The "I hate commercial theatres" master thread - POST HERE ONLY!

[BluFive]

I disagree and agree,If you see movies in IMAX or Digitally Projected thats better then at home,but if its some run down theatre with a crappy projector then your home is defantly better.

[blakjaks]

I partially disagree.

I saw Spiderman 3 on opening night in a packed theater. The PQ wasn't good at all (42nd street AMC in theater #25... if I knew we would be in their smallest theater I would have picked a different showtime) but the sound was better than I have at home. Granted I have an entry level sound system (some athena speakers onkyo receiver dayton sub... a step about HTIB but not nearly theater quality stuff and the dimensions of my living room and the acoustics are not conducive to a great sound system), but still the sound was rocking.

But the biggest difference is, for certain movies, you want to be there for the audience.

Now for Shrek 3 (which I have not seen) I can understand a younger crowd, parents constantly running their kids to the bathroom, kids shouting and crying all movie long and that ruins the experience.

But for an action movie to see it opening night when the crowd is really into it, cheering or gasping at certain times can really make the experience.

For example, when Peter Parker is strutting around like a nerd trying to be cool the fact that everyone was sort of giggling in the theater made it even funnier.

Even better, when he accidentally knocked down Mary Jane in the bar some guy in the back screamed out "That's how it is!" almost immediately and everyone almost died laughing.

So PQ and SQ aside, the theater-going experience for certain movies just cannot be replicated in your living room... but only for certain movies.

A good example is POTC3 which I will see this Friday. That is the type of movie that I will ultimately own at home, but I want to be there with the opening night crowd because I think it will really enhance the experience.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by BluFive

I disagree and agree,If you see movies in IMAX or Digitally Projected thats better then at home,but if its some run down theatre with a crappy projector then your home is defantly better.

BluFive, has made a good short accurate comment. In general most movie theaters have run down poor quality projectors and/or audio systems. It is hard to find a theater that is THX certified also. Some of the THX certified theaters end up losing their certification since they do not keep up with required maintenance and improvements of equipment.
Most theaters are run down and a BLU-RAY 1080P movie will look and sound better compared to the average movie theater. 70MM and 35MM film is 4K quality or better when the right film stock is used. When more theaters start going to 4K digital projection equipment or perhaps IMAX 8K quality then the movie theater experience will be much better compared to BLU-RAY as long as the kids and parents are not talking and using cell phones.
Just like back in the 50”s when movie theaters went to widescreen to attract people to the theater who were buying 4:3 TV’s, in the 21st century movie theaters will be moving to 4K projectors with true high quality 3-D movies in the coming years. Hopefully 8K quality 3-D IMAX theaters will catch on if hit movies are made in the format.

[supersix4]

i dunno i still would rather pay 24-29 to own it on movie day tuesday then pay that much or more when on a date then to see it once

[HDTV1080P]

Personally I would rather see bigger higher quality screens at the theater compared to dozens or more low quality small screens crammed into the same building. Perhaps there might still be a market for big high quality theaters that use 4K projectors or 8K IMAX screens. If the quality is there people would be willing to pay an extra $2 a ticket to watch hit movies in quality theaters.