The Home Cinema Alliance - Tech Talk Podcast
A consumer-facing podcast hosted by industry veterans, Stuart Burgess from Immersive Cinema Rooms and Simon Gregory from Cinema Rooms.
Each episode, we bring you News, Reviews, and Interviews from inside the industry covering Home Cinema, Home Theatre, and all things tech.
Get involved podcast@homecinemaalliance.co.uk
The Home Cinema Alliance - Tech Talk Podcast
Why We Still Love Projectors Even As Giant TVs Take Over
The day starts with a bruise and ends with a Barco HDR jaw-drop. We catch up after two months apart, swap stories from a London to Brighton ride that raised more than £25,000 for Together for Cinema, and unpack why telling the charity’s stories on film hits harder than any spec sheet. From there we dive into an award-winning, deceptively simple media room—Amina invisible speakers, hidden subs, a clean Tudor aesthetic—and why “understated” can still blow minds.
Then we go on tour: Essential Install Live impressions, EI Live moving to the NEC with ECN Live, and a packed trip to Barco’s new experience center in Belgium. Think glassless 3D medical imaging, DCI-grade HDR in a commercial theater, and lab testing that freezes, heats, drops, and de-noises projectors until they’re mission-ready. It reframes projection as precision engineering, not nostalgia. We also get practical with Ubiquiti Wi‑Fi 7, Unifi Protect cameras and doorbells, and a case for privacy-friendly, subscription-free home security that actually integrates well.
The heart of the episode tackles the big question: super-sized TV or projector? We weigh RGB mini LED at 116 inches, LG’s 136-inch micro LED, and why OLED isn’t “over,” just challenged on size and cost. We contrast that with laser projection’s cinematic warmth, acoustic transparency, and lower eye fatigue in long sessions. Ultra short throw projectors round out the middle path—minimal room changes, ERC to real audio systems, and portability for renters. The answer isn’t a single winner; it’s matching brightness, budget, room, and habits with the right tools, then proving it with a proper demo.
If you care about home cinema performance—not just spec-chasing—this is your roadmap: real rooms, real tradeoffs, and gear that earns its place. Subscribe, share with a friend who’s planning a media room, and tell us: are you team giant TV or team projector? Your stories and demo wins might feature next time.
So Simon, it's been a while. It has indeed, yes, two months we've just worked out.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I think we just worked out, it's been a couple of months. I think the last one we did was at Pulse. Yep. Um, and uh it was the same time I did the sit down with Trinov with uh David. So I think we worked that out. It was just as school holidays were starting to wrap up.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, the end of the end of August, wasn't it? So and we're well, we were both preparing, all three of us were preparing for the London to Brighton bike quite at the time, but uh unfortunately you had a bit of an incident.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I I sort of like well, I had a cold, but then also um I'm gonna blame the wife completely. Uh if you're watching this, Kate, I will blame you. Uh I I literally went outside and um walked up the side of so our driveway, we sort of like are like that. So Kate's car was in front of mine, and I think she'd her mum had come back to our house, so the car was further over. So I'm navigating up the side of our driveway anyway, because now the car's further over, but then also the charge lead for my wife's car was in the car. You got an electric car, so you had a little charge lead for the car. It wasn't quite touching the floor, so I'm like, okay, I'm now walking sideways, plus I'm trying to navigate that. So I took one step over, and as I took the other step over, yep. Foot caught it, bang, straight down.
SPEAKER_01:Stuart did send us all the video, and maybe we maybe we could put this up just as a little insert because it was very unfortunate what happened, but it's very difficult also not to laugh. So uh if we can put the last 10 seconds up, that'd be fantastic.
SPEAKER_03:It was like I had my car, I had my car there, which I've got like a carbon splitter on the front of my car, and that's like a grand. So I'm like, don't hit that. There's a brick wall here, don't hit that, and then there's recycling bins there, going, that's gonna hurt. So it was uh it was a controlled fall, you know, when they demolish a building.
SPEAKER_01:It was a as a slow motion controlled fall, and obviously now you're watching the video, that'd be even better. But unfortunately, that did rule you out of the uh the London Brighton Brike ride where we had uh a great day.
SPEAKER_02:Um what was it about 47, 48 in the middle?
SPEAKER_01:47, yeah. We wanted the 50, but a few people dropped out uh obviously a couple of days before, and the actual day, I think the CD at Denver show wiped a few out. Some people did bravely carry on and uh managed to to do the bike ride. So um, yeah, I think there was about 45 in the day. Um we raised nearly just over 25,000, I believe. Um, I've not seen the last uh official figures, but uh 25,000 uh pounds for uh to get for cinema and uh yeah we had a great day. We started a bit earlier because the weather looked a bit atrocious. It was 50-50. We were gonna go uh go ahead because the rain was torrential on the Saturday, the winds were coming in. Uh, so we got up about half five in the morning, got the half-six train, got to uh to to London and uh met up with the guys, and uh yeah, we we we left about nine o'clock and I just kept going really because I wanted to beat the weather.
SPEAKER_03:Well, there was there was so I was sitting at home, obviously acutely aware this was going on and getting FOMO, but then I was also sitting there going, well, at least I'm not gonna get wet. So, like, made myself a bacon roll, I'm sitting in front of the TV watching Sunday brunch or something like that, and then I'm acutely aware that out the window it's beautiful sunshine. And then on the WhatsApp group that we all had, um, people have obviously got to their first pit stop or their first stop. So photographs are going up, and I'm looking at the photographs going, doesn't look very rainy to me. And then, yeah, literally, I think it rained about three o'clock, didn't it? I think in Brighton, but everybody had pretty much got in by that.
SPEAKER_01:So, yeah, there's a few unfortunate ones. I mean, I so I just kept going and wanted to beat beat the rain. And what was good is there's so many different levels of ability doing it. So, I mean, you you had certain people on like the little tiny fold-up bikes that are obviously showing off and doing it. As I was going up Ditchlin Beacon, quite demoralisingly, somebody was coming down because clearly they'd already finished and then was cycling back to London.
SPEAKER_03:Or someone goes up Ditchlin Beacon on a BMX, zigzagging, yes, and you're on a multi-speed bike pushing because you just can't do it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, but Ditchlin Beacon nearly finished me off. Uh, that's on the 47th mile. Um, but yeah, kept kept going. I walked up that because I didn't know what to expect afterwards and whether I could finish because I'd never done that far before. 35 miles is the furthest I ever cycled, um, and managed to do it in uh just under four and a half hours. So uh I was very impressed with myself, got myself a little pat on the back, and uh all trade uh kindly put on some beers and uh other drinks for us. Up the stairs, though. Yes, go up those stairs. But I I to be fair, I pop off my left knee, which really really did hurt. Um, I didn't feel too bad.
SPEAKER_03:So uh but then you had the family in Brighton to give you lots of sympathy and negative massages, none of that.
SPEAKER_01:Literally, oh well done, congratulations. And then I I went and had a few beers and then we drove back home, which took forever because the rain did kick in, as Stuart said, uh later on in the day. So it took us a good sort of two and a half, three hours to did you drive or did the wife drive? No, they both drove. That's that was the whole reason of that. I I couldn't have managed that, but no, we all did very well, and uh yeah, I think it ranged from three hours fifty to sort of uh my four and a half hours to about six hours kind of time.
SPEAKER_03:So and I and I believe the the donation site is still open, I think, isn't it? I think it's shut now. Oh, is it shut now? Shut at the end of uh if you go to togetherforcinema.co.uk, I'll put the the thing up here. Um there's lots of ways on there you can donate and get in touch with them and and donate.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, but just promoting next year now, trying to prepare for that and uh come up with some ideas. So uh yeah, that'd be uh exciting to do that for 2026.
SPEAKER_03:And staying on Together for Cinema slightly, one thing that uh I've been doing um I think it's pretty much since we last spoke was we're now looking after doing videography for Together for Cinema as HGA Media. So, like this week I'm going to a uh launch at one of their centres. So if you go onto HCA's uh socials, um if you go onto Together for Cinema's socials, you'll see some videos there of where we're having a conversation with the integrator that's done their time there, a couple of sponsors who have sponsored the stuff, and then more importantly, you know, the pair the last one we did was Heart Heroes, I think, in Gloucester. We had one of the mums there with one of the sons, and then we had the one of the people there who run it, and it's just seeing them doing that, like speaking about how much that means to them.
SPEAKER_01:It's such a such a worthwhile cause, and and so the videos that you you you're doing at the moment, I think really brings out what it means to people and what it actually brings uh to to obviously all the people that are staying at the hospice and stuff. So um I think that really does help.
SPEAKER_03:Well, see now an analogy I liked, and I said to um uh Ian who looks after the charity was you know, if a picture's worth a thousand words, what's a video worth? Yeah, exactly. No, and although you know I've had to jump in the van and go there, it's been nice, it's been humbling. Yeah. Although come back to me on the next podcast because I'll do five and a half hours to Teaside this week. Wow. Then five and a half hours back. But I don't mind. I I listen to podcasts, I've got some great audiobooks, so that's all right. So, what else have you been up to work-wise, personal-wise, kids half-terms just happening out to Paris?
