A few years ago, San Diego Reader film
critic Duncan Shepherd wrote an editorial lamenting the affect of
home video on the average movie watcher. It should be noted that as far as critics go,
Shepherd’s a picky, old-fashioned kind of guy. I haven’t been able to find the entire article online, except for this one snippet: “The big screen
is for big audiences, the little for little,” he wrote. “In that
respect, the great blessing of DVDs is also the great curse of DVDs.
Their capacity to fill a void inevitably increases the capacity of
the void.”
The gist seems to be that if you give
people a reason to stay home and watch a movie, people will stay home
and watch movies.* However you feel about Mr. Shepherd’s opinion (and
there’s some truth to it) these days there are more reasons than ever
to stay in and watch a movie – and DVD is among the least of ’em.
So, the question is: How do you view?
The high-def heir-apparent to the DVD
throne. There are folks round these parts who believe that Blu Ray is
a transient format, and I’m inclined to agree. Mostly. While I’m unlikely
to ever buy another DVD (much in the same way I’ve given up CDs for
MP3s), Blu Rays are the kind of thing I reserve for special
occasions. The first two discs I bought were Speed Racer and The
Watchmen, and both look incredible. Speed Racer is so sharp,
saturated, and filled with detail it almost hurts to look at. I’ll pass on
comedies like Knocked Up or The Hangover and stick to stuff that
actually benefits from being seen in 1080p: Buster Keaton’s The
General, The Wizard of Oz, and then someday, The Red Shoes.
Some thoughts on collecting: Some
people like putting their film collections on display. They think it
says something about them as a person, like a big shelf of books.
Well, the two mediums aren’t interchangeable, and a shelf full of
books says something completely different than a shelf full of
movies. Big collections can be stifling: I got rid of mine (a paltry
300 discs) about three years ago, and without the immediate comfort
of old favorites, I’ve seen more new films than ever before. And
there’s a lot more room in my apartment, too.
STREAMING
Blockbuster recently filed for
bankruptcy. The reason? They’re not making enough money, and they’re
not making enough money because a little more than ten years ago
Netflix took a big wet bite out of their business. About two years
ago, the nail in Big Blue’s coffin was hammered home by the Netflix
Watch Instantly service, which allows you to watch movies at home
through a computer or a third party device, like the
PS3/Xbox/Wii/Boxee/Roku.
The only people who were surprised by
this development are the people who didn’t think the general public
would be interested in spending two hours in front of a computer
watching something that’s not porn, piano cat, or this:
It was Youtube that helped
streaming content catch on and forced everyone else to start catching
up. That’s why it’s not even worth rushing home at 9pm on a Tuesday
for the next episode of Lost. I just watch it at the ABC website the next
morning. I don’t even know when The Simpsons is on
TV anymore. I just watch a new episode on Hulu every week. Either
streaming media has made me an extremely lazy viewer, or this is the
way things will be from now on.
MOBILE
Here’s what James Cameron has to say to
the people who might want to watch Avatar on a mobile device: “I
don’t feel that I’m making movies for iPhones. If someone wants
to watch it on an iPhone, I’m not going to stop them, especially if
they’re paying for it, but I don’t recommend it. I think it’s
dumb, when you have characters that are so small in the frame that
they’re not visible.”
That’s certainly a valid point, but the
fact is people do watch a lot of content on their smartphones and
laptops. Each morning on the subway in New York City you’re bound to see at least one
or two people engrossed in some kind of show on their phone – I’ve
noticed a lot of animation like South Park and Family Guy being watched. When I travel I almost always use my laptop more for movie watching than reading or surfing the web, and there’s never been a moment where I thought to myself, “Gee I wish
this screen was a lot bigger.”
Tablets (specifically, the iPad) are
poised to become the preeminent platform for mobile entertainment.
Netflix already has an app to stream movies and television right to
your device, and there are other tablets in the works that will more
than likely support Adobe Flash, which opens you up to an even bigger
world of content.
*Also, home video viewing fractures
audiences into smaller groups, but that’s another argument.
18 comments
I watch Blu-rays, DVDs, Netflix streaming on my laptop and my TV, VHS tapes, TV episodes on my Iphone, TV episodes on my TV, and I go to the movie theaters. What the hell was the point of this article?
I'm still big on DVDs, and enjoy building a collection of them (just topped 300, actually). I'll be switching up to Blu-Ray one of these days, but I'll still be keeping most of my DVDs, and probably still buying them. Reasoning being is that for a lot of movies I like they're either not going to be released on Blu-Ray (I'm talking the smaller indie and genre films here), or the Blu-Ray version isn't anywhere near as complete in regards to extras. That last part is especially true for the first few batches of films to hit Blu-Ray, which often had the movie, the trailer, and little else (it's a bit like when DVD first hit). So for those movies, I think it's more worthwhile to have the old format.
Anymore, I avoid theaters as often as possible. I'll see moves that are important to me in some way to get the theater experience (to the extent that that's possible anymore) and to make sure I contribute to the box office a film that deserves it.
