News

Bring Home Cinema To Life With Lutron's Grafik Integrale (8/6/2004)

Installing a home cinema can open the door to true movies-at-home experiences, allowing the viewing to get closer to the screen action than ever before. However, home cinema can be a daunting concept, especially when taking into consideration all of the elements that make a successful set-up.

At the most fundamental level, home cinema can be a widescreen TV and DVD player with surround sound speakers, but this is likely to leave the enthusiast longing for more before long. In a more advanced incarnation, an innovative home cinema room can provide endless entertainment and add to any home. While there is a massive range of options available in terms of screens, playback equipment and audio packages and these need to be carefully evaluated, it is the environment that creates the experience for the viewer more so than sound and vision alone can do.

Environment is everything

Bringing together separate components to form a total experience can be the biggest challenge when building a home cinema. A good starting point is to think about what you want the system to do, and start to identify equipment to fulfil the required tasks. Decisions at this stage may focus on screen size, amplification and playback sources, and what automated features are required. However the control platform that brings the individual elements together is often overlooked, or at best, paid least attention to, and this should be one of the first considerations. With the right control system, enjoyment levels are enhanced and equipment performance levels are fully appreciated.

Lighting plays a major role in creating the ultimate home cinema environment, and while it need not be overly complex, the days of the on-off light switch and a couple of spotlights are over as far as home entertainment is concerned. Using a sophisticated lighting control system, such as Lutron's Grafik Integrale, not only offers a wide range of options when it comes to lighting the space, but will provide an interface for the AV equipment likely to feature in the installation. Dedicated home cinema rooms typically incorporate a number of lighting sources, each with a specific purpose, and each working independently, and with one another to form the overall effect. For example, wall sconces are a popular choice as they keep light reflections on the TV screen to a minimum, as is the case with ceiling uplighters, while ceiling spotlights can be used to focus on equipment or areas of the room poorly lit by natural light

In terms of the actual lighting design, it's not simply a case of placing lighting fixtures around the room, the functionality of the space needs to be considered Ð what will go where in terms of equipment and furniture, where are the natural light sources, what is the shape of the space? Once these practical factors have been determined, and a general layout formulated, the room will need to be divided into lighting zones (zones representing the individual light sources) and the light fixtures located. For multi-source lighting, the lighting control system is the solution and Grafik Integrale is the first system to offer control capability for virtually all modern load sources, with dimming, preset scene selection and programming all available from one unit.

Grafik Integrale's multi-load functionality allows operation of Electronic Low Voltage (ELV) and Magnetic Low Voltage (MLV) transformers, incandescent, neon/cold cathode and 0-10V, DALI, and DSI fluorescent loads without interfaces, ensuring total simplicity for specifier, installer and user. The addition of short circuit/overload protection offers the installer protection when wiring in the system, safe in the knowledge that the product cannot be damaged.

With four preset lighting scenes accessible from the control unit faceplate and an additional twelve scenes stored in the control unit, Integrale has enough control options to cater for even the most sophisticated home cinema. Lighting scenes are best described as the amount of light, and number of light sources operating at any one time that relate to specific functions to be performed in the space. For example, for watching films, a 'movie' scene could be programmed in to the Integrale that completely turns off the main room lighting and additional feature lights, while switching the wall sconces to 25% to offer enough light to see what you are doing, but not interfere with the film. The preset scenes that Integrale stores offer the perfect solution to using the same room for a number of functions, which could include entertaining, dining or simply relaxing.

Offering control through four separate zones with fade time options ranging from 0-59 seconds or 1-60 minutes, the flexibility of Integrale ensures the system will be able to meet the needs of almost any application and lighting arrangement. When linked to other control units (up to eight in total) the Integrale system can control up to 32 separate zones.

Additional options

The Grafik Integrale wallstation is designed to integrate into any interior design schemes, but from an aesthetic point of view, it can be located out of sight and controlled by smaller keypads, which take up less space. Lutron has a wide range of keypads compatible with Integrale including SeeTouch, which incorporates backlit scene selection buttons for easy recognition. SeeTouch keypads can also be custom-engraved, making it clear which button relates to which specific scene.

Particularly important in the home theatre are the additional automated options that influence the 'feel' of the environment, such as blinds and shades. Grafik Integrale can provide the interface to link blinds and shades, as well as AV equipment, to lighting scenes, resulting in one-touch total scene selection. Simply press play on the DVD player and lights dim to the 'movie' scene, blinds fan and shades close. Projection systems are often used in bigger home cinemas where a larger screen is required. Again, by linking the components through contact closures to the Integrale, lighting scenes can incorporate the raising / lowering of a drop down projection screen and ceiling mounted projector.

Providing a human interface, Integrale can be controlled by a touch screen tablet or PDA, allowing the operator to view the status of the system, and control everything from the comfort of the sofa. Future-proofing the home theatre is important, as there is sure to be a time in the not too distant future when upgrading a component, or introducing a new feature will become priority.

Ultimate luxury is achievable through careful planning, and taking the time at the start of the project to incorporate the most suitable components will result in a finished theatre that will give many years of enjoyment. It is all too easy to see home cinema as the audio-visual components that generally take centre stage, but the bigger picture tells a different story.

www.lutron.com