Ablectrics, a lighting specialist based in Bristol, UK, has partnered with integrator, Cinemaworks, and lighting control manufacturer, Rako, to build a home cinema demo at its Bristol showroom.
Having moved into its new showroom in April, Ablectrics made the decision to expand its business into cinema design after noting the demand from customers for luxurious spaces in their homes.
With the help of Cinemaworks and Rako, the cinema demo room has been designed to push the limits of performance. Speakers are angled in the walls to crossfire sound at a central seating area with unique lighting utilising new digital pixel RGB LED tape, all brought to life with Rako’s Modular keypads.
The lighting scheme was designed to create various scenes to give a customisable cinema experience. The lighting control solution needed to deliver the wide range of capabilities in a simple sleek design, which prospective clients could see being a stylish addition to their homes as well as easy to use.
“We partnered with Cinemaworks as Owen Maddock, the owner, is recognised globally as one of the best home cinema designers, so if he designs a room for you, it will be special,” said Fraser Besant, director of Ablectrics. “When we delved into the design, we knew we needed our lighting to deliver tailored scenes that could draw you into whatever you are watching. Having years of experience working with Rako, we chose the wireless system as we knew it would be easy to install and provide exceptional reliability. Whilst it does its real hard work in the demo room, we also used it to light the rest of the showroom.”
Owen Maddock, owner of Cinemaworks added: “Fraser is the king of lighting in Bristol and his showroom is already incredible, so we knew the lighting in our cinema had to be noteworthy. He’s got 15 years of lighting experience and I’ve been doing home cinema even longer than that, so we worked closely together on the design, and it came out incredibly well, with the pixel lights adding that final bit of magic. Having Rako onboard to control it just makes everything really easy, for us and for the clients.”
The cinema room features Rako Modular keypad with modern stainless steel surround to control all aspects of the lighting design with a mix of RLED30CV4s, RMT500s and RMS800s. The Rako RK-Hub provides native app control and third-party integration into the Savant system which enables Rako’s keypad to activate not only the lights but also the sound system and projector.
The Modular keypads have been programmed for bespoke scenes including Film, Sport, Kids and Action to demonstrate what is possible. Each setting provides a unique atmosphere, changing the coloured LED pixel tape so that the lighting perfectly enhances the viewing experience. With additional customisable controls including adjusting the brightness, users can set the scene at the push of a button.