Home Movie Theaters

With a little help from Harman, retired Yankee closer Mariano Rivera brought his aging home theater into the big leagues.

Mention the name of retired Yankee relief pitcher Mariano Rivera, and it evokes the image of a lean, lanky stick of a man in pinstripes, standing on the mound at the Stadium in the late inning of a big game, focused like a laser on his catcher before winding up and throwing yet another blinding, physics-defying cutter. This is the Rivera who, in 19 Major League seasons, played in 13 All-Star Games and was instrumental in helping the Yanks win five World Series, delivering both pinpoint strikes and wild thrills to millions of New Yorkers watching from the stands and at home.

Win or lose, when The Sandman was on the mound, it was always a great show.

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.

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.

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.