Commercial cinemas vs home theatres - Blu-ray Forum

J.Seb · 10-06-2009, 08:00 AM

It is quite common to see that HT enthusiasts intentions are to recreate the commercial theatres experience but I am wondering, isn't that quite easy to surpass these days?

In the last couple of weeks I went to the movies twice, first to see Inglourious Basterds and then a Spanish scary movie called [REC]2. For Tarantino's flick I visited an old classic cinema in the centre of the city and for the latter one to a quite new huge cinema complex with apparently the best reputation in the area.

While watching IB the image was huge but it look totally distorted, the subtitles were bending down at the sides, the print looked dirty already (that movie had only been played for a week or so) and you couldn't really appreciate many texture details, the definition wasn't very impressive.
The sound was loud but seriously lacked low and mid frequencies and sounded really harsh.

For the second movie, the image was slightly cropped at the top and the bottom of the screen, and being this a really dark movie, the dark scenes looked quite washed out because of the security lights in the room. Again the amount of detail in the image wasn't really impressive and the sound was rather harsh again.

Both movies were quite good and I left the cinema looking forward to getting them in blu ray to actually watch them in better conditions at home…

Don't you guys think it's quite easy to do better than the actual cinemas these days with a medium range ht?

Suntory_Times · 10-06-2009, 08:40 AM

Depends on the qaulity of the cinemas you go to. Many are extremly bad, however I feel a good cinema (which are admittadly quite rare) easily trumps the best home theatres I have seen. However I typically just wait and rent films on blu (unless I fell the need to 'have' to watch it sooner rather then later, or if i'm dragged of to see it). I think the 'aim' you speak of should be edited to 'replicate what the cinema experience should be, but rarely is'.

As for you planned projector CIH set-up plans, all I can say is if you can afford it, do it. Once you go front projection (especialy with a CIH set-up) you will never go back to a regular sized tv.

RiseDarthVader · 10-06-2009, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.Seb

For the second movie, the image was slightly cropped at the top and the bottom of the screen,

Not much you can do about that. All movies have the aperture gate slightly cutting out a bit of the image so that it projects perfectly within the screen. Your not missing much though because basically all filmmakers know this and compensate for it by not putting important details in the edges of the frame.

Lucky Luc · 10-06-2009, 12:27 PM

I have a sh*t HDTV, but I still prefer my place to watch movies. Unless the Ol' Lady wants to go to the movie theatre, we'd rather watch movies at home.

Home theatres can be built perfectly for just you.

Beta Man · 10-06-2009, 12:51 PM

I don't go to the theater (wife, young kid, one on the way, and too much to do) because I don't have time, don't care for the young punk kids there on their cell phones etc etc..... but since you're referring to the PQ etc..... I think Theaters are the way to go..... 50' wide screens or something ridiculous like that....... THAT is the theater experience, and you can't recreate that at home in my opinion.....

MrFattBill · 10-06-2009, 03:05 PM

I was thinking about this just the other day. We get sneak preview tickets all the time from one of our clients so I see a lot of stuff in theaters that I wouldn't normally pay to see.

This past week we went and saw Zombieland at one of the local theaters that have a few digital projectors, maybe 4. Although not shown with a digital projector the movie itself was good, the atmosphere was good, the sneak previews are always full but at least it's people that want to watch the movie and not act like idiots. I enjoy this type of visit to the theater for the atmosphere.

If I am going to pay to see it movie it will be on a Saturday afternoon with matinee prices at the theater that is closest to our house. This also happens to be an ALL digital Rave Theater so I enjoy these visits but less for the atmosphere and more for the digital projector.

All in all the theater experience can be really fun even if the quality isn't what it once was, or rather was being exceeded by what you can put in your home now(quality not size). I still prefer home just because I like to be able to get up and graze I mean snack as I want and my pregnant wife can also use the bathroom as needed and not miss a thing

Bill

Fors* · 10-06-2009, 06:21 PM

I have only done a few IMAX movies in the last couple of years. I do find this experience a pleasurable one, and much better than what a regular cineplex or theater can provide.

