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Home Cinema Design - October 2025

Day 1 – Introduction to Home Cinema Design

Instructor: Geoff Meads

Home Cinema and media room technology are among the most commonly requested systems for new smart home installations. Integrating audio, video and control systems together into a home cinema environment, is a common task for smart home designers and installers. This course will provide attendees the essential skills required to install a standards compliant home cinema or media room. The workshop style of this course means every student will learn in a hands-on manner. The day includes the building of a modest home cinema including typical audio and video components. Once the basic home cinema is complete each student will try their hand configuring the basic audio setup of a typical AV Receiver and go on to basic video calibration of the display using test materials.

The topics covered in this course include:

• The role of the AV receiver in a home cinema room
• Configuring common sources of AV content
• Video display technologies and setup
• Speaker system technologies and setup
• Basic audio and video calibration
• HD Video distribution methods
• The home cinema environment

 At the end of this course, attendees will be able to:

• List the basic components of a home cinema system
• Explain the role of each home cinema system component
• Setup a home cinema from common components
• Calibrate the video picture and sound for initial viewing
• Discuss three HD video distribution methods

Day 2 & 3 – Home Cinema Design Workshop

Instructor: Geoff Meads

This two-day workshop will introduce and explore the formal skills required to design dedicated home cinemas and media rooms. Using engineering calculations, the course teaches the use of world-recognised standards and recommended practices. Starting with assessing client needs and progressing on to real-world design, students will cover the engineering principles involved in high-performance design. Included in the learning provided by this course is the science and calculations required to create a complete design. Attendees will study the theory of cinema in detail, and undertake a design exercise for both audio, video, and other associated factors including data, heat, and lighting. On the following day, students will take part in an interactive workshop to design a cinema from a real client brief including a peer-reviewed design assessment.

This workshop is ideal for:

• Smart Home technicians adding Home Cinema & Media room to their service offering.
• Home cinema professionals and designers looking to formalise home cinema and design knowledge.
• Experienced smart home technicians moving into a designer role.
• CEDIA Awards entrants needing to understand documentation requirements.
• CEDIA Outreach Instructors looking to deliver the “Designing Home Cinema and Media Rooms” CPD.

Key skills you will learn:

• Client needs assessment.
• Following home cinema design recommended practice.
• Audio & video performance calculations.
• Understanding equipment specifications.
• Recognising and eliminating performance problems at the design stage.
• Producing formal design documentation.

Day 4 – Home Cinema Control

Instructor: Simon Buddle

Creating an amazing and immersive cinema experience requires not only skills in setting up audio and video equipment, but also knowing how to control the AV equipment and the room. With the touch of a single button, the room can be transformed into a fantastic entertainment space. This one-day course aims to teach students the fundamentals of cinema control. From simple macros and infrared for audio visual to the more complex control of lighting, blinds, screens and projector lifts. Control systems are expensive and complex. This course is for those just beginning their control systems journey and wish to expand their skills to enable their business to offer a more.

Key skills covered in this course:

• AV system control
• Cinema lighting
• Motorisation for screens, projectors
• Environmental considerations

Course Fees

Member Pricing

• 4-day Home Cinema Design Package (Member) - £679 + VAT
• Day 1 - Introduction to Home Cinema (Member) - £199 + VAT
• Day 2 & 3 - Home Cinema Design Workshop (Member) - £349 + VAT
• Day 4 - Home Cinema Control (Member) - £199 + VAT

Non-Member Pricing

• 4-day Home Cinema Design Package (Non-Member) - £229 + VAT
• Day 1 - Introduction to Home Cinema (Non-Member) - £299 + VAT
• Day 2 & 3 - Home Cinema Design Workshop (Non-Member) - £499 + VAT
• Day 4 - Home Cinema Control (Non-Member) - £299 + VAT

Lunch and refreshments will be provided. For any questions on attending this course, please reach out to Emma McMylor - emcmylor@cedia.org / 01480 585614.