SPEAKER_01:After the London Brighton Bright Cride, where she could barely walk sort of the next day. I wasn't too bad, but my left knee did hurt. Uh, we had the Essential Install uh live show.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So which is uh based in Farnborough. So uh kindly a colleague drove me down there because my left knee wasn't really working. Uh I saw you lived in the van and the van the van is uh manual, so not automatic. So putting the clutch down was a bit bit too much. So yeah, that was a great, a great couple of days. Um I think Dave's admitted that uh attendance was a bit a bit down, but the quality of people going was was really high. So I think the dealers really did appreciate uh the the the level of um quality that was going to the show, and then you get a chance to speak to people, so which really helps because you sort of go and see someone you want to speak to, but they've got about four or five people around them. You're like, okay, I'll come back, and then inevitably you don't really come back, or you kind of get way laid, or you got to go because you want to beat traffic. So I think for us, we did get to to to chat to a lot of a lot of people and get some really good one-on-one time. Um, obviously, we did the AWE tour as uh again as well, which really helped. So um, we got to see all the different um aspects of of what was happening and what they're selling. So a really great uh 1016 inch, 116-inch uh high synth uh mini RGB TV, which was phenomenal. Literally, the the the the the brightness of it, the the the the level of uh detail, the black levels was on par with LED, which I think I'll touch on at a bit later.
SPEAKER_03:But uh it's gonna come up in the news and in the topic of the boat.
SPEAKER_01:Uh but no, really, really, really good show, and then also you had the awards, um, which we will you be going anywhere with this by any sense.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, I am.
SPEAKER_01:I'm reeling that reeling that in. Um so we had the we we entered uh for best media room under 50,000 and uh we uh we won. So uh happy with that. Um uh WoWhouse won above 50,000, we went below 50,000, which we were, um, and we won our one. So uh really happy with that as a Tudor building that we worked for for uh a while on and uh it was very in-depth. Uh uh Red Line um helped us out with doing the Amina invisible speakers, so I think I've spoken about that before. Uh we've got a local carpenter to do the media wall, uh the speaker's completely hidden, um, and it it's really in keeping with um the the the ethics of of of of the room. Uh we're at Steinway at the moment, so you can probably see the wooden beams and everything like that. So it's very much in keeping with that.
SPEAKER_03:You don't want to detract from the room you can see.
SPEAKER_01:No, so you've got the lovely wooden beams, which obviously got here at Steinway and things, but it it really is like a Tudor building in keeping with that, and Heritage England got involved, so we had to keep it pretty much minimalistic. So uh yeah, no, happy with that we we we were on that, so uh very chuffed.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, congratulations. And as you said, our friends uh Degash at Nucleus won the over 50,000, which there's lots of videos around. If you go to HGA Media's channel, they've we've got the videos up there of that we did for them. Um what I liked about yours was that it was it was understated, yeah. 100%, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It even I mean, even taking photos is quite difficult because you've got this lovely media wall and then slowly 98-inch telly, but everything else is hidden. So you can't see the velodyne speakers, sorry, velodyne subs in the wall because obviously they're hidden, and you can't see the Amina hidden speakers because they're hidden. And you say was it 96 inches?
SPEAKER_02:98 inches, yes, it didn't even look like a 98 inch.
SPEAKER_01:No, because the media wall is is massive, it's it's about six metres long, so uh it's pretty pretty big. So congratulations.
SPEAKER_03:And as we record this, um uh we've had announcements this morning that EI Live is moving to the NEC next year. Yep, so no longer at Farnborough, no longer down south, we've gone more middle of the the the the country. So I think as um uh David Kitchener said on the podcast that's gone live this morning, if you look at Earth on a helicopter, obviously David's helicopter, um Birmingham. Birmingham is jet, but hey Birmingham is in the middle. So so yeah, we're going EI Live to Birmingham next year. 2026, but then also uh combining that with ECN Live, so electrical contracting news live. So that's a trade-only show, uh uh going to be up to about 150 exhibitors, but for both the electrical and the integrated market.
SPEAKER_01:So that'll be that'll be I've never been to NEC, so I've heard it's a pretty good, pretty decent venue.
SPEAKER_03:NEC's great, and and apparently they've they've uh if you listen to the podcast, David said that they've built like a village with restaurants around the lake and things like that.
SPEAKER_01:So it is the sort of place they only come out today, so even I've not even seen.
SPEAKER_02:I mean you've not watched my podcast yet. No, no, no. I mean, it's 12 o'clock and it went live at 10 o'clock this morning, but it's only just turned November.
SPEAKER_03:But no, so that would be cool. I mean, obviously, unfortunately, trade only, but I mean, we're certainly gonna be up there. Hopefully, we'll do some video footage like we did with ISE this year. So if you are a member of the public watching this, um, you know, please keep an eye on this YouTube channel because like we did with the ISE videos this year, and we'll do again next year, um, we're gonna do some videos, um, some sort of behind the scenes, the BTS of the exhibition.
SPEAKER_01:BTS, I like that.
SPEAKER_00:Thinking of building your dream home cinema? Don't know where to start? Start with the HCA. At the Home Cinema Alliance, we connect homeowners with the very best in the business. Our members are trusted designers, installers, and technology experts who know how to turn any room into a breathtaking cinematic experience. Whether you're building from scratch or converting a spare room, our members are here to help you every step of the way.
SPEAKER_03:Visit our website to find your local member at homesinamareliance.co.uk, you've been up to you've been working on your RAW two project, or three project, but keeps on getting pushed back slightly.
SPEAKER_01:So yep, so the ro there are three uh Lutron projects that's still still still going. I think the electricians in is put put everything in and we're just waiting to program that. So uh I think there's a few stock issues, um, but I think that's all in now. Just doing the engraving of the uh the keypads, so obviously that's quite fundamentally important to get the correct terminology that the client can understand of what scenes they want to be set throughout the rest of the house. So um um uh pulse has helped us out on those kind of scenarios, so yeah, that's that's going on, and our barn conversion that's nearly completion. We've got most of the Wi-Fi in now, we've got Wi-Fi 7 ubiquity access points going in, and they are mightily impressive. They're a little bit bigger than the the standard uh light ones, but uh they they do fill a fairly decent size area and and wifi 7 obviously is uh so they use like the ubiquity pro max, are they?
SPEAKER_03:Uh that kind of size, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So that that they're pretty big, and obviously more power, so you've got to be careful of the power of ubiquity, make sure you've got enough on your on your network switch. Um, but so that that's all in. Uh we've got the architecture speakers going on in the kitchen, that's all in now and ready to be set up. And we're just waiting for the comms room to be finished, to be fair. So the tiling needs to be done, the cupboard needs to be built. We went there a couple of weeks ago, and there's just sawdust everywhere. So we decided to take a step back, let's get it finished, get it done properly, nice and clean, and then we can come in and finish off. So the media room's all finished now, so they're looking beautiful. We worked on that with Cinema Lux. Um, so they've done all their uh their detailing and on that. So we've got like a fabric wall, a bar area, um, um, and a kitchen area as well. So that's all looking very nice, and yeah, we're just waiting for that to be finished, really. So hopefully next week we will be done just in time for Christmas.
SPEAKER_03:So that's great. Sounds really interesting. Massou, uh we've been so the Brighton job's pretty much there. Um we had a I had some great fun fabric wrap in the ceiling. Yeah, you've done a lot, done a lot of that about the colour. I was like, I was like Casper the Ghost about two or three weeks before Christmas, but in orange. So um we're hoping that's nearly nearly finished. We've had to just uh we had an issue with the screen, or or the people that were doing it with had an issue with the screen, so we've just got to go back and fit the new screen, projector screen. Um but that's actually, I've got to admit, even though it is shades of RSJ, which will be my award entry name if I do it next year, um, it actually does look really good. These sort of like ready-orangey walls with the same coloured coffer with the same colour coloured ceiling, does look really quite cold. Stand out quite quite nicely, yeah. But nicely, subtle. How subtle can a red room or uh a rusty red room be? True.
SPEAKER_01:But it it does sort of work. Well, we did a purple cinema room, I think I mentioned it many years ago, and uh I was like, please no, but actually when the lights are at the right level and stuff, it actually looks really nice. And it makes it look completely different, similar to what you you've probably done.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I'm hoping we could do some photography videos. The client is very uh aware, uh conscious about uh content, videos, things like that. But as I've explained to him, you know, when we do our what we call our project media package for other integrators, we strip metadata, we you know, we don't like here, for instance, you know, you can't really see where we are around us and any photographs and that. So I'm hoping we can get some stuff.
SPEAKER_01:Prior privacy, but prior privacy is um obviously paramount, but um, yeah, getting a really good image of and it's good for the client as well because they can tell their friends, I'll look at our room and you take a picture on your phone, yeah, they're pretty good nowadays, but having a proper uh photo of that room is uh fundamentally uh very important.
