[andywylde]

I went to see I Am Legend Yesterday and i finally realized how obsessed i am. At 1st the image was seriously wonky, there was major keystone needed. Then when the film kicked off it was really really dark, not that its much to go off but i have the HD trailer on my 360 and it looks so much better on my Z5. Colours are vibrant and theres much more detail. I still think you cant actually beat going to the cinema, it has that magic, and the centre speakers always sound amazing in a good cinema How does the cinema compare to all your pj's?

Cool film btw

[nwgarratt]

I haven't been to the cinema since 2003 and Return of the King. Whilst I enjoyed the film, I thought the image was small. I get bigger image at home (from my perspective) when I am just sitting 8 feet away from the 80" screen compared to the massive distance I sit back at the cinema. I don't sit nearer as it gets uncomfortable watching it as I have to look up to much and the rear speakers and not placed properly.

I also object to the cinema prices now. I rather wait for the DVD and watch it at home. I don't even have a HD setup.

[snips]

i went to my local cinema to see the new harry potter film with the kids and the sound was rubbish volume to low and the picture was not that good i much preferred being at home watching a film on my screen with my feet up.

Chris

[thesaint24]

i enjoy the experience of the cinema but find it nicer to stay at home and watch a film on my screen

if im out with friends i will go to the cinema but if not i prefer to stay at home and watch a film

[FATCAT40S]

Its been a couple of years since I last went and then I spent most of the film comparing the image quality with that of my pj set up.

Hence I dont go to the cinema any more, Id rather wait 3 mths and watch at home, the pictures better and the foods cheaper...

John

[sapper]

And the home cinema is licensed

[mart.stokes]

I realise this forum was probably one of the best places to ask this question, but don't forget that some of us would rather sit in front of our TVs than go to the cinema too!

I have a good (but old) Denon/B&W/M&K audio set-up and a 1080 Sony 55A2000 55" RP TV. My wife doesn't like going to the cinema because of the dirt and smell (but they normally let her in as long as she doesn't sit too close to the other customers ) and then there are the obvious advantages of being at home (being able to pause when you want a food/drink/toilet/sex/fag break) that it has become a no brain decision. I don't need to rush to the cinema to see the latest blockbuster, I can wait until Blu-Ray or Sky Movies HD catch up.

[Tribeless]

Like Sapper, by the looks of it, I always like to watch a movie with a beer or two (or three), so until they get cinemas to the stage a viewer can hit pause for a comfort break, it's home cinema for me.

Although what cinemas have all over my home cinema is cleaners.

[thesaint24]

i just saw beowolf at the imax, and thats the one time i would say the cinema was alot better

[andywylde]

Originally Posted by nwgarratt

I haven't been to the cinema since 2003 and Return of the King. Whilst I enjoyed the film, I thought the image was small. I get bigger image at home (from my perspective) when I am just sitting 8 feet away from the 80" screen compared to the massive distance I sit back at the cinema. I don't sit nearer as it gets uncomfortable watching it as I have to look up to much and the rear speakers and not placed properly.

I also object to the cinema prices now. I rather wait for the DVD and watch it at home. I don't even have a HD setup.

2003! that is a long time. Its the price that puts me off, i paid £5 the other day, i think the most it ever cost me was something like £7.60 at an old UCI. Awful.

[Mr_Sukebe]

The only drawback I've come across for listening at home is concerns about being too loud an upsetting the next door neighbours (have done it once during the ship battle scene in POTC3, though it was LOUD).
Excluding that, sounds MUCH better at home, the picture is just as good, I have a lovely reclining leather sofa and as already mentioned, it's nice to be able to pause whilst grabbing a drink. The fact that it's not any more expensive to buy a BD disk than go to the cinema just nicely finishes it.

[TOOMANYWIRES]

What's everybodys favourite beer/crisp combo to accompany their home cinema experince? Quite partial to a few Peronis and a selection from Mcoys ridged cut tortilla range myself.

[sapper]

The costings is so true...

Hardware costs asside, for a family of four to see a film, in reality do youget much change from £50 after fuel, entrance fees, the inevitible cokes/popcorn/sweets??

