At home or at the Cinema- Which do you prefer??

[john1000000boy]

Just sitting watching Robin Hood on Blu Ray the other night. Which is 1 of the 1st Blu Rays i have ever watched. Got me to thinking.....I would far rather wait for the big movies to hit Blu Ray and Sky HD than go to my local Cinema. Yes the big screen in the theater is a sight to behold. The Popcorn crunching in your lug, people going in and out and the cost of 2 or more of you going and eating all the overpriced sweets and snacks are all minus factors in my opinion.

I sat there with a cup of coffee and my favourite snacks with everything just the way i like it and watched the tale unfold before me on a 42ins Plasma/

The whole sound experience at the local Picture house is not a patch on my current system. Rear effects do not have any effect. In fact on my last visit to the Cinema i was really struggling to hear any rear effects panning at all (Green Zone- Matt Damon).

When the battle scenes were in full flight and the bows were twanging and the arrows whooshing past the invaders in the castle in the opening scenes of Robin Hood you really felt the arrows screaming past you from the front of the room to the back and across you as they took another soldier to the bitter end!!

Am i alone in this or do Home Cinema people like you and me still enjoy a trip to their local Cinema?

I am really pleased with my system and am amazed at the sheer quality available right there in our front rooms. Whats more it is available anytime we choose with any other treats or preferences we like.

I am not sating i am going to stop my infrequent trips to the Cinema i will certainly be considering....Can i wait until this comes onto a format that can be viewed in my own front room??

Am I alone on this??

The choice as they say is yours...!!

 

[davejberry]

i'm with you for exactly the same reasons. Picture is ok at the cinema but the sound was always terrible. The projectionist at my old 10 screen was only just out of nappies and like many (but not all) young people on a diet of low bit rate mp3, didn't seem to grasp the idea of sound quality. For him sadly, louder meant better.

 

[Sorreltiger]

It all changed for me when we had our kids. Suddenly, it wasn't easy to go out to the cinema anymore. This was one of the key factors in making the home experience as good as possible.

Now the kids are older, cinema-going revolves around their interests, but it's a very hit and miss experience. The plethora of screens means that sometimes you're looking up at a postage stamp instead of getting a large-scale experience. I had a ghastly experience on a rainy afternoon in Southampton, watching Star Trek whilst practically lying on my back in the front row!

Factor in the cost and it has to be home viewing every time, I'm afraid.

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

JohnBoy,

I stopped going to the cinema a long time ago.

Ronald

 

[Anonymous]

PQ - Home

PQ - Imersion wise - Cinema - you just can't beat a massive screen for cinematic affect

SQ - precision - Home

SQ - movie-esque - Cinema. I have a beefy AV amp, big floorstanders, BIIIG sub - but I've never managed to get that really gutteral bass sounding centre that you get in decent cinemas, i suppose its a law of physics, the cinema has a whole array of large speakers making up the centre, vs at home a much much smaller centre, and help from the sub.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Home is best........

Cheaper.....

Can see the whole screen........

In centre of the action, sound wise.......

No teenagers talking throughout the film!!!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

My Home cinema every time,except for the odd exception say a 3D movie then for me the cinema would be the place to go

That said as I use a projector that isn't 3D capable, and I have no intention of changing my whole system for something that may turn out to be a gimmick, then 3D on a projector at Home might actually be better than the cinema

For all AV fans out there, if you can get a dedicated room then get a projector, nothing can beat it , not even your local flea pit

No travelling ,no q in the rain, no people coming and going, no whispering and paper rustling,and the movie start time is at your convenience

 

[visionary]

Pistol Pete1:
Home is best........

Cheaper.....

Can see the whole screen........

In centre of the action, sound wise.......

No teenagers talking throughout the film!!!!!!

Absolutley!

Not forgetting the glass of wine/beer

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Good call....forgot about that one too......

 

[Frank Harvey]

Yup, cinemas don't sound as good as my system, and projectors don't look as good either.

 

[Anonymous]

Used to go until I watched the expendibles, I almost walked out, except I just bought a beer.

And now that Dave and others at frank harvey hooked a brother up, My system KILLLLLLLSS the overly loud no bass cinema.

I can watch movies without much volume, be surrounded in sound and feel a thump of bass, without my ears bleeding.

 

[john1000000boy]

So i think everyone agrees (mostly!!) sq in the main is always better at home!! For those 3d fans i think they should keep on going to the cinema as that seems to be the only way it works!!

 

[grdunn123]

Just took the kids to the movies last week and it cost £50, seat wasn't comfortable and sound was dreadful.......give me a good blu ray any day!!

 

[John Duncan]

Seeing as the cinema experience appears to be much the poorer, maybe we should rename this particular forum 'Home'...