SPEAKER_03:And then our other job in Beckingham, that is we've just handed that back to the builders. So we've done our build, we've done the coffer ceiling, so it's back to them to plaster now. But I think that's going to be a stunning room. We're using um a uh an uh a suede earth, it's called. So it's sort of like a cappuccino type colour. So don't run your fingers down here. No, but but it's almost like each section's about a meter wide, okay, and then in between each section, you've got a light fitting, then you've got another section, and then we're using a mixture of uh perforated suede from uh Cinema Build Systems, the standard suede. So that's gonna go on the walls or ceiling. Um, it's got a four and a half meter, I think, uh two three five screen, but also mask him um Sony 7000 projector, um, Anthem, Mad VR, colliderscape. So I think the full works. I think it's gonna be probably end up being one of the best rooms I've done. Yeah, yeah, no, it sounds beautiful. That's gonna be great. So just waiting for just ordered a 100 metres of suede in. So uh I'm looking forward to that turning up.
SPEAKER_01:Turning up. Stock levels are uh a bit slow at the moment, aren't they? And and the building work for us is it's taking a long time. It's uh it's just different trades doing different things, and I think a lot of the trades are are doing two or three jobs at the same time, so they'll do one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and then one in the evening, and that's the way it seems to be going for us. So you're like, oh, where's that person gone? And they're like, Oh, they've gone off to another job.
SPEAKER_03:So you're like, Well, I need that X, Y, and Z done, you know, and it's just like, okay, I'll I remember because I know I was working with uh our mutual beneficial Simon this uh the other week, and he said, Yeah, we literally walked in there, and where we were going to be working was right where another guy was working, and we were the trains coming out of this main door, so uh it's in the boot boot room we're in, and it's it's it's a glass atrium almost is the best way to describe it.
SPEAKER_01:So you've got big glass doors either end, massive glass ceiling, but that's the only way in and out of of where we are. So you're always having to step out the way. So that's why we thought we'll take a step back and uh yeah, get it get it done. But all the uh unify cameras are up as well in the pool area, um, and then we're gonna put some outdoor ones when all the cladding is done for for that.
SPEAKER_03:So I watched actually on the we'll get on to I went to Barco recently on the train on the way back. I was watching um I think it was Pete Matheson. Uh he's got a uh YouTube channel, he's quite good, he does a lot with tech and things like that. And he was doing like redoing his house with uh Wi-Fi 7 and Ubiquity. And I I've always been a bit like Ubiquity. Um, and then the job we're doing in Brighton, they put in, they actually took out another brand and they put in some Ubiquity, and that actually got me to buy a couple to play with at my house because I've just upgraded to two and a half gig both ways uh with Zen. Um customer code in the description if you want to get 25 quid voucher, I think it is. Um, and um yeah, and I was actually watching this video and he was like putting up new AI cameras and putting and I gotta admit, I was watching it going, do you know what? It's so it seems I know it's not like Samsung 4K, it's not high-end uh video, but some of just the then push notification, someone's in your garden. It and obviously there for us as integrators, there's no margin in Unify, but it does seem to be a very easy uh install.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I I think it's a bit more cost-effective for the client, which I think especially in this day and age is is is is is fundamentally very important. So we we started off just doing the the access points, which we we do day in, day out, um, nice and easy. But to add so the Unify do Unify protect, so basically from one unit you can add lots of different uh other products to to make it all work. So you've got the access points that we've got, we've done the cameras built on that, and also they've got some really cool um doorbells. Okay, so literally like the other all the other people have got those those doorbells. The they do uh um a Unify Pro doorbell, which is very sleek, very elegant. It's got a camera on there, so if somebody puts a parcel where the where the door is, it lights up. So when you come back, it lights up if the if the delivery drivers put it there, where the parcel is, it's got uh uh uh night vision, two megapixel vision night cameras, all 4K as well, and just looks really sleek, slick. So uh yeah, well we haven't installed that, but we put the cables in. Uh we actually got the wrong one because you have um one with power, which we didn't need power, we just needed a PoE. Uh so we reordered the wrong ones, we had to get a PoE one.
SPEAKER_03:Uh one's what USB C, isn't it, or something like that?
SPEAKER_01:USB C. Yeah, so the one we got was USB C, but so we've pre-wired that as well, but now we've exchanged that for the proper PoE one, and we've got our cat six cable there that can plug directly into the back of the uh the network switch, and under the the umbrella, I suppose, best way of describing it, is uh the Unify and the Unify Protect, so we can get it all working in one solution.
SPEAKER_03:So if you've got that working with a dream machine or yes, basically, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So instead of having lots of different manufacturers and lots of different apps, I think is probably fundamentally we literally so well you're buying the dream machine, so you can add the cameras, whatever quality you want, whether you want the the the the G4s, G5s, or G6s, and obviously the resolution gets higher and higher as the the higher you go. So, but obviously you do need more power, so that's another thing to take into consideration the amount of power that the 4K cameras need and the 4K doorbells needs, so that's what you've got to be careful of.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, because I've got I've got a smashing of ring around my house, um, which I got the X-line when they used to do the X line. So the X line was subscription free. That's it, yep. But I'm I'm not a fan, and I mentioned this on the podcast recently, I'm not a fan of some of the other companies' privacy policies, and and I just like the I like the idea with Unify and you know other systems out there that that it is an affordable system, but it is your system. There's no subscriptions, the data stays internal, you don't have to, you know, it's just it just seems to be a good one.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so for the client, we've just got we've got the the hard drive, so you can get four gig, six gig, you think one terabyte if you wanted to. So obviously how many cameras you got in 4K. So I think we've got five cameras at 4K, that's 10 days worth of recording, then it'll rewrite.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, most people like about 10 days to two weeks, don't they? So they're thinking.
SPEAKER_01:So we spoke to the client, well, how long do you want it for? Do you gonna go you're gonna go away two, three, four weeks, whatever? Um, but they just decided for 10 weeks, well, sorry, uh 10 uh 10 days was more than enough.
SPEAKER_03:So yeah, well, it might be one of those things. I am, I am this Christmas, because we're in November now, I'm trying to finish the little office um to make it into a little studio because I want to do so things like this interest me. So I'm like, I want to try and do a little bit of a um, you know, get a load of unify stuff and set it up. That is cool.
SPEAKER_01:The cameras are really good. Yeah, I mean the packaging was next level, and anything you wanted in the box, it was in the box, different size rings, different size fittings, it was almost over the top, and even the the uh the uh the the Wi-Fi uh access points, the sevens, they are they were again very well packaged. Every single tool you can possibly want to get that installed properly uh in your in your property. But uh yeah, and I'm really good.
SPEAKER_03:Brilliant. Okay, well, I'll have a look at that. I um I might put some links below to some of the stuff you've used just in case anybody wants to look at it. Say I've got a couple of Wi-Fi sevens, I think a Pro and a Max or something like that. It sounds like an iPhone um at home to have a play with. So when I've got my new Zen broadband in, I'm getting me two and a half gig both ways, I'm gonna get those in as well. Uh I went to Barco. Um, was it last week or the week before? I can't remember now. Uh everything blurs into one at the moment. You got personally invited, which is I had an email. Which is very nice. Would you like to come to the uh global launch of Barco's new experience centre in Belgium? At the back of our videos and podcasts and everything.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, no, I think that's really nice.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, as I said to you downstairs when we were talking to uh Skino, it was like I got there and my badge had influencer written on it, and I'm like, not quite, but alright, I'll take that. Hanging out with the kids. But yeah, so John, I mean, obviously, uh shuttle's only 35 minutes from my house, so uh jumped in the car, drove over. So easy, isn't it? 25 minutes from my house of the hotel, which was about 10 minutes away from Barco. So um got over there, lovely hotel, hit the hit the steam room. Uh, as you can hear, unfortunately, you might hear me coughing on occasion as I was just getting over a cold, which I've now given to my wife. Um, but yeah, then went to Barco the next day. Oh my god, that place is just like I mean in a few of the videos and photos you've shown it looks very impressive, I have to say. It's uh stunning place from the outside, the building. Um but then when you get inside, it's like it's weird because it's like an Aladdin's cave in respects of you stand in there and it's a very big volume empty building, but then when they start taking you around, you're like, So where is this? So we all sort of met up and we were chatting. I was chatting to some guys from like trusted reviews and what Hi-Fi and all that lot, and then we went upstairs and the the the uh CEO of Barco and the commercial building from the photos you've shown us. I mean it is a it is their uh it is their their head office, it's also their lab uh laboratory as well. So they did the opening and then they took us into one room which was um uh like a bit sort of like this is Barco and like loads of TVs and projections like this. Then they took us into medical, that was amazing. They had almost like um a circle split into thirds, and this room moved, and and it was they sat us down in front of a monitor which was glassless 3D, which you controlled this scan of a brain with the mouse, and you were sitting there and you could see the 3D scan of the person or whatever brain it was. Then they moved it again, and then they showed you what were the most amazing screens, which they then will look at things like um when they do breast cancer screenings, things like the clarity screen is so good that they can find details that some screens can't. Then they span it again as if it was in a surgery, and then they had like full 4K unbelievable screens with voice and voice activation, so the surgeon can be operated on you and then go show me the screen, uh show me camera three on the main screen. Uh and then but they even got a service where they can go, can you text Peter? I need your help. So they can physically text. And this is what I found really surprising with Barcos.