A standard definition DVD these days is what a tenner, whilst Hi-Def films of either flavour in the region of £15 - £18 from online retailers.

Adrian

[Dr Force]

I have not got a PJ at the moment but will be investing in one to put in my dedicated room being built in Feb.

IMHO the sound and PQ in the Cinema is poor in comparison to my set up I have at the moment and thus do not feel any need to go out and sit in an uncomfortable cinema for 3 hours.

When I purchase the 1080p PJ then I will be closer to the big screen experience than I get now and it will IMO be a much better quality picture & sound.The cinema sound always sounds cupped and dull to me and the PQ is soft and tiring to the eyes.

Give me lots of space, with a clean picture and sound,with peeps you want to sit with,goodies on tap and the ability to pause any day for me.

[Wiggins]

Also, you don't have to put up with the idiots that tend to frequent cinema's nowadays. There was nothing more ruinous to watching a film whilst morons throw popcorn at each other, laugh at the wrong bits, cough and hack behind you like they are dying of the plague etc. etc. And also no annoying kiddies left to cause havok (unless your own kids are like that!). That's before you even get into the actual cost of going in the first place. I find current ticket prices obscene, and that's oop north- I know they are even worse down south. Yes, I the last time I remember going to the cinema was to see the Coen brothers (awful) remake of The Ladykillers, and I haven't looked back since!

[UFX]

My last vist I had a guy to the left Laughing, *** its a horror movie, some fool behind thinking it was ok to rest his feet on the back of my chair & a idiot constantly texting on his phone emiting around 2500000 lumens.

By the time I made my feelings known I lost all interest in the movie

Dont think I'll ever go again, dont think I could cope yet almost everyone else was almost oblivious to these morons.. maybe I'm getting old

It has prompted me to save for my 1st PJ tho

[Hubamonster]

Could'nt agree more with the post above. Least you can chuck people out of your home cinema, if you do that at the actual cinema they dont like it.

I just need to make my own pub and supermarket in my back garden then i'll never have to deal with annoying people again

[MonkeyBoyMorton]

I did the same thing when I went to see Golden Compass recently.

Only had Z5 for about 2 months and I was being hyper critical about black not being black and murky shadow details. Went to local VUE to watch Golden Compass and discovered black isn't black at the cinema either and shadow detail wasn't much to shout about!!!

Then a few days later watched Stardust 720p HD-DVD rip on Z5 and was amazed how close my front room setup was to the cinema. I can't imagine how much better than the cinema something like a DLA-HD100 must be if my Z5 is almost as good.

[andywylde]

Originally Posted by TOOMANYWIRES

What's everybodys favourite beer/crisp combo to accompany their home cinema experince? Quite partial to a few Peronis and a selection from Mcoys ridged cut tortilla range myself.

I snuck a bottle of Corona and a multibag of Walkers into the showcase the other day. I know you shouldn't, but a "Meal Deal" for £5 consisting of a regular coke and a hot dog (a thin tinned hot dog - of which you could buy the tin with 8 dogs for around 60p) is a total joke...I wasnt fussy about going to the cinema at all, had to travel miles just so some friends would be happy so i thought i might aswell try and make the best of my time there!

[sapper]

Originally Posted by TOOMANYWIRES

What's everybodys favourite beer/crisp combo to accompany their home cinema experince? Quite partial to a few Peronis and a selection from Mcoys ridged cut tortilla range myself.

At home , maybe a bottle of real ale or a crisp white, or a light red...

Prongles, or soem posh crip variety, Walkers sensations or the kettle?? range?

need coffee, my mind has gone blank....

[movie_lover]

I still love going to the flics and will attend at least a dozen (probably nearer twenty) times a year. Despite the fact that it is almost always cheaper to "obtain" a copy to watch at home on my system....

Why? It must be the whole experience, I suppose, because you can bet your last dollar that somewhere along the line there'll be someting or other to break the "spell" Whether it's poor sound ("I am Legend" had blatant dropouts on Sunday!), poor PQ (the projector focus/print quality was soo bad for "Apocalypto" it actually looked worse than a shoddy DVD) or beedin' kids (had one the other day that had trainers with flashing LEDs in!)....

Come to think of it - why do I go?

