Essential Install | Case Study: Hidden Home Cinema
Lee enjoys his
automated system
Above Par
One of the only golfers in the world to have won
tournaments in fi ve different continents, Lee Westwood
is now the proud owner of a whole house automation
system courtesy of Hidden Home Cinema. EI investigates.
Lee, a big AV fan, wanted an easy way to enjoy his content
at home. Hidden Home Cinema delivered that, but also
went one step further with home control from Elan.
Graeme Henderson, director at the company explains,
“Hidden Home Cinema started off as a commercial install
company that carried out installations in the leisure
industry. We then started to complete small, domestic
television installations which slowly grew in size and
complexity as the commercial side was hit by the recent
economic downturn.
“Over the last fi ve years, we’ve gradually introduced
home automation to our customers as a complete
one stop solution that ties together all of their home’s
systems, from the aerial/satellite dish to the Wi-Fi and
wall-mounted televisions. We have been trading for
approximately 14 years as plasma and projector services
and recently set up Hidden Home Cinema Ltd to better
represent our target customers.”
The company prides itself on the quality of all of its
installs and Graeme says: “Recently, we have undertaken
some projects where we have had to remove outdated
control systems that no longer operate correctly and
frustrate clients. We have been able to install ELAN and
Control4 systems which have changed client opinions of
automation by giving them more control of their homes.”
Working with Lee came about from a recommendation
by an interior design company, Dickenson’s-Interior
Designs. The original brief was to supply TVs with a
distribution system and a cinema room.
Graeme says that: “The original brief changed during
discussions with him as we advised that we could supply
other technologies as part of the install to give him a total
solution. As a result, a Wi-Fi and CCTV system was agreed
on and all relevant cabling was installed during the fi rst
60 | August 2017
fi x. We always future proof our TV distribution cabling
systems, so we were confi dent that we were covered for
any eventualities.
“The brief changed again during the second fi x when
Lee was advised by Sky to select the Sky Q and numerous
Sky Q mini’s. It was at this point that we suggested he
install an ELAN Entertainment & Control System and a
CYP 8×8 4K matrix to help encompass all parts of the
system under one platform.”
The challenges did not end there as Graeme explains:
“The cinema room brief changed a couple of times as
well. We had originally suggested a projector-based
solution, but upon further discussion with Lee, it was
decided to go with a 75in Sony 4K LED TV for video,
a Marantz SR7011 AVR with 7 KEF Ci200QR in-ceiling
speakers and KEF Cube 2 subwoofer.
“Once we had decided upon ELAN and a 4K matrix,
we were then able to give Lee access to all of his source
devices in any room throughout the house. He loves the
ease and total control that ELAN gives him from anywhere
in his home or in the world during his travels.”
Graeme sums up: “Overall, we experienced very
few technical challenges during this project. As an
experienced installer new to ELAN, I received technical
assistance from Indigo Distribution, which made the
process more intuitive and straightforward.”
So how does Lee like his knew system? Graeme
reports: “The client has been living with the system for a
few months now and his favourite part is the cinema room.
He is really impressed with how easy ELAN is to use day-
to-day. He also loves the ELAN HR200 remotes that are in
all of the rooms. Additionally, he uses the ELAN Interface
on his phone and on his iPad. He also utilises the CCTV
interface on a regular basis, since he travels frequently.”