What is it?

Home Theater Apprentice is a tool that automatically lays out a home theater based on a customer's unique requirements.

Customer preferences are collected through a simple interface - preferences such as capacity, style, quality level and budget. The room dimensions are also input.

The Home Theater automatically selects furniture and electronic components from a database based on these preferences. If multiple components are found that meet the customer's requirements, a list of acceptable components is shown and the user selects one. Then a floorplan is automatically generated that places the furniture and equipment in the optimal positions. You can accept these recommendations or override them by dragging the items to a new location.

The main knowledge embedded in this Apprentice is acoustic information. Acoustics play an important role in the small space typical of a home theater. Different types of speakers, with different frequency ranges, have different rules for where they should be placed relative to the walls, floor and ceiling. Top-end installations will also contain accessories such as bass traps and kickers, which need to be positioned relative to the speakers.

When the design is finalized, a bill of materials is automatically generated.

Home Theater Apprentice is bundled with Apprentice 3D View, which creates a 3D interactive world from the 2D floor plan with the click of a mouse. 3D visualization is key to this application since a camera is attached to each seatback, allowing you to visually check line-of-sight from every seat in the house.

A related product is Racking and Cabling Apprentice. This is a tool that selects the wires needed to connect electronic components, and draws wiring schematics to show how they should be connected. You can use the rules already embedded in the Apprentice, or you can override them with your own wire selection and connection rules - it's your choice.

Some Frequently Asked Questions

• Where does the component database come from?

  Home Theater Apprentice has a small database provided by a third party. It is designed to be replaced or amended with your own choice of products.
   

• Where did the acoustic rules come from?

  There is a lot of good acoustic information available in the public domain.
   

• Would I buy this just to design my own home theater?

  Home Theater Apprentice is really designed for the independent installer who designs and builds many home theaters. Today acousticians can charge up to $5000 for a design similar to what is generated by the Apprentice (and that's without the 3D walkthrough)! That makes the Apprentice an important value-added capability for the professional installer.
   

• General FAQ's

Relevant Case Studies

Home Theater