Use CRI and TM-30 intelligently when selecting sources for skin, timber, fabric and architectural finishes.
CRI is a starting point
A high general CRI is useful, but a single average can hide weak performance in saturated reds and other important colours. For a cinema with rich fabric, timber and skin tones, look beyond the headline number and examine the source’s fuller colour-rendering data.
TM-30 adds useful context
TM-30 reports fidelity and gamut and shows where hue or saturation shifts occur across colour space. It does not select the fitting for you, but it makes comparisons more informed—particularly when two sources have similar CRI claims.
Judge the actual palette
The most practical test is still a mock-up using the room’s real finishes. Illuminate the chosen acoustic fabric, timber, carpet and seating material at both arrival and pause levels. A technically impressive source can still be wrong for a specific palette.
Good cinema lighting gives the room exactly enough information—and no more.
A practical specification sequence
Define the visual intent and the scene in which the light will operate. Confirm the fitting, driver, control method, circuit and physical access together. Build a representative mock-up where the detail is sensitive, then commission the final level from every seating position with the projection system running.