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Do You Go Out to the Movies or Wait for the DVD?

Posted by Cliff on from the discuss-your-spending-habits dept.

SpecialAgentXXX asks "After I see a movie, I usually end up buying the DVD to see the deleted and behind-the-scenes bonus material. So I not only pay for $20 the DVD, but also $24 for a pair of tickets, $8 for parking, and $12 for popcorn & drinks. But now that I have a home theater system, I've mostly stopped going to the movies and just wait half a year for the DVD. The only exception is watching a movie in DLP or the IMAX Experience like Harry Potter since those are better qualities than a DVD. Are more people doing this? The cost of going to the movies is now more than double that of a DVD!"

1 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. I'm done with movie theatres. by venomkid · · Score: 4, Interesting

    1) Sound

    Most of these theatres are run by people with no real AV calibration experience as far as I can tell. They EQ the bass up too high, the mids too low, and the highs are shrill. This is one of the reasons I couldn't enjoy Matrix Revolutions; the low mid of the punches was turned into an oatmeal slap by the horribly configured audio system. And this was on Sony DTS. Much of the time there is also some kind of buzz in the background. This is why I had trouble watching X Men 2 and a few others.

    2) Video

    Lots of times the video ends up looking flat and desaturated. I'm not sure if this is badly maintained projectors or what. It's often off center and obvious when switching reels. I long for digital video.

    3) Audience

    I hate them. Loud, obnoxious asshats chatting on cell phones and commenting aloud on the movie. Kids brought to the WRONG movies, so they're asking questions or crying. The lip smacking of the teenage couple making out behind me. Rednecks with their laser pointers and minimum wage ushers who won't do anything about it. No thanks.

    You'd think for nearly (or over in some cases) $10 a ticket, they could have someone come in and set this stuff straight.

    I don't have a huge home theatre system but watching it on my ordinary 36" TV with my Wharfedales and my Onkyo receiver is a better movie experience by far than going to any of the theatres near me.

    --
    vk.