SPEAKER_01:We know it for projection. 100%, yeah. I think a lot a lot of people do, so they don't realise how much else they do.
SPEAKER_03:It's uh but it was when you went into these, and then afterwards they took us into a little bit more what we knew, which was an immersive room where the floor, the walls, and the ceiling, but they were talking about how they are uh how they're quite working quite closely with um uh uh museums, theme parks, and that was mind-blowing. Then they took us into the private theatre, the residential private theatre, um, which you'll see in the next few weeks. We'll put up a podcast I did with Barth at the time there. They had a projector at the back, which the I can't remember the model name because they all use like Belgian type names which you can't pronounce like the plus city they were in. But this thing was in the room, yeah, it was given a brightness level which was stunning, and you know what we're like. Not that it takes a lot to impress us, but we're used to it. We're you know, when when we sit in the room and go. When we when we go when we look at that and go, oh my god, that's a bright screen, but the projector was there in the room. And how big was this room? Um, I think it was probably about seven by five. Right. But it was it was about ten seats. It was a good it was a good size room, nothing massive, unlike the commercial theatre, which I'll put the video up now. Unfortunately, it is just me walking into the commercial theatre because I couldn't show anything that was on the sort of grand reveal, isn't it? It was a 150-seat commercial cinema showing bur Barco HDR, and they showed us some clips from F1 and from the new Wicked 2 movie, which was on DCI, so you know, direct content to the projector. Annoyingly, I couldn't record it because of copyright, but oh my god, wow, and these I think they said it's uh check it, it might be like the view in Leicester Square, but there's a couple of cinemas out there already that got a barco HDR in it. Oh my god, it might actually get me back to a commercial cinema.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it makes you want to do that, doesn't it? And that and that's what probably why they do it. But a proper Barco projector is I mean the brightness levels are out of this world, aren't they? Really?
SPEAKER_03:And that that was brilliant. And then that afterwards they took us to probably which I mean, reading some LinkedIn posts. I mean, if you search Barco on like LinkedIn and and the internet, you'll find some things that people read. But they took us then into the labs. And that was mind blowing. They like they took us into rooms where they test the frequency of the electrical interference the projector puts out so it doesn't interfere with mobile phone signals, things like that. They then took us into another lab where they will put a projector in a uh in a chamber to see how it works or operates at altitude. Because obviously, if they're sending one to a client in Chile, they need to see how it works. They then took us into another room where the projectors are on 24-7. So you remember that you remember the old classic, you used to walk around IKEA and you saw the fake foot or sit pressing the chair, and it shows you this chair's been pushed 300,000 times. Why are you trying to escape? So they do this with the projector, so they are on all the time. Um, they they have models that are connected to the internet so they could be tested for IP control all the time.
SPEAKER_01:It's all the RD, isn't it, that you people don't see behind the the the curtain as it as it were, but unless they do that, you're not going to get the end result of a barco projector, are you? It needs all that to happen to get to that end result and get a phenomenal.
SPEAKER_03:Well, and the one the one they did, which which they said they put on especially for us, which was um they then opened up this door and they wheeled out this projector, and again, I think I've got some video of it, and the projector had been chilled to minus 15. So then what they do is they bring it out, let the projector thaw, and then as it's thawing, they test it to make sure it's getting no electrical shorts. Because again, these are trapped. A projector called Thor, didn't they? Yeah, yeah, true. Um, they uh that's probably the last one I actually could pronounce the name to. Yeah, they because they obviously send them around the world, they obviously go, you know, massive temperature fluctuations in shipping, but it was just everything from dropping the projectors, everything to they were testing.
SPEAKER_01:The barcos are pretty heavy projectors, aren't they?
SPEAKER_03:They are they are phenomenal, but they're pretty heavy projectors. They uh they took us into one room, this will make you laugh, they took us into one room, which is a bit like an anachoic chamber. So you had the you know the spikes coming out from the wall. I was one of the first people in the front of the queue to go in, or queue, the front row of people. So walk in there, and the guy goes, Okay, so if you come in and stand this side, we'll show you what we're gonna do. And this is where they were testing the electrical interference of it. And he said, Please don't touch the walls. So, of course, what did I want to do? Touch the walls. And I said, Oh great, now you've told me I can't touch the walls, all I want to touch is the spiky wall. Because is it hard, is it soft? But I mean, yeah, hats off to Barco. I mean, that was thank you for inviting me. Um, but that really opened my eyes. And that was just one day. It was one day I went a great day. Drove out there on a Thursday, one pretty much crammed day. Unfortunately, they took a load of people to this immersive church where they do some of the screens. But at that point, I was sitting down with Bart to do the podcast. I thought it was, I thought we wanted to do a podcast about the centre and about Barco and DCI and what Barco do within our industry, because unlike other major brands that we mention all the time, a lot of people may not know Barco. No, not at all.
SPEAKER_01:Because they are a certain higher echelon, um, but unbelievably commercial as well, but yeah, they are for residential dedicated cinemas, aren't they, really, as well.
SPEAKER_03:So and and yeah, I mean, um and if anybody's watching this from a manufacturer who wants us to come out and do a podcast or a video, um, then get in touch because yeah, this was this was just it was a real eye-opener. Yeah, nice to be invited as well. So and I've got now you're an influencer. Now I'm a media influencer, Ben. Right, so uh let's get on to the news. Uh but before we go into the news, please don't forget to like and subscribe this podcast on all of the platforms. Uh, if you have any questions on any of our podcasts, please do text the show uh where there's a link within the description on the podcast uh you're listening to, or if you're watching this on YouTube, please leave a comment below. Um, comment on anything you may want us to see or to do to review. I want to start trying to get some reviews in as well. So uh please let us know how you'll find in the podcast. If you're enjoying watching it, um, it does take quite a bit of an effort to get here, even though we're still in Essex and uh and do these podcasts. So please let us know and please let us know what you would want us to do or want us to speak to. Um so going into the new sci, uh, the first story is with you, which is a uh OLED is on its way out, apparently. We are making room for RGB mini LED.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, exciting stuff. Not quite true, but clickbait by any chance. Clickbait 110%. So I love OLED, beautiful TVs from all the manufacturers that that that are out there, but it's the cost of OLEDs producing the car, the thing, and obviously the size. There's only a certain maximum size you can go with OLED. So going back to the uh EI live show that we did, we mentioned the high since 116 it's 116-inch RGB mini LED TV, which was phenomenal. And you can't get a 116-inch OLED telly because the cost would be uh absolutely uh astronomical, really expensive. And this is a fairly I think it's like 25 grand. It was a 116-inch telly. That is pretty impressive.
SPEAKER_03:Stunning to look at, it was also okay, can't really use the word thin because OLED's thin, but it was stunningly slender when you looked as you as all integrators do, when you looked round at the Vasa fittings and how deep it was, my first thing was like, my god, this is only like an inch and a half thick.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it wasn't wasn't as bad as I think we thought, but uh, I mean, obviously it's fairly heavy at that size TV. But I say again, in this day and age, it's it's that cost of manufacturing. So OLEDs, yeah, fantastic, the best you can get. But the difference that I personally saw, there wasn't much difference in in the black levels, the gamma levels as well. Um, so obviously with OLED you've got that infinite black, but to honest, it's it's the black levels were pretty impressive on the uh mini RGB LED TV.
SPEAKER_03:I'd like to I'd like to I'd say I'd like to get it in and have a play, but I don't think that's going to happen somehow. You won't get it in your house, it's too big. No. I'd like to get it in and have a play because I'd like to run I'd like to run a Sky Q box for it, or I'd like to run, you know, an Apple TV through it. Because obviously what you're seeing at the show is content that is being fed by a NAS or by USB stick or something like that. Yeah. But but the initial looks of it, and I've seen a couple of podcasters bring it in and do it, and it does look stunning and it's just a great way to go.
SPEAKER_01:So while I I don't believe it's the uh the end of OLED TVs, it's uh there there are other alternatives out there that aren't too far behind the the quality of OLED TVs.
