Home setup so much better than cinema....

JamesP1701

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Have just got back from my local Showcase Cinema from seeing No Time To Die (thoroughly enjoyed the film.)

However: as an experience there was much tk be desired - the colours of the projection were awful - pink/purple in the middle, yellow at the sides, muffled sound etc.

Have just put on Spectre on blu ray on my living room projector and pull down screen and I have to say - it's so much better. Yes, the screen isn't as big but the visuals and the sound are far superior to what I experienced there.
 
My local cinema wants £18 per ticket to see this film. By the time two of us go including a drink and snack that's £50. Paying all that money and they'll probably be some idiot near by chatting on his phone during the movie. No thanks, I'll stick to my own cinema at home!
 
Yeh, we don't go either anymore but a new Bond movie has a very strong gravitational pull on me and I don't know if I'm going to be able to hold out - any idea when a Blu-ray should be released? Surely by Christmas?
 
I would assume just before Xmas to maximise sales. I've waited this long, so what's another couple of months :)
Thanks - you've fortified me! I just need to keep my head down and focus on staying away from the reviews as they're drawing me in.
 
I've long given up on going to the cinema. My local theatre is great for live performances but the sound system is dreadful. As far as the Bond movie is concerned I'm waiting for the Welsh language version No Time to Dai.
 
Until watching No Time To Die recently, I hadn't been to the cinema since Avengers Endgame.

I went to my closest Cineworld which from memory has never been outstanding however I have been going there for many years and I do enjoy watching films on the big screen when I can.

It is however an underwhelming experience now compared to years ago as home AV has improved so much. For me the most obvious difference was the quality of the projection. It appeared somewhat soft and the lack of contrast was really noticeable when compared to my OLED at home. Different technologies obviously, but having spent the last few years looking at an OLED screen you really notice the lack of true black. There was also something on the lens that was projecting onto the screen, a piece of dust or fibre that was distracting.

Audio wise it was loud but lacked subtlety and detail that I get a home, plus the voices seemed to be coming more from the left side of the screen rather than the centre. My seat was pretty much dead centre in the cinema.

The showing I went to was fairly early in the day and there were probably no more than 30 people so it felt comfortable although you do get 30 mins of ads and trailers which for a film that is 2 hours 43 mins long meant I was sat down for at least 3 hours 15 mins which is tiresome.

I went to see Endgame at the Bluewater Showcase cinema a couple days after release and it was packed out which did make for a different experience. It is also newer than the Cineworld cinema and a better experience overall. The downside with a packed cinema is you do get lots of people who like to talk or use their phones which light up in the dark which is a real annoyance.

I believe No Time To Die will be released on 4K and blu-ray February 28 2022, so you've got a few months to go. I was hoping for a Christmas or New Year release but that doesn't look like it will happen. It should look and sound fantastic as with the previous Daniel Craig Bond films, especially in 4K.
 
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I'm very fortunate, as I live close enough to York to visit the 'Everyman' (Previously the Odeon) to see major releases. The 'Everyman' is absolutely superb. It has a large, gorgeous (proper) cinemascope screen that is fully masked for 1.85:1 films, and opens up for 'scoped movies (the way every cinema should). The auditorium has great acoustics.

They have completely renewed and restored the cinema, and all the original Art Deco elements have been reinstated. Seating is very comfortable - the old seats have been replaced with sofa style seating. It is expensive, but everyone is very respectful and it doesn't seem to suffer from anti-social idiots that can ruin the experience.

My only real criticism is that they provide an at seat food & drink service - whilst this is supposed to be done before the film starts, that's not always the case. I do find food being delivered by staff, once the main presentation starts, to be annoying.

The Dolby Cinema on the outskirts of Leeds is also close enough for special occasions. Whilst the cinema is superb, on the one occasion I attended, there were idiots playing with the 'phones during the film... which I just cannot tolerate.


I miss The Empire Leicester Square. It used to be great. Now it's a travesty, destroyed to make way for a pretend IMAX theatre and a second Impact theatre which is utterly terrible.

The Fox Village in Westwood Village, Los Angeles is the only THX Ultimate Cinema in North America. It's a large, old school movie theatre that has been loving restored. It always has a great crowd for big movies. It's my go to movie theatre in LA - and it has Dolby Atmos.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre is now a pretend IMAX theatre, and they often show 3D conversions, so I'm not as keen on it as I once used to be. However, the auditorium conversion for Laser IMAX has been very sympathetically done. They installed a bigger screen, and installed stadium seating a few years ago, but they did this in a way that has kept all the original features of the cinema intact. So I salute them for that. The auditorium is so big, and so high, that is suffers from excessive sound reflection which they don't seem to be able to tame. It's loud, but it can be hard to hear dialogue.

