C Seed Outdoor Cinema — The World’s Finest Outdoor Display

How the C Seed 201″ works, who it is for, and how we integrate it with Trinnov audio and Crestron control

Updated June 2026 · Custom Controls · Authorised C Seed installers

The problem with outdoor cinema has always been the display. Projection onto a garden screen requires darkness, a fixed seating arrangement and a projector that either occupies a permanent structure or is brought out and set up for each use. Television screens weather-rated for outdoor installation have historically topped out at sizes that look modest in an outdoor setting. C Seed solved this problem definitively. A C Seed display rises from the ground, unfolds to reveal a screen of up to 201 inches, and retracts to an invisible slot in the ground when not in use. It is the only outdoor display technology that delivers genuine cinema scale without any permanent visible structure and without any of the compromises of projection.

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How the C Seed Works

The C Seed display is installed in a ground-level enclosure — a stainless steel housing set into the terrace, pool surround or garden ground level. When retracted, the enclosure is flush with the surface: a narrow slot in the stone or decking, completely invisible unless you know it is there. When in use, the display rises from the enclosure on a motorised column, unfolds its five panels to form the full screen width, locks into position and the image appears. The deployment sequence takes approximately sixty seconds. Retraction is the reverse: the display folds, descends and disappears.

The display panels use micro-LED technology — producing vivid, high-brightness images that are visible in outdoor conditions including strong ambient light. The 201″ model (5.11m wide) delivers a luminance that allows comfortable viewing on a summer evening before full darkness. The display rotates 180° to face any direction and this rotation can be automated to track sun position via the Crestron control system.

The Two C Seed Variants

C Seed N1 (standard installation). The standard installation rises vertically from the ground before unfolding. It requires a ground void of approximately 1.5m depth below the mounting point. Ideal for properties where a full ground void is available — open terraces, lawns, pool surrounds on ground level.

C Seed Supermarine (shallow installation). The Supermarine version is designed for installations where depth is constrained — over a swimming pool plant room, a garage complex or any other existing structure. Rather than rising vertically, the screen hinges upward from a shallower enclosure before unfolding. The display sizes and performance are identical to the standard version.

The Audio System — Trinnov and Origin Acoustics

A display of C Seed’s scale demands an audio system that matches it. The approach we use for outdoor C Seed installations pairs Origin Acoustics weatherproof speakers with a Trinnov processor and amplification — delivering a full surround sound system that is permanently installed in the garden, properly calibrated and capable of cinema-level performance outdoors.

Origin Acoustics cabinet speakers are positioned around the primary seating area to provide front channels; Origin spike speakers handle surround positions; and Origin Acoustics 12″ buried subwoofers — installed below grade, invisible in the landscape — provide the bass foundation. The Trinnov processor calibrates the system for the outdoor acoustic environment.

Our Cotswolds outdoor cinema installation is the reference case study for this approach — a C Seed 201″ display with Trinnov Altitude 16 audio, Origin Acoustics speakers including four buried 12″ subwoofers, Kaleidescape source and Crestron control from an iPad.

Sources — Kaleidescape and Full AV Integration

A C Seed installation is fully integrated with the property’s wider AV infrastructure. Kaleidescape provides the reference-quality 4K HDR source — uncompressed video and lossless Dolby Atmos audio. Sky Q, Apple TV, streaming services and security camera feeds are all accessible from the same Crestron interface. CCTV integration allows a picture-in-picture security camera view to appear on the C Seed display when a gate or door intercom call arrives during a film.

Crestron Integration

Every element of a C Seed installation is managed via Crestron. From the iPad, a single tap initiates the deployment sequence, selects the source and configures the audio system. The C Seed’s rotation can be programmed to a specific angle or set to auto-track sun position. When the evening’s viewing ends, a single tap retracts the display, powers down the audio system and returns the outdoor lighting to its evening scene.

Who Is a C Seed Installation For?

C Seed displays are significant investments — appropriate for properties where the outdoor entertaining space is a primary asset and where the brief is genuinely no-compromise. Our clients who have installed C Seed systems include villa owners in Dubai and the South of France, estate properties in the Cotswolds and Cheshire, and London properties with substantial garden terracing.

If you are considering a C Seed installation and would like to discuss the technical requirements, integration options and costs, contact Custom Controls.

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