With their focus on standardising performance, can CEDIA’s recent recommended practices make the media room a superior choice for home entertainment? Layla Laidouci finds out.
The advent of immersive audio and video design guidelines usher in a new chapter for custom installers. Performance levels rooted in scientific fact are replacing the brand-specific designs of bygone days and supporting engineering know-how in the process. RP22 and 23 are poised to reshape system design for the better, predicting experience with tested theories and intelligent compromises.
To this end, we’ll be speaking with professionals at the heart of evolving immersive technologies in the media room. Dynamic, functional and less prohibitively priced than a full home cinema, this room is benefiting from recommended practices and improved technologies alike.
In a wider landscape of advancing ‘prosumer’ products and maturing systems, we ask: what does it take to optimise both sound and video in this fascinating space?
Basic artistic intent
RP22, the immersive audio design framework, uses a Level One-Four ranking to differentiate products according to performance over price. The document, in circulation since 2023, says design factors should be viewed as ‘interdependent and interactive’, spanning everything from room acoustical design to calibration of electro-acoustics.
Level One is defined as the minimum level necessary to convey ‘basic artistic intent’, expected to be a point of commonality with RP23 – the immersive video design guideline – upon its future release. The new guidelines will require the same video calibration principles in Level One, for example, as that of a larger system.
“Whether we're creating a £10,000 or £2,000,000 room, it’s all based on the same practice,” says Tom Dellicompagni, immersive installation expert and company director. “We choose the products fit for purpose.”
Entry-level technology can provide exceptional value in accordance with these recommended practices. “Level One allows integrators to design systems with affordable gear while still meeting baseline goals,” says Simon Gibbs, head of sales at Invision and Pulse Cinemas. “High-quality soundbars, compact subwoofers and entry-level AV receivers now offer features like room correction, immersive audio support and enhanced video processing.”
Sonos, a manufacturer of ‘prosumer’ audio technology, defines its offering differently. “CEDIA’s guidelines are the next level up from our calibration capabilities,” explains Stephen Rhead, Sonos Professional’s installed solutions manager for UK and Ireland. “Our home cinema systems are priced to bring the immersive experience to an elementary level market.
“Sonos audio products stand out in homes and commercial spaces with a stable Wi-Fi network. Trueplay software, for example, adapts audio to ensure great sound in any space. I think recommended practices are key to more expensive systems.”
Stephen Rhead, Sonos Professional's installed solutions manager for UK and Ireland
Trueplay is built into Sonos smart speakers and soundbars as a tuning calibration feature. The tool uses the microphone on a connected iOS device to measure sound reflections on walls and furnishings, adjusting speaker performance to room layout.
When the technology was announced in 2015, Sonos said it would liberate art from speaker positioning and listening environments. “Auto EQ systems can be effective,” confirms Dellicompagni. “I'm always using the auto magic button. Having said that, it’s important to verify what that function does for the room as a professional.”
The industry categorises immersive entertainment into a dedicated cinema or media room, yet professional installations often straddle the two – and more. “Everybody sees an RP22 Level Four room as a dedicated cinema,” says Dellicompagni. “It might well be, but the reality is you could put Level Four audiovisual performance into a media room. You could certainly put Level Two performance into a living room with some clever thinking and interior design.”
“High-quality soundbars, compact subwoofers and entry-level AV receivers now offer features like room correction, immersive audio support and enhanced video processing.”
Defining the media room
Trends show the media room is evolving to accommodate different aspects of lifestyle and leisure in one place. “Consumers are seeking systems that deliver cinema-quality sound but also cater to music streaming, gaming and everyday TV viewing,” says Gibbs. “Audio investment is shifting towards scalable performance; often in-wall solutions or those with a discrete form factor to complement the aesthetic.”
Known in previous years as a ‘TV room’, the media room design has recently incorporated features such as slatted wood and fabric walls. “That trend kicks back two or three years,” adds Rhead. “Not every home can afford a £100k full theatre experience, which tends to fall into occasional use. As big screens get thinner, it’s easier to create these media walls even in smaller rooms.”
