I will never forget my entrance into the world of private cinema (back then we said home theater). I was transitioning from the world of music and searching for a career that satisfied my drive to create and would support a growing family. I had gravitated to designing and selling luxury goods when a client suggested I could rep their product, home theaters. At that moment I knew I had found a home. My imagination exploded with the possibilities as I contemplated the prospect of combining movies, music, technology, and design into one creative endeavor. The industry was new, and we had a lot of technical limitations, but the audience was tuned in and turned on. In other words, the state of the art was limited but the state of awareness was on fire!
It didn’t take long for the burgeoning home theater market to both evolve and devolve. On one hand, the industry started developing systems to keep up with technology and the film industry’s innovations. Theater designers were pushing the envelope and creating rooms with ever-improving acoustical and AV performance. Noteworthy audio and video equipment manufacturers rose to the occasion to develop systems that would deliver the best experience available with the technology of the time. CEDIA started offering training on home theater design and one visionary home theater designer, Theo Kalomirakis, with his bold theater interiors, garnered press that put us on the map.
Almost immediately an opposing trend emerged — commoditization started to erode the gleam of the home theater jewel. Less expensive, inferior components, home theater kits, and misapplied acoustics hit the market and were perceived by many as nearly as good, easier to sell and install, and more profitable. This trend harmed innovation, competency, and, ultimately, the quality of experience our market was being offered.
Much has changed and much has stayed the same in home theater these past 30 years. In order to report on the current state of private cinema, I have polled Paradise Theater president Ryan Brown and lead acoustical engineer Keshav Nelavai for their input on the trends, technologies, and innovations they are seeing. Each trend, technology, or innovation will be graded on how it is affecting private cinema in three categories: State of the Art; State of Industry Awareness; and State of Market Awareness.
Ultra-Luxury Private Cinemas
Luxury and ultra-luxury private cinema projects are on the rise. Brown reports, “Our work with architects, designers, and contractors shows that ultra-luxury private cinemas are a must-have amenity in the estates of their clientele.”
- State of the Art — Greater opportunity to provide superior work will raise the bar in general.
- State of Industry Awareness — People love to talk about the best of the best, and we in the industry love it!
- State of Market Awareness — More business in the ultra-luxury community encourages the word-of-mouth referrals that are so necessary for this hard-to-reach demographic.
Raised Expectations
High-end clientele are coming to the table with higher expectations than ever before. Brown attributes this trend to a higher base level of knowledge. “Luxury clientele frequently knows what a well-engineered theater should deliver,” he says. “The experience of their client reps, architects, and designers who have previously been involved in luxury private cinema projects is one big reason for that.”
Using legitimate acoustical and sound isolation engineering to produce a very low noise environment is de rigueur. Complete documentation and coordination of design disciplines also are expected.
- State of the Art — This is a rising tide phenomenon that is helping offset commoditization.
- State of Industry Awareness — For vendors, integrators, and consultants who truly serve this demographic, this should come as no surprise.
- State of Market Awareness — Just like the above trend of more luxury private cinemas, this insider knowledge is benefitting the luxury niche. The industry would do well to speak more about this trend to improve industry awareness.
Quality Assurance, Performance Verification, and Commissioning
In the not-too-distant past, formal quality assurance (QA), performance verification (PV), and exhaustive commissioning of private cinemas were the exception. Often, errors and omissions went undiscovered, performance targets unverified and unattained, and commissioning and calibration performed marginally, if at all. It was an uphill battle to convince clients to invest in these essential services when many in the industry undersold and underserved these critical tasks. Brown observes, “It is impossible to do justice to this level of customer care for free.”
Today, Ryan sees a growing acceptance and even demand for QA, PV, and calibration/commissioning. He reports, “We offer these professional services on every project and have personnel on staff performing them. An ever-increasing percentage of our clientele recognize the value!”
Nelavai adds, “Without a proper calibration and tuning, you are leaving a lot of performance on the table.”
- State of the Art — Assuring quality, testing performance, and fine-tuning in every project will continue to raise the state of the art.
- State of Industry Awareness — The trend of more in the industry providing these services is a good sign of awareness.
- State of Market Awareness — Those clients who have been given the option and choose it will talk about their entire experience and, through word of mouth, perpetuate this trend.
Also by Sam Cavitt: Rethinking Home Cinema Case Studies
dvLED
dvLED for private cinema video made a big splash last year with a lot of press and significant demonstrations at CEDIA Expo. This year, the trend continues. Brown states, “We’re seeing an increasing number of projects coming through using the technology.”
dvLED displays offer significantly greater brightness, deeper black levels for improved contrast and color saturation, and remarkable resolution. Other advantages include aspect ratio flexibility without the need for masking and no requirement for a projector. Negative considerations are the cost of high-end dvLED solutions and, for audio purists, the inability to place screen wall speakers behind an acoustically transparent screen, however, considerable developments for alternative screen wall audio solutions are in various stages of development. (See The Cinema Connoisseur, Vol.1 Issue 5 dvLED and Private Cinema Audio.)