One tip though - If you can get a babysitter or don't have kids, watch the adult films in the daytime, and the kids films in the evenings. That way you don't get the half-cut "witty" (!?) twentysomethings or the noisy and often vomiting rugrats respectively, spoiling the fun!

[KelvinS1965]

Originally Posted by MonkeyBoyMorton

Only had Z5 for about 2 months and I was being hyper critical about black not being black and murky shadow details. Went to local VUE to watch Golden Compass and discovered black isn't black at the cinema either and shadow detail wasn't much to shout about!!!

I took my son to see Ratatouile and came to the same conclusion about black levels and my AE1000. It made me see my PJ in a much better light.

Originally Posted by sapper

At home , maybe a bottle of real ale or a crisp white, or a light red.

A nice Valpolichella (quite light) or a Cabernet Sauvigon are my faves and you can't do that in my local Showcase.

Originally Posted by movie_lover

One tip though - If you can get a babysitter or don't have kids, watch the adult films in the daytime, and the kids films in the evenings.

We used to go on a Saturday night (when our Daughter was old enough to sit for her younger brother, now she's too old to stop in on a Saturday). We would go down for the 9-9:30 showing and found that it would be quite quiet as the kids had gone home and the 18-20 somethings would have watched the earlier viewings and were leaving for the pub by then. Nowadays I think my setup is better anyway so I'm happy to wait for the ilms to appear on disc.

[Hubamonster]

As an aside, am I the only one who gets annoyed when people come round your house (you know the ones) who say isn't it anoying watching fims im the dark.

I allways say i duno know is it annoying watching your 28" crt, they allways say no its better, hmmmm

[Seadog-Peter]

For the whole range of issues mentioned above home is better (not to mention the cost of the kit we have all invested in) but there are occasions we go as a family for the thrill of an outing for the children. Mind you my last attempt to go to Vue Finchley was somewhat marred by the fact the online booking sent me to the Swiss Cottage site confusingly called "Finchley O2" so I booked the wrong cinema and we had to pay for parking there while the other "North" Finchley site is free, so stress & longer journey = a less than wonderfull experience all round.
I've complained on the Vue web site as the couple ahead of us had also booked the OTHER Finchley so its obviously a common occurance.

[mart.stokes]

Originally Posted by Hubamonster

am I the only one who gets annoyed when people come round your house (you know the ones) who say isn't it anoying watching fims im the dark.

WOW! I know them, those people? I didn't realise the world was such a small place, they must visit everybody and just bitch about this fact! Next forum member's house they turn up at, slap them for us will ya?

If we don't stamp this out now, they will end up going on holiday to foreign countries and pulling the same trick there. Does anybody know the names of these people? They should be named and shamed.

[Ballistix999]

This is easy!

Always, I mean ALWAYS my home cinema first...for the following reasons:-

- MUCH better picture, no artifacts, hairs on the screen, jumps, blips.
- No noise, I can tell anyone else in the room to "get out" or "shut up"
- Private, mine, mine mine!
- Topless popcorn! Not done it, ask the wife now, just lovely, sweet or salty, the best

T

[Rich H]

For me, even as a HT enthusiast:

Going out to the movies is #1. Going out to the movies is an experience; staying is just "watching a movie."

Watching a movie on a huge screen in a big theater in the dark with fellow movie goers is how movies are meant to be seen IMO, and nothing at home replaces the buzz of being in a big audience.

Seeing the recent theatrical release of BladeRunner brought that home to me once again. I'd seen it plenty of times in the theater - one of my favourite cinematic experiences. And like many I've seen it too many times to tally on home screens since it's release. But seeing it again in the theater on a big screen with an audience was just another level of experiencing that movie.
There were people there who obviously were long time fans, as well as newcomers and the energy was great. I found that not only did I love the sheer impact of the projected film, but I connected more strongly with scenes
than I had in the years of viewing it at home (and in some people's home theaters).

So for me it's not strictly about pure picture quality/sound quality in of itself.
That's the stuff of videophilia. For me movies are best as a social experience, like concerts.