SPEAKER_03:And it's good. I mean, I've just literally bought a I've gone the opposite way. The literally, as we were recording this yesterday, I put a 32-inch OLED in my office for it's uh an Asus ProArt Kalman calibrated screen for for funnily for editing. So it is literally calibrated. So I'm looking at Rec 709, you know, I'm looking at the the actual colours that I want to calibrate to or uh edit to. I mean, that was about a 1600 pound OLED for a 32-inch, but again, that's stunning. So stunning that that yesterday afternoon I got in my car, I drove to the office, I got the Xbox from the office, I brought the Xbox home, and now I know you're thinking, but don't you already have an Xbox at home, Stuart? Yes, but that one's on my 77-inch OLED, but this one is a 32-inch 250 hertz 4K OLED. Wow. So I was sitting so it's like a proper monitor professional monitor, isn't it? Really? Yeah. I mean it's the same panel they use in like the 20,000 pound um like I think Sony or or proper reference grade monitor, but it was absolutely stunning. So you're looking at a thousand nits on that or not? Go up to, yeah, yeah. Wow. Um, but I mean it was I was showing it to a friend of ours, Colts, and he was like, oh my god, on a photograph, that screen looks stunning. So I'm looking forward to uh playing some uh Call of Duty on it. Um uh this weekend I played some I actually started playing Fortnite again. Oh wow because they got the Simpsons Fortnite Simpsons and I've been a Simpsons fan, and my friend used to record the Simpsons for me on VHS video because he has Sky, I didn't, and then give me the video. So I mean I think I've pretty much watched every Simpsons episode since it came out 33 years ago.
SPEAKER_01:It was a long time ago.
SPEAKER_03:But no, I mean that that but again, that's a stunning monitor. But yeah, I mean, I think what is it, 83? I think is the biggest size we could do with OLED at the moment.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yeah, so but again, that's very expensive, so ridiculously again.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I mean, we've done a couple of LGs and you've looked at the 83 OLED and then you've looked at the 86 mini LED, and you're like, do the mini LED because it's so much cheaper, and you got an extra three inches. Uh, my next story is uh so people might not have noticed, but um uh a group by the name of Massimo had was up for sale recently. The reason Massimo is quite important is that it included brands such as Bowser Wilkins, Denon, Morance, Definitive Technology, Polk Audio, HEOS, Class A, and Boston Acoustics. So recently that group, I mean, that used to be DNM Holdings and then got sold, and then got, you know, then Bowser Wilkins got bought into the group and then ended up under Massimo. Massimo have now sold it, and thankfully they've sold it to Harmon International, which is a Samsung company. Yep. So, yes, you may look at it and go, oh my god, that's another speaker brand under another. So you've now got you know JBL in the same group as Bowser Wilkins. Um, but actually, it at least it means that they're safe.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, they're safe, and you know you're gonna get that quality and reliability, which is is paramount for somebody who wants to buy a product, you you want it to be reliable. So um the cost of manufacturing, as you say, that they're gonna be safe. So all under one umbrella, I think it's uh a win-win for everybody, really.
SPEAKER_03:Well, and I did see in the story that was on Inside CI's website, uh, they did sort of close it out by saying that they are being treated as separate entities, which is good. So hopefully they will be left to do. I mean, we you sort of see it in the gaming world a little bit, you know, Microsoft bought Activision.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, especially Microsoft nowadays.
SPEAKER_03:It's and you know, and but a lot of those people like I mean I've just been playing um Keeper, which is if you're not played, it's brilliant. It's about a lighthouse, right? But it that is um that is uh um a studio, they're just left to do what they want. I can't remember the name of the studio now, it's really gonna annoy me. I'll put it here. Um, but they basically that has been that studio is just left to do what they want to do, and they come up with games like this.
SPEAKER_01:That's how you get the best results, isn't it?
SPEAKER_03:Which is now people are saying it's a game of the year. Yeah, really. So uh that that's gonna be a good one. Another story uh that I picked up on really just this morning, because I heard it on my way back on a podcast, I think it was yesterday or the day before, which was following on from our conversation about Freely a few weeks ago, uh a few months ago probably, which is the sort of free-to-air IP-based. So, again, if people didn't watch the last podcast, we had Freeview and FreeSat, Freeview via an aerial, free sat for a satellite dish. So that's where you could get your channel fours and your channel fives and your Dave's and things like that completely free. They launched a service called Freely, which was IP-based, which was mainly on TVs. Uh, they then said that was gonna come to a box, so an IP-based box like an Apple TV type thing. Please release it on Apple TV. Um, now it looks like that Humax, the purveyor of all things PVR, are releasing a Freely P VR. Fantastic news, and Humax is pretty good. So uh so hopefully it's gonna be free-to-wear, IP-based, but it's also gonna be recordable because I've had a couple of situations where I would like to go, I'd like to cut the cable as the Americans say, and I'd like to get rid of SkyQ and just go cabless or or satellite-less. But I just like like this morning, I just like to be able to turn the TV on, bring up the planner, and just end up watching something that's on somewhere, like a Phil and Kirsty on channel four at half past four in the morning. Um and rather than app jumping, and the other day the skybox went down again, and I ended up app jumping for a few days, and although I was fine, I just missed that. Or I wonder what's on with things on the street.
SPEAKER_01:That's that's where Sky Q does come into its uh into its own. I mean, we've we've just gone to Skystream, but uh even that is a bit bit complicated, and we can't authorise. It says we're not authorized, and we can't get Netflix, and we can't get Paramount Plus, and we're not paying for it at the moment, so they're just just trying to sort it out. But again, you're going back to that app-based thing. So you want to watch something, you want to catch up, it then goes back to that that app that you're watching, like the traitors or something like that. You're then going back to uh the BBCY player app, so it then has to load up and then go through that. So it's a bit more cumbersome and methodical in my personal opinion, but uh it's a but again, it's a lot a lot cheaper.
SPEAKER_03:So um so I'm not not sure how it's gonna work, but it'll be quite Humax sounds good. It'll be good if you couldn't have like a even if it's a hot jump or something like that. I mean, I know for a while there it would be like BBC. You say watch this from the beginning, and you press the green button and it opened the iPlayer and launched it. But if you couldn't say, if you could say, I suppose in a similar way like we have with Colliderscape, if you could say I want to watch the traitors, download the traitors and keep that on the drive for me, or or so it literally, as soon as I press go, it goes.
SPEAKER_01:It's ready to go, yeah, rather than having to open up the app and go from there.
SPEAKER_03:And then load, and that's dependent on your broadband if your kids are playing Fortnite. Yep. Um, so my last story quickly, uh, and actually leading into our topic of the month is LG Relaunch a magnet active micro LED TV. What's one of those when that is at home? So from what I can read is, and I'm gonna read this because I only literally saw it earlier, LG Electronics Reveal uh Micro LED next generation, large format display bringing professional grade visuals into luxury home cinemas, featuring active matrix technology, Dolby Vision, the 136-inch 4K screen develops exceptional contrast, depth and clarity. So 136 inch. 136 uh launches on its launch now on the 21st of October in Korea, will then reach key markets such as North America and Europe in due course. At the heart of the system is LG's A9 AI Onyx chip, uh AI, sorry, processor, sixth generation chip.
SPEAKER_01:Build your house around the 136-inch TV.
SPEAKER_03:I can remember people saying about the was it 155-inch Panasonic TV that they had at Plasma, maybe that they had in like Blue Water. And I remember our friends at AWE saying they were having to crane them into penthouses in Knightsbridge. Um well, this is a bit lighter.
SPEAKER_01:Um they're gonna go through the door. No, you still got to hire a crane.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so um, no, so again, that's another manufacturer bringing out another, no pricing yet. Um, but yeah, I mean it's it's so what's that? The hisen one was 20 odd grand, did we say? It's 25, uh 116 inch. So what we reckon? What are we gonna put our money on then? I I'm going for something like 50, maybe I'm going 80. 80? I'm going, yeah. What's this space with series right? What do you think? Comment below. In the comments. Comment below and we'll think that that price of this uh uh this 136-inch screen from LG is gonna be. Talking of prizes, you did a Sonos podcast not too long ago. Yeah, actually. And you could win a prize. Yeah, so we have in the Sonos podcast that we put up uh as we record this last week. Um, we have uh our Euro 100 up for grabs. Fantastic. So just go along to I'll put the link in the description, go along, link to the podcast, watch the podcast. Um, there's a couple of numbers hidden within the podcast. To be honest, they're not that well hidden. I have I haven't made it too difficult, but if you just follow it, um uh we're gonna run the competition just before Christmas. So, what people want to do, put the what numbers are actually on the video in the comments or on the YouTube channel, yep. Watch the video, find the numbers. Uh, it is very sona specific, so it's a son-specific number. Find those numbers, and then within the description it tells you what to do. And basically, that is just comment on the video and then click on the link and just give us your details, just so we know how to contact you. Because the problem is on a podcast platform, we got no way of getting your details. On a YouTube platform, we still have got no way of getting your details. So if we say put the numbers in the in the comments below, we can't get in contact with you because we can't direct message you unless we do it within the video, and then that is a bit not very private. So it you do have to comment and then within the link, put your comment ID and then basically the numbers and that, just so we could tie the two together. And when does that uh expire? So we're gonna expire it sort of maybe about a week or so before Christmas. And you'll get that product before Christmas? Hopefully, yes. Obviously, we can't comps on us. I have it. Stephen has given me, and thank you, Stephen, for doing this. Uh, I actually just put a couple of Euro 100s on my desk as well, we're next to my OLED TV. Wow. Uh, and they they I've got them as a stereo pair. Yeah, yeah. Because I I could use a nice set of calfs or a nice set of um Steinways, but I'm not really listening to music up there. It was more just getting audio back and actually, you know, um a bit of game and things like that. Great, great, great speakers. So, yeah, watch the Sonus YouTube video, um, look for the codes. I mean, hell, I might even it I might even put the codes in here somewhere. I might even find it within this video somewhere as well. Um, but yeah, so yes, you can win yourself an era 100, and hopefully we will get it to you before Christmas. Great Christmas present. So, right, so getting on to our topic of the month. So before we get on to this topic of the month, which is going to be about big screens. So, whether that's projector, LED, TV, OLED, um, or ultra short throw, our next topic, which we're hopefully get done before Christmas. We've just got to confer diaries. Actually, on that subject, we might start to do a couple of Mine and Simon's conversations over the interweb.
