I had visited Vinay a week back to collect "8 free DVDs" (thanks Vinay). :clapping:
He would have sent the DVDs anyways and my purpose of visiting was to see his "Mini Theater". I have started building my HT room and what better place to start learning from this excellent setup. By luck, only the walls, wiring of my HT room are done and there is scope to implement a lot of what I liked at Vinay's. I am convinced that the equipment is only half the battle. The chances of going wrong with them is far less than messing up the room planning. Also equipment is easy to replace, but things like wall panelling, false ceiling or lighting effects are a pain to change later on.
Though everything in the "Mini Theater" was impressive, I will point out a few things that really caught the eye.
1. First of all the overall look of the room, gives a feeling of entering a theater. This is missing in many HTs which have to double up as a living room, lounge, study etc. The room was free of clutter and nothing not related to the HT was lying around. This dedication goes a long way in creating the right atmosphere.
2. Now the details. First up the lighting. It goes beyond providing enough watts for the room to creating different moods of lighting according to the need. Foot lighting for theater, lounge lighting for music, office type brightness for trading, dim lighting plus the normal stuff. All lights could be controlled for birghtness. All this literally at your fingertips using the remote control. Starlit sky is the only thing I could wish for, but that is a difficult proposition when using acoustic tiles for false ceiling.
3. The acoustics. A lot of thought has gone in the acoustics of the room and it definitely adds to the movie experience. The wall panelling with glass wool was done very well. It was a huge sacrifice to shut out a big sliding window. Only a few can block out a tenth floor view in Mumbai. The false ceiling, the niches and the decoration all gelled together perfectly. The carpet flooring matched superbly and was possible because of a dedicated room for HT. Otherwise carpet can be a maintenance nightmare in a living room or lounge. Also no food inside helps in maintaining the flooring. (I would not be able to watch a full movie without popcorn
).
4. Automation. It is one thing to have the acoustics and equipment right. But using them seamlessly is a real thrill. Vinay has gone beyond operating all equipment through one remote (This many people do including me). He has gone beyond controlling the cooling, lighting, screen and projector lift with the same remote ( This I hoped to achieve). He has actually made various settings for different purposes. A single click can put on equipment, bring out screen and projector and change the lighting of the room. The interval button again changes many aspects with a single click. This is true automation and my new goal.
5. Lastly, the equipment. This I paid the least attention to. Models keep changing over time and new ones have come out since Vinay made his room. The same effect can be created using different AVR, speakers and projector and this is a matter of personal taste. What is worth mentioning is Vinay's drive to keep the room uncluttered. Only the bare minimum was visible in the room. I have seen many rooms having equipment rarely used liked Tape decks, VCRs, Tuners etc. He has gone to the extent of removing DVDs and the DVD player also from his Mini Theater. Also there was no needless hard drives, wires adapters etc. visible.
I did not have much time and could watch only 2 scenes from the film 2012. They impressed me a lot and would have loved to see more. Vinay was very hospitable and carefully explained all aspects of his Mini Theater answering all my queries. I have asked for a revisit to examine the room once more as it will help in my own interiors. Thanks once again to Vinay for the DVDs and visit of Mini Theater.
Cheers,
Raghav
