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© 2026 HCA Tech Talk - News, Reviews and Opinions
Description
A consumer-facing podcast hosted by industry veterans, Stuart Burgess from Immersive Cinema Rooms and Simon Gregory from Cinema Rooms.
Each episode, we bring you News, Reviews, and Interviews from inside the industry covering Home Cinema, Home Theatre, and all things tech.
Get involved techtalk@homecinemaalliance.co.uk
29 Episodes
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Send us a text A twentieth anniversary should feel like forward motion, not a museum tour. We brought that energy to the floor with a reborn P8, a new Uno series of sealed subwoofers, and Immersio, our approach to uniting DVLED screens with uncompromised sound. If you’ve ever wrestled with dispersion, seating distance, or the compromises of non-perforated displays, this conversation offers a practical path that trades spec chasing for room-first performance. We start with the P8’s transforma...
Send us a text Sound that disappears, design that shines. We sit down with Jamie at the Stealth Acoustics stand to explore how invisible speakers, marine-ready Stingray models, and a turnkey outdoor LED theater reshape homes, gardens, and even superyachts without visual clutter. From kitchens that need clean lines to patios that demand weatherproof punch, the goal is simple: premium audio that blends into the build. We start with the invisible lineup—LR116, LR224, LR430—and what sets them ap...
Send us a text Great sound doesn’t need to clutter your space. From the floor of ISE 2026 in Barcelona, we explore how a new passive stereo “soundbar” aims to merge hi‑fi performance with minimalist design. It looks like a sleek on‑wall bar, but the engineering reads like a serious two‑channel speaker: sealed cabinet, long‑throw woofers, soft dome tweeters, and tuning optimised for wall mounting so you gain efficiency and bass weight without the boom. We dig into what makes a passive approac...
Send us a text LED video walls look like the future of private cinema, but they create a thorny audio problem: no space behind the image for a true centre channel and barely any depth around the screen. We dig into Ascendo’s answer, the 8 Pro Passive LED Wedge, a shallow, coaxial-based speaker engineered to deliver reference sound where traditional enclosures simply don’t fit. From dialogue intelligibility to seamless pans, we break down how point source behaviour, controlled coverage, and sm...
Send us a text Some product launches nudge the market; this one aims to reset expectations. Artcoustic’s Spitfire Q series delivers the scale and control of line arrays inside a single, elegant enclosure, designed for luxury private cinemas and pro installations where performance, predictability, and speed of deployment matter. We walk through what makes this range different, how it changes commissioning workflows, and why listeners across every row can finally share the same clarity and impa...
Send us a text Big, bright, and built for real-world spaces—our latest Tech Talk breaks down Sony’s new Bravia BZP professional display lineup launching at ISE 2026. We unpack what actually matters in a modern commercial screen: anti-glare that tames atrium reflections, wide viewing angles that keep menus readable across the room, and AI-powered picture tuning that adapts in real time. From retail floors to conference hubs, we translate spec sheets into practical choices. We walk through the...
Send us a text Big homes, open layouts, and picky acoustics ask a lot from audio systems. We dig into Sonos Amp Multi, a pro-grade multi-channel streaming amplifier designed to give integrators more control and homeowners a seamless, reliable experience. From flexible zoning to quiet, fanless operation, we unpack how this hardware reshapes multi-room audio without adding complexity. We start with the core idea: eight amplified outputs at 125 watts each, assignable to up to four zones, with a...
Send us a text A black box that cuts rack clutter, runs cooler, and scales from a cosy master suite to a sprawling estate? We sat down with Stephen to unpack the new Sonos Amp Multi, the new pro-only multi-room amplifier designed for installers who crave clean builds, flexible zoning, and dependable power without heat headaches. We start with access and why it matters: Amp Multi is available exclusively through authorised distributors, keeping support and training aligned with the pro channe...
Send us a text Start with a kitchen. Add music that follows you from the garden to the hallway. Tap a single button and watch the room shift from cooking to dining to late night. That’s the feeling we set out to build with our new showroom: a real home experience that quietly hides the tech and elevates daily life. We share how a partnership with a high-end kitchen studio became the perfect backdrop for demonstrating smart home systems people can actually live with. Walk through multiple kit...
Send us a text Big-screen magic without the big, bulky TV—our Tech Talk News update spotlights Epson’s Life Studio Grand EHLS 970, a real 4K ultra short throw projector designed to bring cinema-scale viewing into everyday living rooms. We unpack how a unit that sits just centimeters from the wall can beam a stunning image up to 150 inches, why 4,000 lumens matters for daytime viewing, and how AI-powered image optimization adapts to changing light so the picture stays vivid and lifelike. Soun...
