Hi John,
It is highly appreciated that you had mentioned about Inverter model A/c in the list in your post. Whereas to my surprise no one had strongly suggested this though you have the budget for this. As you are looking at high tonnage A/C for your application it is highly suggested to go in for Inverter type A/Cs keeping the following points in mind.
1. Inverter A/C's compressor do not cut off and cut in, once the set temperature achieved in the room, Instead the RPM of the compressor, Condenser fan (Out door unit fan) and the Evaporator fan (In door unit / Cooling coil fan) is varied / maintained according to the difference between the set temperature and room temperature. Hence the whole operation is step less and the RPM is varied accurately.
Hence the whole cycle of operation is very smooth with a temperature fluctuation of +/- 0.1 deg. C. (In case of normal A/Cs the differential temperature is around 1 to 2 deg. C) Once the room temperature is nearer to the set temperature all the above said equipments almost run at idle RPM which is almost nill noise (the most sought factor for an auditorium / home theater)
2. Any A/C compressor makes lot of noise during Cut in (starting) cycle and draws almost 6 times the running current resulting in higher power consumption.
3. In fact a 1 ton Inverter grade A/c can be plugged in to a 5 amps wall socket, as the starting current is lower than the running current in case of any Inverter grade equipments. Hence the MCB of the plug point of you A/C can be rated nearer to the running current of the A/C than a high rated one (which is normally installed to avoid tripping during initial starting of the compressor). This gives you more safety as the tipping system is very much close to your normal running conditions.
4. Yes the initial cost is higher compared to the normal A/cs but given the fact the Inverter grade motor be it any application will have a assured power saving between 30% to 40%, this is far superior than any 5 star ratted equipments. Hence depending on the hours of operation you will have your A/c considerably saving your EB bill and pay you back over a period of time.
With regard to type I would recommend a Wall unit than a cassette type given the convenience of installation, maintenance and cost. With regard to brand you can consider Daikin, Hitachi, OG and Panasonic all are fairly good. IMO Pansonic is priced less compared to other brands in Inverter grade which is value for money and they are reliable too.
Despite all the above if you are going for a normal split A/C then please ensure that your A/Cs power supply is drawn from a different phase of supply from that of your HT set up power supply phase given the fact that your A/C is going to be of higher capacity. This will ensure the drastic power fluctuation during compressor cut off and cut in is not affecting your HT set up power supply, to have quality viewing and for the safety of your HT equipment.
my one cent.
R. Balagopalan.
NB: Even Inverter grade refrigerator do have all the above said advantages. So who ever wants a higher capacity refrigerator they can consider this as it has promising pay back period keeping view that all refrigerators is ON 24X7.