CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

lyd · Joined: 15 Sep 2007 Posts: 390 Location: Lake Mills, Wi

I went to see a movie at an AMC gazilliplex last night. Not having been in a "real" theater for quite a long time, I was interested to see how it would compare to the current state of my projector setup. Verdict: I'm not missing a thing!

I was delighted to see that in terms of color, contrast, and brightness there was no perceivable difference. Of course I am certain there would be in a direct side-by-side or AB, but with viewings separated by a week there wasn't, and that can't be doing too badly. I do have some issues with compressed blacks on my 8500, but I'm expecting the moome card to resolve that, and if not I'll fix on the source side with the PC.

Overall "feel" was essentially the same in the theater or in my living room at comparable distance from the screen.

The big thing I had wanted to pay close attention to was the sharpness of the image, as at home it seems a touch on the soft side to me. Not enough to annoy when watching a movie, but noticeable when looking closely at patterns and such. I never got the opportunity, however, because the projector at the theater was focused so poorly that when leaving the theater my mom commented that she spent the entire time monkeying with her glasses, thinking she must be looking through the bifocals by mistake!

It was noticeably soft in the center, and got increasingly worse toward the bottom of the screen. Within 10% of the lower edge text was not even readable.

If this is a sample of the current state of the "real" theater experience, I am happier than ever that I've started down the road of making my own.

lyd

Jesse S · Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 209 Location: Etobicoke

Was it film or DLP? The rare time I go to a movie theater I go out of my way to find a film projector. The DLP units are utter rubbish.

ecrabb · Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:22 pm Post subject:

Why? Watching film is no guarantee you'll see a decent presentation. As Lyd experienced, the film is often out of focus in the center or at the edges (film curl), you get gate jitter, and if the movie isn't just released, the print is often dirty and quite scratched up. I'd hardly call that presentation something to lust after! In fact, the last few times I was at the theater (we're talking maybe a couple of times in the last two years), the film presentations were quite lacking.

I haven't seen a D-cinema presentation in person, but I've heard both good and bad about digital vs. film. On the upside with digital , you get no gate jitter, no worn prints (the 1000th presentation looks as good as the first), and you get even focus across the screen. On the downside, depending on where you sit you could see pixels or screen door, and contrast may not be quite as good as film (though film isn't as good as you'd think).

Regardless, I'm utterly thrilled with the sound and picture quality I get in my own theater. The sound is superior in my room, actually. The picture could be a touch sharper, but I'm happy with it for now. Other than the occasional special event, I don't really feel the need to go to any movies in the theater, anymore. It's pretty much a waste of money in my opinion when I can get a comparable presentation in the comfort of my own home.

If they ever start releasing home video simultaneously with the theater releases, I know a lot of people who won't go to a commercial theater anymore - which is, of course, exactly what the commercial theater owners are afraid of. They should be.

SC

Fujifrontier · Joined: 20 Oct 2007 Posts: 354 Location: San Antonio, Texas

When you have 17 yr old children who can't breathe through their nose running the show, what else do you expect?

Theatres here are notoriously unfocused picture-wise.

lyd · Joined: 15 Sep 2007 Posts: 390 Location: Lake Mills, Wi

It was film. The previews (and ads, good grief) were digital, and I have never seen such pronounced screen door. I can't imagine watching an entire movie like that. I was ready to suggest walking out if they didn't switch over to film for the feature.

lyd

Fujifrontier · Joined: 20 Oct 2007 Posts: 354 Location: San Antonio, Texas

Ya, which theatre was it? Regal has that idiotic "First Look" and they run it digital. Makes me wanna vomit; even if it were on film i'd still keep coming to the theatre 10 minutes late just to avoid the ads and the previews... i don't PAY $8 a movie to watch advertisements.

Z-Photo · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 2:39 pm Post subject:

We got a new "up scale" theater in huntsville (http://www.monacopicturesusa.com/) VIP area (with bar) lounge (with Bar) outdoor area (with bar and fire pits).

The picture was what you would expect - see art's setup - the sound was where I was most impressed (and the bar)

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

mhalsan · Joined: 09 Nov 2007 Posts: 146 Location: Astoria, Oregon

The only really impressive commercial theater I know of is the brand-new IMAX auditorium at Bridgeport Village in Tigard, OR. The focus is right on, new screen without sodapop stains (yet) and reasonably-good sound.The local theater out here on the coast, built in 1999, has a blurry picture that makes my old RPTV look good by comparison.

ecrabb, you're right on- if the studios start releasing to home video right away, a lot of commercial cinemas are done.

Thanks, Mark