Cape Town Home Cinema build in (St James, Cape Town)

We present to you our Cape Town home cinema build video. This is a Dolby Atmos home cinema in St James, Cape Town (South Africa)
Please enjoy this behind the scenes look into this exciting project, carried out from 15 July 2022 to 15 August 2022 by Morgan Irwin and Daniel Little.
A brief overview of this project:
We are building this home cinema in a room that is 6.2m long x 4.2m wide x 3.0m high.
The front screen wall construction is 350mm deep, which allows us enough space to locate our subwoofer behind the screen wall. Placing the subwoofer in the front of the home cinema.
We have used an M&K Sound speaker package in this home cinema. We have worked with M&K Speakers for many years due to their high quality, transparent and incredibly dynamic performance. A strong recommendation for anyone looking for a high quality home cinema speaker.
The M&K speakers are being driven off an Anthem MRX 740 surround sound AVR. We have been using Anthem AVR's for many years. The Anthem "ARC Genesis" room correct is one of the best available and enables us to ensure that the audio sounds as good as the room we have built. The power delivery from the Anthem AVR's are high quality and ensure that we can offer enough amplifier channels for our home cinema requirements.
We have implemented a Control4 EA1 room control unit. This takes care of all commands within the room, from light dimming, to switching on the television and changing channel on the DSTV decoder (or any other set top box). We are using Control4 light switches and dimmers to control the lighting scenes in the home cinema room.
All HDMI cables are by HDAnywhere, these are tested and certified cables to meet our video requirements of 4k60 in HDR from the Apple TV as well as 4K60 from the DSTV decoder. The HDMI cable from the AVR to the television is an HDAnywhere Opticmax 15m 48GB HDMI cable.
The video display is a Samsung 85" Crystal UHD display. Capable of displaying 4K HDR content.
Cinema seating is the Cinema Pro 4 seat recliner by Cielo.
The front 2 seating elements are Weylandts Cubist Sofa's.
Project timeline is roughly outlined as:
4 July 2022 - Initial client meeting
6 July 2022 - Presentation of conceptual diagrams & overview budget
7 July 2022 - Verbal acceptance of Mirror Edge Networks home cinema design package & budgetary outline.
8 July 2022 - All electronic hardware ordered from: Anthem AV / Control4 / M&K Sound
11 July 2022 - Procurement of all construction hardware begun.
15 July 2022 - Delivery of all construction hardware to site & home cinema construction commenced.
15 August 2022 - Completion of final trim-out and snags of home cinema & handover of completely functional home cinema room.
We brought in the professional calibrations services of Charl Lotter at iDetic to assist us with Calibration of this home cinema.
We started with a basic 1 hour video calibration. This includes:
Disabling all Samsung processing features on the television.
Setting minimum and maximum brightness levels for back light of the televisions display.
Correctly setting all colour settings.
With the strength of Anthem ARC Genesis, we carried out the Anthem ARC audio calibration of the cinema. we found that the calibration carried out by the processor was very close to how we wanted the cinema to sound.
Once we had a baseline from Anthem ARC, we made slight adjustments to the gain on some of the speakers and crossovers front sound stage. This was enough calibration to get the sound to a point where we were happy and the client was happy too.
To view static images of this completed home cinema, please view our portfolio entry on our website:
www.mirroredge...
If you would like Mirror Edge Networks to design and build a home cinema for you, please start the process by completing our Contact Us form on our website:
www.mirroredge...

[@brucerogers3291]

Enjoyed your presentation. I liked your team’s craftsmanship and attention to detail. I wish your company continued success. Would Like to see more home theater installation videos 😊

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Hi Bruce! Thank you very much for taking the time to watch our video about this home cinema build, it is really appreciated! Thank you for leaving us such a positive comment and for your support, it really means the world to us! Keep an eye out, we will definitely share more videos as soon as we have some more information to share about our next projects 😄📽🔊

[@IxaBargara]

Gosh, what a teensy screen The epic soundtrack was leading me to think +120 Loved your build story. It looked very thorough

[@mirroredgenetworks]

We are glad that you enjoyed the video and the story of the build! Our client has been enjoying his home cinema and we are sure it is just a matter of time until he is ready to upgrade to a projector based solution in the 100"+ size range.

