Can the preview reflect our room's actual ceiling height and riser count?

Yes. Low basement ceilings are the biggest constraint in theater design — an 8-foot slab usually rules out a second riser. The AI works from the room's real proportions in the photo, so the preview reflects a seating configuration that's actually buildable in that space, not a generic two-tier layout that won't fit.

Does it show acoustic treatment, or just paint and furniture?

It renders the acoustic package — fabric-wrapped wall panels, sound-absorbing drapery, treated ceiling clouds — as part of the finished look. It's a visual preview of the room's aesthetic, not an acoustic simulation, so your treatment plan and speaker tuning still happen in your AV design software.

Can it show a Dolby Atmos ceiling speaker layout?

The preview shows the finished ceiling treatment and speaker grille placement as part of the room's look, which helps homeowners picture the ceiling architecture. Actual channel count, speaker positioning, and Atmos calibration remain part of your system design, separate from the visual preview.

Our basement has no natural light — does the preview handle that?

Yes. Most dedicated cinema rooms are intentionally windowless and rely entirely on designed lighting — sconces, LED coves, riser accent lighting, sometimes a fiber-optic star ceiling. The AI generates the room under that same designed lighting, so homeowners see how the space actually feels once the lights are dialed to movie mode, not a dim, empty basement.

Can I show a client 100-inch versus 120-inch versus 150-inch screen options before we settle on throw distance?

Yes. Generate a separate preview for each screen size under consideration. This is useful for rooms where the client is torn between a larger screen and preserving walking room around the front riser — they can see the proportion in their own room instead of guessing from a spec sheet.

How is this different from the SketchUp or CAD renders we already build for signed jobs?

CAD renders take hours of modeling time and usually only get built after a contract is signed, because they're expensive to produce. This generates a photorealistic preview from a phone photo in seconds, so you can use it live in every walk-through — not just for the jobs that already closed.

Who owns the room photos and how long are they kept?

That's your call, not ours — it's your software. We build the storage and retention policy around what your business needs and make sure it meets CCPA, other state privacy laws, or any other regulation that applies to how you handle customer photos. No training on your data, ever.

What does a build like this cost, and what does Makeover cost?

There's no off-the-shelf plan, so there's no published price list. Share your details and we'll discuss project scope and pricing on a free consultation call — see /pricing for details.

Home Theater & Entertainment

Show homeowners their finished cinema room before you frame a single riser

Photograph the empty basement or bonus room during the site walk. Makeover generates a photorealistic preview of the finished theater — tiered seating, screen wall, acoustic panels, ambient lighting — in seconds. Homeowners see their own room, not a stock cinema from your portfolio.

Custom-built for your industry · No commitment

What is a home cinema preview preview?

A home cinema preview tool uses AI to generate a photorealistic image of a dedicated theater room before it's built. The integrator photographs the raw space — an unfinished basement, bonus room, or garage conversion — and the tool renders the finished room in that exact footprint: tiered seating, the screen wall, acoustic paneling, and ambient lighting. Home theater integrators and custom builders use it during the design consultation to close five- and six-figure theater proposals without waiting on a CAD rendering.

Why it matters

A dedicated home theater build runs from roughly $30,000 for a single-tier room with a projector, screen, and basic seating, up to $150,000-plus for a multi-riser Dolby Atmos room with acoustic architecture, motorized masking screens, and cinema-grade recliners. That's a discretionary line item competing against a kitchen remodel or a pool, and it's usually decided by two people, not one. The integrator who gets both spouses looking at their own finished room — not a rendering of someone else's basement — closes the walk-through instead of losing it to "let us think about it" and a competing bid.

Who uses this

CEDIA-certified home theater integrators presenting the room concept during the initial design consultation. Custom home builders selling a dedicated cinema as a premium add-on inside a new-build or basement-finish contract. AV sales consultants running site visits who need to close before a competing integrator sends over a SketchUp render a week later.

Heard this from a homeowner?

They stand in the empty, windowless basement with exposed ductwork and say "I just can't picture tiered seating in here" — and the walk-through stalls right there.

You don't have a SketchUp render for every prospect, only signed jobs, so the finished room lives only in your proposal deck while the homeowner is staring at a $40,000 line item and a mood board.

The spouse who wasn't at the site walk sees the quote later, assumes it's a "man cave" that won't match the rest of the house, and vetoes the project before you ever get a second meeting.

How home cinema preview previews work

Three steps. Under 10 seconds. No design skills needed.

Photograph the raw room

A phone photo of the unfinished basement, bonus room, or garage bay during the site walk. No CAD model or laser measurement required to start the conversation.

AI builds out the theater

The model renders tiered seating risers, the screen wall, acoustic panels, and ambient or cove lighting sized to that room's actual dimensions and ceiling height.

Present in the design meeting

Both decision-makers see their own room finished, side by side with the empty space, before you order seating, screens, or acoustic panels.

Common questions about home cinema preview

Straight answers. No jargon.

Let's build the version made for your business

Every preview on this site is a variation of the same engine, tuned to one industry. Tell us about yours, and we'll show you exactly what we'd build for it.

We reply within one business day