[by Lisa Montgomery, ElectronicHouse.com]
They say the bigger the better when it comes to viewing movies in 3D. The owners of this renovated basement took those words to heart by having their custom electronic (CE) professional install a whopping 180-inch wide screen that shifts shape to accommodate the aspect ratio of any film they happen to be watching. The CE pros at OsbeeIndustries, Inc., of Harrison, NY, paired the curved, acoustically transparent Screen Research screen with a Digital Projection Titan Reference 1080p 3D video projector, and added an anamorphic lens to the unit so that movies shot in a CinemaScope widescreen could be viewed in their native 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
The family has plenty of media from which to choose. In the short time since their system was installed, their library has grown to include 200 Blu-ray discs, all of which are accessible from any TV in the house via a Kaleidescape media server. They can also access a wide variety of streaming content from a Crestron ADMS server and AppleTV receiver, or view four different sources simultaneously in a quad view, thanks to a Crestron DVPHD-PRO-R video processor.
A “cockpit” positioned between the theater seats holds the Blu-ray player for convenient loading of discs. This is also where the gaming systems and 15-inch Crestron touchpanel (used to operate the entire home theater system) are located. Due to the low ceiling height, the Titan projector was mounted directly above the cockpit to preclude accidental collisions. A second projector is positioned closer to the screen than the 3D projector, so that it can fire around people who may be standing up while playing video games.
Built to house a crowd of as many as 20 people, the 20-by-30-foot space is used “heavily and equally by everyone in the family,” says Osbee Industries, Inc. president Dave Raines. For this reason, the family invested in 15 active-shutter 3D glasses from Xpand. They also made sure there was room for plenty of seating. In addition to two rows of seats and loungers, there’s room up front to toss in a few bean bag chairs.
Big, immersive video deserves an equally engaging audio experience, so Osbee equipped the space with a JBL Synthesis I system capable of pumping out 4,000 watts of power to 12 speakers and four subwoofers, all of which are hidden behind acoustic wall panels. To prevent the sound from the theater from rattling the floor of the rooms above it, Osbee isolated the newly constructed walls and ceiling from the original structure and packed the ceiling and wall cavities with sound-absorbing materials.
Click on the Slideshow button for a larger image off the room.
About this room:
Dedicated theater; renovated basement
20×30 with a 9-foot ceiling (8 feet in the back row)
$350,000 for equipment
Westchester County, NY
System Design and Installation
Osbee Industries
Harrison, NY
Equipment
Digital Projection Titan Reference 3D projector
Screen Research TheaterCurve 180-inch wide screen
JBL Synthesis I sound system
Crestron control system
Crestron ADMS media server
Kaleidescape media server
Samsung Blu-ray player
AppleTV
DirecTV receiver
Nintendo Wii
Xbox 360