P@t_Mtl · 10-06-2009, 06:23 PM

I prefer watching movies at home and I got nothing compare to some of the users on here. If had a HT like some of the members have on here, I might never leave my home

DougMac · 10-06-2009, 07:21 PM

I find the wine selection at home is better than the centraplex. ;-) Since building the Home Theater, we've rarely gone out to the movies. We took the grandsons to see "Up" in 3D and I'm glad I saw it that way We went with friends to see "Julie and Julia". The movie was fun, but IQ and SQ at home is much better.

MrFattBill · 10-06-2009, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougMac

I find the wine selection at home is better than the centraplex. ;-) Since building the Home Theater, we've rarely gone out to the movies. We took the grandsons to see "Up" in 3D and I'm glad I saw it that way We went with friends to see "Julie and Julia". The movie was fun, but IQ and SQ at home is much better.

Pics of said theater?

Bill

Al Bundy · 10-06-2009, 07:25 PM

Since I got my Kuro, and Klipsch setup going on in my family room (pics r coming soon). I haven't thought once in going to the theater.

Not a lazy factor but preference. We have a Silver City across the street. Literally 2-3 min walk. Not more then 800m. I'd rather go to the bar, or lounge, or friends with my wife if I were to go out then go to the theater.

aramis109 · 10-06-2009, 07:31 PM

My wife FINALLY said to me, "You know, I prefer watching movies at home more than the theater." It really made my day, since she's pretty critical of the hobby as a whole. (Mostly the $$ involved).

I still like going to a GOOD theater, and luckily there is one near us. But unfortunately no theater has a pause button and my wife and kids can't seem to sit still for two hours.

If I had the room and could do so, I'd definitely build a full-on HT with a CIH setup and nice comfy theater seating, but as it stands my living room is a pretty great place to curl up with the kids and watch a flick. Plus, we can pause for bathroom and popcorn breaks.

tilallr1 · 10-06-2009, 07:36 PM

I have gone to Commercial cinemas less and less. Now I only go IMAX. Which is the closest in Picture Quality and Sound to my home setup. Regular theaters are not up to snuff anymore for me. IMAX is still top notch. If I could setup IMAX at home I would, but don't have a few stores to hang a screen. Also, a couple of million for the projector.

Last time I went to a regular theater was to see Star Trek and was sorely disappointed. Sound wasn't clear, woofer overload. Picture quality actually blurred alot. Could have been a bad projector. But even the clear scenes were bad compared to my home setup.

No question that Commercial cinemas win out for size, but size isn't everything. Quality and comfort are much more important to me. Therefore my home setup wins everytime.

MrFattBill · 10-06-2009, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tilallr1

I have gone to Commercial cinemas less and less. Now I only go IMAX. Which is the closest in Picture Quality and Sound to my home setup. Regular theaters are not up to snuff anymore for me. IMAX is still top notch. If I could setup IMAX at home I would, but don't have a few stores to hang a screen. Also, a couple of million for the projector.

Last time I went to a regular theater was to see Star Trek and was sorely disappointed. Sound wasn't clear, woofer overload. Picture quality actually blurred alot. Could have been a bad projector. But even the clear scenes were bad compared to my home setup.

No question that Commercial cinemas win out for size, but size isn't everything. Quality and comfort are much more important to me. Therefore my home setup wins everytime.

Every time I look at your Toy Room I can't stop smiling for some reason

Bill

Lucky Luc · 10-07-2009, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougMac

I find the wine selection at home is better than the centraplex. ;-) Since building the Home Theater, we've rarely gone out to the movies. We took the grandsons to see "Up" in 3D and I'm glad I saw it that way We went with friends to see "Julie and Julia". The movie was fun, but IQ and SQ at home is much better.

My local theatre doesn't serve Big Red. But I have plenty at home. We'll go to movie theatres now and then for must-see movies. We'll watch This Is It at the theatre.

