Lighting Control Systems and Home Cinemas
When beginning a home cinema project, most people focus on the audio-visual equipment they want and their preferred seating layout. While these are of course essential elements, smart lighting in your home theatre is a critical part of the experience too, elevating your enjoyment of the content and providing added comfort and functionality within your space. Here, we explore the role of light systems in home cinema rooms, and outline the aesthetic and technical considerations for your installation.
The Role of Lighting in Home Cinema
Lighting plays a significant role in your home cinema experience. The balance of light and darkness impacts everything from screen visibility to your own comfort. For example, LED strips behind the screen can help to reduce eye strain, while soft illumination in the ceilings provides indirect light that helps to draw you deeper into the film. You can combine various home cinema light systems for the best results, with each source providing something different.
- Dimmable lights can provide plenty of illumination before the movie and be turned down during viewing.
- LED strips can provide subtle lighting along walkways and on stairs, or be placed behind the screen to reduce eye strain.
- Coloured lights add atmosphere to horror or romantic movies, or can be set to the colours of your sports team during a big game.
- Spotlights can be angled to highlight seating, decor or other features such as a bar
- Starscape ceilings deliver that magical commercial cinema feel
Warm tones (around 2700K) are recommended for a cosy, intimate atmosphere that supports and enhances your viewing experience.
What Lighting Control Systems Bring to the Table
Home cinema lighting control systems such as Lutron offer an added level of convenience. Rather than having to get up and manually operate your lights, these smart systems enable you to create the perfect atmosphere with the touch of a button.
- Scene setting – You can create customised ‘scenes’ that are delivered at the touch of a button. ‘Movie mode’ might dim your wall lights and illuminate LED strips on the floor and ceiling, while ‘Clean mode’ might illuminate the wall lights fully to enable maximum visibility for tidying up after the movie.
- Calibration – Your lighting can be calibrated with the brightness of your screen, ensuring a balanced viewing experience and eliminating reflections. You’ll enjoy richer colours, sharper details and deeper blacks.
- Synchronisation – Your lighting can be synchronised with other smart devices via an automation system to create the perfect atmosphere for viewing.
Integrated Systems: Beyond just lights
By now, you’ll have begun to understand that home cinema light systems are more than just one-setting illumination that needs to be manually switched on or off. But in addition to the advantages they bring to the viewing experience, they provide greater convenience when integrated with a smart home automation system like Control4.
These systems enable motorised blinds and lighting in home cinemas to be synchronised, meaning you can lower blinds and achieve the perfect illumination for your movie at the touch of a single button. You can also integrate other systems such as the projection screen or heating. This allows you to programme an optimal environment without having to adjust a range of different settings. You can even include a voice command device such as Amazon Alexa into your setup, so you simply give the command ‘Lights down’ or ‘Watch a movie’ and all the relevant settings adjust accordingly.
Technical and Design Considerations
When designing the lighting automation in a cinema room, you’ll need to be aware of the various technical and design considerations. In terms of design, you’ll need to understand where lights should be placed to enhance viewing and/or highlight specific features of your space. Perhaps you have a bar behind the seating that you want to remain illuminated so that you can fetch drinks. Or you may want ambient lighting that helps to reduce eye strain. Being aware of these needs will help you and your home cinema specialist to install the right kind of lighting in the right places.
When it comes to technical considerations, you will need to discuss with your home cinema installer whether a wired or wireless system suits you best. If you’re using a smart automation system or want optimal convenience, wireless will be the preferred option. If you simply require a low maintenance, responsive option and are happy to control the system through physical switches and dimmers, a wired solution might suit you better.
The brand you choose will also need to be considered, particularly if you want it to be compatible with an automation system. At New Wave AV we often recommend Lutron because of its compatibility with Control4, Sonos, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and more. The system also offers a high-quality user experience, elegant aesthetic options and simple functionality.
Working with New Wave AV: Why and How
Working with New Wave AV will ensure the ambient lighting for your home cinema provides the exact atmosphere and functionality you require. Our experts can recommend a lighting design that meets your needs, carry out installation, and integrate your solution with your home automation system. We’ve been fitting home cinemas and automated lighting systems since 2003, and have the expertise required to ensure your project goes smoothly and delivers results beyond your expectations.
If you’re considering a home cinema light system, we invite you to visit one of our state-of-the-art showrooms to experience the possibilities. These are fully equipped demonstration facilities where you can try out the technologies and discuss your ideas with our specialists during a personalised appointment.
We’ll then design a lighting system and provide a quote before taking care of installation, calibration and programming. Our experts will show you how to use your new system and be on hand for support thereafter, affording you complete peace of mind.
Our showrooms are based in Tonbridge, Kent, and Windlesham, Surrey. Get in touch with us today to arrange a consultation or request a quote.
