Award winning hidden depths
This home cinema within a truly multifunctional family space gained Finite Solutions a top industry award and national recognition for its work in smart home technology from the industry trade association, CEDIA (the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) winning "Best Home Cinema under £40,000" in the 2008 CEDIA awards.

From drawing room to cinema
The judges praised Finite Solutions for delivering a ‘sophisticated and well-resolved AV solution’. One of three cinemas in the Finite Showhouse in Leeds, the stunning cinema room has been designed with three purposes in mind - in its ‘hidden state’ it is a conventional drawing room which gives no indication of the technology within. One touch of a button and the room converts into its second state, a room for TV viewing, and touch a button again and the room is further transformed into a 7ft projection home cinema.

Carefully considered interior decor
A Future Automation hidden panel mechanism has been used within the solution to hide the television whilst a Beamax electronic projector screen is concealed in the dropped ceiling above. Strategically-placed artwork around the room creates focal points away from the viewing areas and the sofas face inwards to further enhance the feeling of a conventional drawing room.

Simple control
Press the Philips Pronto remote and the two centre panels disappear inside the wall and automatically raise. The 40” Loewe LCD TV comes out to sit flush with the suede panels. The KEF speakers then automatically drop down from the ceiling to direct the sounds towards the seating positions. Turning the system off then returns the room to its previous state.

Cutting edge concealment technology
The transformation from conventional lounge to a full cinema experience is, once again, achieved in a Pronto! The Beamax screen automatically drops down from a small letter box hole in the ceiling whilst the projector is lowered at the back of the room using a Future Automation PD2 Projector lift. The curtains automatically close using a silent Gliss curtain track and the light scenes change to dim the lamps and turn on an orange glow in the ceiling.

Stunning lighting
For Finite Solutions, lighting was key to transforming the feel of the room from lounge, to TV room to cinema. For this reason four different lamps were used for ambient lighting, as well as a ring of four double spots for general lighting and the LED rope light to create the cinema feel. Rako was chosen as it integrates seamlessly with the Pronto and provides simple transition between lighting scenes.

Neither seen nor heard
Custom cabinetry was built in the chimney breast recesses to discreetly hide all the main equipment, whilst providing an attractive design feature within the room. The relatively small size of the room was a further consideration, with carefully chosen furniture used to make the room feel spacious, yet functional.

Watch Sky, DVDs, CCTV and much more...
Sky HD and CCTV are relayed onto the TV and cinema screens, with CCTV camera feeds also routed directly onto the screen on the Philips pronto. When the gate intercom is buzzed, the CCTV images can be viewed on the Pronto remote and then the gates can be automatically opened.

Kaleidescape and iDyl systems allow the user to choose from hundreds of CD and DVD titles, without leaving the sofa. The Pronto can also access a selection of DAB radio stations as well as all the CD’s, so music can be enjoyed without the need for the TV or projector screen on show.

From 1970s bedroom to 21st Century masterpiece
Finite Solutions faced a number of challenges when creating the Hidden Cinema. The room was originally a bedroom and had been untouched since the 70s when the house was last renovated. They therefore had the challenge of designing and building a room from scratch on a limited budget that would meet ambitious AV objectives. The room had to be completely stripped of all the old décor and fittings, the walls restored and re-cabled throughout, whilst considering the property’s period features such as the intricate cornicing.

Working around the existing room features
An off-centre chimney breast and an old gas fire posed a significant challenge when fitting and concealing the hidden panel mechanism, projector screen and drop. In order to house the hidden panel mechanism, the chimney breast was battened out, extended forward and centred. Suede panels were produced in-house and bespoke cabinetry was commissioned to frame the panels and to sit either side of the chimney breast, housing all the audio-visual equipment.

Mounting the screen and projector drop then posed an additional challenge as the ceiling cornicing prevented the construction of a pelmet and the distance from ceiling to joists didn’t provide enough space to house the projector drop. The obvious solution was to create a dropped ceiling, deep enough to hide the screen and drop which would then provided the opportunity to incorporate a lighting feature, as well as concealing the motorised dropdown speakers.