[@langphan8796]

I can't fathom why someone would build such an amazing-looking home theatre room and then use a puny little television as the main viewing screen? WTF??🤔

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you for watching our video. We appreciate that you like the home cinema room that we designed and built. As with all projects, there are always compromises to be made. In this instance, our client specifically requested an 85" television as this is the first time he has ever had a dedicated home cinema room. Our clients' previous experience was a Samsung 65" television, so this is already a reasonable size upgrade. We are sure that when the time is right, we will install a projection screen and projector. We have already made the required provisions for a projector to be installed into the rear of the cinema room, so its simply a case of when.

[@jeffcunningham0389]

And tiny LCR speakers

[@mirroredgenetworks]

@@jeffcunningham0389 glad that you noticed the M&K Speakers. We would encourage you to find a local representative or demonstration facility to have a listen to them. I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised once you have heard them for yourself! 😄🔊

[@Steelersinfinity]

I don’t have an issue with the size of the tv, 85” is impressive in person. I was in shock at the model of tv… it’s a bargain bin model. TCL QM8 85” would be a much better choice and still reasonably priced.

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you for your understanding and support of us having installed an 85" TV for this solution. While the TCL displays may be very impressive. I have not yet seen one myself. TCL as a brand has only become available in South Africa this year (a few months after we completed this installation). There are 98" options available from Samsung, Hisense and TCL now. So we will certainly suggest these as options when the client is ready to make upgrades to the room.

[@mrzameer6197]

Don't know why every one is complaining about the 85inch it's the clients choice and his money

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you for your positive feedback and support of our clients decision. It is a great room and the size of the screen doesn't detract from the viewing experience at all. Happy client, happy Mirror Edge Networks 😄🔊

[@WDX666]

Clients making poor decisions.

[@JesusSavesSinners]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 That TV is the Lowest Quality 4K TV Manufactured. It is a Horrible TV. Also No Actual Home Theater uses a TV!!!! When have you Ever gone to your local Theater and Watched a TV????

[@Kthomasritchie]

@@JesusSavesSinners In terms of picture quality, no projector can compete with the models of TV that are hitting the market today. I can easily see projectors being phased out in home theatre in the years to come.

[@JesusSavesSinners]

@@Kthomasritchie You are Extremely Arrogant and Smug 🫣 You are Ignorant!!!! You don't even Realize that a Projector is Not a TV!!!! You don't understand the Immersive Experience that you can only get from a Projector. I have a 150 inch Screen and a Top end Project. Nobody is going to see my Home Theater and say oh it's not a OLED TV so I don't think it has a Very Good Picture. The Brightness Levels in All Colors is Superior and the Blacks are Dark Black Ink. No OLED Experience is Half as Good as my Home Theater. I know I have a Top of the Line OLED 75 inch TV too. I understand what a TV is for and What an Actual Home Theater is. No True Home Theater has a TV in it!!!! Nobody goes to the Local Movie Theater and watches a TV!!!! People have 300 inch Home Theaters in their Homes. People put up Outdoor Screens and Project a 500 inch image. You are Clueless!!!! Projectors are Not going anywhere!!!! Every Year Projector Technology gets Better.

[@snymanjaco7]

Great job Morgan and Dan. Nicely done!

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you very much Jaco! We really value your support! 😄🔊

[@KASmonkeys]

thanks you for this!

[@mirroredgenetworks]

It is our pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it! 😄

[@longp6432]

not bad. tv looks so small in that room though. 120" projector screen would have been perfect

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you for watching our video about this home cinema build. One of the specific requests by our client was to have an 85" display for this home cinema room. This is the reason why we have used it in this space. We have however planned the correct cabling and a location for a projector as an upgrade for the future. Keep an eye on our channel, maybe we will be adding a projection screen in the near future 😉📽

[@longp6432]

@@mirroredgenetworks nice work. I guess they say the customer is always right :D

[@squared80]

@@longp6432 They're not. :)

[@mirroredgenetworks]

I am not sure I would say "client is always right"... we had various discussions with our client and agreed on the best compromises to meet the vision of the room. We all understand the limitations of what we have designed and built. Now that we have the room built correctly, we can always add and make upgrades in the future 😉

[@timg3580]

Awesome, and thank you for the details.

