.
• x1 DGTEC high definition digital set top box.
Miscellaneous
• x1 URC-9210 Sunwave 16in1 remote control with a blue backlit LCD touch screen.
• Also an ADSL internet connection was installed with amplifier video and audio input and a power outlet for his notebook computer.
• x4 rechargeable AC/DC electric motors were installed for the back three curtains of the room as well as the dividing curtain. These, along with the 100% block out curtains and pelmets help to achieve near total darkness in the room, even in the middle of the day.
• Interconnectables were supplied by Westek.