BNC Tech's Colourful Media Room in Pretoria

BNC Technology recently completed a media room in Mooi Kloof, Pretoria, South Africa, fulfilling a brief handed down by the client’s family and interior design team.

Tasked with integrating the media room into the prescribed interior home design concept—which includes a colour-changing wall feature—the BNC team led by Managing Director Nick Caripis, wanted to give the client the best possible performance and excellent value for money.

“The room had to be flexible during the day and night and needed to be simple to operate with multiple source options and gaming for the children,” Caripis said. “A key requirement was not to infringe on the colour-changing wall feature.”

A collaboration between BNC Technology, Nico van der Meulen Architects and M Square Lifestyle Necessities, the ultimate aim of the project was to simplify the entertainment experience and control it all with just one remote.

All equipment is tucked away in a closet next door and controlled easily from one remote thanks to Control4. The projector was motorised from the ceiling to achieve a seamless look when the system is switched off.

The integration team also needed to get a high-gain screen that would satisfy the standards of the interior team, taking into consideration the colour-changing wall. Screen innovation’s Black Diamond screen was chosen based on performance, aesthetics and technical benefits recommended by BNC’s  Technical Design team.

BNC-Technology_Media-Room-1

“Our desire to provide the ultimate in quality, design and performance is what drives decisions behind what we implement in cinemas,” noted Caripis. “How the colour-changing scheme was achieved through the use of an intensive amount of colour-changing LEDs installed behind the specialised barisol fabric. We then used a DMX controller to control the feature. We wanted to be able to create different moods and feels in the room. It’s always amazing to push the boundaries of design and do stuff others have never done before.”

Jamo D 600 THX lines speakers were used for their aesthetic appeal and ability to blend in with the room’s existing décor, with Caripis adding that “a combination of high technical characteristics for open musical playback, as well as highly sophisticated cabinets with designer finishes” was at the heart of going with the line.

“We matched this with big power amplifiers from Parasound and a receiver from Integra,” Caripis continued.

“We gave the speakers a lot of power to ensure effortless play and a dynamic performance from the system but at the same time ensuring it wasn’t too obtrusive.”

An on-wall subwoofer from Sunfire was mounted in the cabinet to give maximum performance within the limited space given. The rear speakers were mounted behind an acoustic transparent material to screen them from view and not detract from the light feature at the rear of the room.

An on-wall subwoofer from Sunfire was mounted in the cabinet to give maximum performance within the limited space given.

Due to the design being prior approved, BNC Tech could only treat certain surfaces acoustically. Thus the rear wall was treated and a rug was placed on the floor to add atmosphere and softness to the room.

“From an acoustical perspective, we had limited areas/surfaces to treat acoustically,” Caripis explained. “We had to choose fabrics carefully to compensate for the little we could treat which in the end turned out to be successful.”

With the client happy with the finish and performance of the room, Caripis noted that he and his team “managed to give the client a discrete solution, good performance but still adhere to the aesthetics and the mood of the original presentation/concept. Very little was changed in the design to accommodate the technology and we still gave the client a high performance system for the entire family.”

Tech-Spec:
Source Components:
Sony Playstation
DSTV Decoder(HD)
Integra Blu-ray, Apple TV
Control:
Control4: HC800, SR250 + iPad

Display:
Projector Lift
Black Diamond
Epson Projector

Audio:
Jamo D600
Sun-fire Subwoofer
Parasound amp
Sun-fire sub amp

Lighting:
DMX-"Relay"
Control4 6 Button Keypad

Network:
Netgear Network Switch
Engenius WAP

Processing
Integra Pre-Amp

www.bnctechnology.co.za


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