Essential Install | Virtual Reality
Cinera offers an IMAX-
sized screen, besting
even the biggest
home cinemas
Richard Vincent, founder of communications agency,
Fundamental, is also in agreement with Jason. “I don’t think it
replaces, I think it augments. It’s a viewing choice,” he notes.
It could create some challenges for the home cinema
industry, however. As Richard surmises: “This is a really
exciting time as potentially the cost of physically creating
a cinema room has now dropped from £15-25K to £2-4K:
a much more accessible option for a much wider audience.”
Whether or not it cannibalises the traditional
installation industry is irrelevant at this moment in
time, however. That’s because VR currently offers an
opportunity for installers that goes beyond whether or
not it makes for a good viewing experience.
Rich Green, the founder of CEDIA’s technology
council, has been telling installers for some time that the
industry needs to adapt to changes, with VR one of the
biggest reasons behind that change.
“The AV industry made a lot of money during 80s, but
then it became commoditised. That’s what led to integrators
taking on home control, energy management and digital
health – but now they’ll have to adapt to VR,” he admits.
Never Forget The D
Could VR make
home cinema design
more immersive?
Rich’s approach to VR is that installers should never forget
the D in CEDIA; after all, an installers job should be as
equally about design as it is about installation. This is one
place where VR technology could actually benefit custom
installers – as it gives them an interactive way of showcasing
what kind of space they can build for their clients.
Guy Singleton, managing director at The Cinema
Designer and Imagine This, feels strongly that VR has a
place in home cinema design. “For me, VR is definitely
on our roadmap – we’ve spoken about it here since day
one. This is the last little bit after dedicating all of our time
to making sure the technical elements are all working
perfectly – VR is the icing on the cake,” he notes.
“Is it a gimmick? Is it like 3D cinema? This is a very
transient industry; future technologies are coming to
the foreground. Time will tell. Developing that visual
aspe ct of the tool has always been on the cards for us,
but for the moment we have poured all of our resources
into the technical side of the software, as this is what we
needed to prioritise.”
The Cinema Designer’s approach to VR will be
very different from simply sticking a render on a
headset, however. The company wants to fully exploit
all the advantages that VR offer, which includes the
interactivity element.
“Our vision for VR is a lot more complicated than
putting on a headset – our vision is standing in a room
and picking and choosing colours and fabrics, stripping
things back to see the timber, the framework, the acoustic
treatment and the loudspeakers. This is going to be
something where installers design the room, and it will
output the very room they have designed using pantone
pickers and swatches – you’ll be able to build and dress
your room as if you were standing in it,” Guy adds.
That certainly sounds a lot more advanced than most
of the design meetings that installers will have with their
clients currently. Yes, most pieces of software offer high-
resolution renders of the room, but being able to choose
elements on the fly from a VR environment is getting into
the realm of The Minority Report.
So, should an installer utilise VR to show off their
next projects? Well, according to Guy: “Do I think it’s an
advantage for installers and dealers? It will always help,
and it couldn’t hurt.”
He does offer a caveat, however: “Most people don’t
have the luxury to afford 3D full motion walkthrough videos
and VR. On a low-cost project, a VR offering would be
disproportionally expensive. I think there is a little exclusive
tip to the spear that will always reside in that, but as that
technology becomes more readily available, achievable,
and practically more possible, it will filter down.
“In two or three years, it will become the norm – it’s
a natural progression. As those technologies advance,
people will demand those things. In a few years’ time,
there will be no other way to do it; customers will not
invest in high value projects without understanding
exactly what they are going to get for the money. That’s
where VR comes in – it’s a way of managing non-technical
clients. They usually just want to know what it looks like;
they trust that you are going to get all of the maths and
technical design side correct.”
How To Build The Ultimate
VR Home Cinema
If you’re an installer who wants to do more with VR than
simply use it as a tool for showcasing what you can do
with a traditional home cinema, then thankfully there are
countless headsets and accessories available to get the
most out of the technology.
The first thing that you’ll want to consider is the
headset. There are plenty on the market and they all
range is cost and quality. While Cinera has positioned
itself as the VR headset for the home cinema, users may
want to do more than just sit down and watch a film.
For those type of consumers, an HTC Vive or Oculus
Rift are likely the better options. Users could also opt
for a headset like StarVR’s, which is currently in-use by
IMAX, although they’d have to pay a premium as this is
predominantly designed for the professional market.
September 2017 | 51