How long have you been into the home cinema?
My family were always into gadgets and the latest tech. My first recollection of home cinema was my eldest brother bringing home an old-style reel projector, displaying it on the wall. We watched Alien and The Incredible Shrinking Man; versions cut down to around 30 minutes.
When did you decide to set up your current cinema room?
We moved house last year and the first thing I did on viewing was to look where we could make a cinema. We converted the garage in the last house [HCC #262] but wanted to make something slightly different. When we started digging for a two-story rear extension the foundations were over three meters deep so the builder (my friend) joked about having a basement instead. From that, we decided to carry on digging and change to an underground cinema with a single-story extension on top.
What kit's in your system?
I have an Optoma UHD60 projector and 133in, 16:9 fixed-frame screen from Duronic. The speakers and subwoofer are from KEF's T Series, driven by a nine-channel Marantz SR7012 AV receiver. My 4KBD player is a Samsung UBD-K8500. I also have a Zappiti Duo 4K HDR media player, Western Digital NAS drives, and a Logitech Harmony Elite controller.
Are you happy with the setup?
A lot of the hardware has been kept on from my previous garage cinema; the only things I changed were the larger projector screen and the KEF ceiling speakers, as I reduced the Atmos heights to two instead of four.
I'm not quite sure why but the system seems totally different in the new room, with improved picture quality and sound. This could be the room dimensions, higher ceilings, and thicker walls, or maybe better placement of speakers.
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Denne historien er fra Yearbook 2020-utgaven av Home Cinema Choice.
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AV Avenger
You should think twice before accepting an invitation to play Resident Evil 4 with spatial audio in a haunted prison, warns Steve May
Catalogue classic Star Wars: Ep. VI - Return of the Jedi → Ultra HD Blu-ray, Disney
Forty years on from the movie's cinema release, Anton van Beek ponders what might have been if things had gone a little diff erently during the making of Return of the Jedi…
Feedback
Got an axe to grind? Need to comment on current tech? Want to share your knowledge with our readers? Team HCC is here to help
M&K Sound V12
TIME ON TEST: Three years REVIEWER: Steve Withers
Sony 'bar demands to be upgraded
This well-specified Dolby Atmos soundbar may have a mid-range price tag, but you'll soon want to spend more, cautions Steve May
Short and sweet
Marantz's compact AV receiver returns with a new look and boosted features – Jamie Biesemans slips it into his AV rig
Discreet delivery
A slim, stylish Scandinavian on-wall system impresses Mark Craven with its handling of the sweet stuff
One project, two rooms
Dan Sait reports on a custom install where a JVC PJ/ Atmos system is joined by a stylish media den
THE KING OF B RDA HOLLYWOOD
Three of his movies have taken over $2billon at the global box office, he's pioneered SFX and 3D technologies, and he's been to the very bottom of the Pacific Ocean. That's James Cameron by the way, not Anton van Beek
System selector!
Given three similar budgets, Mark Craven, Steve May and John Archer assemble three different AV setups focused on movies, streaming and gaming