[@mirroredgenetworks]

It is our pleasure Tim! Glad that you found this video informative! 😄🔊

[@CafeinaPlus4k]

Amazing home cinema for a such small TV! It makes no sense att all.

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you for watching our video. There are 2 reasons why the television instead of a projection based solution: 1: Our client specifically requested a television as this is his first dedicated viewing room, so he wasn't yet ready to go the whole route of a projection based solution. 2: To meet the budget of the project, a projection based solution was not possible. It was more important to ensure that the room was built correctly than compromise on technology. The 85" screen is certainly big enough for an enjoyable home cinema experience. It should also be noted, that the client is certainly interested in upgrading to a projection based solution at a later stage, but as this has already been a big undertaking for him, he is very happy with the 85" television for the time-being. We have also prepared the room for a projection based solution, so the upgrade at a later stage will be very quick to implement.

[@X-Circuits]

As a speaker designer, I small suggestion. Its better u have added an enclosed to the ceiling speaker, Atmos. But, the box for typical these kind of Ceiling speakers have a high Qts, EBP

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thanks for watching our video. We would encourage you to view it again to see that we have installed the overhead Dolby Atmos speakers into enclosed speaker boxes 👍🏻🔊

[@SajidHussain-lz9pb]

Everything is great except picture frames with reflective glass. Kinda bothering while watching show. See at 35:57secs

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you so much for the positive feedback! Joyfully the reflective glass of the pictures is nothing to worry about as the bottom of the picture frames is above eye head level when sitting upright in the rear cinema seats. You would be able to enjoy without distractions 😄🔊

[@anthonyserfontein7432]

Well done

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you very much Anthony! Glad that you like our video!

[@LespacecarredartsFr]

Great job congrats

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you, we appreciate that you enjoyed the video and respect our work on this home cinema!

[@marcalvarado1915]

The framing and lighting look fantastic! I know you said it was the clients choice for such a small screen but I hope he decides to upgrade soon. Also, the speakers look way too small for that room as well. In any case your work looks excellent.

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Hi Marc, thank you for taking the time to watch our video. We really appreciate it. As this is our client's first dedicated home cinema room, we were happy to meet him with regards to his request for a television as a display. We are sure that when the time is right, we will install a projection screen and projector. We have already made the required provisions for a projector to be installed into the rear of the cinema room, so its simply a case of when. With regards to the speakers chosen for this project, we have been using M&K Sound as our speaker choice for smaller home cinemas and media rooms for the past 5 years. For this home cinema, we have chosen speakers from their M Range as are excellent performers and have provided a seamless integration for the room design. They are being powered by an Anthem MRX740 AVR and this has enabled them provide a beautiful sound stage with enough volume and power to fill the whole room with constant sound. Our client has been very happy with the audio of the room, which leaves us pleased with our choice.

[@The.Home.Cinema.Engineer]

amazing! except the 85" tv to small for the space why not do a projector??!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you for watching our video. There are 2 reasons why the television instead of a projection based solution: 1: Our client specifically requested a television as this is his first dedicated viewing room, so he didn't want to go the whole route of getting a projector. 2: To meet the budget of the project, a projection based solution was not possible. It was more important to ensure that the room was built correctly than compromise on technology. The 85" screen is certainly big enough for an enjoyable home cinema experience. It should also be noted, that the client is certainly interested in upgrading to a projection based solution at a later stage, but as this has already been a big undertaking for him, he is very happy with the 85" television for the time-being. We have also prepared the room for a projection based solution, so the upgrade at a later stage will be very quick to implement.

[@SFW-za]

Nice .....why would he choose a TV over a PJ

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Hi Allister, thank you for watching our video. There are 2 reasons why the television instead of a projection based solution: 1: Our client specifically requested a television as this is his first dedicated viewing room, so he wasn't yet ready to go the whole route of a projection based solution. 2: To meet the budget of the project, a projection based solution was not possible. It was more important to ensure that the room was built correctly than compromise on technology. The 85" screen is certainly big enough for an enjoyable home cinema experience. It should also be noted, that the client is certainly interested in upgrading to a projection based solution at a later stage, but as this has already been a big undertaking for him, he is very happy with the 85" television for the time-being. We have also prepared the room for a projection based solution, so the upgrade at a later stage will be very quick to implement.

