It’s a question we get asked regularly and there isn’t one answer. It depends how much time you are willing to spend researching, designing, installing, organising other trades such as electricians, programming and getting access to specialist test equipment and training to get your ideal cinema or multi-room solution.
To help you make a decision here is what’s involved in a typical £10,000 - £20,000 cinema which is being fitted into an existing property:
Initial site survey (2 to 4 hours)
Measure the room and discuss with the client the best locations for equipment, out-of-sight in a rack or within a Hi-Fi type stand in the room. Make suggestions on speaker positions and screen location with consideration to acoustics and viewing angles. We use our experience on other installs to advise on what works best.
Discuss and establish what you, the customer wants both technically, aesthetically, colours, source devices, remote control type and lighting requirement etc.
Discuss the heights of any wall mounted touch panels, switches, isolators and sockets with the client so that Part M requirements of the Building Regulations are met.
Investigate the fuse box to establish mains power supply type and confirm main equipotentrial bonding is present (earths). Ensure that room power and lighting circuits are suitable for the addition of the cinema equipment and are protected by a residual current device (RCD) as required in the electrical 17th edition regulations.
A fee is made at this time to ensure that we can spend the required time discussing options with you. This charge covers all our travel, the documentation put together for your project and consultations up to the point when we start to build your cinema (this fee is refundable if you go ahead with your cinema with us).
Initial design (4 to 8 hours)
Drawings are produced of the room so the best screen size and loudspeaker positions can be calculated. Projector throw ratios, angles and required brightness are then used to select the projector short list.
Speaker sensitivities and the amplifier power needed to generate the necessary sound pressure levels are then calculated.
The required screen gain and projector brightness are then calculated and a final projector choice is made with consideration to any aesthetic requirements.
An electrical design is done according to Part P of the Building Regulations and changes planned as needed. A residual current device (RCD) is added if not already installed according to the electrical 17th edition regulations.
A proposal is then produced to discuss with you, the client.
Second client visit (2 to 4 hours)
The final details are discussed and finalised.
Final design written up and agreed with the client (2 hours)
The final design is then written up and signed by us and you the client – a payment schedule is also discussed and a deposit taken based on the size and type of job.
Phase 1 of the installation (37+ hours)
The installation of the cinema cables and any lighting cables are chased in to the walls, installed in the floor and/or ceiling as needed. All cables will be installed in steel capping where needed and according to Part P of the Building Regulations.
All cables will be tested at this stage to ensure that the installation process has not damaged anything, especially HDMI cables.
Cable redundancy will be built in to your system as a safe guard to ensure your system has long term reliability and is future proof.
Phase 2a of installation by other trades
Plastering, painting, decoration and lying of floor covering now takes place. We can help arrange and manage these trades’ people if requested.
Phase 2b of installation (8 hours)
During Phase 2a we will be programming the remote control for your cinema. As we have already invested time in programming basic layouts and we know how to use the remote software, we can perform this task much faster than attempting it DIY. If you are to DIY allow at least 36 to 48 hours to learn, program and diagnose something like a Philips Pronto pad.
Phase 3 of installation (36 hours)
Once all your decorating is done we will fit the cinema hardware including screen, speakers, projector and electronics to make it all function. All the cables will be labelled and tested again to ensure long term reliability and to aid when installing later additions. A additional payment according to the schedule will be due at the start of this phase.
Phase 4 Commissioning and Calibration (8 to 16 hours)
Electrical tests and inspections will be performed and either an Electrical Minor Works or a Domestic Electrical Installation Certificate will be issued depending on the work performed. The work will then be issued a Certificate of Compliance for work carried out under Building Control if necessary.
Any data cables installed as part of your multi-room data, audio or video network will be certified to confirm the bandwidth available and certificates will be issued containing this data.
A standard calibration will be performed on the audio and visual components to get the best out of your purchase.
The system remote program will be finalised with you the client and full instructions will be given.
A folder containing all the instructions, cable lists, certificates and settings will be supplied on completion.
A full demonstration will be given with you the client to ensure that your expectations are met.
The final invoice value will now be charged according to your payment schedule, minus the initial design fee.
Enjoy your cinema….
The professionally installed cinema comes with a 1 year guarantee, this means that if any component that fails in this time it will be removed, replaced and re-installed by us with no additional cost.
Additional services
In addition to our standard calibration service which comes with all installations, an extra level of calibration using highly trained engineers can be requested to get the last drop of performance out of your new purchase.
The audio can be set up and calibrated to HAA (Home Acoustics Alliance®) standards. The video will can set up and calibrated to ISF (Imaging Science Foundation®) standards.
Summary
Installing a home cinema is a time consuming and skilled task, many years of research has gone into establishing the best home cinema products to use together. Simply selecting all the magazine 5* products does not mean you will get what you want. Cable choice, connection method, screen size, speaker and amplifier combinations are all selected using well proven standards and necessary compromises made using our experience.
Using a professional installation company will ultimately give you:
• Better audio performance
• Better video performance
• Audio and video performance to recognised standards
• Long term reliability
• Future flexibility for expansion
• Correct paper work to comply with building regulations
• A neater concealed cable installation
• Fully documented system to aid in expansion and diagnosis
The cinema you want without the hassle!
