Bluray

I mentioned in my last post about going to see The Help last night, and how the picture quality seemed not as sharp as it might have been.   I suspected it was something to do with the cinema's projection system, but perhaps that was the way it was meant to be.

Or perhaps my wife and I have been spoilt by having a digital TV (acquired two or three months ago because our old TV was struggling to keep up) and being able to see movies in sharp definition.  Certainly the digital picture quality is excellent, sometimes to the extent of your being able to see how much makeup some of the actors have on...

A friend of mine swears by bluray.   (Which always looks like blur-ay to me, and isn't at all indicative of its clarity!)   He watches all his movies this way, and delights in how well this presents the visual aspect.   As it happens I haven't seen any movies on bluray as yet, so I can't judge, and it's not likely we'll be getting a
bluray home theatre system anywhere in the near future, or perhaps in the future, full stop! 

A home theatre system might be a great way to view movies these days - certainly I'm much more comfortable on my own couch watching movies than I am on the seats at the cinemas, where I always wind up with a sore bum.  Don't know whether it's something to do with the cushioning of the seats, or the fact that they're all very wide - the arm rests being too far apart to lean on both sides at once - or what.   However, even in a relatively short movie like The Help I got uncomfortable before the credits began to roll (while Viola Davis seemed to walk for miles down a suburban street).   Maybe, of course, it's just old bones, and not enough padding on my rear end!

And while we're talking about video/movies etc.....here's a superb piece of puppetry from Sesame St - singing about the letter G.  

Watch it at Home

Cinemas around the world are now providing lounge chair type seating for their customers, presumably for two reasons: firstly, their old style seating, where you were often jostling elbows with other customers wasn’t comfortable, and there was seldom enough room for people with long legs. Secondly, many people feel more comfortable in their own lounge at home, watching a DVD – even more so if they have surround sound and all the trappings such as a wide screen.
The problem for cinema owners is that it is more comfortable in your own home. You can stop the DVD any time you like and go to the loo, or make a cup of tea, or answer the phone. You can even keep your cellphone on. If the children fall asleep, you don’t have to miss half the movie; you can leave them where they are, or shuffle them off to bed and come back for the rest of the movie later. In line with the comfort aspect, some companies now make home theater seating, the sort of seating that even the luxury cinemas don’t provide. Full on armchairs, that can be swivelled to suit how you want to sit, and on top of these, a whole range of accessories for people who are mad enough to pay for things around the house, but not keen to pay ordinary cinema prices!