Do you like seeing films in big movie theaters or at home with DVDs?
Do you think the movie house, as we know it today, will survive? or will film viewing in the future, say 25 years from now, be totally at home screenings or on the computer?
I doubt people in homes will be viewing dvds on their pc screens.
They’ll be seeing them on big fat 37-50 inch LCD TVs baby!
Yeeeeha!
And no, people will still go out to the movies. Ever hear of “girlfriends?” 
90% of the time at home.
World wide, the theatrical experience is lacking. It’s more of an amuement than an intimate affair, like it used to be. A lot of that has to do with the behavior of the clowns and cretins who pollute, er “populate” the theaters with their laser pens (not a huge issue these days, but once in a blue moon it would pop up), cell phones, snotty kids, thinking every film is Mst3k if it’s bad, their lack of respect towards others, etc.
I can recapture the intimacy of old at home - with better picture and sound quality- and better programming!
I save the theatrical experience for big boom event movies, where audience atmosphere is essential (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc.).
Besides, for the price of one fun night at the movies I can enjoy 4 or 5 films at home and save the world the horror of seeing me walk around in boxers and stained, tattered Motorhead t-shirt.
However, if I ran a theater I think it would be boss and change all of that.
BTW LCD screens suck. The technology needs to improve. It renders a crystal clear, progressively scanned DVD image to VCD quality.
What’s the point of moving back ten mroe feet than normal for a “good picture” when it should look good, 10 - 100 feet away from the screen? 
I’m waiting for the techonology to improve. I’ll stick with the standard chip models that also offer logner life, better picture, lower price, and less future maintainence…
For now. 
I think the theatrical xpereince as we knew it (15 years ago) has already started to dwindle, and compared to today - where the seeds continue to be sewn - in fifteen year’s time it will be more about experience ala amusement park, rather than theatrical. I think, that - at least in the west - there will be the more intimate art houses (a dying breed, for sure) in bigger cities, but for average folk, a night at the “movies” will be akin to what IMAX is for people today.
The move to digital, the surprising number of big name “blockbuster” directors wanting to do digital 3-d, and the fact that typical Hollywod “blockbusters” no longer get delegated to the summer (and continue to grow in number, compared to smaller, more personal - albeit commercial - films that are becoming fewer and farther between)
- all of this leads me to believe that it will change.
The industry has already changed far more than I realized. For example, there were more ticket sold in the US in the 1940s and 50s (in absolute numbers) than today.
This article discusses some of the changes. I read a similar article recently which was more informative but I can’t seem to track it down. Will post if I can.
They said robots would be the end of manual labor. They said the eBook would be the end of paperbacks. They said the Internet would be the end of newspapers. They said MP3s would be the end of CDs.
Home theatre will not kill the movie theatre. It will - and has - harmed it, but it won’t kill it.
If they (the movie theatres) decrease their prices, I would definitely see more movies there but since I’m poor and a student DVD and downloading is the way to go. On another note, is it just me but are movies just not they use to be anymore? Most of the time I just regret ever paying to see this crap.
I dont go to the theater to watch many movies, but like other posters have wrote i like to go to big movies to experience it. But often i find i get bad seats, someone sitting in front of me, small uncomfy seats so i dont like to go to many shows. Since the cost of movies is high, and chances of seeing a crappy movie is high, i try to avoid watching them. Sitting at home watching a movie on dvd on a big screen with all the surround sound in comfy seats is better than most theater experiences.
The summer is almost upon us, so there will be lots of movies out to entice us. However iam sure most of them will be crap and only last in theaters for a week or so. Thats probably why downloading has become such a big thing. Its easy and cheap to get some show that may or may not be good, but in some cases i dotn feel like taking the chance so ill download.
I’d like to add that theaters help to speed up their demise (and into an “event center” where they see big films only).
In Taiwan, projectionists are listless, lazy and incompetent (should I be surprised? I’m not…). Often things go out of focus or sound shits out and it takes a while to get them to notice. Also, theaters ahve a lazy habit of not replacing projection bulbs often and you’ll see a darker picture than you should.
