Do You Go Out to the Movies or Wait for the DVD? 154
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!"
beer (Score:3, Interesting)
Aside from the Alamo Draft House, movie theatres around here don't serve beer.
At home you can have cheap beer... and pause the show for the ensuing bathroom breaks.
that, and it's just plain weird going to the theatre on my own.
-metric
Travel (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't go to movies anymore (Score:3, Interesting)
I am also happy not to have to deal with kids talking during the movies. However, I kinda miss the "social experience" of going to the movies.
My Take (Score:3, Interesting)
I buy DVD's of memorable films or stuff I collect (eg sci-fi).
I download films that I probably wont get to see or have had mediocre reviews but whose content appeals to me. I make a point of not downloading stuff I just "have" to see at the pictures.
Re:I can't (Score:3, Interesting)
That's why (the g|G)ods* invented P2P.
I'm clearly above average when it comes to going to the movies, but hardly ever buy any DVDs; most DVDs that I do buy are usually of the "hey, I loved that movie XX number of years ago"-kind, which means that they are 10+ years old, and usually quite cheap.
P2P... that evil thing which forces moviestars to either go broke or become politicians... well... here it happens to be legal to download[A] movies etc; and what I download is either:
1. New movies which I'm really interested in, but which won't be shown at the movies here for several months after the release in the US.
2. TVseries; every now and then an episode of something that I missed, but mostly tvseries on channels which aren't easily[B] available to me; and that no channel I've got and/or could get access to has shown any interest in.
Getting back to the whole DVD vs going to the movies-quality question... If "they" don't want to let me buy access to good quality I'm more than happy that I can get free less than perfect copies of the Net.
If I feel that the movie I downloaded is worth it (basically if there are lots of good CGI), then I go to the movies and see it again; it's not like I remember the whole thing months later anyways, and going to the movies with some friends is a lot more fun than just sitting at home infront of the tele.
[A] not legal to set ut a server and share though.
[B] I could of course build some kind of PVR, ship it to a friend in what ever country (ie the US) etc...
"No Smoking" jingles (Score:2, Interesting)
"The blondes... FAKE!!!"
"The (this)... FAKE!!!"
"The (that)... FAKE!!!"
Then they had a short, done with Barbie and Ken dolls about theater courtesy. The Barbie that was talking on her cell phone, disturbing other patrons, got a pair of jumper cables attached to her and shocked. (with special effects!!) The doll eating and throwing popcorn was sucked up into a shop-vac, etc.
At the end, they're all lounging together in a hot-tub, except it's a super-size soda.
I wish we could have more like this, instead of the thumpa-thumpa music and flying candy.
Those prices suck... (Score:4, Interesting)
I've got a family of 4... To go to the theater with all of them means I'm out $30 just in the cost of tickets, and I'm restricted to family fare (My kids are 10 and 3). If I wanted to feed this bunch while there, it'd be easily another $20 - $30 (Just for some crappy snacks and drinks).
Like many of the other posters, I simply can't stand what the moviegoing experience has become. I don't like the crowds, and like the man once said: "In any sufficiently large group of people, most of them will be idiots." No place is this more evident than at a theater.
Home theater is where it's at.
I'm done with movie theatres. (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
DVD (Score:3, Interesting)
The experience was pretty awful. From the house lights not going down on time and the light from the left-open doors shining on the screen to the sticky floor and talking/sneezing/coughing.
I watched, and muttered those now immortal words "I can do better than this at home"
A year later I had a DLP projector under the couch (852x480) and a 100" screen at the living room wall. It lives up to my claim - I've never even looked at a movie theater since.
My costs for the first couple of years works out to be $3-4/per hour of viewing. Cheaper than a movie theater and a lot more rewarding.
A.
Re:cheat the MPAA ... legally! (Score:2, Interesting)