Hidden Theater Opens to Sprawling Las Vegas Vista

This customer envisioned building a custom home theater as an addition to his home … but with a bit of a plot twist.

Indeed, the big reveal at the end of a movie or sporting event in this room comes in the form of a pocket slider door tucked behind the projection screen and blackout shade. Once the screen and custom Lutron roll-up shade are secured, the entire space extends onto the patio with views of the Las Vegas strip and the valley beyond, explains Jeffrey Brown, president of local integrator Innovative Home Systems.

“Figuring out how to hide an oversized glass slider behind the screen was by far the biggest challenge we faced on this build,” Brown says. “From the beginning, we had to work with the contractor, ensuring that as the addition was built, the screen and projector pockets were not just included, but accommodated for the rolled-up dimensions of both the screen and the black-out shade behind the screen.”

The screen itself is a 164-inch 16:9 aspect ratio model from Screen Innovations. It’s paired with a Sony VPL-VW885ES 4K laser projector to display any media in spectacular detail, whether it’s a Golden Knights hockey game, something from the Kaleidescape Strato server or a round of “Fortnite” play.

Innovative installed a Dolby Atmos 7.4.2 system with strategically placed acoustic panels to ensure a high-performance audio experience to match the video. A Denon X-8500 receiver drives Triad in-ceiling and in-wall speakers and subwoofer plus Atlantic Technology elevation speakers for the Atmos effects. The room was acoustically treated with a dozen 2×4 CineCoustic fabric wall panels.

“Since the entire front wall of the project was glass, we weren’t able to install speakers next to the screen for our front-facing speakers,” says Brown. “Our next option was to install them in the ceiling, which required both our company and the contractor to work closely together finding speakers to fit within the framing dimensions.”

Innovative programmed several scenes within the Control4 system to make sure it’s easy to operate; “Movie Time,” for example, lowers the shade and screen, dims the lights and turns on the Kaleidescape server. Lights go to 30% when a movie or show is paused and they turn back off when play is pressed.

“He also loves that he can switch from Movie Time to Party Time and the shade opens with a view of the Las Vegas strip,” says Brown. “He can enjoy using the hidden patio and impress all of his friends!”