The El Capitan is Disney's flagship theatre across the street from the Chinese. It's been fully restored to its former glory. They often have special events (Laser light shows etc.) and live organ music before big movies. It features Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, but like the Odeon Leicester Square, it's a bit of a compromise because it's a protected building and has old fashion seating, and the screen isn't huge. But the sound is good, and the Dolby Vision looks stunning.


My dedicated home cinema is small, but it's great for the two of us. We get absolutely immersed in the experience. The JVC RS440 projector (purchased in 2018) is the biggest single step up in performance that I have ever experienced and it still blows me away. The picture quality is amazing. But I still want to see certain movies at the cinema. I can't imagine seeing Top Gun 2 on anything but the biggest screen possible with an enthusiastic audience.

Seeing 'No Time To Die' on the big screen made me realise just how much I'd missed going to the cinema during the pandemic.


Regards,
James.
 
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My local cinema wants £18 per ticket to see this film. By the time two of us go including a drink and snack that's £50. Paying all that money and they'll probably be some idiot near by chatting on his phone during the movie. No thanks, I'll stick to my own cinema at home!
If we did go for the rare blockbuster movie, never buy snacks or drinks and always take our own. The rip off prices and the added touch of staff with hygiene issues that was reported with handling of food.
And drinksgate Cinema fizzy drinks contain 'concerning' bacteria levels
 
1. The obvious reasons:
you have to get to the cinema as it's not just in your house
cost
food and drink harder to get, less range and the cost
you can't pause
people talk
people smell
seats less comfortable
dogs can't come
(and more that's just some of them).

2. Quality reasons:
I've never been to a cinema where the sound quality is as good.

But most of all, for me, number 3 is IT IS TOO LOUD. Uncomfortably loud. In cheaper cinemas, very audible distortion. But even without that, I would never choose to listen at those levels.

I'm sure that they weren't that loud when I was a kid. I loved Return of the Jedi in a cinema in Bournemouth, 1983 I think. Possible the last time I enjoyed the cinema :) (Note also the added bonus that someone else paid for it!).
 
I recently went to watch the new 007 Bond movie and was really disappointed with he picture quality. I have been spoilt as I have a 65" OLED Dolby Vision setup with Atmos 5.1.2 :)
I have always preferred watching movies at home but with the new generation Dolby formats, the sound and picture is now far superior for home applications, however I would say is that the best cinema experience in terms of picture and sound for me was at a Dolby Cinema in Leeds Thorpe Park - Odeon Luxe. :)
I feel that the traditional cinema is a dying business model now, especially with the streaming possibilities and the way things are going.
 
Last film I went to watch in the cinema was Endgame but since then I completed my cinema build and it is superior in every single way to every cinema experience with the exception of the size of the screen.
  • I don't miss the endless adverts and trailers.
  • I don't miss the cost
  • I don't miss other people doing the myriad of annoying things they do such as use their phone, talk, eat noisily, fart etc.
  • I don't miss other peoples badly behaving children
  • I don't miss the muffled or poorly configured sound
  • I don't miss the misaligned projection with off colours
  • I don't miss the sticky floors
  • I don't miss the lack of beer
  • I don't miss the inability to pause the film to take a pee
I am near enough to an independent cinema (Rex in Berkhamsted) which doesn't suffer from a number of those things but it's still a pain to park near there and there is still the issue of "other people".

Overall I've not missed not going to the cinema one single bit and if Inever set foot in one again it will be fine with me.
 
@xxGBHxx you've reiterated some of my points and added a couple. I've just thought of another major one. After me moaning about cinema being too loud, it reminded me:

Dialogue a bit quiet - raise centre channel.
Surround a bit loud - lower surround channels.
Effects/bass to loud - lower Dynamic EQ reference level.
Unhappy with Dolby Vision rendition - switch it off and watch in HDR.

Just a few but there are more - last I remember you can't make these adjustments in the cinema!
 
An Odeon Luxe opened up near me a couple of years ago. I've been a few times and it is pretty good. Small, but pretty good.

After almost single-handedly keeping local fleapits alive through most of the '80s I have to admit that I rarely go to the cinema now.

I have to agree that most are too loud. I don't mind 'good' loud. But they aren't good loud.

I used to love 'Screen 11' at the MetroCentre, but IIRC the rear channels were reversed.

The last time I went to the cinema was for Joker. It was very shrill and very loud. Before that, it was Blade Runner 2049 and it was so loud the screen was rippling. Oh, and a homeless guy sat in front of me.
 
I have a fairly low end living room setup with light walls etc and yet the experience I get at home is still always better than at the cinema. If the latest bond film had been on a premium rental of £15.99 like other films then I would have picked that over going to see it at the cinema.
 
I can't bear the cinema these days, too many people who can't go for 30 seconds without checking their phones, and too expensive.

Let's be honest, the only advantage in going to the cinema versus a decent home setup is screen size.
 