[@SFW-za]

@@mirroredgenetworks That was alot of work and kudos to the 2 man job

[@carlosrodrigues2690]

It’s really interesting to see different construction methods to achieve the same result, the spray and the use of staples instead of brads was really interesting, is there any particular reason why you whose staples? All the best and I look forward to seeing what else comes of this in the future.

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Hi Carlos, thank you very much for watching our video of this home cinema build. With regards to the staples & spray glue to adhere the velcro.. We find that this is a the most secure method to attach the velcro. When it comes to the timber construction, we scaled down all of our timber for this project and found that the nails we were using didn't have the strength that we were looking for. In the past we have glued & screwed all of our timber constructions together, but this was our first time trying the nail gun. The success was mixed, so we will definitely be using it again, but we think we need a little more refinement with our choice of nails.

[@nicolemaddix4291]

Why didn't you use state of the art blinds to cover the window so the clients would have the choice to open or close it as he sees fit?😎🏁

[@mirroredgenetworks]

While motorised blinds and curtains would have been a nice addition to this room, it was not a requirement for our client.

[@nicolemaddix4291]

I think you guys remade the wheel on this one😎🏁

[@pf5658]

Quality work from start to finish and the end results shows. Fantastic job guys. Btw what were the room dimensions? I don’t believe I heard it mentioned.

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you so much for the positive feedback! We appreciate you watching the video and enjoying it! 😄 The room was 6.2m long x 4.2m wide x 3.0m high (20ft long x 13.5ft wide x 9.8ft high)

[@derHerrMueller2]

Sehr schön gemacht, nur der winzige Fernseher passt da ja überhaupt nicht. Warum nicht richtig mit Beamer mit dreimal größeren Bild???

[@mirroredgenetworks]

when the client has enough budget available we will take the TV screen out and replace it with a projection screen

[@rapi999dsl]

What a small screen… seriously? 😂 All the great work for a TV set??

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Our client is very happy with his choice of an 85" television screen for his home cinema. As this is his first home cinema, he wanted to go with a display that is familiar to his viewing experience. As mentioned on other comments, when the time is right, our client is interested in upgrading, but for now he is happy to settle into his new house and enjoy watching movies in his first ever home cinema.

[@squared80]

Honestly disappointing that the clients wouldn't put an acoustically transparent screen with projection in there. Compromised on screen size and the tiny LCR speakers, and I don't understand why. Also, maybe I missed it by skimming through the video. Does the room have acoustic treatments, both absorption and diffusion? Or was that another thing the clients decided they didn't need.

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Hi Michael, thank you for taking the time to watch our video about this home cinema build and leave a comment about it. There are of course always questions about projects like these when we haven't posted the back-story. To answer a few of your questions, firstly, this is our clients first dedicated room for viewing content. With that in mind, this an introduction to movie watching with everything included: larger than normal screen, speakers in the correct locations, lighting integration, proper seating/ We have discussed the compromises that have been made with regards to screen sizes, amount of speakers, etc and our client was quite happy with these considering the budget that was set aside for this project. Dedicated home cinema rooms are all about how to get the best experience with the least compromises and our client is incredibly happy with what we have delivered for him. With regards to the speakers, we have been using M&K speakers in our home cinema rooms and media rooms for the past 5 years and have incredible results using them. I would encourage you to look them up and do a bit of research considering their performance. This configuration was able to work well for the room. We have included a basic acoustic treatment package, which includes front wall absorption, first reflections, there is also a broadband absorber at the rear of the room with diffusion slats installed on the front as this is what was required to deal with some of the low frequency issues that the room presented. We didn't take a deep dive into the products or acoustic properties of the room as this is an introduction video into the process of taking this room from a bare room to a completed home cinema room in a little over 1 month.

[@TheChuck1960]

What size room is this and why did you use an 85” TV and not a 120” screen? Did you explain to your customer that they would eventually want a larger screen down the road?

