New construction has its advantages, especially when building a home theater. Since Innerspace Electronics of Port Chester, New York, was brought in on this project early in the construction, they could ensure that this theater was designed adequately for best picture and sound.
This theater’s classy and tasteful design was an idea that had been rolling around in Joel Chasen’s mind for over 20 years. “I had always done all of my equipment purchasing, setup, configuration, programming, and tweaking on my own,” said Chasen. “For my ultimate theater, I wanted to go beyond the scope of what I could accomplish by myself and sought out professional help. However, it was important to find people willing to collaborate.”
When he set out to build his own home theater, it was this homeowner’s goal to achieve LEED Platinum certification (green home). Due to the sheer size of the residence—14,000 square feet—it was exceptionally difficult to achieve this status.
It took several years for airline pilot Ian Rothwell to formulate the ideas for his ultimate home theater. However, once he collaborated with longtime friend Mark Imbesi of Trymark Enterprises, it only took eight months for them to complete that vision.
Inspired by his grandmother’s architectural and interior designs, Rudy Brown set out to surprise his family with a home theater that he built from the ground up. Beyond inspiration was the sheer desire to build a dedicated theater space. Rudy knew drywall, framing, and painting, but he got the rest of his knowledge from frequenting the DIY section of AVSforum.com and reading Home Theater magazine.
Out-of-the-box thinking among the homeowner, Donny Hackett Designs, and Jacob Abbott of Visual Concepts turned a less than appealing home theater into a magical masterpiece that can only be entered if you know the secret.
Just dipping your toes into the home theater waters? Home Theater editor-in-chief Rob Sabin lays out the basics of home theater in plain English in a recent interview on Real Estate Today Radio, the syndicated radio show of the National Association of Realtors. Listen to the segment here.
Life is slower and more relaxed in the Keys, and the homeowner of this theater wanted a space to reflect the region’s comfortable sensibilities, including the vibrant colors prevalent in the area such as teal, blue, amber, and especially purple, which was a departure from the more classical theater with dark woods and red walls.
Putting together a home theater can seem like a daunting task. So many pieces to think through and connect up! But if you care enough to do your homework and educate yourself, you’ll find it’s not as complicated as it looks. Here’s what goes into your typical viewing room.
Back in 2001, James Hollingsworth got the home theater bug when a sales consultant asked a very simple question: "Do you want a TV, or do you want a home theater?"
During what he thought would be a routine new-TV purchase, James was introduced to possibilities he never imagined. He thought the 65-inch TV he was watching looked impressive until the sales guy dropped down a 100-plus-inch projection screen.
Challenges are nothing new to systems integrators. However, retrofits generally require more out-of-the-box thinking than new construction. “The creation of a home theater during construction is relatively easy,” says Ryk Schoonheim, owner of the Sarasota, Florida–based Sights, Sound and Such. “Transforming an existing space is another story.” Each retrofit offers a unique set of problems, and so it was with this Port Charlotte, Florida, home theater installation.
Home Theater visits Men in Black producer/director Barry Sonnenfeld at home in Telluride, Colorado to check out his 600-square-foot screening room and it's crown jewel—the Sony VPL-VW1000ES, the world’s first consumer 4K projector, offering more than four times the resolution of HDTV and 3D capability.
I built my home theater in the attic and created a dramatic entrance and a vestibule. The vestibule’s reverse wall is painted like a women’s hat store circa 1910 Paris, with a travertine cobblestone street. Behind the windows, there are built-in shelves for DVDs and Blu-rays.
A cinema under the sky can be an amazing home theater option. It turned out to be just the ticket for this Florida family who lives in sunny Sarasota and spends a lot of time outdoors. The backyard entertainment area with its swim-up theater is so well-engineered that, at first glance, it’s impossible to guess what went on behind the scenes to make it all happen.