 

[bigboss]

I think cinema has its own charm. I love watching movies on the big screen with big sound. If I miss any movie at the cinema, I don't mind it, as I know I can watch it at home with an a similar experience - of course the buttkicker makes the experience even more exciting!

But I make it a point to watch the IMAX films on an IMAX screen (like Avatar & The Dark Knight) - not mainstream films shown on IMAX screen. There's no way a home cinema can compete with an IMAX experience.

I don't think I would ever stop going to the cinema, no matter how good my home cinema system is.

 

[john1000000boy]

Good one JD!!

 

[john1000000boy]

Never been to an imax screen before. Just the nearby UGC. I defo think the sound is not as good as home!!

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

bigboss:
I think cinema has its own charm. I love watching movies on the big screen with big sound. If I miss any movie at the cinema, I don't mind it, as I know I can watch it at home with an a similar experience - of course the buttkicker makes the experience even more exciting!

Does that feel like you are in a rodeo?

 

[bigboss]

Ronald Archiebald:bigboss:

I think cinema has its own charm. I love watching movies on the big screen with big sound. If I miss any movie at the cinema, I don't mind it, as I know I can watch it at home with an a similar experience - of course the buttkicker makes the experience even more exciting!

Does that feel like you are in a rodeo?

Yup, something like that!

 

[Anonymous]

bigboss: There's no way a home cinema can compete with an IMAX experience.

ssoooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

can`t agree with that at all

get a good room and a good AV system and I`m of the opinion any home cinema can knock the spots off any imax

and that has nothing to do with the best ushette and beer on tap either

 

[Anonymous]

Personally the only reason to go to the cinema is to keep the Girlfriend quiet for a bit.

In addtion I am not impressed with home 3D. I find you need to be immersed in the film for it to work properly. The Imax HD 3D tour of the Universe at the 'Kennedy Space Centre' blew my tiny mind!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

bigboss:

I think cinema has its own charm. I love watching movies on the big screen with big sound. If I miss any movie at the cinema, I don't mind it, as I know I can watch it at home with an a similar experience - of course the buttkicker makes the experience even more exciting!

But I make it a point to watch the IMAX films on an IMAX screen (like Avatar & The Dark Knight) - not mainstream films shown on IMAX screen. There's no way a home cinema can compete with an IMAX experience.

I don't think I would ever stop going to the cinema, no matter how good my home cinema system is.

Yep, I tend to agree with BigBoss. There is nothing like watching movies on a big screen at the cinema. It does have a certain charm and perhaps nostalgia which cannot be reproduced at home (no matter how good your AV kit is). I think that due to the incredible technological and economic advances in Home Cinema equipment it is very difficult to compare the two in areas such as precision and detail. Also, by our very nature (AV enthusiasts), we strive for a certain amount of perfection when it comes to our cinematic audio visual experiences. This is perhaps not possible to achive anymore at your average Odeon. But I dont think it is really all about that when you go to the movies. After seeing a good movie at my local cinema, its great to sit down at home and watch it on a (relatively) big screen, with Blu-ray quality and enjoy all the visual and audio detail that were lost first time round.

Can't disagree about the cost though

. You need a small fortune to take the family, but we'll still be the first in the queue come November 19th when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 hits the screen.......'Expelleramus'!!!!

 

[Andrew Everard]

nicholasc1585:Can't disagree about the cost though

. You need a small fortune to take the family, but we'll still be the first in the queue come November 19th when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 hits the screen.......'Expelleramus'!!!

In 2D, of course, cos they couldn't get the 3D retrofit done in time.

 

[Anonymous]

Prefer it at home.

Don't normally go the pictures. Usually full of kids playing with their mobile phones, laughing and giggling, constantly getting up and down (especially if its a horror type film (like saw) for some reason),

Went to the cinema for the first time in years a few weeks ago to see inception. Had an argument with the mrs on the way there as I wouldnt stop on a hill to put a dying bird on the verge, then as it was the 1st night of the expendables the car park was full and we had to park in a retail car park, Cost a fortune to get in. The film was dissapointing. Then when we got back to the car at 11:15pm we found we had been locked into the car park.

So yes .....home cinema for me.

I think my sound system is better too.

 

[grdunn123]

barnsleydave:
Prefer it at home.

Don't normally go the pictures. Usually full of kids playing with their mobile phones, laughing and giggling, constantly getting up and down (especially if its a horror type film (like saw) for some reason),

Went to the cinema for the first time in years a few weeks ago to see inception. Had an argument with the mrs on the way there as I wouldnt stop on a hill to put a dying bird on the verge, then as it was the 1st night of the expendables the car park was full and we had to park in a retail car park, Cost a fortune to get in. The film was dissapointing. Then when we got back to the car at 11:15pm we found we had been locked into the car park.

So yes .....home cinema for me.

I think my sound system is better too.

By, it's grim up north!