Send us a text Sound and screen finally meet as equals. We dive into Procella Audio’s 20th anniversary showcase at ISE 2026, where Immersio reframes how premium residential cinemas are designed. By integrating high-performance LED screens with in-house loudspeaker engineering, Immersio tackles the installation pain points that come with massive display walls—placement limits, acoustic compromises, and lengthy calibration—while promising reference-grade impact in rooms from 4 meters to 11 mete...
Send us a text Step into Barco’s headquarters in Kortrijk with us and see what separates a truly cinematic image from a bright picture on a big wall. Bart, who leads business development for Barco Residential in EMEA, opens doors to their demo cinemas and labs so we can connect the dots between specs, engineering, and what you actually feel when the room goes dark and the story takes over. We dig into the choices that matter: setting a real HDR target around 40 foot-lamberts, choosing screen...
Send us a text Forget the spec sheets—this festive session digs into what actually works in real homes. We start with a full Lutron RA3 commissioning, how we built 70-plus scenes that feel effortless, and where app control beats a laptop when you’re knee-deep on site. Then we go all-in on UniFi: Dream Machine Fibre, 10GbE links, and Wi‑Fi 7 access points that make a 2.5 Gbps connection sing. Protect’s local storage and AI detections let us skip cloud fees and keep privacy intact, while schedu...
Send us a text The day starts with a bruise and ends with a Barco HDR jaw-drop. We catch up after two months apart, swap stories from a London to Brighton ride that raised more than £25,000 for Together for Cinema, and unpack why telling the charity’s stories on film hits harder than any spec sheet. From there we dive into an award-winning, deceptively simple media room—Amina invisible speakers, hidden subs, a clean Tudor aesthetic—and why “understated” can still blow minds. Then we go on to...
Send us a text Big shifts rarely happen by accident; they come from bold bets that connect the dots others ignore. We sit down with All Things Media CEO David Kitchener to unpack a strategy designed to grow the smart home market by bringing two adjacent worlds under one roof at the NEC Birmingham: EI Live and the new ECN Live. Instead of chasing the same attendees every year, co-location invites integrators, distributors, and manufacturers to meet a larger, highly relevant audience of electri...
Send us a text Want TV sound that actually moves you and a music system your family can use without thinking? We sat down with Stephen Reed, Sonos’ UK lead for the professional channel, to unpack how those early “little white boxes” became a platform that turned private listening into shared sound. Stephen takes us behind the scenes on product evolution, the reliability mantra that installers swear by, and the control flexibility that lets clients use apps, voice, or wall panels without break...
Send us a text Want a home cinema that feels visceral, vivid, and effortless at the same time? We spent two days inside Procella’s Netherlands facility to unpack how pro-grade components, smart room design, and THX fundamentals create reference sound that doesn’t wear you out. From their DTS origins to a bold Procella 2.0 roadmap, we dive into the build decisions that matter: baffle walls done right, consistent voicing across speaker sizes, and bass systems that pair modern DSP with serious c...
Send us a text A 1935 radio repair shop doesn’t become a modern AV powerhouse by accident. Stuart Tickle, fourth-generation MD of AWE, sits down with us to unpack a 90-year journey of pivots, grit, and careful bets—from wireless sets and coil winding, to background music in pubs, to reference-grade cinemas and a showroom built to persuade even the toughest architect. The story isn’t about chasing every trend; it’s about choosing your lane, curating top-tier brands, and proving value where it ...
Send us a text What happens when passionate home cinema specialists decide to join forces? The Home Cinema Alliance represents a revolutionary approach to an age-old problem: how small, specialised businesses can effectively market themselves while maintaining laser focus on their craft. Founded around 2018 by industry veterans with decades of combined experience, the HCA has evolved into a powerful collective that pools marketing resources, shares technical expertise, and connects homeowner...
Send us a text What happens when military-grade precision meets home automation? Andy from Moss Tech reveals his remarkable journey from Royal Air Force electronic engineer working on Tornado and Jaguar aircraft to pioneering smart home solutions across the UK. Andy's transition began modestly—a one-man electrical business started while still serving in the RAF, sometimes accepting payment in runner beans from grateful elderly clients. This side hustle, built on the foundation of military pu...
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