Theater Design Northwest was the AV contractor of choice to design a compact, high performance AV system for this loft-style bonus room. The design ended up as a complete transformation of the space from a playroom with on old armiore analog TV to a sleek high tech space with networked streaming, gaming and 3D BluRay capabilities. Other amenities include powered recliner seating for four, an integrated beverage cooler and a popcorn machine too!

Loft spaces can be a challenge as they are usually smallish with vaulted ceilings and pose some limitations for optimal viewing/listening conditions, as well as equipment installation concerns. We felt the solution here was to design a custom cabinet that flowed with and took advantage of the room’s shape. All electronics were rackmounted in a design using convection cooling and a thermostatically-controlled quiet fan system. The MK Sound 950 LCR speakers were integrated in the cabinet design using Kinetics Stretchtrak for a sleek appearance.

Project Photos

Before the transformation

THX sound + video in our custom cabinet design

Key Components

• MK Sound THX 950 speakers
• Artison freeestanding sub
• Pioneer Elite SC-55 AV receiver
• Parasound Power Amplification
• Panasonic VT 30 series plasma HDTV
• Panasonic BluRay
• RGPC 400 Pro power conditioner
• Kinetics Stretchtrak
• URC RF remote
• Lutron lighting control
• Middle Atlantic RSH custom faceplates
• Xbox Kinnect
• Wii
• Atlona Interconnects

]]> http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/11/semiahmoo-thx-certified-high-end-3d-media-room/feed/ 0 http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/08/under-construction-anacortes-9-1-3d-home-theater-sonos-whole-house-audio/ http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/08/under-construction-anacortes-9-1-3d-home-theater-sonos-whole-house-audio/#comments Fri, 05 Aug 2011 06:25:17 +0000 THX Technician http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/?p=1885 Project Overview

Theater Design Northwest is contracted as the home theater and AV designer for this gorgeous bayview custom home in Anacortes. The substantial home theater will comfortably seat eight and features full THX Certified audio/video design and Kinetics acoustic treatments for accurate and engaging sound. The room design includes a stretch track acoustic screen wall built by us to keep viewer’s attention on the reference Stewart Filmscreen 120″ diagonal screen. Lutron lighting control and custom Tuscan-style faux columns set the mood with a beautiful themed interior design.

The rest of this great home built by Strandberg Construction will have 12 zones of Sonos music with speakers from Revel Architectural and  MK Sound. All of the HDTV installs are spec’d by us for future-proof designs that are easily upgradable to future technologies. 

Project Photos

The nice 3D dedicated theater under construction after millwork completion

Key Components 

• MK Sound
• Pioneer Elite
• Parasound
• URC remotes
• Lutron lighting
• JVC THX Certified projection
• Stewart Filmscreen
• Richard Gray’s Power Company
• Panasonic
• Middle Atlantic
• Kinetics Noise Control
• Revel
• Sonos

]]> http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/08/under-construction-anacortes-9-1-3d-home-theater-sonos-whole-house-audio/feed/ 0 http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/07/puyallup-spare-bedroom-3d-home-theater-design/ http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/07/puyallup-spare-bedroom-3d-home-theater-design/#comments Fri, 15 Jul 2011 23:16:34 +0000 THX Technician http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/?p=2023 Project Overview

Theater Design Northwest was hired for the challenging design task of converting a 12′ X 13′ spare basement bedroom into a dedicated 3D home theater with a 92″ widescreen, seating for 4 and surround sound. In addition to the 3D projector with drop-down screen the room will also use the client’s existing plasma display for “regular” TV watching with great surround sound. The client had a clean/vivid color sceme in mind and was looking for a modern space with lots of detail. With seating requirements and uncluttered floor space a primary parameter, we made the excellent decision to re-purpose the room’s wardrobe closet as a flush mount rack system for gear. The finished design will also include CD/BluRay storage, conceal the subwoofer and allow for some actual storage space in the now-concealed former closet.

To give the room some dimension we added a soffit feature to create a black try ceiling which will feature rope lighting behind crown molding. The soffit provides an easy route for the AV wiring, the perfect space for a custom projector housing and to install the 92″ motorized drop down screen as well. The furred out screen wall using Monitor Audio speaks adds clean dimension and detail to the space, while only using a total of 3 1/2″ of valuable floorspace.