I prefer home theatres. I plan on building a new set up ($1500-$2500) around New Years.

Anthony P · 10-07-2009, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.Seb

It is quite common to see that HT enthusiasts intentions are to recreate the commercial theatres experience but I am wondering, isn't that quite easy to surpass these days?

yes, that is why I don't talk about recreating the theatre experience (I did not add sticky floors, out of focus projector, annoying people speaking, phones ringing....) but surpassing it. If the theatre was good enough why would I have spent all this $$$$ to build an HT?

quest88 · 10-07-2009, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aramis109

My wife FINALLY said to me, "You know, I prefer watching movies at home more than the theater." It really made my day, since she's pretty critical of the hobby as a whole. (Mostly the $$ involved).

I still like going to a GOOD theater, and luckily there is one near us. But unfortunately no theater has a pause button and my wife and kids can't seem to sit still for two hours.

If I had the room and could do so, I'd definitely build a full-on HT with a CIH setup and nice comfy theater seating, but as it stands my living room is a pretty great place to curl up with the kids and watch a flick. Plus, we can pause for bathroom and popcorn breaks.

My wife has been taking our son to the movies more often just for the experience of it all. As far as the $$$ for the hobby well I've spent more on cars. At least my new Hobby doesn't set on flat tires with a blown engine. I've told the wife it's better for her and the bank account to stick with the hobby I have now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony P

yes, that is why I don't talk about recreating the theatre experience (I did not add sticky floors, out of focus projector, annoying people speaking, phones ringing....) but surpassing it. If the theatre was good enough why would I have spent all this $$$$ to build an HT?

Good point.

J.Seb · 10-07-2009, 07:47 AM

I concur that the IMAX experience is hard to overcome. I remember watching The Dark Knight in Glasgow and the sound blew me away. I could feel Mahone's shotgun in my guts in the bank scene… I miss that feeling. The screen was quite oversized for that sort of movie though.

J.Seb · 10-07-2009, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aramis109

My wife FINALLY said to me, "You know, I prefer watching movies at home more than the theater." It really made my day, since she's pretty critical of the hobby as a whole. (Mostly the $$ involved).

That makes me wonder, why are women in general so sceptical about HTs?

Are there even any ladies in this site at all?

Kryptonic · 10-07-2009, 08:21 AM

I still go to the theater regularly. I'm sorry, but as good as a home theater might be, it can't duplicate the experience of watching a movie for the first time in the dark on a 35 foot screen with other members of the public. I saw Zombieland this past weekend and the print and sound were fine, but more importantly, the crowd was really into it which made the film more enjoyable and the experience all the more fun.

10-06-2009, 08:00 AM	#1
J.Seb Active Member Member since:Aug 2009 Location:Mallorca, Spain Home Theater Gallery:36 Blu-ray collection:292 Blu-ray reviews:2	Commercial cinemas vs home theatres It is quite common to see that HT enthusiasts intentions are to recreate the commercial theatres experience but I am wondering, isn't that quite easy to surpass these days? In the last couple of weeks I went to the movies twice, first to see Inglourious Basterds and then a Spanish scary movie called [REC]2. For Tarantino's flick I visited an old classic cinema in the centre of the city and for the latter one to a quite new huge cinema complex with apparently the best reputation in the area. While watching IB the image was huge but it look totally distorted, the subtitles were bending down at the sides, the print looked dirty already (that movie had only been played for a week or so) and you couldn't really appreciate many texture details, the definition wasn't very impressive. The sound was loud but seriously lacked low and mid frequencies and sounded really harsh. For the second movie, the image was slightly cropped at the top and the bottom of the screen, and being this a really dark movie, the dark scenes looked quite washed out because of the security lights in the room. Again the amount of detail in the image wasn't really impressive and the sound was rather harsh again. Both movies were quite good and I left the cinema looking forward to getting them in blu ray to actually watch them in better conditions at home… Don't you guys think it's quite easy to do better than the actual cinemas these days with a medium range ht? Last edited by J.Seb; 10-06-2009 at 08:45 AM.

