explore the BusinessNet
Hamilton Addresses Home Cinema Market
Story
Home cinema systems have provided domestic users with the ability to gain an exciting movie-house experience from the comfort and privacy of their own home. As poor lighting control can spoil the whole viewing experience, Hamilton Litestat has developed their popular Digital Mercury System lighting control system so that it can address the needs of this particular market sector.
In these applications the lighting control needs to be very versatile, offering simplicity of programming to ensure that the most suitable lighting scene is just a touch of a button away. By creating a number of stored scenes, Digital Mercury enables the user to set background lighting so that it doesn’t interfere with people’s viewing enjoyment. For maximum safety, the system can feature a setting which brings all the lighting up to full power.
The miniaturization of circuit boards has made it possible for Hamilton Litestat to create custom installations that help to enhance the viewing experience. These integrated controllers can incorporate, for example, sound and lighting controls, heating and ventilation systems, all within a single control panel. These units are extremely compact and can feature panel controls which can be used to: reveal the plasma screen, to adjust the lighting levels and to switch the sound over from the music system to the film’s sound track as the movie begins.
All of these functions can be operated from a hand held infra-red control, making the system even easier to use. Where required, these types of units can be used to interrupt the viewing when the door bell rings or the fire/burglar alarm operates. In these examples the lighting can be automatically raised and the sound system lowered to maximise awareness.
The incorporation of digital dimmer packs enables Digital Mercury to be programmed with variable fade rates so that each of the lighting channels can be raised or lowered to the desired level. By adjusting the level of brightness on each of the channels, using either a hand held infra-red remote or a wall mounted controller, Digital Mercury is able to create the desired scenes. This system is also very simple to reconfigure allowing a set scene to be quickly changed to suit the user’s latest requirements.
These home cinema lighting installations are able to feature low level lighting that allows viewers to move safely around the room, thus giving the characteristics of a commercial cinema. The use of a recessed floor mounted LED lighting system not only helps to identify the walkways, but also gives a contemporary feel to the space. In this type of installation, Digital Mercury can be used to control and blend the different channels of light, including recessed downlights, to provide effective scene setting that can maximise viewer enjoyment.
Unlike conventional domestic dimmers, which can emit a low level audible buzzing noise when in operation which could be distracting in a cinema environment, Digital Mercury incorporates the latest dimming technology which houses the electronics away from the control plate to eliminate this annoying problem. At the same time this separation avoids the control plates from getting warm which is another problem which can sometimes be experienced when using plate dimmers. Another big advantage is being able to facilitate an increase in a system’s maximum load capability to cope with a client’s more sophisticated requirements.
As visual appeal is often the all-important criteria when designing home cinemas, the style and finish of the accessory plates can play a major role in defining the space and enhancing the dècor. With Hamilton’s Digital Mercury System customers are able to choose from this manufacturer’s extensive plate ranges to suit the project’s design criteria.
With all the proliferation of technology that is designed to support the home cinema, it is easy to forget that the real purpose of custom installation is to make home entertainment so much more enjoyable for the user. By simplifying the control systems and enabling them to work in conjunction with other operating systems the installer can offer hassle free solutions that help to increase the perceived value of a development.
