Daniel J SaitA home cinema is of course the stuff cinematic dreams are made of, rising above the features of the traditional living room to make movie watching a grander and more enjoyable event.
For Montpellier, France based integrator, MultiZone, successful home cinema design treats the room as a whole, from the acoustics and video to the layout and décor to the control of the room. In a recent project, to accomplish the homeowner’s high-end vision of simple iPad touch control, MultiZone turned to Pro Control.
“There is a lot of state-of-the-art equipment going to home theaters today that can add complexity that has to be managed with simple and effective control in order for homeowners to truly enjoy the space,” says Antonia Davin owner of MultiZone. “Pro Control is an exceptional yet affordable control system that combines simple programming and customization for integrators with ease of use for homeowners. It aligns with the calibre of experience clients expect without having to pay a ton of money for all the features they can have at their fingertips.”
Working in close collaboration with Dominique Convinhes of interior architecture agency, Dom Deco Creation, Multizone brought together all the ingredients to meet the desires and tastes of the homeowner who was passionate about cinema. The contemporary home cinema features floor-to-ceiling acoustic treatment — a wall treatment known as “artewalls,” accompanied by wooden cleats that artfully disguise the room’s Professional Custom Series cinema speaker collection from the French brand Waterfall Audio, plus Cornered Audio speakers that feature a unique 90° triangular design on the sides of the room, and Arcam amplification. All this is enhanced with Pol wall lights. At the centre of the room are six fully motorized black leather Lumene cinema seats. Of course, only 4K video would do, so a Sony VPL-VW270ES video projector was installed.
Achieving total control
While the AV and décor set the stage for a resplendent movie watching experience, the quest was simplicity when it came to controlling the room’s AV and lighting. Audio, video, and lighting control can quickly become complex for both integrators to program and for end-users to manage without the right controller. To overcome this hurdle, control over the home cinema is powered by the Pro Control ProLink.r processor, which is tied to the ProPanel app running on the family’s iPad. Completely customizable using the Pro Control Studio programming software, ProPanel gives homeowners the option to easily turn on and off and adjust the audio, video, and lighting system with a simple tap. The result was exactly what the family had in mind—simple and intuitive control so they can focus on the entertainment.
Antonia concludes, “Pro Control allowed us to fully customize the control of the home theater using Pro Control Studio programming software for the different hardware installed. The homeowner can control music, videos, and turn the lights in the theater on and off easily and efficiently. It’s the finishing touch to a grand home theater.”
Essential Kit List
1 x ProLink.r processor
1 x ProPanel license for iPad
Waterfall Audio speakers
Cornered Audio speakers
Sony VPL-VW270ES projector