10-06-2009, 07:21 PM	#9
DougMac Active Member Member since:Apr 2009 Location:Juliette, GA Blu-ray reviews: 15	Prefer Home I find the wine selection at home is better than the centraplex. ;-) Since building the Home Theater, we've rarely gone out to the movies. We took the grandsons to see "Up" in 3D and I'm glad I saw it that way We went with friends to see "Julie and Julia". The movie was fun, but IQ and SQ at home is much better.

10-06-2009, 07:36 PM	#13
tilallr1 Blu-ray Samurai Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Dec 2007 Location:Great White North Home Theater Gallery:410 4K collection:78 Blu-ray collection:2009 DVD collection:2598 Blu-ray reviews: 33 Trading Score:248	I have gone to Commercial cinemas less and less. Now I only go IMAX. Which is the closest in Picture Quality and Sound to my home setup. Regular theaters are not up to snuff anymore for me. IMAX is still top notch. If I could setup IMAX at home I would, but don't have a few stores to hang a screen. Also, a couple of million for the projector. Last time I went to a regular theater was to see Star Trek and was sorely disappointed. Sound wasn't clear, woofer overload. Picture quality actually blurred alot. Could have been a bad projector. But even the clear scenes were bad compared to my home setup. No question that Commercial cinemas win out for size, but size isn't everything. Quality and comfort are much more important to me. Therefore my home setup wins everytime. Last edited by tilallr1; 10-06-2009 at 07:40 PM.

10-07-2009, 07:47 AM	#18
J.Seb Active Member Member since:Aug 2009 Location:Mallorca, Spain Home Theater Gallery:36 Blu-ray collection:292 Blu-ray reviews:2	Imax I concur that the IMAX experience is hard to overcome. I remember watching The Dark Knight in Glasgow and the sound blew me away. I could feel Mahone's shotgun in my guts in the bank scene… I miss that feeling. The screen was quite oversized for that sort of movie though.

Similar Threads
thread	Forum	Thread Starter	Replies	Last Post
Where do you sit in Cinemas ?	Movie Polls	quexos	148	06-17-2024 11:23 PM
10 stunning ultra-geeky home cinemas	Home Theater General Discussion	Will Turner	75	02-02-2010 04:37 PM
The "I hate commercial theatres" master thread - POST HERE ONLY!	Movies	Zaphod	598	12-18-2009 04:17 AM
Our home theatres	Home Theater Galleries	shayned9	11	10-28-2009 10:18 AM
New Line Cinemas	Blu-ray Technology and Future Technology	Canada	13	09-10-2007 11:14 AM

10-06-2009, 08:40 AM	#2
Suntory_Times Blu-ray Champion Member since:Mar 2008 Location:The Grid Blu-ray reviews:16 Trading Score:23	Depends on the qaulity of the cinemas you go to. Many are extremly bad, however I feel a good cinema (which are admittadly quite rare) easily trumps the best home theatres I have seen. However I typically just wait and rent films on blu (unless I fell the need to 'have' to watch it sooner rather then later, or if i'm dragged of to see it). I think the 'aim' you speak of should be edited to 'replicate what the cinema experience should be, but rarely is'. As for you planned projector CIH set-up plans, all I can say is if you can afford it, do it. Once you go front projection (especialy with a CIH set-up) you will never go back to a regular sized tv.

10-06-2009, 12:27 PM	#4
Lucky Luc Active Member Member since:Nov 2008 Location:D.R., Texas Blu-ray reviews:3	I have a sh*t HDTV, but I still prefer my place to watch movies. Unless the Ol' Lady wants to go to the movie theatre, we'd rather watch movies at home. Home theatres can be built perfectly for just you.

