Home cinema rooms in Dubai

Three things separate a home cinema from a TV room: control of light, control of sound and seating arranged for viewing. Light control means no daylight leaking past curtains and dark, matt surfaces that do not reflect the screen. Sound control works in two directions: keeping the film inside the room so the rest of the house can sleep, and stopping the room itself from booming or echoing. Seating is placed at a distance and height that suits the screen size, often on tiered platforms in larger rooms. In Dubai villas the cinema is often a basement, a spare ground-floor room or part of a family lounge on the upper floor, and each of those comes with different constraints.

• Room choiceA room with few windows and no shared wall with bedrooms is easiest to darken and isolate.
• Screen and viewing distanceScreen size, projector or TV, and where the front row sits relative to it.
• Seating layoutOne row or several, sofas or recliners, and whether a raised platform is needed for the back row.
• AcousticsAbsorbing panels, fabric walls, carpet and heavy curtains to control echo, and insulated walls and doors to keep sound in.
• LightingDimmable, indirect lighting, step lights for walking in the dark and scenes for film, interval and cleaning.
• CoolingEquipment and people add heat in a closed room. AC must be quiet and must not blow across the seats.
• Equipment spaceWhere the amplifier, sources and cables live, ventilated and reachable for maintenance.

• Room size and number of seats
• Level of sound isolationTreating the inside of the room is a different job from stopping sound reaching other rooms.
• Acoustic panels and wall finishes
• Tiered platforms and step lighting
• SeatingSofas or recliners, and their number.
• Lighting control and smart scenes
• Audio-visual equipmentScreen or TV, projector, speakers and amplifier, supplied and installed by us.