Ass to this asshole ushers who will LIE to tehatergoes that the movie is over just because the end credits are there, though INTERNATIONALLY PRMOTOED FILMS LIKE MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS had clips of the final film AFTER the credits. I nearly floored three ushers in Hsinchu for tryign to deny it and I argued until it happened. The ystill kept denying it AFTER I pointed to the actio non screen and I simply pushed the voiciferous one and sat down until it was over.
One of the bozos took off and I had a security guy waiting for me at the exit and even he was bright enough to put 2 and 2 together and let me finish watching the 3 minutes of footage. I left as I had entered - with no problems, but every time I went back to that theater employees knew who I was.
Why deal with that shit?
In the U. S., it’s a known fact that most theaters turn down the wattage of their projectors to save a few $$$ when they show matinae (cheaper) shows.
At home quality is controlled.
F@ck the theaters.
I do miss the mobile phone, KFC, talking loudly, bring-the-kids, turn the sound down (it’s only English) atmosphere of Taiwanese cinemas, though.
Forget Plasmas, LCDs and big ass rear projection TVs. Go for front projectuion projectors. The price of projectors just keeps dropping and the technology gets better every few months. The speed is about on par with CPUs and digital cameras in terms of new product releases and prices. Screen size averages about 100 inches or over 8 feet diagonally and can be much bigger. The price range for good film projectors runs from about NT$30,000 to NT$80,000 then up to as much as NT$200,000 or more for something special. I am picky and I got something for NT$58,000 instead of the NT$150,000 I was prepared to pay when I saw the quality of the NT$58,000. That was two years ago and two new generations of the same projector came out all released for the same price.
With that said, I still prefer movies for the big blockbusters like “Lord of the Rings” as umm…they are not 10 feet across, but more like 100 feet or more. However, many times the quality of a good DVD looks better than many a flick in the theaters in terms of sharpness.
I do like in Taiwan how you have assigned seats like the theater and can even buy them well in advance and in some theaters (Cinemark) choose the location too. After living here so long it seems odd back in the USA that you have to wait in line to be the first int he theater, then run to a seat if you want to get the best seat.
The whole movie-going experience in Taiwan sucks big time. You get people right behind you talking about the movie or their latest boyfriends or whatever mindless blather comes into their rude, obnoxious little heads, parents bringing their babies to the theatre because they couldn’t find a babysitter and don’t want to miss any part of the movie even when the baby starts screaming. I think some people put on the most annoying ringtones and turn their cellphones up so that it makes it easier to glare at them as they go ahead and have a conversation at a normal voice tone right in the middle of a film.
And of course, my biggest pet peeve is going to a comedy and the Taiwanese audience reads the jokes on the subtitles and starts laughing so you, the English speaker, cannot hear what the joke was. If my mom hadn’t been in the theatre with me the first time this happened, I would have happily done a loud “HA HA HA! That was so damn funny. Now shut the fuck up so I can actually hear what he said!” but I would have been guaranteeing myself a good smack or two upside the head. I have gotten so fed up that I have actually told people to leave the theatre when their babies started screaming or when their cell phone had rung for the fifth time.
If only you could get your money back from these people for ruining your movie experience. “That’s the fourth time your bloody phone has rung. I expect my $360 as soon as the credits start rolling.”
Best thing about watching movies at home: Much cheaper. Better popcorn. Better seats. Pause. If the phone rings, I can pause it. Cleaner bathrooms. Can watch movies lying down. Can watch 3 movies in one night without it costing me a fortune. I can bring my own food and drinks. No fighting over the armrest/cup holder with some random foul-smelling stranger…
You obviously didn’t read a word of the article I posted a link to. 
[quote=“Muzha Man”][quote=“Ric Flair”]
At home quality is controlled.
[/quote]
You obviously didn’t read a word of the article I posted a link to. 
[/quote]
:loco:
[quote=“Ric Flair”][quote=“Muzha Man”][quote=“Ric Flair”]
At home quality is controlled.
[/quote]
You obviously didn’t read a word of the article I posted a link to. [/quote]
:loco:[/quote]
Oops, I obviously didn’t read your post very carefully. 
When you said “home” I thought you meant in your home country. 
[quote=“Muzha Man”]
Oops, I obviously didn’t read your post very carefully. When you said “home” I thought you meant in your home country. [/quote]
No prob.