10-06-2009, 12:51 PM	#5
Beta Man Moderator Top contributor Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Juuuuuuuust A Bit Outside.... Home Theater Gallery:4 Blu-ray collection:268 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:25	I don't go to the theater (wife, young kid, one on the way, and too much to do) because I don't have time, don't care for the young punk kids there on their cell phones etc etc..... but since you're referring to the PQ etc..... I think Theaters are the way to go..... 50' wide screens or something ridiculous like that....... THAT is the theater experience, and you can't recreate that at home in my opinion.....

10-06-2009, 03:05 PM	#6
MrFattBill Blu-ray Ninja Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Aug 2009 Location:jO-hio Home Theater Gallery:206 Blu-ray collection:578 Trading Score:5	I was thinking about this just the other day. We get sneak preview tickets all the time from one of our clients so I see a lot of stuff in theaters that I wouldn't normally pay to see. This past week we went and saw Zombieland at one of the local theaters that have a few digital projectors, maybe 4. Although not shown with a digital projector the movie itself was good, the atmosphere was good, the sneak previews are always full but at least it's people that want to watch the movie and not act like idiots. I enjoy this type of visit to the theater for the atmosphere. If I am going to pay to see it movie it will be on a Saturday afternoon with matinee prices at the theater that is closest to our house. This also happens to be an ALL digital Rave Theater so I enjoy these visits but less for the atmosphere and more for the digital projector. All in all the theater experience can be really fun even if the quality isn't what it once was, or rather was being exceeded by what you can put in your home now(quality not size). I still prefer home just because I like to be able to get up and graze I mean snack as I want and my pregnant wife can also use the bathroom as needed and not miss a thing Bill

10-06-2009, 06:21 PM	#7
Fors* Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Pottstown, PA Home Theater Gallery:160 4K collection:12 Blu-ray collection:142 Trading Score:11	I have only done a few IMAX movies in the last couple of years. I do find this experience a pleasurable one, and much better than what a regular cineplex or theater can provide.

10-06-2009, 06:23 PM	#8
P@t_Mtl Blu-ray Duke Member since:Sep 2008 Location:Montreal Home Theater Gallery:4 Blu-ray collection:452 DVD collection:513 Trading Score:3	I prefer watching movies at home and I got nothing compare to some of the users on here. If had a HT like some of the members have on here, I might never leave my home

10-06-2009, 07:25 PM	#11
Al Bundy Senior Member Member since:Nov 2008 Location:Chicago IL Home Theater Gallery:7 Blu-ray collection:113	Since I got my Kuro, and Klipsch setup going on in my family room (pics r coming soon). I haven't thought once in going to the theater. Not a lazy factor but preference. We have a Silver City across the street. Literally 2-3 min walk. Not more then 800m. I'd rather go to the bar, or lounge, or friends with my wife if I were to go out then go to the theater.

10-06-2009, 07:31 PM	#12
aramis109 Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Mar 2008 Location:Milwaukee, WI Home Theater Gallery:10 4K collection:4 Blu-ray collection:360 Trading Score:18	My wife FINALLY said to me, "You know, I prefer watching movies at home more than the theater." It really made my day, since she's pretty critical of the hobby as a whole. (Mostly the $$ involved). I still like going to a GOOD theater, and luckily there is one near us. But unfortunately no theater has a pause button and my wife and kids can't seem to sit still for two hours. If I had the room and could do so, I'd definitely build a full-on HT with a CIH setup and nice comfy theater seating, but as it stands my living room is a pretty great place to curl up with the kids and watch a flick. Plus, we can pause for bathroom and popcorn breaks.

10-07-2009, 08:21 AM	#20
Kryptonic Suspended Member since:Jul 2009 Trading Score:45	I still go to the theater regularly. I'm sorry, but as good as a home theater might be, it can't duplicate the experience of watching a movie for the first time in the dark on a 35 foot screen with other members of the public. I saw Zombieland this past weekend and the print and sound were fine, but more importantly, the crowd was really into it which made the film more enjoyable and the experience all the more fun.

Best Blu-ray Movie Deals