Inside a $3-million-dollar Home Theater

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,732
5,470
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Article:

http://www.cepro.com/article/inside_a_3_million_home_theater_masterpiece/

Slideshow:

http://www.cepro.com/photos/inside_a_3_million_home_theater_masterpiece

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was this elegant, reference-performance home theater. Nor was it built in a few months or even a couple of years.

From build-out to final tweaking, this 45-seat cinema took four years to complete, to the tune of more $3 million. Admittedly, that’s a lot of cash to commit to a single room of a house, but according to CE pro Jason Voorhees of Cantara in Costa Mesa, Calif., this home theater, the Best Home Theater $150,000+ in the Electronic House Home of the Year Awards, has seen more use in one year than most do in a lifetime. “They haven’t even had the theater for a year, and we’ve already had to replace the lamp on the projector, which is rated for 2,000 hours of use,” he says.

It’s easy to understand how this family would have a hard time staying out of a room this spectacular. From the overall design to the smallest of details, it’s a shining example of home theater at its best. And remarkably, it all started with a small piece of red fabric.

After the room had been constructed, as part of a new 8,000-square-foot addition to the existing 25,000-square-foot house, the owners had no clear idea of how they wanted their home theater to look or perform. “All they knew is that they wanted it to be really big,” Voorhees says. “It wasn’t until a home theater designer from [Laguna Beach–based] Slayman Cinema held up a piece of lush, red fabric, and the owner said, ‘I want my theater to feel like this piece of fabric,’ that we knew the type of theater we needed to create.”

Project Details
Room Size (L x W x H): 35 x 32 x 18 feet
Project Duration: 4 years
Construction: New construction
Cost: $3 million

If the goal was to design an environment as luxurious as that swatch of material, Cantara had to go just as sophisticated on the equipment. Choosing from the crème de la crème of A/V, Cantara suited up the space with a generous supply of Genelec speakers. Based on acoustics and other room parameters, the engineers at Genelec recommended 13 reference-grade speakers and five subwoofers, which would bring on 8,400 watts of ear-splitting audio. Big and beefy, the speakers are definitely meant to be heard but not seen.

So before the inspired red fabric was applied on the walls, the team at Cantara recessed the surround-sound speakers into the studs, each in its prime location based on diligent speaker diagnostics. Even the fabric was given special treatment. Explains Voorhees, “Since the material wasn’t acoustically transparent it would have dampened sound from the speakers. Collaborating with Slayman Cinema, small “portholes” were cut from the fabric and covered with decorative grilles.”

The front three speakers sit behind a massive 18-foot-wide CinemaScope screen from Stewart Filmscreen, and one of the massive subs went underneath in a custom-built proscenium. Unlike the wall fabric, the screen material was designed to allow the audio to flow freely through it.

Equipment List
D-Box SeriesIV-BD Motion Controller
D-Box 4400i 3-Axis Integrated Actuator Set
Genelec HT324AC Large 3-Way Active Speaker (3)
Genelec AIW26 Architectural 2-Way Active Loudspeaker (10)
Genelec HTS6 4 Driver Subwoofer
Genelec HTS3B Subwoofer (2)
Genelec HTS4B Subwoofer (2)
QSC RAVE522aa Digital Audio Processor (2)
Arcam AV888 Surround Sound Receiver/Pre-Amplifier
Digital Projection Titan Reference 1080p 3D Projector
Digital Projection Theaterscope Lens System for Titan Projector
Lumagen XE-3D Reference Level Video Scaler
XpanD 3D Sync Emitter
XpanD X104 3D Eyewear (20)
Samsung UN46D6000 1080p LED Display (2)
Stewart Filmscreen 234 inch Diagonal Cinecurve Filmscreen
Apple TV
Product Description: Media Player
DirecTV HR24 HD DVR
Lumagen Radiance Mini-3D Video Scaler
AMX MVP-5200i-GB 5.2 inch Wireless Touch Panel
Middle Atlantic 54 Space Equipment Rack
Furman Sound IT-Reference 15i Power Conditioner
Microsoft XBOX-360
Product Description: Gaming System
Autonomic MMS-5 Media Server
AMX NI-3100 Control Systems Processor

A Titan Reference 1080p 3D video projector from Digital Projection International lights up the enormous display with video content from components stored for all to admire in an equipment rack in a room just outside the theater. In addition to the essential amps, switchers and processors, the gear includes a Samsung Blu-ray Disc player, Apple TV, Autonomic media server, Xbox 360 gaming console, DirecTV receiver and a soon-to-be-installed Prima Cinema media server - a specialty server that delivers current theatrically released movies straight into the home.

Cantara added a second Lumagen video processor to the mix so that some people could watch in 3D while others viewed the same movie but in 2D. The projection screen is dedicated to 3D content, with 20 XpanD 3D glasses available to viewers in the main seating area.