The high-tech media wall typically comprises an integrated display, sound system and complementary media. Specialised furnishings control lighting conditions and sound absorption. As Rhead highlights, larger and more versatile screens have influenced this increasingly sophisticated design.
From the bottom up, LG televisions ranging from flexible to slim profiles are licensed with ISF (Imaging Science Foundation) processing controls. Entry-level models allow users to choose from Bright or Dark options in changing light conditions.
“As screens increase in size, maintaining optimal image quality becomes more challenging,” says Gibbs. “Larger screens demand higher brightness levels to maintain impact, improved contrast to deliver deep blacks, and better uniformity to avoid visible imperfections.
“RP23’s focus on these performance metrics ensures integrators can specify equipment that supports larger display sizes while maintaining the desired visual impact.”
Simon Gibbs, head of sales, Invision and Pulse Cinemas
For LG, professional calibration capabilities extend to costlier options like the Signature OLED W7 – currently one of the company’s thinnest panels at 2.57mm thick – and the G5 Flagship OLED launched at CES 2025.
“Sonos products come into play with the TV screen – using an Arc, Ultra or Beam, for example, or an Amp with in-wall speakers,” says Rhead. “As an agnostic brand, our products connect to displays using HDMI e-ARC.”
“Sonos home cinema systems are priced to bring the immersive experience to an elementary level market.”
It’s easy to equate product “wizardry” with performance, but professional installers know all too well that acoustics are more complicated to define. “The process is not widely understood,” Dellicompagni explains. “The single most important component to a good immersive space is the room itself – not speakers, amplification, projector or anything else.
“Making the room quiet is fundamentally the first, most important step. Acoustic control is the second hardest thing to do, giving the room dynamic range to capture the quietest noises produced in a film.”
Research and development
CEDIA targets are getting the best out of installers, manufacturers and distributors to enrich home entertainment experiences. But, as expectations and the market develop, are audio specialists keeping pace with the research behind recommended practices?
“We started our Extreme Engineering Programme seven years ago,” says Barry Sheldrick, director of sales at Meridian Audio. “The initiative stemmed from over forty years of research development: our findings crafted the Meridian DSP 9 and Ellipse loudspeakers. Extreme Engineering is the pinnacle of everything we've known about audio, pushed into our next generation of products.”
Meridian began building audio equipment in 1977, when there were significant limitations on technology. “This was before digital audio, so we weren't using DSP (Digital Signal Processing) back then,” says Sheldrick. “Today, we have a team of 25 engineers; they tend to be on the younger side and typically have doctorates, love music, and their skills are spread across multiple disciplines for both hardware and software, which includes DSP.”
These curious minds join forces with experts who have been with Meridian for twenty or thirty years, creating a healthy exchange of knowledge. The high-end audio brand not only grows from recommended practices but actively contributes to them: Meridian attended the first course of RP22 to learn about compromises for audio layout and design
“We have a huge amount of input into recommended practices,” says Sheldrick. “They’re part of the design and specification service we offer to integrators. RP22 guidelines provide a solid framework on where speakers should be placed, how many speakers are required and holds up metrics of what level of performance should be delivered.”
Meridian’s Extreme Engineering Programme pairs experiential acoustical research with a focus on timing information. “We always tend to focus on the frequency curve,” says Sheldrick. “But the frequency response of a phone call versus face-to-face is totally different. In the same way, if you’re outside and you hear something – a twig snapping, for example – you instantly know where it is, because you’ve registered the time it takes for that sound to reach you.
“When we're handling audio - from the point when it’s a digital stream, to when it’s moving air molecules in the room – it’s susceptible to any issues in the timing information.”
Distributors like Invision similarly use recommended practices to guide integrator expectations. “By aligning with RP22, we can confidently recommend products that deliver precise sound pressure levels, optimal speaker positioning and immersive sound staging,” says Gibbs. “Consumer choice is then based on a simple question: can the proposed system achieve the desired experience level?”
