Shops and blossom on the High Street, Ascot. Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0A cinema room that works for sport as well as film
In a town built around a racecourse, it is no surprise that sport comes up in almost every brief. Most rooms we build are used for live sport as much as for cinema, and the design has to allow for both. A film wants darkness, a big screen and immersive sound. A race day or a match wants some light in the room, a bright picture, and space for friends to move around. We handle that with:
- Separate Control4 modes: one press for film night with the lights down, another for sport with the lights up and the sound set for commentary.
- The right display for the room: a large 4K TV where there is daylight, or a laser projector and screen where the room can be darkened.
- Seating planned from the viewing distance, so every seat has a comfortable view.
Our published Epsom media room and sports bar shows the approach: an 85 inch Sony TV, an Anthem receiver with 5.1 surround sound, acoustic panelling to fix poor sound clarity, Lutron RA2 lighting and blackout blinds, all on one control pad. The same thinking scales up to a dedicated cinema with a projector for film and a brighter setting for the big races.
From our Weybridge projectDedicated cinema or media room?
A dedicated cinema room is built for one purpose, with controlled light, acoustic treatment and tiered seating. A media room is a living space that also delivers big-screen picture and serious sound, often around a concealed projector that drops down when you want it. If the room must stay a family room, choose a media room. If you can give it over to film, a dedicated cinema will always do more. We will tell you honestly which your room suits.
From our Weybridge projectHow is a private cinema designed?
It starts with design, not equipment. We survey the room, work out seating positions and screen size from real viewing distances (the most comfortable viewing angle sits between 33 and 40 degrees), place the speakers for your room rather than a textbook rectangle, and produce 3D visuals before anything is ordered. Our design consultation is free. As a guide, a professionally designed small cinema room typically costs £15,000 to £25,000 fully installed; larger rooms with reference-grade equipment go beyond that.
Our nearest published cinema to Ascot is a basement cinema in Weybridge. For a larger family room, our Roehampton Gate basement cinema in London uses a 9.4 Dolby Atmos system, a JVC laser projector and Moovia seating in a 7 by 8 metre room.
Our demonstration cinema in Walton-on-ThamesPlanning and the neighbourhood plan
Internal cinema and smart home work rarely needs planning permission. Outbuildings, external equipment and anything in a conservation area or the Green Belt might. In the Royal Borough's part of Ascot, planning decisions also take account of the Ascot, Sunninghill and Sunningdale Neighbourhood Plan, adopted in 2014. Check with the right council before external work starts.
Come and judge the picture and sound yourself: book a showroom visit to our demonstration cinema in Walton-on-Thames.
