Home Theatre Design & Consulting

A home theater or home theatre is a theater built in a home, designed to mimic (and exceed) commercial theater performance and feeling, more commonly known as a home cinema. Today, home cinema implies a real "cinema experience" at a private home.

Today, Home Cinema implies a real "cinema experience" and therefore a higher quality set of components than an average television with only built-in speakers provides. A typical home theater includes the following parts:

Video and Audio Input Devices: One or more video/audio sources. High quality movie media format such as example Blu-ray Disc are normally preferred, though they often also include a DVD, VHS,Or LaserDisc player and/or video game console systems. Quite a few home theaters today include a HTPC (Home Theater PC) with a media center software application to act as the main library for video and music content using a 10-foot user interface and remote control.

Audio Processing Devices: Input devices are processed by either a standalone AV receiver or a Preamplifier and Sound Processor for complex surround sound formats such as Dolby Pro-Logic/and or Pro-logic II, X, and Z, Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. The user selects the input at this point before it is forwarded to the output.

Audio Output: Systems consist of at least 2 speakers, however most common today is 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system, but it is possible to have up to 11 speakers with additional subwoofers.

Video Output: A large-screen display either an SDTV, HDTV, or 3D TV. Options include Liquid crystal display television (LCD), plasma TV, OLED, SXRD, DLP, Laser TV, rear-projection TV, a traditional CRT TV,(only available second-hand at this point) or video projector and projection screen.

Atmosphere: Comfortable seating and organization to improve the cinema feel. Higher-end home theaters commonly also have sound insulation to prevent noise from escaping the room, and a specialized wall treatment to balance the sound within the room.

BAJAAO provides turnkey solutions for home theatres and home cinemas across India. We scale our scope of work to fit the needs of the project, its Owner and the design & building team. A typical "core" scope of work specifies that we will:

• Specify the Theater envelope's structural details (e.g., framing, sheathing, insulating, decoupling, isolating and caulking) as appropriate to meet our goals for internal sound quality, as well as immunity from external noise and vibration.
• Based on detailed modal analysis, provide exact, acoustically optimized room dimensions for optimum support of low frequencies.
• Using a proprietary suite of in-house computer-based acoustical modeling and prediction tools, specify optimum locations for listeners (the "money seats") and all loudspeakers (fronts, surrounds and subwoofers).
• Specify type, quantity, make, model, location and mounting of wall- and ceiling-mounted acoustic treatment (e.g., absorbers, diffusors, reflectors, pressure traps and compound devices) to optimize sound quality of the playback system.
• Detail the room's architectural features (e.g., wainscot, doors, mouldings, columns, pilasters, bookcases, etc.) in ways that turn them into assets in the overall acoustic plan.
• Issue a Noise Criteria (NC) specification and general HVAC system design guidelines for use by the Owner's mechanical contractor to achieve the desired comfort and noise levels.
• Issue drawings and specifications for dedicated electrical service ("Technical Power System") to the room, including call-outs for professional-grade powerline conditioner(s); wiring, circuiting and grounding specifications; and wiring devices (outlets).
• Work with Owner and A/V dealer to finalize a core playback equipment plan that fits the application. (Equipment supply, interconnection design, control features and installation by others.)
• Specify an acoustically qualified fabric material to be used at walls and ceiling to conceal acoustic materials, speakers, subwoofers, etc.
• Coordinate with Owner, architect, general contractor and contractor's subcontractors to facilitate the smoothest possible integration of Designer's plans within the larger construction project.
• Make site visits to meet with Owner, architect, builder, audio/video dealer-installer, and other key project personnel to establish design direction, present drawings, review/inspect construction progress, and/or to test and calibrate the final installation.

Real-World Orientation

A solid grounding in the basics of acoustical, mechanical, electrical and electroacoustic theory is indispensable for what we do. But the real world is usually a lot messier than the crisp equations found in textbooks. We started out nearly 20 years ago by crawling through attics to run wires, gluing acoustic devices to walls and ceilings, and moving heavy speakers around an inch at a time to try to find the spot where they sounded just right. It's given us a perspective that few other acoustical designers have—a perspective that smooths the interface between the design and build-out teams. (Click here for a recent example.)

Detailed Drawings, Clear Graphics

Our documentation takes the form of detailed, color CAD drawings specifying the geometrical relationships between the listener, the room, the acoustic treatment and the speakers and subwoofers. Cutaway views, section details, mounting instructions and installation notes are typically included to take the guesswork out of building what is likely to be the most technically involved room in the home. We further simplify the builder's or A/V installer's job by consolidating the project's acoustic material requirements into a single master schedule with contact information for ordering.

How we Charge

We work on either a project basis, i.e., we charge a fixed fee based on a detailed scope of work, or on an as-neeeded, time-and-materials basis.

Contact Us

Ashutosh - 91 - 93200 38513 - ashu (at) bajaao (dot) com