Children’s hospitals aren’t often a place associated with enjoyment or fun, but Finite Solutions wants to change that for the thousands of patients who have to visit them. That’s because the integration firm has just announced a competition to give one lucky children’s Hospital a dedicated cinema, complete with £15,000 worth of equipment.

Finite Solutions is well versed in installing state-of-the-art cinemas, having won several CEDIA awards over the past few years. The company now wants to take its installation expertise and use it for good, however. That’s why it decided to launch the Children’s Hospital Cine-Makeover competition, to give kids suffering from illness the opportunity to enjoy the latest blockbuster films with their parents and hospital staff.

Commercial Integrator Europe reached out to Finite Solutions’ Simon Mathieson to discuss the new project:

What made you think of the idea?

All the directors have children and have all been in hospitals which can be pretty depressing at the best of times and we had seen a few installations go in to similar facilities over the years and just thought it was something we would like to do.

Were you inspired by the MediCinema, a UK-registered charity involved in installing cinemas in hospitals? Have you been in touch with them/any feedback from them?

We hadn’t heard of them when we started on this but did discover them as part of our research and yes we have been in touch with them and they were very supportive which was brilliant. They have said they will help us select the most appropriate facility for our installation where it will be logistically possible and also bring the most benefit we hope.

What products are you planning on installing?

Yamaha receiver, Panasonic blu-ray, B&W subwoofers, Kef ventura wall mounted speakers (they take a real hammering and keep on going in small commercial applications we have used them on before!), screen research drop down screen, Epson projector, Control4 control system with in wall touch panel, mid Atlantic ERK AV rack and accessories, Xbox One or PS4.

Are you getting any further support from the brands you plan to install?

Some but there is probably less support than we expected, i suspected it will be 50/50 overall.

As part of the competition, the public are encouraged to nominate their local children’s hospital to receive the installation. To nominate a hospital, people can simply submit a short, written suggestion describing the first thing that the facility could use the new cinema room for. This could include hosting a Disney film marathon, a console gaming tournament or even a pyjama party with popcorn. An image of the proposed location of the cinema room would also be advantageous; as it will give Finite Solutions an idea about what it’s working with.

The children’s hospital cinema room will include an HD projector, 100in screen, state-of-the-art surround sound from Kef, Blu-ray player and games console; giving it the versatility required for patients, visitors and hospital staff to maximise the room’s usage.

To nominate a children’s hospital, simply head to the Finite Solutions website.