CI pros bring cinema to Haven House hospice for latest Together for Cinema project

Thanks to the generosity of the custom install industry, the Together for Cinema initiative has provided Haven House hospice in North East London with a brand new cinema room (pictured above). The project, handled by CEDIA member H&H Audio Visual, is the latest in a line of charitable installs organised by the group.

Haven House hospice provides support and care for children and young people with life-limiting and life threatening conditions. Since opening its doors ten years ago, the hospice has cared for almost 400 children and families. The new cinema room forms part of a new Holistic Care Centre at the hospice.

“We found the installation incredibly rewarding,” says Greg Howarth, from H&H Audio Visual. “From a technical perspective, it was an entirely new challenge to design and install a system with equipment that has been donated, rather than specified and purchased. Fortunately, the quantity and quality of equipment donated was truly remarkable and the team building the new annex for Haven House was flexible so we could add first fix cabling once Together for Cinema had actually secured the equipment donation. This really allowed us to give a full range of integration from the AV to the lighting and shades.”

After initial discussions with the hospice, it became apparent that the cinema room was not only going to be used for watching films, but also for training, fundraising, presentations and gaming. This meant that a more comprehensive product list was needed, with black-out automated blinds being a necessity.

Despite having an ambitious product list, the generosity of the CI industry meant around £16,000 worth of kit would be sourced. Companies such as Dataflow IT, Humax, Kaleidescape, Middle Atlantic (via distributor RGB), Monitor Audio, RTI (via Invision UK), Velodyne (courtesy of  Redline), Wyrestorm, Epson, Rako, Somfy and Yamaha all generously donated the equipment required to make the project happen. Amongst the hardware installed was a Kaleidescape Cinema 1 Movie Player, Humax DTR-T1010 YouView PVR,  Yamaha RX-V775 and Velodyne SPL-1000 Ultra subwoofer. The projector is an Epson EH-TW9100.  All products and services were supplied and installed free of charge. The approximate total cost of the install, including consultation, installation, products and other associated costs would normally have been in the region of £20,000 for an end user price.

Adrian Summers, Invision Product Sales Manager, explains: “We donated the RTI control equipment for this project. We have been involved with Together for Cinema for a couple of years now and are delighted to be able to contribute to such a great charity. We absolutely love the work Ian Morrish does and love how our niche community can benefit the greater good.” The installation was duly completed August 2014.

“We are really pleased with the final installation in terms of the level of integration we were able to achieve with the quality product donated” says H&H Audio Visual’s Greg Howarth.  “The staff and kids were so grateful for the room we created and it made everything worthwhile. We highly recommend this scheme to other integrators out there.”

Mike Palfreman, Chief Executive of Haven House Children’s Hospice, said: “Everyone at Haven House is delighted to have been chosen as a 2014 recipient of a home cinema installation from the Together for Cinema project.  It was a very timely addition to our newly completed Holistic Care Centre.  Our first screening was on October 29, and our children and families were all very excited.  Many of our children are not able to attend mainstream cinema screenings so this new service will be a wonderful addition to our range of hospice and community based services, providing enjoyment and entertainment for years to come.”

Also read:
CEDIA Awards 2014 supports Together for Short Lives
Interview: How the AV industry found its charitable side
UK AV charity drive completes four more home cinemas