Show Time
The theater in this Brecksville home shares a trait with the superheroes depicted in the movie posters on its walls: Both are endowed with amazing abilities that aren’t revealed until they’re called into action. The homeowners love Marvel movies and worked with Sound & Vision in Cuyahoga Falls to install a theater that would make watching “Avengers: Endgame” at home as epic as in the cineplex. We unreel the high-tech features that make this home theater feel like a trip to the movies — without the long lines and sticky floors.
Screen: For cinema-level clarity, the Screen Innovations 7 Series 110-inch screen is made of a coated vinyl-like gray material that absorbs light from the ceiling-mounted Sony 4K video projector and brightens the picture. It rejects illumination from surrounding lights left on while you watch. “On a more traditional white screen that [doesn’t] have these light-rejecting properties, ambient light would have a tendency to wash out your picture,” says Sound & Vision President Mike Woods, calling it “the new standard” for providing a crystal-clear high-definition experience.
Audio System: The three Paradigm front speakers and four surround sound counterparts are really versatile. “Whether [it’s for] watching TV, watching movies or listening to music, they do a great job,” Woods says. Two 12-inch JL Audio subwoofers complete the system the resident audiophiles love for cranking their fave tunes. The unobtrusive built-ins all but disappear around the screen, providing a clean, contemporary look that makes both spouses happy. “The husband would have probably loved to have big speakers standing on the floor,” Woods says. “But [the wife] wanted what we call ‘an invisible theater,’ where you have all the sound and experience, but you don’t see all the speakers.”
Processor and Amplifier: While many systems use one receiver containing a source-switching audio and video processor and speaker-powering amplifier, this system employs a separate Anthem Electronics processor and amplifier wired in from a utility room that save money in the long run. Woods explains that while a high-quality amplifier can be used for 20-plus years, processor technologies change rapidly. “Instead of somebody having to buy a whole new receiver, they can just upgrade their processor,” he says.
Finishing Touches: The Kinetics Noise Control ceiling, constructed of panels studded with tiny fiber-optic lights, makes the space look like an outdoor cinema under a starry night sky while working with a Kinetics wall system to soundproof the theater by 70 to 80 percent. “If someone’s watching a movie and wants to listen at movie-theater volume, [the homeowners] didn’t want the sound to go through the rest of the house and disturb everybody else,” Woods says.
[ cool buy ]
Control4 Smart Home System
We’ve all pulled out of the driveway and wondered if we left the lights on. Now you can remotely turn off any pesky lights you forgot with the Control4 smart home system, which Sound & Vision in Cuyahoga Falls sells and installs. Rather than fiddling with several smart home devices, Control4 simplifies your tech by merging management of lighting, security, entertainment and climate control into one app on a TV, computer, tablet or cellphone. For lighting, Control4 lets you program for scenarios like a weeknight return from work that requires entry illumination or a party that calls for dimmed lights in living areas.
“You can hit this all on button,’”
says Sound & Vision President Mike Woods, “and it will turn on every
light in your house.”
Not only does this centralized smart home system make your life easier, it can also save you money. Control4 helps save on energy costs by programming your heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to the ideal temperature before you return each night or by adjusting the set daytime temperature remotely whenever conditions change — say, on an unexpectedly hot day to keep pets cool. Control4 also allows you to play or turn off music and TVs throughout your home. The hassle-free automation is great, but the peace of mind this kind of smart home system provides can also be a deciding factor. Control4 lets you monitor your property via cameras, so you can worry less.
“You can be on vacation in Florida, turn on your phone, open up the app and be looking at your cameras back in Ohio,” Woods says.