In the balcony and bar area (which is outside the theater), however, the family felt more comfortable skipping the glasses and simply watching the movie in 2D. The Lumagen processor does some complicated manipulation of the native 3D image so that the two 46-inch flat-panel Samsung LED displays in the balcony and another Samsung display in the bar can present the movie in 2D. It was one of the most complicated feats of engineering his team has ever accomplished, says Voorhees.

When the action switches to gaming, which it often does with two kids in the house, the owners can activate the D-Box motion actuators planted beneath the front row of seats by touching an icon that’s displayed on the screen of a portable AMX touchpanel. The seats now rumble, shake and shift with the on-screen action.

This same panel, which controls the lights and temperature in the theater, also functions as an intercom. Although a seemingly minor feature of the initial design, it has become an essential part of the theater environment. Without it, the family may have never heard the doorbell ring at the front gate. The AMX system automatically pauses the movie, mutes and sound and emits a ring through the touchpanel whenever someone presses at button at the home’s entrance. The family can see the visitors and converse with them via the touchpanel’s built-in microphone - and welcome them to join them in their masterpiece theater.
 

Demoralized

Senior member
Jul 20, 2013
294
3
76
The Star Wars themed home theatre is way better. Google it, well worth the 10 minutes of your life.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
This is exactly the kind of thing I want if I ever "make it" in life.

I'll know I've made it when I have such a theater. :D


I've heard about that Prima Cinema system before, and when I saw the regular cost AND the cost per movie, I immediately though: "yep, this is only for those that are disgustingly rich and have a disgustingly awesome home theater."

Oh how I do want. All of it.
 

JoeBleed

Golden Member
Jun 27, 2000
1,408
30
91
what the hell!!!???!!! 3 million and only a 1080p projector?? they have 4k projectors out.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
what the hell!!!???!!! 3 million and only a 1080p projector?? they have 4k projectors out.

We don't even have 4K content yet though.

Nascent technology + hardly any content = not worth it.

You wouldn't get the best IQ imaginable on 1080p content using a 4K projector, whereas for now you sacrifice with no 4K but have the best picture you can likely get.
I mean, it speaks to the abilities of that top-end projector to have a bulb only last 2000 hours. Makes sense, the lumen output is probably insane given the screen size it is meant to be serving + 3D + money is no object. 3D tends to decrease brightness due to the glasses so there is usually compensation at the source by having a brighter picture to start.
 

JimKiler

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2002
3,559
205
106
Crazy, I want a home theater room, but not one that takes this much time to build. I will stick with my affordable NHT and Paradigm speakers for now. You would think if this guy has so much money he would buy Bose speakers....HA!
 

Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
20,488
3,604
126
Not sure I'd want something that took 4 years to build but then I also don't spend nearly as much time in it as they do.

Still:
equipment_rack_masterpiece2.jpg


/Nerdgasm
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,732
5,470
136
Not sure I'd want something that took 4 years to build but then I also don't spend nearly as much time in it as they do.

Still:
equipment_rack_masterpiece2.jpg


/Nerdgasm

Yeah that's like more complex than my server room at work :D
 

JoeBleed

Golden Member
Jun 27, 2000
1,408
30
91
Nascent technology + hardly any content = not worth it.

You wouldn't get the best IQ imaginable on 1080p content using a 4K projector, whereas for now you sacrifice with no 4K but have the best picture you can likely get.
I mean, it speaks to the abilities of that top-end projector to have a bulb only last 2000 hours. Makes sense, the lumen output is probably insane given the screen size it is meant to be serving + 3D + money is no object. 3D tends to decrease brightness due to the glasses so there is usually compensation at the source by having a brighter picture to start.

The Prima Cinema media server is supposed to deliver content higher than 1080p. I didn't see exact specs though.

I would also think that 4k projectors would do well with up scaling like current players do DVD up scaling very well.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
The Prima Cinema media server is supposed to deliver content higher than 1080p. I didn't see exact specs though.

I would also think that 4k projectors would do well with up scaling like current players do DVD up scaling very well.

I would certainly hope so!

BUT, I don't like scaling - I only accept it in some circumstances because I have to. Content at native resolution is always better.

Staring at a tiny portion of the screen with large black space surrounding it, however, is far and away worse... so I deal. That, and cable content is typically 1080i or 720p, so I'm stuck with scaling to 1080p more often than not.

However - super sampling usually works out better than native, so... 4K delivered, in full, and converted to 1080p should look outstanding. :D
It SHOULD look better on a 4K projection/screen/display of the same size, but that 4K image SHOULD look better than 1080p on that current projector.

I might be wrong though. Supersampling (at least, they call it that in the PC gaming world) works great on PC monitors, and that content different from start to finish (like the encoding and the way its drawn/rendered). Never really put the idea into practice for videos.