The recently renovated Cine Teatro Liz Bastos in southeastern Brazil, has chosen Powersoft’s third-generation install amplifier platform, Unica, to ensure it delivers intelligent, intelligible audio to audiences.
With a four-amplifier set-up providing enough power for an immersive Dolby Cinema experience, it also helps give the venue the flexibility to handle theatre, music, dance and lecture programming.
Purchased by the mayor’s office and comprehensively rebuilt and modernised, the 571-seat cinema re-emerged from years of closure to great fanfare earlier in 2025. As part of its renovation, local consultant Leonardo Pavanello Projetos was tasked with conceiving a complete AVL system. For the audio component, the consultant specified a 7.1 surround set-up capable of delivering an all-encompassing 3D audio experience for filmgoers but which could, if needed, also allow for the use of spatial sound by visiting concert tours and other live events. The system would also need to be compact and energy efficient without compromising the quality of the audio.
To meet the challenging brief, systems integrators Multicom Engenharia and Universal Music Brazil selected the Unica platform as the engine for this new do-it-all sound system. Unica’s native AES67 connectivity supports ready integration with the Cine Teatro Liz Bastos’ Dolby Cinema processor (the technology behind Dolby Atmos surround sound), while Powersoft’s ArmoníaPlus software enables straightforward, intuitive channel patching and easy day-to-day control of the amplifier system.
Maximum efficiency is achieved through the power-sharing capabilities built into Unica. Using Powersoft’s Power Sharing Tool, the Universal Music Brazil and Multicom Engenharia teams were able to use the same amplifier to power and process both subwoofers and high-frequency response speakers, cutting rack space and total system cost while maintaining the output needed for both films and live shows.
According to Universal Music’s Gera Vieira the result is a whole ‘new experience’ for the people of Itabirito that restores a cherished venue to the city’s cultural life. ‘The 7.1 surround sound system has made a huge difference to the cinema experience, and the possibility of using it for live shows is a totally new perspective,’ he says.
In addition to elevating the movie and concert-going experience, the new system provides cinema staff with a true plug-and-play experience requiring no in-depth technical knowledge. ‘Once the power is on, there’s no intricate set-up needed,’ Vieira explains. ‘The automatic switching from digital to analogue allows an ultra-fast transition from movies to music.’
The audio installation pairs two Unica 8K8 (8× 1kW) and two Unica 12K4 (4× 3kW) amplifiers with LS Áudio loudspeakers and subs and a Dolby Cinema processor.
Since reopening, the redesigned Cine Teatro Liz Bastos has won consistent praise for the quality of the visitor experience and its immersive A/V system. Carluccia Carrazza, Cultural Director at the Secretariat of Heritage, Culture and Tourism of the city of Itabirito, sums up the local response to what she describes as ‘the wonderful, immersive sound system’.
‘No matter where you are sat, it feels like you’re inside the movie…’
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