Meridian’s Extreme Engineering Programme pairs psychoacoustic research with a focus on timing information. “We always want to zone in on the curve,” says Sheldrick. “But the frequency response of a phone call versus face-to-face is totally different. In the same way, if you’re outside and you hear something – a twig snapping, for example – you instantly know where it is, because you’ve registered the time it takes for that sound to reach you.
“When we're handling audio from a digital stream to moving air molecules in the room, we're susceptible to any issues in the timing information.”
Audio and video ‘ventriloquism’
Meridian believes its audio expertise can contribute to the immersive experience. To reinforce this, the maturing immersive market is revealing issues with vocal audio that, according to Sheldrick, can be resolved by audio and video ‘ventriloquism’.
“Clients often complain about dialogue that is indistinct or difficult to discern in their current systems,” says Sheldrick. “Meridian’s ‘audio ventriloquism’ helps with that: Image Elevation is unique to Meridian, and it’s built into all our loudspeakers, allowing the dialogue to be tied to the centre of the visual image.”
This proprietary technology uses psychoacoustically-derived filtering to make sound feel like it’s coming from the image on screen – despite the loudspeaker being placed below. “In a two-piece projection system with a display and projector, we’d place the loudspeakers behind an acoustically-transparent screen,” continues Sheldrick. “You end up with believable immersion much more quickly because the sound arrives from exactly where it is.
“However, when we're putting in a large format LED screen, the speakers must be placed in a sub-optimal position below the screen. For this, technologies like Image Elevation are a game changer. After a demonstration, clients say, ‘I won’t have to keep rewinding to listen to it again, I can hear the vocals perfectly’. There’s more to a media room system than explosions and flying jets around the room – dialogue is the story.”
Smart home professionals are expecting RP23 to be consistent with RP22 in quality and function. “These standards allow integrators to design systems where audio and video are better synchronised across spatial alignment, performance and user experience,” says Gibbs. “Neither are exclusive, yet they are often treated separately.
“By establishing measurable targets for factors such as contrast, brightness, and colour accuracy, RP23 encourages manufacturers to improve their products to meet these benchmarks.
“Considerations should also be given to the quality of the source material: for example, Kaleidescape has 10x the bit rate of streaming platforms and delivers a better video performance regardless of display capabilities.”
“There’s more to a media room system than explosions and flying jets around the room – dialogue is the story.”
Shifting the conversation
Performance data is steering the industry away from brand bias and DIY logic to boost confident, authoritative installers. “From the very beginning, we're getting our calculators out and ensuring predictable performance,” says Dellicompagni. “Recommended practices are empowering us to go out to the market and choose a product that fits the bill, as opposed to a product I happen to like.
“For example, RP23 encourages us to consider Reference Seating Position (RSP) when we choose screen sizes. The guideline supplies a list of angles according to performance, so that's where I start with video installations. If I want a 60° viewing angle, I can work out how big my screen’s got to be with some arithmetic. From there I can determine a product to fit that – is it going to be a projector, a TV, a direct view LED?”
Like Dellicompagni, Gibbs believes manufacturers and installers should operate on a shared level of understanding. “RP22 and RP23 are crucial for shifting the conversation from price-driven decisions to measurable performance outcomes,” he says. “It is essential to assist integrators in delivering proposals that justify their selection through objective analysis, data and facts. Media rooms are becoming more complex, and cutting corners on performance can significantly impact the experience.”
As the immersive market matures, it’s apparent the media room is much more than an entry-level solution. While industry conventions tend to categorise performance through budget and environment, integrators are reminded of the need to approach multi-functional spaces with an open mind. Supported by ongoing research and data, professionals can leverage intelligent compromises with prosumer and psychoacoustic innovations at their side. “These recommendations mean installers are able to build stronger trust and justify investment decisions more effectively,” concludes Gibbs.
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