But even seeing the movies I really WANT to see is becoming a struggle. I could count the number of times in the past ten years when I've sat in a quiet and bright cell-phone display theater and enjoyed a movie, not including times when I wait until a film is about to leave theaters and I'm one of five or fewer people in the room. The total lack of usher presence in today's theaters as well as a total public disregard for film as art has turned a night at the movies into the equivalent of an evening dinner or a night at the bar. No respect for the sanctity of a theater anymore…
Anyway, after taking the leap into HDTV as well as investing in a bluray player and having a device that streams Netflix instantly, I have very few reasons to see a movie in theaters or to even purchase a bluray or a DVD (I already own most of my favorites).
Does this make me a little sad? Definitely. I want more than anything to see everything in theaters with a good projectionist and an audience that actually cares about what's being shown. Sadly, I don't think things will get any better when it comes to theater showings.
I only download content illegally. This might piss some people off but i have always been a strong believer that copyrighted content is fair game for this.
If i like something i download, then i buy it.
I'm only gonna pay out for something if it is worth my hard-earned money, so why should I pay up-front for it?..
Thank you CHUD for alerting me to the fact that Blu-ray, Netflix and iPhones exist.
It's a stupid move to give up CD's for MP3s, solely due to the fact that MP3 files (legal or not) sound like shit compared to CD's due to the compression required to make them practical.
The problem with theaters is that, with the exception of IMAX, they have worse picture quality and sound than a low-level home system.
Fuckface, Get a life.
#6, You are wrong about MP3 quality, granted there are some shitty MP3s out there, the quality isnt automatically worse. Its digital media, either way.
sjs, You are wrong. Go to a theater with a Digital DLP projector. AMAZING quality of picture.
Iain, This was a good article, you only missed the fact that music is going the way of digital copies (IE s-disk) And it wont be long until Movies are the same way. I agree that Bluray is a passing thing, which is why I will not buy one (that and their expensive cost) But the biggest factor is download speeds. If I can download a movie in 1080p in less than 2 minutes, and have it forever. Why would I buy something that takes up physical space?
Fuckface, I've thought about it more, and you are still a fucking moron.
These days I mostly watch at home, good TV, Bluray & sound system helps. Also some Netflix streaming (great for catching up on old Doctor Who!)
I have a screwed up back which makes sitting in one place for 2 hours or so uncomfortable so the cinema is out for me. Has to be something I really want to see to get me there these days.
I watch blu-ray's in my home theater with an excellent projector on a 110" screen and a high end 7.1 sound system.
Except for Avatar, I haven't been to the theater since it was installed.
#10 – I have similar. Though I haven't even watched Blu Rays in a long time. I get all digital files through subscription services. I haven't used netflix or cable in months. Also, I have a 65" dlp and 7.2. Sadly, nothing uses the extra 2 channels yet. (I don't mean the double sub)
bcoaks, you are a moron…. this is completely true…"It's a stupid move to give up CD's for MP3s, solely due to the fact that MP3 files (legal or not) sound like shit compared to CD's due to the compression required to make them practical."…. just Google this and you will see how much data is lost in taking a CD and putting it in an MP3 format. I laugh at people that are "into" music that think because MP3's are so easy to use that it means that the quality is the same. It certainly is not, and if you think it is, you are just trying to justify the stupidity of throwing out or selling your high quality CD's. I still have all of mine. An average MP3 is 128-192 KB/sec while a CD is around 1400 KB/sec. So listening to an MP3 is like watching a movie on VHS(or betamax) while listening to a CD is like watching a movie in Blu-ray. Great job fuckers, you threw away a great investment. Have fun with your gay little ipods!!
#3 …your lips to God's ears. Amen. 🙂
"Well, the two mediums aren't interchangeable, and a shelf full of books says something completely different than a shelf full of movies." And that something different is …?
I'm not much for going to the theater nowadays. If someone isn't talking on a cell phone, they're texting, or talking or whatever. There's a theater complex that has 6 dollar shows on Saturday and Sunday morning before noon, which is the only time I'll go and I'll all but get the theater to myself. If you're going to the theater to watch a movie, you lose. For television, my VCR broke years ago and I don't have Tivo, so either I watch streaming feeds or download the shows just to watch them, but will get the DVD sets when they come out. Yes, downloading is naughty, but no one is tracking my viewing habits, so I'm not sure there is a big difference between recording a show myself and downloading. Streaming/on demand viewing is the way of the future.
I enjoy big action movies, horror films, and comedies at the theaters. Usually the sound is so loud (actually to a pathological degree), that I can't hear the other people. Also, some of these films do better with a little audience commentary and the communal reactions.
Anything else, I'll take what I can get.
Except for watching something on an iPhone. Fuck that.
Audio File – don't be such a pedantic retard. Fine, mp3 is a lossy format, talk FLAC then, or APE, or any number of lossless formats. The point being made is that the physical media is no longer required, desired, or superior. I throw everything lossless onto a big 'ol network server, and stream from there to the home theater.
Jeez Mr. Cranky – did you not get that he was speaking about MP3's – in direct response to someone claiming their superiority. Not FLAC or other lossless formats. e was specifically speaking about a particular format, and you get a bug up your ass about something he didn't talk about.
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