One feature of dvLED screens that is often touted is the ability to view content in high ambient light environments. While this is a valuable feature for great-room-type settings, it is important to acknowledge that an essential element of a luxury private cinema is a distraction-free environment where ambient light levels are controlled.
- State of the Art — Significant innovation for imaging; current compromised screen wall audio that is, however, driving innovation.
- State of Industry Awareness — The industry is highly aware, but a caution is the tendency to see it as a simple solution. Brown notes that top integrators are instead paying more attention to the necessary preplanning.
- State of Market Awareness — The press has driven increased public awareness; the industry and design community have magnified this.
Industry Performance Criteria (RP22)
Making an even bigger splash at CEDIA Expo 2023, depending on who one asks, was the release of the long-awaited CEDIA RP-22 Immersive Audio Design Recommended Practice. (See The Cinema Connoisseur Vol. 1 Issue 3 Pursuit of Perfection: Passion, Performance and Standards of Excellence.) For the first time, objective design criteria and recommended practices are available for designers, integrators, and clientele by which to set objective expectations. Brown reports, “We see this as a positive and a move to both greater professionalism and, ultimately, client satisfaction.”
One year later, Brown cites two signs that the initiative is impacting the private cinema industry. “Our engineers have reported getting more robust measurement data from several loudspeaker manufacturers and we have had several high-end user clients approach us with knowledge of RP22.”
- State of the Art — Criteria means accountability, which should raise the bar for everyone.
- State of Industry Awareness — Manufacturers’ and designers’ efforts to comply.
- State of Market Awareness — Anecdotal evidence of awareness.
Also by Sam Cavitt: Building the Best Team
Infrasonic Bass
Infrasonic bass is not new, but what is new is its prevalence. Rapidly progressing from being considered unnecessary, infrasonic bass is bordering on being ubiquitous. The proof is in the “feeling,” however, as some completed cinemas with well-implemented infrasonic bass have owners showing off for friends and integrators remodeling their showrooms. Even some stalwart naysayers have joined in the fun. The opportunity to provide such naturally expensive solutions cannot be ignored.
Infrasonic bass is an innovation that can be good or detrimental. Concerns include the potential to do more harm than good. The saying, “poor planning will provide poor results,” is especially applicable. Successful implementation, however, with proper engineering and careful planning and implementation, yields an extraordinary experience. Such implementations can only serve to raise the status of the luxury private cinema.
- State of the Art — When well-implemented, infrasonic bass delivers a powerful addition to the highest-level cinematic experience.
- State of Industry Awareness — The industry knows about infrasonic bass, however, it is not clear how well the industry understands the requirements to implement it properly.
- State of Market Awareness — Some high-end clientele and enthusiasts have heard the rumbling and have implemented infrasonic bass.
Waveforming
Trinnov Audio describes its new technology Waveforming as, “a new algorithm combined with home theater design guidelines and recommended practices to deliver an unprecedented level of performance and an entirely new bass experience, free of room modes.” More important, it works.
Like any new technology, working through the details of implementation will be a process, but, again, with proper engineering, careful planning, and meticulous implementation the results will be powerful, visceral, and consistent bass due to the negation of the modal ringing existent in smaller rooms. Waveforming is also expensive to implement, necessitating a large number of subwoofers installed in specific locations, to be effectively implemented.
“We are implementing Waveforming in a very high-performance private cinema currently,” says Brown. “The cooperation with Trinnov engineering has been good, and we anticipate excellent results. This is not our first go-round with the new technology, however, so we have modeled for traditional low-frequency acoustical solutions and confirmed the room dimensions and listener positions, which will allow us to deliver the profound results our client expects. After all, our client is our primary responsibility.”
- State of the Art — When well-implemented, Waveforming should deliver powerful, visceral bass.
- State of Industry Awareness — The industry knows about Waveforming, however, it is not clear how well the industry understands the requirements to implement it properly.
- State of Market Awareness — Some high-end clientele and enthusiasts have heard about Waveforming and are interested in its potential benefits.
There are many other trends, technologies, and innovations in the world of luxury private cinema. Those we have covered are the ones that, in our perspective, “move the needle,” as Brown likes to say. They have the potential to impact the State of the Art, the State of Industry Awareness, and, arguably the most important, State of Market Awareness. After all, regardless of what we do, if we do it poorly or even if we do it well and fail to inform our market, we will not be successful. Let’s commit as an industry to sustaining the trend to continue to innovate, excel, hold ourselves accountable to deliver the finest cinematic experiences possible, and make sure our audience knows it so they can get back to being tuned in and turned on!