SPEAKER_01:We may do. As the weather turns, uh, it's not quite as easy to get from A to B.
SPEAKER_03:So um And also we're running up to Christmas, which for our other businesses, um we are very, very busy. So what we you might see a couple of our conversations done over Riverside or uh or platforms like that. So let us know if that you're gonna let's if you're okay with that. Would you rather us wait to do the conversations where we can do this with the camera set up, or are you happy just doing it over YouTube um via streaming? We'll see how it goes. So uh so yeah, so the next topic of the month is gonna be a power of a demonstration. So, what we would love people to do if possible is uh comment on this video. If you're watching the YouTube, there's a text-to-show link on whatever YouTube, uh sorry, whatever podcast platform you're using. Tell us some stories about demonstrations, good or bad. Maybe people you want to shout out that gave you a brilliant demonstration.
SPEAKER_01:I think what's like because obviously demonstrations are fundamentally very important, but sometimes you get shown or you you hear some completely out there film clips, music. I mean, Simon uh just put some uh crazy music on uh downstairs, and uh unless somebody recommends that to you or asked for you to play that, you wouldn't necessarily want to listen to it because you think, oh, I like my kind of music, but listening to other people's music is pretty, pretty good.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I remember the very first of I think the the very first Meet the Member episode we did with Dan from Hidden Home, he played a Queen Mary track, and now that's one of my go-to tracks because the bass line in it is phenomenal. And then now speaking to people like Simon downstairs, you say, Oh yeah, we know that one, we play that one quite a lot ourselves.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and they played the last time we were here, they played uh Monster Calls, yeah, which uh I recommended to uh I'd never seen that pretty much most of the industry, but uh it's a really great uh demonstration of of all the dynamic range that you could possibly hope for in a in a in a in a five-minute clip.
SPEAKER_03:So yeah, I mean, so please let us know. Um, we'll give you a mention out in the show. Um any good or bad, um we're not gonna name and shame, but any good or bad demonstrations you've had um in our next podcast we sit down and do together. Like Taxi.
SPEAKER_01:Do you remember Taxi? The uh the race. Yeah. Yeah, that was uh a very fun, interesting demo that I had when I was in retail.
SPEAKER_03:Right, so get on to this month's topic. So we're gonna be basically looking at super sized TVs versus projectors. So just recently, I've been out of Barco, and then earlier in the year, and the podcast has also gone up recently, we were both out of Priscilla. Both of those um manufacturers have sort of like looked at the large format screen. So, not so much the projector screen, because obviously the projector screen you can get acoustically transparent and the speakers are behind the back of the screen. But Barco do a range of large format displays, they're just about or just have relaunched one which actually is DCI compliant. So, if anybody doesn't know, DCI is literally like Hollywood movies, full fat content, almost day and day view services like Bel Air straight onto your projector or in this case your large format screen. And then when we went to Priscella, uh the guys at Priscella were talking about actually putting speakers above these, you know, large format screens to throw the audio down.
SPEAKER_01:Yep, like the wall, the um the OG that you just mentioned earlier.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and obviously you've got uh Sony as well. Yep. So in your in your personal preference in the projects you've done, obviously you've done your award winning, which was a 98-inch. Have you done dedicated cinemas with large format screens? So like a large format LED OLED screen, or if it's all if has it always been projector-based?
SPEAKER_01:Well, as you know, I I I started in 1998, so um, and I was actually tasked when I joined in the retail of getting projectors in at different price points. So we had like a Philips projector in there, and we had a sim2 projector, and some of them are pretty ropey, I have to say, but uh I I tried to choose the the best ones that gave you the better colour. Obviously, brightness levels on projectors back then weren't particularly great. So if you remember back in the day of the pubs, that's how people's perception of projectors were. So I don't want a projector, I need a black room, dark room, etc. etc. They're not very bright. Nowadays, they're a lot brighter, they're a lot better. But it it there's pros and cons to a lot of the things. So it's the projectors are very cinematic. You're gonna get that feel of the cinema, you're gonna get that cinematic experience. The brightness levels are a lot better, the latency levels are a lot better as well. If you want to do gaming on them, um, but it's all about the number of knits, as we're speaking about um on that TV, large TV that you said. The Barco projectors are next level bright, but obviously you are paying quite a steep uh price for that. The Epsons obviously are very bright compared to like the JVCs or the Sony's, but then you're sacrificing black levels. So I think it all depends on uh what you want from that particular screen that you're gonna put in. Obviously, a room is plays a paramount um fundamentally important aspect of of what screen or projector you would gonna go for, but if you want that true cinematic experience with that true uh the the sound coming from behind the screen, because if you have got a 116-inch or that new LG screen, you have got to have the speakers not technically RP22 correct, so the the the the the angles that you're gonna have won't be technically correct um unless you are gonna have multiple speakers around that screen that you're putting in. You're saying about Percella, top bottom um of the screen and left and right of the screen, and then obviously then where do you put the subs? Is there enough room uh on that wall that you've got for that 116-inch, what was the OG? 136 inch was it? 136 inch. 136 inch TV. Where does ever where where does everything go? That that that's the problem with with that. So while we are doing more media rooms, because I think TVs have become more cost-effective, um the brightness of project uh projectors aren't as good as certain TVs, so clients are going more for that, and you can pick up a 98-inch TV now, uh Sony for like three and a half thousand pounds, which is is pretty pretty impressive. Yes, it's not the top-tier one that that the Sony do or OG do, but uh it it's not it's not far off. So we would always prefer personally to go for a projector because we feel that gives you a much better overall experience in your in your room. It gives you a cinematic experience as well. Exactly. So if you haven't got that dedicated room, would you have a projector? Well, you've got a lot of short throw projectors now. You've got really decent uh manufacturers out there where you have a cabinet with the screen inside, the projector is in a drawer, you press the button, the projector comes out, the screen comes up, and then that makes your room, you haven't got a big TV on the wall. With a projector, if it's not in a dedicated room, you have to have a drop-down screen, which is quite expensive, or you can have a screen on the wall, which is pretty big, and a projector at the back.
SPEAKER_03:Which then you means you've got a if you're retrofitting a room, you know, let's say we're in a let's say we're in a building like this, and and obviously let's just point out the very small screen and soundbar that we have next to us. So we had the Steinway and Sun soundbar below us. Phenomenal. It's actually a bit disrespectful to call it a soundbar. It is, yeah. But the the sound centre speaker, and then we've got the high sense screen above it, which you know is a perfect, it's not exactly little, perfect little setup, and then you can see around us, we've got two speakers behind you, so you know, you have a nice little sort of 5.2 system in here. Um, I think for me, where it boils down to is there's something cinematic about a projector. Yes, if you look at a Sony, an Epsom, a JVC, um at that sort of like, I don't know, five to twenty thousand pound market, you're gonna get a good picture. Um, you're gonna get good value per square inch, let's say. Um, and it's a lot more affordable than a big screen. But especially in cinemas, I think there's something nice for me, there's something nice about going into a room and the image is projected onto it.
SPEAKER_01:It's just tradition, I think, is what it what it is, and it's the colour levels as well, it's a lot warmer, a lot softer, makes you relaxed. When you've got a big TV, it literally like, whoa, okay, in your face. And after watching a movie for two or three hours, sometimes, unless you've got the correct setting on that, like cinema setting or um uh as the director intended settings, whatever they're called nowadays, um it can be filmmaker mode. Filmmaker mode, thank you. It can be a bit in your face, you know, and it's not it's not there to relax. You're like, whoa, okay, it's like going on a crazy ride on a thumbfare. You want a nice, slow, methodical, and enjoy it rather than scary in seat your pants kind of scenario.
SPEAKER_03:And with projectors in general, especially obviously with the laser-based projectors, you don't have to worry so much about life now, you know, with the the the holy grail led. Someone put a comment the other day which was we should start a HCA Hall of Fame. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And do you know who I think That was my idea about the uh the Epsom uh 9400.