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Hi Chuck, thank you for watching our video. Yes, the discussion around TV vs Projector was had with our client. This is our clients first dedicated movie viewing room, so the jump from his previous biggest tv (I think it was 55" or 65") was already a big jump. He completely understands the benefit if a larger projection based solution, but was not ready to make that move just yet. When is ready to change over to a projection based solution we will be happy to assist him. With regards to screen size, it will be determined by viewing distance and requirements, not just simply a 120" screen because that is what most other people are using. We plan for the requirements of our client and which projector is going to be most suitable for his needs.

[@andriod3000]

holy shit i feel so bad the client spent al this money on the labor anthem avr and control 4 intergration and clearly very nice chairs but did a 1000 dollar tv and about as simple of speakers as can be done. tell ya what tho yall made out like bandits on the labor and as an integrator gj closing on the sale at the least 👍

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you for enjoying this detailed overview of this home cinema build. As mentioned on a few of the other comments, this is our clients first dedicated room for television & movie watching. He had certain specific requests which we incorporated into our design. While we always try design and build our home cinemas with all the required equipment that regular home cinema enthusiasts are used to.. We did had various discussions with our client and have laid out a path to upgrade for the future. When the time is right, the television can easily be upgraded to a projector. We have also built out various speaker locations throughout the cinema so that we can upgrade the speakers to bigger speakers, as well as more speakers. All journeys need to start somewhere and the well built and integrated room was the right way to start this journey.

[@Linnjazzy-93]

Nice video .Samsung Crystal tv ,what a shame, he could have get a better tv for the money .

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Thank you for watching our video. With regards to the choice of a Samsung Crystal TV, it is the lowest cost option for the size and thus a compromise that we were willing to make to keep this project on budget. We have employed the services of a trusted professional calibrator to ensure that the image produced by the television is as accurate as possible. Don't forget of course, that the choice for a larger screen television as the display in this home cinema is to ensure the impact is minimal for the initial project, with the long-term plan to replace the TV screen with a projection screen and projector. Keep an eye out for our future videos, where we may in fact be upgrading this room to a projection based solution 📽😄

[@Losttouchjs]

That Poor Poor Curtain 😢

[@mirroredgenetworks]

No curtains were harmed during the making of this video 😅🔊

[@pippahappy9735]

Obviously been hung up by a man. It is dreadful looking from the outside. I would be getting serious anxiety issues every time I walked past it. It will be bleached out and dreadful looking in no time. 😂😂

[@Jo34457]

What a tiny screen ? You need a 120” screen man

[@mirroredgenetworks]

The client will upgrade when he is ready 👍🏻

[@davidh8258]

all that work to hide such tiny speakers, room looks likr it could handle much bigger speakers and screen

[@mirroredgenetworks]

As someone once said, it is not about the size of the speakers, but rather how you use them. These M&K speakers are providing a great audio response within this room that has met our clients expectations. When he is ready to look at upgrades we will be sure to guide him in the most suitable way for his requirements 👍🔊

[@banzisimelane7691]

What are the dimensions of the room?

[@mirroredgenetworks]

The dimensions are listed in the description: 6.2m long x 4.2m wide x 3.0m high If you would like to learn more about this home cinema, take another look at the description 👍🏻

[@wingnutsocial]

Hi! What are the room dimensions?

[@mirroredgenetworks]

We would encourage you to read the full description about this project. It does include the information about the room dimensions 👍🏻

[@skoetie1088]

Hey what did this all cost

[@mirroredgenetworks]

Hi there, we will attempt to do a video detailing all of the costs for this project. but in the mean time, if you are looking for a solution like this, feel free to send us a contact request from our website: mirroredgenetworks.com/contact

[@kidcharlemagne9139]

Cost?

[@mirroredgenetworks]

If you would like to discuss the cost of a project like this, feel free to contact us from our website. There are many factors that determine the cost of a home cinema like this. mirroredgenetworks.com/contact

[@TecumsehSherman36]

TINY SCREEN....CHANGE IT.

[@mirroredgenetworks]

The client is very happy with the size of the screen in this home cinema room. When he is ready for an upgrade, we will change it 👍

[@TecumsehSherman36]

@@mirroredgenetworks No, change it now!