Pure laser performance meets tropical design in North Queensland
Images courtesy of Wavetrain Cinemas
Set in the lush tropics of Far North Queensland, the 007 Bahama Hideaway Cinema is a private theatre that demonstrates what is possible when world-class engineering meets a bold creative vision. Designed and built by Wavetrain Cinemas, our exclusive ProAV distributor and authorized service provider for Australia and New Zealand, this high-end home cinema combines Caribbean-inspired aesthetics with professional-grade projection and audio. At the center of this experience is a Christie M 4K25 RGB pure laser projector, chosen to deliver uncompromising performance for a client with an eye for detail and a deep passion for storytelling.
For Wavetrain’s founder and director David Moseley, the project was distinctive from the outset. “What made this cinema unique was that it’s in far north Queensland,” he explains. “It’s a long way from where we are in Sydney, and we knew the client was heavily into James Bond. Much of Bond was written in the Caribbean, so even though this is a cinema, we wanted to maintain that tropical feel. It threw out very different challenges just because of the environment.”
Wavetrain’s interior designer, Samantha Smiley, drew inspiration for the interior design from classic Queenslander architecture.
Despite the distance and complexity, the finished installation achieves a seamless blend of theatre-grade technology, carefully considered architecture, and a conceptual narrative rooted in its surroundings.
Delivering the visual standard
The theater’s visual performance is defined by the Christie M 4K25 RGB pure laser projector, whose capabilities were essential to achieving the required levels of brightness, clarity and cinematic accuracy. The projector produces 25,300 lumens of brightness, enabling high-impact images even in large-format residential environments. It displays 4K UHD resolution at 4096 by 2160 pixels and uses RGB pure laser illumination that achieves over 98 percent of the Rec. 2020 color gamut, creating vibrant, lifelike images that retain their integrity across all content types.
The projector’s advanced light control contributes to deeper blacks and higher contrast, while its compact chassis and field-replaceable laser modules make it practical for residential installation. Features such as built-in Twist for warping and blending, and Electronic Color Convergence (ECC) for fine-tuned alignment ensure flawless on-screen geometry.
For Moseley, the difference is unmistakable. “The Christie M 4K25 RGB projector is about three to four times the ANSI contrast of the next best projectors at this price point. That’s an incredible image. I’d almost describe it as OLED at a massive size. It’s just beautiful.”
A Christie M 4K25 RGB pure laser projector pure laser projector illuminates the screen in this luxury home theater.
To maintain absolute visual integrity, Wavetrain engineered a dedicated hush box system. As project manager Glenn Berry explains, “The ventilation of the projector in our hush box system is a key component of our projects. The intake fans, outtake fans, and the way the box is constructed all go towards reducing the noise floor of the cinema.”
Additional refinements were introduced to eliminate stray light. “The only light coming out of the glass is actually the image itself,” Moseley says. “We mask out stray light coming out of the optics of the lens because it affects contrast. Those tiny little details make a huge difference to picture quality.”
The theater also reflects Hollywood’s cinematic intent with a constant-height presentation. “A lot of Hollywood films are created for constant height,” Moseley explains. “In this setup, the screen shifts with the image and we can move the image wider to fill the entire screen, maintaining a hard black edge to the image, which increases perceived contrast. That gives the true cinematic experience.”
A Lumagen video processor manages HDR content using its industry-leading dynamic tone mapping, along with precise color calibration and enhanced image sharpening. The M 4K25 RGB projector is set to fill the entire width of the anamorphic screen, while the video processor smoothly handles changes in aspect ratio. With its low output lag and stable performance, all sources are routed through this device, and audio is directed to the StormAudio preamplifier.
Built on trust and collaboration
The project’s success was grounded in strong collaboration between the client and the Wavetrain team. “This is a very coordinated effort for everyone involved,” Berry shares. “That starts with the client and the trust they place in us to deliver their system, and then working with our internal team and communicating information to all parties involved.”
The homeowner, Dave, echoes this sentiment. “From the get-go, the professionalism and knowledge that Wavetrain showed set my benchmark higher than it probably was,” he says. “The final result greatly exceeded my expectations.”
Designing for the Tropics
While the technology set the performance standard, the room’s aesthetic and spatial design ensured the cinema felt at home in the tropical landscape. Wavetrain’s interior designer, Samantha Smiley, drew inspiration from classic Queenslander architecture and selected materials that would age gracefully. Timbers, leathers, natural fibers and woven fabrics impart warmth and authenticity, while offering durability suited to the region’s climate.
These choices influenced the acoustic strategy. Timber flooring meant that greater acoustic treatment was required on the ceiling, resulting in a more controlled environment that maintained the architectural intent. Smiley also introduced a central bulkhead to house the overhead speakers and applied vertical and horizontal paneling to visually elongate the room. Her favorite detail is the floating stair, “a really stunning detail—very simple, yet amazing.”
Engineering for performance and reliability
The pursuit of precision extended into the cinema’s acoustic and system control environment. Wavetrain designed an audio system capable of concert-level dynamics, with the room’s acoustic signature tuned across all frequencies. The system uses Elementi Audio’s digital active platform to match the purity and impact of the Christie M 4K25 RGB’s on-screen performance, creating a unified audiovisual experience that reflects the owner’s passion for reference-grade quality.
Because the home theater is located in remote North Queensland, long-term reliability was a critical consideration. Wavetrain integrated TeamViewer remote access across all devices and installed a camera facing the screen, allowing the team to monitor performance and assist the client instantly, regardless of distance.
A space that feels like an escape
For Dave, the cinema is more than a technological marvel—it is a sanctuary. He describes the room as quiet, soundproofed, and peaceful, creating a sense of calm from the moment he steps inside. “The aesthetics and the feeling of peace, satisfaction, and joy. Getting away when you come into the home theater. That’s what I love,” he says. He praises Wavetrain’s craftsmanship, calling Moseley “very artistic, very professional, highly knowledgeable,” and adds that he has “no hesitation at all in recommending Wavetrain.”
For the team, seeing the project realized was equally rewarding. “Seeing this project from its inception, from the drawings and renders and seeing it come to life is just really satisfying,” Berry reflects. Moseley adds, “Clients give us input, but they also trust us to deliver an outcome for them. That collaborative relationship is where our best designs come from.”
The 007 Bahama Hideaway Cinema stands today as a distinctive expression of location-inspired architecture, precision engineering and cinematic artistry. Powered by the M 4K25 RGB pure laser projector and shaped through Wavetrain’s meticulous design and collaboration, the cinema sets a new benchmark for luxury residential theaters in Australia—a private escape worthy of the world of James Bond.
The 007 Bahama Hideaway Cinema was awarded both the CEDIA Best Home Cinema Level 3 and the prestigious Best Home Cinema Global honors. Wavetrain Cinemas is the only company worldwide to have received this distinguished award twice—the previous 2023 winner also featured the Christie M 4K25 RGB projector.
David Moseley, CEDIA’s RP22 (Recommended Practice for Immersive Audio Design) instructor for the Asia-Pacific region, has lectured on home cinema design and small room acoustics for over 20 years and holds ISF/PVA certification as a video calibrator.