And to me it's an irony; that when I got into home theater I did so because I loved going to the movies so much I wanted to continue seeing high quality presentations of films in my home. I had (naively) imagined that the home theater community comprised people like myself who loved going to the movies and wished to augment or "continue" the experience by making a home theater. Instead I found it was the opposite: home theater sites seem populated more with people who hate (or complain about) going to the movies, and they are making home theaters so they don't have to go to the movies anymore.

Weirds me out a bit. But...what the heck, we all have our interests.

While I'll be using a projection based home theater (have been playing with projectors for a while now) it will not for me replace the movie going experience, but instead augment it.

[sapper]

Originally Posted by Rich H

For me, even as a HT enthusiast:

Going out to the movies is #1. Going out to the movies is an experience; staying is just "watching a movie."

Watching a movie on a huge screen in a big theater in the dark with fellow movie goers is how movies are meant to be seen IMO, and nothing at home replaces the buzz of being in a big audience.

Oh I do have to agree, at lest to soem extent....

Yes we may take the mick from the fellow cinema goers who cant be with out touching th ekeypad of their mobile phone every 30 seconds, or the kid slurping their coke...

may years ago, I saw Last of the Mohicans at the cinema with people from work.

I have never seen the film again, where the beauty of the cinematography really hit home...

Even a 7 foot screen does not have the same impact...

But a few years ago, my GF at the time (now Mrs Sapper) lived and worked in Spain, and the cost of the cinema there was about a third of the cost over here....

You did not mind watching a film only walk out as it was sooo cheap...

Adrian

[Beaker]

At one point, cos my kids were young, I got to go to the cinema three times in three years and as a film lover it was a killer. I'm finally getting the home cinema I've wanted for the last seven years and after seeing the demo of the PJ I want, along with the sound system I was buying, I was blown away. it costs £20 to take the family to the local flick show. This has been one of my arguments towards getting approval from SWMBO; that I never get to go and see the films I like. Though I do enjoy some of the kids films but the last one there was a kid behind who coughed and hacked through the whole film.

So for me, I'd much rather be at home for all the other reasons others have also pointed out.

Beaker

[Hugh]

Originally Posted by Rich H

For me, even as a HT enthusiast:

Going out to the movies is #1. Going out to the movies is an experience; staying is just "watching a movie."

Watching a movie on a huge screen in a big theater in the dark with fellow movie goers is how movies are meant to be seen IMO, and nothing at home replaces the buzz of being in a big audience.

Seeing the recent theatrical release of BladeRunner brought that home to me once again. I'd seen it plenty of times in the theater - one of my favourite cinematic experiences. And like many I've seen it too many times to tally on home screens since it's release. But seeing it again in the theater on a big screen with an audience was just another level of experiencing that movie.
There were people there who obviously were long time fans, as well as newcomers and the energy was great. I found that not only did I love the sheer impact of the projected film, but I connected more strongly with scenes
than I had in the years of viewing it at home (and in some people's home theaters).

Ah, but that's a bit different.

Watching the latest Will Smith/Bruce Willis at the local multiplex is one of the worst experiences you can get. Noisy people, crap picture, crap sound. People who are just there "for something to do"

Whereas, watching an older film with an audience who've actually had to make some effort will always be a fantastic experience. When you've had to travel accross the country to a small friendly place with fans, you'll find that everyone there WILL turn off their mobiles, WILL be quiet (or very loud if the film demands it. See below) and the film will be enjoyed by all.

Early '90s or late '80s, travelled from Birmingham to London to watch a few Chow Yun Fat films at The Scala. The place was packed to the rafters with Hong Kong action junkies way before any of these films were available to the general public. The cheering when Yun Fat let rip was tremendous. It was a fantastic experience, and one I'd kill to be able to do again.

Can you imagine watching The Life of Brian with a cinema full of people who could probably recite the script? Or watching George A Romero's Dawn of the Dead with a bunch of fans.

Similar thing with Blade Runner, I'd guess. Will be a different feeling to a regular Friday night watching the new Die Hard with everyone who has nothing better to do.

Oops, I seem to have gone off on one haven't I?

Tell you what, I'll leave this thread alone and continue reminiscing, or maybe look into hiring a venue for a "fan only" screening (Prince Charles does this I believe. That's the cinema in London, not the aurally blessed one )