SF Signal: POLL RESULTS: Theater or Living Room?

POLL RESULTS: Theater or Living Room?

Here are the results of the latest SF Signal poll.

QUESTION
Where do you enjoy watching movies the most?

RESULTS

(20 total votes)

I like watching movies at home, but how can that be a better experience than the theatre? The theatre has a much larger screen than any you're likely to have (seriously, nobody has that big a screen at home - no matter if you've got one of those new $1 million media rooms I see nowadays), better lighting, better audio (ok maybe a FEW people have that good of an audio system - 10.2- but not many) and the benefit of seeing the movie exactly as it was meant to be seen by the director.

Certainly there are things I dislike about the cinema - from the annoying people stealing my cupholders to the way some operating companies seem incapable of keeping the film running and the place dark. And usually, the theatre is more expensive. I just can't imagine there are people that flat out prefer the home environment to the big screen.

Do those of you who voted that way (all 13 of you) never see movies in the theatre anymore?

Posted by Scott on Monday February 07, 2005 at 1:39 PM

I am a fan of going to see movies in the theatre, but since my son has been born I find myself only going to see a smaller subset. This is mainly due to the amount of crap that has been released in recent years combined with an ever rising ticket price. Sure I dont get the full theatre experience at home, but I can pause the movie and I dont have to pay 10 bucks for popcorn and a soda. The other factor is that I can pretty much schedule the movie to fit my life not vice versa.

I know I have discussed this topic with JP, but I wonder if the movie industry is missing out on a distribution channel by only focusing on the traditional movie market: Theatre, video, pay-per-view, etc. Given the high amount of piracy out there - they could recoup some of thier losses through a distribution of the movie through a more legal and less expensive mechanism. This would give them more revenues and would potentially cut down on the piracy scheme. Heck, you could even leverage the existing Bittorrent networks and ensure the DRM is only available via your servers which minimize the overall server bandwidth.

Posted by Tim on Monday February 07, 2005 at 3:01 PM

I agree tim - but the question was 'Where do you enjoy watching movies the most?' (emphasis mine)

I took this to mean - if I can have the conditions perfect (low cost, annoyance factors removed, etc.) what's the perfect venue - you're living room or the theatre?

Posted by Scott on Monday February 07, 2005 at 3:10 PM

I still think it would be at home since I could watch them in my underware - or maybe I am already.... Just so you know - they are Star Wars Underoos thank you very much...

Posted by Tim on Monday February 07, 2005 at 3:13 PM

Sure, if the conditions are perfect who wouldn't choose the theater? I choose home beacuse my past few moviegoing experiences have been less than perfect - noisy people, people sneezing/coughing, and the tall guy who always sits in front of me. That said, some movies I just gotta see on the big screen. Not that I'm a Star Wars fanboy or anything.

Posted by John on Monday February 07, 2005 at 3:46 PM

This is why I always go to the movies when I have cold, and I look for the seat directly in front of John. I just wish it wasn't so obvious.

Posted by JP on Monday February 07, 2005 at 4:29 PM