Project Photos

Theater Design Northwest was hired as the acoustic designer for this high end listening room in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle. The client’s design requirements were for mostly high quality music listening, with some jam sessions and a small amount of TV watching. The room will have a great stereo system with B&W speakers, Vincent integrated amp, JL Audio sub and a VPI Classic turntable. We designed the room’s wiring infrastructure and came up with a custom acoustic design that would improve system accuracy while remaining visually appealing.

First off we added a measure of noise control to the upstairs by installing quietbox isolation enclosures to house the recessed lighting. Next we installed an additional layer of  Type X sheetrock on the ceiling using Green Glue viscoelastic compound and Green Glue acoustic caulk at all seams and openings. The black panels are acoustic fabric using Kinetics Stretchtrak to conceal the room treatments which we designed to control the reverb times in the space and tailor reponse across the full frequency spectrum. We also installed and calibrated the Panasonic plasma display.  The room is awaiting furniture, moldings, final paint touchup and the stereo system before it is complete.

Project Photos

A full view of the Magnolia listening room

Custom acoustic treatment built into the room design

Listening room under construction showing the vintage art deco sconce fixtures

 Key Components

• Kinetics Acoustics
• Green Glue
• Atlona Cabling
• Richard Gray’s Power Company

]]> http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/07/under-construction-seattle-mediajam-room-acoustic-design/feed/ 2 http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/02/millcreek-home-theater-installation/ http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/2011/02/millcreek-home-theater-installation/#comments Fri, 11 Feb 2011 01:28:55 +0000 THX Technician http://www.theaterdesignnw.com/?p=1742 Project Overview

Theater Design Northwest was called by a great repeat client to move and reinstall all of their AV systems from the old home in Lynnwood to the place they got in Millcreek. And what a job it was, with 7 wall mounted HDTVs and 3 surround sound systems to install and calibrate. Two of the setups were difficult masonry fireplace installs that turned out wonderfully. THX audio and ISF video calibration guarantees top performance from all of their systems. Next up for this client is an upgrade to a front projection display with improved surround sound in the near future.

Project Photos

5.1 surround sound install on a masonry fireplace

Key Components

• Samsung
• Sony
• LG
• Monster
• Universal Remote Control
• Yamaha
• I Pod

Summary

The clients are happy and enjoying great AV quality in the new place as they finalize their move and get settled in.

These clients of Theater Design Northwest on San Juan Island had been considering a system upgrade to a larger display size from their 50″ 2000 model Pioneer Elite HDTV. When the Pioneer failed to power up one evening, it was time. We upgraded them to the largest display that could fit in their built in, a Panasonic VT25 3D plasma and the necessary HDMI 1.4 cables for 3D with a new Pioneer Elite THX Certified AV receiver and Panasonic 3D BluRay. We then had their old Elite display repaired in Seattle for them and it is scheduled to be installed with new surround sound in their condo at Richmond Beach.

Key Components

• Panasonic VT25 3D Plasma
• Pioneer Elite
• MK Sound
• Panasonic BluRay
• URC MX-450

Summary

We all know how great of a display the VT25 is and the Elite AVR offered a significant sonic upgrade with the client’s MK Sound 750 5.1 speaker system.

Theater Design Northwest was scheduled for this project as a Dewaard and Bode installation for one of their customers. The client had an older Vizio 720p set and wanted to upgrade to current generation 1080p LCD. We installed the largest possible Samsung display in their armoire-type entertainment center, along with a web enabled Samsung BluRay player with Neflix and all of the fun web apps. The client had experienced issues with the previous installation and we soon discovered why: after removing (lots!) of unneeded expensive cabling,  everything was soon connected/setup properly so the clients could enjoy much nicer sound/ picture quality than before.

Key Components

• Samsung HDTV
• Samsung BluRay
• Energy Speakers
• Yamaha AV Receiver

Summary

The clients were happy with the AV improvements and it was nice to provide the quality enhancements on this simple, straightforward project.

