The computer, then the conversation
You give us the dimensions — or we measure them. We can work to a brief you already have, or design the room in-house. Either way you approve 3D graphics before any work is carried out. Then we price it in writing.
Step 1
Length from the screen wall to the back. Width. Ceiling height. How many people, and whether this is a dedicated cinema or a living room that still has to be a living room. Doors, windows and chimneys matter — a speaker cannot live in a fireplace. On a visit we measure. To try the idea now, put your own figures in below.
Step 2
The software sizes the screen from the main seat. A dedicated room wants a wider picture, about a 36 degree view. A living room is a touch smaller so Tuesday night is not a wall of television. Ceiling height caps it. Then it checks whether a projector can throw that size from the back, and it places left, centre, right, surrounds and — if you ask and the ceiling allows — Dolby Atmos overhead.
Step 3
The plan is a starting point, not an order. Before a tool comes out you see the room in 3D and approve it — full transparency, not a mood board we abandon. You might want fewer seats and a bigger picture. You might want automated screens and show curtains so the kit vanishes when the film is off. Lewis listens to how the room will sound. Jim looks at power, cable routes and whether the rack can breathe.
Step 4
The figure in the designer is a guide. Kit choices move it — a modest 5.1 and a television is not a full Atmos room with seating and acoustic treatment. The real price is written down after that conversation. On high-outlay jobs we may ask for a deposit before we order, because we have been stung in the past. Then we install, set the processor, and hand the room over.
Start from
Looking down · screen at the top
4.2 m wide · 6.5 m to the back wall · ceiling 2.60 m. Doors and windows get drawn in when we measure for real.
| What moves the price | From | Up to |
|---|---|---|
| Design, cabling and installation | £1,800 | £4,500 |
| Projector, screen and mounting | £2,800 | £16,000 |
| Dolby Atmos speaker system | £4,200 | £20,000 |
| Cinema seating | £3,900 | £14,400 |
| Acoustic treatment | £1,900 | £8,200 |
| Lighting, blackout and the finish | £1,100 | £7,500 |
| One remote, or the phone — not six boxes | £400 | £3,000 |
| Guide total | £16,100 | £73,600 |
A guide from the dimensions — not a quote. Kit choices move it a lot. The written price comes after we have sat with you. On a high-outlay job we may ask for a deposit before we order anything.
Enquire with this planWe use the distance from the main seat, not a wish for the biggest number on a box. Too big and you are watching pixels and turning your head. Too small and you have an expensive telly at the end of a long room. Projectors suit the bigger pictures. Past a certain size a television stops being sensible money, and we will say so.
Left, centre and right stay locked to the screen so dialogue comes out of the actor. Surrounds sit with the main seats, not halfway down the hall. Atmos belongs in the ceiling only when there is enough height to be overhead. The subwoofer starts in a corner. Corners are a starting point, not a religion — we listen.
Soft seats, a rug and traps in the corners do more than a fancy remote. We treat the first bounce off the side walls so the soundstage stays on the screen. We do not tile the room in foam. Jim is an electrician: projectors and amplifiers want proper power and air, not a gang socket behind the sofa.