Manchester Garage, Finite Solutions - Case Study

An unused garage in a Mancunian residential property has been transformed into a stylish home cinema room. Through an installation managed by AV specialists, Finite Solutions, AWE’s exclusive distribution deal with remote control specialists, URC provided simplistic control to satisfy the client’s every need.

Home cinema rooms used to be gathering spaces with one main purpose: watching films. However the traditional role is now evolving to support other uses such as listening to music, playing video games or watching television on a large scale. The client’s brief to Finite Solutions was to convert their double garage into a truly special home cinema, with a slight difference.

As a keen drummer, the client called for an understated, yet high-quality four-seat cinema, alongside a raised platform behind the seating on which to seat a full size drum kit. It was also imperative that the room was acoustically tuned and shielded from the rest of the house, to get the best out of all the equipment inside (including the drums).

The other main requirement was that all of the AV equipment in the cinema, which comprised a Denon AVR2312 receiver, Bowers and Wilkins speakers, Samsung 3D Blu-ray player, Sky HD box, Apple TV and Sony Playstation 3, work seamlessly together without having to swap between remotes or controllers. The solution to this was a URC Complete Control system – a single MX-5000 remote control, coupled to an MRF-350i RF Base Station that have been programmed with advanced macros to activate different combinations of products with a single button press, ensuring the client could relax knowing the system was optimised at all times.

For example, with one touch the lights dim down, the Denon receiver turns on, the Apple TV switches to Movie Library mode, all the while the projector has been warming up, drastically streamlining to process of starting a film. There is no fumbling for the light switch and remote if a film needs to be paused – press ‘Intermission’ on the backlit MX-5000 and the lights fade up, the movie stops, no fuss.

A bonus with the URC system is that it doesn’t need to have ‘line of sight’ to AV equipment like traditional remotes controls, this is because it works via a wireless RF signal back to its control unit. This allows for huge flexibility during the planning and installation stages, as all the black boxes can be hidden away.

After film night, an ‘All Off’ button has also been programmed into the system. With homeowners becoming increasingly conscious of energy savings, this function isn’t just a glorified standby mode, it completely shuts down all the AV sources safely, meaning a reduction on energy overheads.

“The home cinema has changed in the last decade,” says Matt Wayne of Finite Solutions. “No longer is it just a ‘stand-alone’ big screen and projector. Home cinemas in 2013 are used for all manner of entertaining, therefore it’s important to take this into consideration during the design stage. The amount of functionality and potential that can be brought into an area now by a single Ethernet cable is incredible. Systems like URC create the perfect blend of connectivity between music, film, live TV, smart TV, recording and streaming, ensuring reliable ‘fuss-free’ use. I’m excited to see what the next decade holds for the home cinema room, I’m sure the landscape will continue to adapt and change significantly!”

As testament to the high quality of the installation, the project also won the ‘Best Home Cinema under £40,000’ category at the 2013 CEDIA Awards.