SPEAKER_03:Was that your idea? That was my idea. I think we should put I think we should put the Epsom in our as our first entry. First entry. First entry into the HCA Hall of Fame. Epsom will be happy. Yeah, well, because I was talking to Sonos uh to Steven on that podcast where you can still win an Ero 100. If you're watching this after Christmas, you can't win an Hero 100. Um, but I think Cedia, Cedia had a hall have a Hall of Fame, and they put the Sonos Amp in was the first thing in the Hall of Fame. Get that quiet. Uh no comment. Um but actually, yeah, I think we should do a HA Hall of Fame. And I think we should the Epson 9400. Little trophy. Yeah. First entry. Yeah, first entry in the Hame. Eight years, uh apparently. Well and so old it was. Yeah, and the thing is, going back to that comment was uh it was a bold page projector. So as soon as you switch it on, it dictates it's a bit like me getting up in the morning. As soon as you get me up in the morning, I'm ready to go. Get me closer to 9 pm, and I'm fading out big time. Um, but obviously a bold based projector, brilliant at the start, and then we'll not distinguishable, but we'll slowly degrade.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I mean that's the thing with a lamp based projector, it's you can't really tell. Tell the difference, but if you go around to the service, you you and I would know, and we're like, You put you need a new mamp map lamp in that that's done about three to four thousand hours. You put one like no, it hasn't. You go to uh show them how whoa, I didn't realise I'd watched it that long.
SPEAKER_03:Or you bring along a nice, you know, um are you bringing enough along a s uh what what them Sony Sony bulb based or another Epsom bulb based, and you put them next to each other.
SPEAKER_01:And that and that again going back to uh to dishing with the projector and it being cinematic, I think especially laser projectors now they last a good I think it's 20,000 hours, which is equivalent to like 10 years or something like that. But also the brightness of laser projectors. I remember us doing the first Sony laser projector. Wow, the pitch was absolutely phenomenal. Brightness, not so much. It's uh compared to a lamp base, but now laser brightness is a lot, lot, lot better.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, I know barcos are like the Sony GT, which are like 70 or thousand plus. I mean, what you're getting on like what I saw the other week in Belgium, I mean, that was OLED quality on the screen. But you know, you look at the Sony, was it 5100 now, um, the 6000s or the Bravia 7, 8, Bravia 8, and Bravia 9, the the quality you're getting from those screens now and the longevity you're getting from those screens is brilliant. So I think you're getting a lot brighter, and we've done rooms uh where you we've had a projector in a room with windows like we've got here, using an ALR screen, uh an anti-light rejected screen, you get a pretty good picture, obviously better in the evening. But then when you flip to rooms with you know a lot of ambient light, then yeah, going for the screen like we've got here, or you know, that high sense one. The only downside I've seen in cinemas um or cinema-related rooms. So we got involved in a project in Surrey for an ex-Chelsea footballer that, no surprise, had a Samson modular screen in his cinema. Now that was, I think it was about three metres wide, three and a half metre wide, Samson modular TV. Um, and it was a stunning screen. I mean, he didn't take it with him when he sold the house. We we were got involved in redoing the room for the Saudi family that bought the house, and it was a stunning scream. But the the representative for the house said, Oh no, I've sat in here um with you know some footballers and we've watched football and that. And he said, and it's great, but the problem is after an hour and a half, one, the room is really hot, yes, and he said, even when we've had three footballers in here, it's still hot. And he said, also, you do find yourself doing this with the old eye fatigue. Yeah, so I think that when you're looking at a projection-based system, I certainly have not really ever suffered with eye fatigue. But watching my 77-inch LG, you know, if I'm having a slummy day in front of the TV, after a while I do get like a bit of eye fatigue. Yeah, and that's on ISF settings, it's not even on like vivid or whatever.
SPEAKER_01:No, exactly. So I think you hit the nail on the head there, it's it's it's it's easier to watch a projector, and it's you get better value for money. So you can get a three-meter, four-meter wide screen and a pretty decent projector for 20, 30 grand. Yeah. You buy a Samsung War at 150 grand, yeah, there's a big difference there.
SPEAKER_03:Also, the the the thing with it's also the thing with when it's a projector-based system, you have it's easy to upgrade the projector because you don't actually really need to update the screen.
SPEAKER_01:No, the screen is there, if the speakers where they should be behind the screen, you've done that properly, then that shouldn't need to be changed either. And as you say, all you've got to do is change the projector, which is pretty easy.
SPEAKER_03:Make sure that when your integrator or HGA member puts the projector in, the hole is big enough to take. I mean, I know I always look at There is that. So if I'm putting in a Sony 5100, I'll always look at, right, okay, this customer's putting a 5100 in, which is a 5,000 script pound screen or projector. Let's just say sometimes if he wants to go up to 20,000, I'll always look at the size of that projector or the JVC and make the box or the hole big enough for it to go in.
SPEAKER_01:Or ideally, you should have it in a room outside, and then a glass in a hush box or have the glass lens, and then you shouldn't have a box, and then you can just have it on a on a on a dedicated shelf and uh size, whatever size you like.
SPEAKER_03:I always remember going to uh Neil Davison uh at that point it was Genesis, he was in Bracknall, and um and I remember um remember going into the room that they had in Bracknall and they had a separate room for the bar actually, funny if it was a barco, I think it was barco on its side and it was a mirror above it, and at that point I was driving a little smart car, fantastic little car that was, but this projector was the size of my smart car. But yes, it was in another room behind the glass. Um yeah, I mean, obviously, if you can put the projector in another room because of noise floor, but um I think that you know, for me, you know, you look at the pound per square inch, and then obviously we go back on to what you just said about the ultra short throws. You know, you've got ultra short throws from people like Heisence. Um, that you know, you can make a cabinet, you know, like our friends at um Cinema Luts could do you a nice, you know, media wall type cabinet which has got that projector in it. It's you know, it could have a nice Lindorf or nice Steinway sound bar in it, and it's all integrated into one unit and at the front of the room.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and it it's minimalistic at the end of the day, but you're still getting that cinematic feel. So both both they've got pros and cons, both of them, and I just think it all comes down to whatever your preference is really.
SPEAKER_03:It's like with all of the customers I know we both speak to, and I know both, I know the HCA members will do is that initial conversation you have. You know, go and have a demo. Yep. You know, obviously in the next pod we'll talk about the power of a demonstration. But one of the key things is go and have a demo, go and see the HCA members' demo room. If the the HCA member has not got an ultra short throw, has not got a big TV, go and see an ultra short throw, go and see a big TV. It's a lot of people.
SPEAKER_01:The good thing about those ultra short throw projectors is we can get demonstration models off those and almost bring it to your property if it's not or to the to the uh HCA members uh show showroom because they are so easy to set up, they really are. I mean, obviously you need the correct height and things to get the. So it's not quite as easy. We did a loft conversion once, which I think I mentioned before, and that was pretty tricky, but uh, but it is easy to bring to a client, sit there on a on the box, for instance, and see what kind of size screen you you'll you'll achieve on your wall. Um, obviously it needs to be a clear blank wall or get special projector paint, which uh is is pretty good, so that helps with reflection, but uh yeah, that that that that's easily done.
SPEAKER_03:And also the benefit, I mean, we touched on it, I think it was with the podcast I did with Stephen, which was when Sony did their ultra short throw, um, which again I said to Stephen, they don't do anymore. The also advantage is if you're watching this and you're renting, you know, or you're living at home with your parents, or you're you know, temporary accommodation where you're waiting to buy a house. The good thing with an ultra short throw, especially if it's put into a cabinet, is it could be moved. You know, I remember having a conversation with Stuart Tickle from AWE. I don't get the point of this. You know, it was a Sony projector in a cabinet with a Sony sound system, and he just looked at me and went, This is for the person that is gonna be renting a flat in central London because it's 25 grand. Central London, he shows, shoves it up on the wall, he he may work in the city, but he may then get relocated to New York so he could take it with him.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I think it's got all the apps built into it, hasn't it? So it does tick all the boxes. I mean, so say we're talking about the ultra short throw that uh our friends at Poles got the projector, yeah, which you can just sit to one side, it auto-calibrates and puts it on the centre. So you could have it on a table like here, and it will shoot on your on your screen.
SPEAKER_03:Is that the hycense one, wasn't it?
SPEAKER_01:No, the um lycro.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, lycra one, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But no, I mean, and again, the they're good because if you are renting a property, yes, you're not going to get the best quality of it being beamed onto your wall, even if you use a white paint, but if you're not allowed to screw into the wall, then or you can't do a cabinet with a screen that comes up from it, you you can still get a good cinematic experience.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I didn't really consider that. If you are renting a property and putting a big TV up, you've got obviously the weight issue of the TV, you've got some pretty decent raw plugs going, and they're of pretty decent bolts.
SPEAKER_03:You've then got to repaint and redecorate up.
SPEAKER_01:So an extra short throw projector uh could uh yeah, tick all those boxes.