I don't go to the cinema, even for new films. I broke that rule when Rise Of Skywalker came out because I was dying to see it. Awful film in the and, but also it really just confirmed to me that the cinema experience isn't a patch on the home one. I'm pretty (very) high end, sure, but the presentation of ROS was washed out-looking (blacks were mid-grey), dim and unsatisfying, and the accoustics in the auditorium were just dire.

Really looking forward to seeing Dune, but it's going to have to wait till the 4K blu becomes available just like everything else.
 
I recently visited my local Cineworld to see no time to die in the IMAX screen. For me the volume was far too high and came out with my ears ringing. The picture was no better than my 1080p projector and panning movement was all stuttering.

Now i have the Arendal Sub3 and my rear sub working together the lower bass and feeling you get is on a par with the cinema.

The only thing that i felt was lacking was mid-bass from my setup and the punchyness.

All in all id rarther not have spent £17 quid on a ticket but it was date night with the Mrs ;-)
 
Purchasing an OLED TV has really dampened my experience at the cinema, so I rarely go now. I find the image at the cinema lacks detail compared to my TV, and it's something that I can't ignore when watching a film. I also like to have control over the audio, so I'm happy to wait for films to be released on UHD. I'll still take my kid to the cinema, as it's an experience that we like to share, but for my own viewing pleasures, it's hard to beat OLED.
 
Two hours of:

'Who's he? What's he doing?'
'Pass me the crisps'
'I think he's dead'
'What happened there?'
'Who texted? It's Geoff, he'll meet us in the Kings Arms after'

No thanks.
 
I'm very fortunate, as I live close enough to York to visit the 'Everyman' (Previously the Odeon) to see major releases. The 'Everyman' is absolutely superb. It has a large, gorgeous (proper) cinemascope screen that is fully masked for 1.85:1 films, and opens up for 'scopes movies (the way every cinema should). The auditorium has great acoustics.
I have a very technical question about this...I went to see what it said to be a scope movie ( 2.35:1) last weekend at the VUE Fulham Broadway. The movie had black bars top and bottom all the way through. I complained to the staff afterwards who had no idea what i was talking about...and starting to give me stupid and idiotic answers (like "whether it is 3k or 4k, it always has black bars" sorry...what ?? or "all of our screens plays with these black bars"). I gave up as they clearly had no idea (and kept saying we do not do anything, all computerized). But technically, how is that possible in a cinema for a standard format like 2.35:1 to have black bars ?
 
I have a very technical question about this...I went to see what it said to be a scope movie ( 2.35:1) last weekend at the VUE Fulham Broadway. The movie had black bars top and bottom all the way through. I complained to the staff afterwards who had no idea what i was talking about...and starting to give me stupid and idiotic answers (like "whether it is 3k or 4k, it always has black bars" sorry...what ?? or "all of our screens plays with these black bars"). I gave up as they clearly had no idea (and kept saying we do not do anything, all computerized). But technically, how is that possible in a cinema for a standard format like 2.35:1 to have black bars ?
If the screen size is, say, 16:9 there has to be black bars to show a 2.35:1 ratio movie. If all cinemas had 2:35:1 ratio screens then you'd be complaining about black bars at the side when showing a 16:9 ratio movie.
 
I have a very technical question about this...I went to see what it said to be a scope movie ( 2.35:1) last weekend at the VUE Fulham Broadway. The movie had black bars top and bottom all the way through. I complained to the staff afterwards who had no idea what i was talking about...and starting to give me stupid and idiotic answers (like "whether it is 3k or 4k, it always has black bars" sorry...what ?? or "all of our screens plays with these black bars"). I gave up as they clearly had no idea (and kept saying we do not do anything, all computerized). But technically, how is that possible in a cinema for a standard format like 2.35:1 to have black bars ?
From what i can gather most of the staff are just students, they couldn't care less about a single persons enjoyment or experience and are under trained.
 
While I can't fault my local cinema for their technical presentation, lock down made me forget just how horrendous audiences can be. Went to see The Many Saints of Newark and had to endure three lads cheering everytime Tony Soprano appeared on screen and them recording Tik Tok videos during the film. The whole audience was howling at them to stop and afterwards they made a swift exit before they got beaten up.

Much prefer being in the home cinema watching what I want with homemade salsa and nochos and a cold lager.
 
Two hours of:

'Who's he? What's he doing?'
'Pass me the crisps'
'I think he's dead'
'What happened there?'
'Who texted? It's Geoff, he'll meet us in the Kings Arms after'

No thanks.
Haha. Reminds me of the time I went to see Ex Machina at the cinema. Just as the climax was unfolding, and everyone was on the edge of their seat, a woman from the other side of the auditorium shouts, "Oh my god, I have those shoes".

Ruined!
 

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