Mirror Images Convert Theater to CinemaScope
By Arlen Schweiger
Broadening this home cinema's horizons required going to CinemaScope lengths, including a special setup that reflects projected images off a mirror to the screen.

It’s not exactly a magic mirror, but a mirror and some clever planning proved essential for this theater redesign.

Custom electronics (CE) pro Steven Spruell of TASC Design in Conroe, Texas, had updated the technology at this suburban Houston home over the years, most notably with additions such as Crestron automation and Kaleidescape movie server systems. But the kicker came after the homeowners accompanied Spruell to an electronics tradeshow and saw impressive CinemaScope screens that eliminate those annoying black bars from appearing during ultrawide movies.



The homeowners already had a dedicated theater room, which included a projection room behind a 16:9 Stewart Filmscreen rear-projection display. But they loved the idea of upgrading to CinemaScope, and they swooned over an audio demo from Professional Home Cinema.

However, they faced some room limitations. Their screen is flanked by columns already containing speakers, but which were not to be visibly altered—and TASC needed more room for larger speakers. Spruell and company were able to reconfigure the columns from behind to accept 12-inch mains stacked atop 18-inch subwoofers, and a 12-inch center channel was positioned under the screen and behind acoustic fabric.

Spruell gained 16 inches of space between the original screen and columns for a wider display from Stewart. He wanted to maintain the screen height, but the area was not quite wide enough to fit a true 2.35:1 CinemaScope aspect ratio. The compromise was a 2.07:1 screen that requires just a smidge of top-and-bottom masking.

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