Essential Install | Pulse Cinemas
Crestron Control Brings It Home
EI decided it was high time to take the tour of the recently updated Pulse Cinemas showroom and training centre which now reflects the company ’ s status as an official Crestron re-seller . The company ’ s HQ now offers added Crestron functionality , showing how the world of high quality cinema can merge seamlessly with a whole house automation set up .
In truth , like with the Lutron brand which it began supplying direct two years ago , Pulse has had a long-term relationship with Crestron recognising its strengths from the start and involving Crestron , equipment from the early days of Pulse ’ s Stanstead HQ . However , this relationship received a boost back in November of last year , when Ce Pro Europe and Essential Install exclusively revealed that Pulse Cinemas had been granted official re-seller status for Crestron .
Mike Beatty , company MD , is very bullish about the new setup : “ With these new Crestron enhancements , we would argue we don ’ t just have the best venue of this kind in the UK , but maybe the world . Installers really need to come and see it ; even if you have been before , the new enhancements really take us to another level .”
Technical director at the company , Kapes Patel , explains : “ Key for us is of course to show the ultimate in home theatre . But home cinemas don ’ t exist in a vacuum , they are part of a house . What we can show here now , from the front door , through the reception area and into the cinemas , is how the cinema becomes part of the house , is connected to the wider automation system and works seamlessly with it .
“ Tech is supposed to be easy , the end user wants to feel the system works effortlessly in the background joining all the systems in the house together . We know that sometimes that is not straightforward to deliver , but with our new relationship and updated demonstration set up , we can show installers how to get there .”
Tour Time !
So first up , Kapes is keen to show the new Crestron touchscreen by the front door . The screen delivers control of all the AV throughout the reception area ( large screen TV and audio system ) but also is a useful point to show the new door entry system and how that works in full conjunction with the Panasonic telephone system located in the reception area and in the office upstairs . The door entry system was independent before and just linked to the main office , however the new Crestron functionality allows a more joined up approach . A useful function from the point of view of cinema use is the ability to turn ‘ do not disturb ’ on in different zones of the house . If the user is in the cinema and does not want to be disturbed by the doorbell or wants to be in the cinema and not miss an important delivery , then the system can deliver that .
The main rack at Pulse HQ is always an impressive sight and this writer has often thought it would be one mammoth task to have to pull it all apart for an upgrade or overhaul . Well that ’ s exactly what the Pulse team had to do to deliver the 4K upgrade the company wanted to offer across the building . Crestron DigitalMedia products were
20 | February 2017