SPEAKER_03:So I think sort of wrapping it up from our point of view, it's like if you have the room, if you have the room and the space to do a projector-based cinema room, I think that just gives you the better, the better picture from a cinematic point of view. If you're coming out into a media room lounge environment, then you've your your world's your oyster. You can use a projector if you get away, but you remember you're gonna get an effect on your contrast. If you use a TV base, then brilliant. But if you're then using that with a um uh separate speaker system, speakers technically aren't going to be in the same place, but you also can use an ultra short throw. Um, and a lot of the ultra short throw, as Stephen said to me the other day, have ERC out of them now, so you can take the audio out of the projector into you know a standalone you know system, like you know, you could use a Lindorf processor with you know, using the EARC with a nice two-channel system in it.
SPEAKER_01:Easily done, easily done. So, no, it's uh yeah, anything's possible, but any HCA member will do uh a fantastic job on a projector-based system or a media room system.
SPEAKER_03:So and more importantly, they'll listen to what you're gonna watch, you know, and what your environment and your situation is. Yeah. So, right, we're gonna go on to our ask AI subject. Um, so uh I asked AI on this subject.
SPEAKER_01:What did you ask?
SPEAKER_03:AI stuff. AI. Be honest with you, I just literally copy and pasted, which was supersized TV versus projectors. Here we go. What's best for your what's best for you sort of thing? So it came, I mean I won't waffle because although we've been waffling a lot, um it basically goes on a lot, but fundamentally, a supersized TV or a very flat panel TV, brightness, performance in ambient light, especially with OLED and LED panels, sharper image with larger pixel density, ease of use, it's simply plug and play, long continuous use. Um, they're built to last for hours where some projectors aren't. Not so much true anymore. Or the laser, no, no. They do actually say here bulb-based. Uh, better in multi-purpose rooms, sound and integration into one unit. So uh cons, size, uh limitations, cost, some of the screens over 100 inches can be extremely expensive, bulky, and hard to install. We did a 100-inch Sony once, and I can concur, very expensive, very bulky, very hard to install. Uh, hats off to Future Automation because we did use one of your brackets on a solid concrete wall, and that was the only time I've ever put a TV up and was slightly like, I don't want to let go of this.
SPEAKER_01:There's no there's no point putting a big TV up and it's not not connected to that.
SPEAKER_03:130, that was 130 kilos that TV. Yeah, yeah. Um, weight and space, larger panels, heavier, um, fixed size, you can't easily scale up and down. I suppose that's a good point with a projector. Yeah, you could always, you know, let's say you have a partner that doesn't want a screen the size of the wall, yeah, you can focus that projector on a smaller screen, let's say a hundred inch, but then you could actually focus that projector on, you know, a wider screen, or you could change your aspect ratio. So you could be 16-9, but if you find in this specific room you're mainly watching scope films, then you could put actually put a scope screen in and get a wider image.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I mean that's that's the thing with with obviously TV-based systems. You will have the bars top and bottom, you are you've got that set-size screen. I think I said before we had a client and his dad would come down to visit, but didn't want it on a three-meter-wide screen. So a touch of the button, he'd press like dad mode almost, and it it came up on the on the on the screen, but as a like a 60-inch telly. Okay, so just literally on the screen. He he he liked watching it like that rather than like, oh hello. That's a good idea. I thought it was quite a good idea to want to say.
SPEAKER_03:So again, onto what projectors offer view for supersized viewing, like the word supersized, um, much larger image, lower cost per par per inch, 100, 120, 150, even more sizes for less money overall um when compared with a compatible projector. Kind of what we said, yeah. You know, and at the end of the day, you know, we we live in a world where maybe we'll put in a two, three, four thousand pound projector as an entry level, but you do have Ben Q Optima on on a lower scale, Epsom even, some of Epsom's business projectors still do a very good image. Cinema style strike immersive experience. Uh, uh a big projector image feels more like a movie theatre. Completely agree with that. Flexible screen size placement, you can adjust to your viewing habits without having to change the projector where you would have to change the TV. Um uh portability, about adaptability. That was a hard one to say. Projectors can be moved, so you can easily move them from room to room or from property to property.
SPEAKER_01:Maybe yeah, short-fair projector. I'm not sure. If it's on your ceiling, you're not gonna be moving that from and you've got all the cables there as well. So sometimes AI doesn't get these uh these these things, do they? It has a lot of cons as well.
SPEAKER_03:So brightness and ambient light, okay. Yeah, I get that. Um, using an ambient light rejecting screen, image quality trade-offs, contrasts, and blacks may not be equivalent to an OLED or mini OLED, a mini LED TV. Yeah, that's true. Um, setup complexity, you're having to deal with things like throw distances, lens shift, keystone correction, uh, if the alignment isn't perfect. Keystone, not so much, I don't think, anymore.
SPEAKER_01:Not on laser, no, on lamp-based projectors, yes, horrendous, but and you should never have done it, but um sometimes you needed to, but on lasers you don't get that issue. But that's why you get an HCA member to get it installed correctly, get it calibrated as well, um, and then you wouldn't have those issues.
SPEAKER_03:And if you are AI, and if you are ever getting a projector and you have the option to up spec for a mechanical lens shift and mechanical zoom, take it. As a person that stood on top of a step like this, with their fingers on top of the projector and trying to do two little tiddly wheels to basically get it to we've got the Sony 5000 in our in our demonstration room, and uh you have to do that.
SPEAKER_01:The other day I had to go in there and then recalcalibrate it because it is slightly out, which was annoying me. So I was like, right, back up there and justed everything again.
SPEAKER_03:So yeah, and I mean it it goes on, but I think fundamentally it summarizes it it's not actually too dissimilar to what we would say. There's a place for everything.
SPEAKER_01:Yep, 100%. And there's no right or wrong answer to that, it's what your general preference is.
SPEAKER_03:But I think in the same way as you will buy a pair of speakers or you would buy a car, you know, speak to an expert, do your research, look at your viewing environment of what's gonna work best, um, and actually then, yes, speak to a HCA member, uh a professional to see what would work, what would fit your budget, and you know what's going to give you many, many years of enjoyment. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And the other day we had uh International Home Cinema Day, didn't we?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, we did we had the soft launch, yeah. Um good, uh, which we had a few people pushing out there, which was quite good. But uh I'm full guns for the 26th of October 2026 next year. Um, we've been tentatively speaking to some people about opening up demo rooms across the world. So you'll hopefully see a bit more of a push on that. Um, probably when I have two weeks off over Christmas and I get fill up and spending the family.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly, got nothing else to do, so uh push it for 2026.
SPEAKER_03:Exactly. So uh right. Well, I think that's it. I think we've we've had our had our conversation. Yep. Um thank you, Steinway, for having us. Yeah, thanks to um Simon for being here today. Charlie's off doing somewhere else. Um the facilities here are absolutely stunning. So if you ever want to experience a Steinway and Sons or a Lindorf system, uh reach out to a HGA member, myself or Simon, um, and we can bring you along for a play. They've got upstairs where we are now is full Steinway. Downstairs they've got uh a Lindorf system, and then they've got a little room over there underneath the um Steinway room, which is a mixture of uh both Lindorf and Steinway in a you know a good, I would say affordable, realistic size CR room.
SPEAKER_01:Yep, not quite as scary as you think some of some of their uh their products, but sound phenomenal, really do.
SPEAKER_03:Lots of free parking. Yes, down a down some nice lanes in Essex. So we haven't got to worry about parking, we haven't got to worry about Simon, especially himself, loves doing it on a Sunday morning.
SPEAKER_01:But yeah, no, definitely uh contact an HCA member and uh come on down and have a listen. It's uh well worth it.
SPEAKER_03:So, yeah, thank you to uh Charlie and Simon for the hospitality here. Um going uh out of the episode, anything else you want to say? Um, or are you you you talked out?
SPEAKER_01:No, I think we're all done. Yep, just to build up to Christmas and getting ready. So uh if you're not not booked booked in for uh uh an installation, you're probably too late.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, as we said now. So people could where could people find you? The new website's live now.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, new yeah, new website is live actually. I forgot about that. So uh it's uh all up and running, looking nice, and obviously we can add different photos as and when. So uh yeah, cinemarooms.com or cinema hyphenrooms.co.uk. And obviously we're all on the socials as well. Socials are the same, really, aren't they? Yeah, similar to yourself.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so me, well you'll find me personally on most socials at Mr. Stuart Burgess. Um, but yeah, immersive cinema rooms on most socials. I have just started using Twitter again just recently.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, do you hold it? Don't do that.
SPEAKER_03:Uh well it's not even called Twitter. No, no, I know, it's X, but uh it does seem to especially for me no one has Twitter. I don't know why they've both saying especially for some of the shorts that we put up, it does seem to get a little bit more traction. Um, but yeah, I mean obviously Home Cinema Alliance on all social medias, which is International Smart Home Day, International Home Theatre Day. Um, and uh yeah, and if you want to get involved in this podcast, please reach out podcast at homesinamaralliance.co.uk uh or leave a comment. If you know me and Simon, you've probably got our mobile numbers personally. If you don't know me and Simon, I'm not gonna put our mobile numbers on the screen. But useful if you do enough digging, you'll find it. Definitely, but no, fantastic. Awesome. Well thanks for your time and uh look forward to seeing the next one. Cheers, buddy.