Theater Design Northwest was hired to design the AV systems for these clients when they were remodeling the family room and updating their 60′s fireplace. They previously had used a theater in a box on an entertainment stand with wires everywhere. We suggested they keep only the Panasonic plasma and designed a great system around it to fit their needs. The homeowner is a builder, so we collaborated on technical design and he did a wonderful job of transforming the space with new windows, paint, fireplace redesign and new cabinets too. The AV system is designed to offer high performance 5.1 surround sound that is visually unobtrusive, which can be difficult in an over the fireplace design. We used Artison speakers for the left/center/right channels which deliver great sound from a speaker that we install on your HDTV and is custom designed to match. Surrounds are in wall Monitor Audio painted to match and a 225w Pinnacle Sub has it’s home underneath a coffee table. The Pioneer Elite AV receiver and source components are installed in a ventilated lower cabinet and controlled with a URC MX-450 RF remote programmed by us.  THX audio calibration and ISF video calibration adds the finishing touch, delivering picture quality they hadn’t yet enjoyed on their Panasonic plasma.

Project Photos

Key Components

• Pioneer Elite AV Reciever
• Panasonic Plasma Display
• Chief Mounts
• Artison Speakers
• Monitor Audio
• Pinnacle PS Sub 225
• URC MX-450 RF Remote
• Monster Power
• Pansonic BluRay
• Comcast HD

Summary

We and the clients had an enjoyable time collaborating on this project and the final result is a great entertainment space with more room than before, clean looks and upgraded performance too.

Yesterday Theater Design Northwest installed the top of the line THX Certified 3D capable Panasonic VT25 series 65″ plasma HDTV in our first full HD 3D home theater room. The picture quality was incredibly nice with only a quick adjustment to black/white levels done as we and the clients wait for the set to break in before doing the full video calibration process. This custom-designed luxury home theater offers extreme high quality picture plus sound and is being done in stages to fit the client’s budget requirements. So far they have done: design/consulting, a complete makeover of the room, wiring infrastructure, a custom fabric-stretch screenwall to neatly conceal the equipment, the HDTV, subwoofer and the RF remote control. Listed under Key Components is the gear list as it will be in this home theater when completed. We will post photos as soon as the millwork is done.

Key Components

• Panasonic VT25 THX Certified Plasma Display
• Sony PS3 with 3D upgrade
• Toshiba HD DVD Player
• Panasonic 3D BluRay Player
• Pioneer Elite SC-35 THX Certified HDMI 1.4 3D AV receiver
• Pinnacle Black Rhino 1600w dual 12″ subwoofer
• MK Sound 950 THX speakers in 9.1 configuration
• Universal Remote MX-450 remote
• Lutron lighting control
• Kinetics Acoustics

Summary

These great clients are doing it the right way by planning the home theater they want with their integrator and working together to make the build schedule fit their budget needs. This approach is much more satisfying than choosing to buy lesser quality than you really want and cutting corners on the finished project’s quality. And it also gives the clients and us something to look forward to every couple of months as as we incrementally upgrade them to audio video nirvana!

Theater Design Northwest was scheduled to reprogram this client’s Pronto TSU 6000 remote for them after they had upgraded some equipment. After arriving onsite and surveying the system for this new client a course of action was quickly determined. The TSU 6000 remote was in mint condition and also so old that it required a serial connection for programming. A call to Pronto revealed a lot: the tech had never heard of this model and had to really search the archives to find it. And the software was 3 complete releases ago, compatible with Windows 95! Now I could have still programmed this obsolete piece of automation history if the client had insisted. By making a complete list of gear, going back to the office to dig a really old computer out of a closet, going back to the jobsite to try, etc, etc. So out to the truck to bring in a reliable URC MX-450 to show the client and we both quickly decided newer is better. (and probably cheaper too)

Key Components

• Denon
• MK Sound 150 THX
• Pioneer Elite
• Panasonic
• Sony
• Samsung
• Universal Remote Control

Summary

The client was quite happy to have  modern control over his great system (he had 8 factory remotes he was using!) with no point RF and he was running everything like a champ by the time I left. The MX-450 is a great value to upgrade an obsolete automation system and it works awesome on nearly any single-room system including the Lutron lighting.