HBO Screening Room

HBO

The Home Box Office 15th Floor Screening Room

The 15th Floor Screening Room was the third in a series of installations Tek 7 has done for Home Box Office over the last few years. Seating over 120 people,the architecture is extraordinary, from the detail in the handrails, to the beautiful curtain that conceals the two-story screen. The control booth contains 16mm and 35mm film projectors, a Hughes/JVC high-contrast projector, and five equipment racks. Using a handheld AMX Softkey LCD transmitter, the HBO AV Systems manager, can control anything from the screen masking system to the AV program volume.

Transport devices in the system include: Panasonic NV-W1, Panasonic AG-1970, Sony VO-9066, Sony VP-9000, Sony PVW-2600 Beta Decks, Videotek TV Demodulator, and a Pioneer LaserDisc Player. Other equipment used in the AV equipment racks includes: an Aphex Compellor, Rane THX EQ, Lexicon CP-2, ATI buffer amplifiers to keep the audio system balanced, Wohler audio preview moniors, Sony video preview monitors, Tektronix waveform monitor, Grass Valley Color Bar/Tone/Black/Sync generator, Leitch audio and video distribution amplifiers, IRP automated microphone mixing system, Mitsubishi and Sony computer monitors, Cetec wireless microphones, Sabine Feedback exterminator, Apogee audio processor, Crown amplifiers, and an extensive AMX remote control system. Stereo audio and composite video is routed through a 16 x 16 Xn Autopatch 4YDM matrix, and RGBS video is routed using an InLineIN3504 4x1 switcher and IN2020 Universal computer interfaces. A fiber optic feed, transmitter, and receiver offers connectivity between the Screening Room and the HBO broadcast building. Audio, video, and AMX remote control feeds between the Media Center, Terrace Room, and Screening Room allow sources to be sent and received to and from the aforementioned rooms also installed by Tek 7.

The combination of a Faroudja VP-400 Line Quadrupler with the Hughes/JVC projector is a beautiful sight to see, and is ofter used to view HBO original movies. AV & Film sound is processed through the latest Dolby sound system, and a ceiling system offers PA, talk-back, and Gentner audio conferencing options to the end-user. A motorized AV lectern resides on the left side of the stage, and can be used to preview video and computer signals from the AV Booth. As you can tell from the pictures, the Screening Room has proven to be one of our favorite installations, though the new HBO Development Theater we're now working on the the 42nd Street Grace Building should prove to be an exciting project!