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Theatre vs. DVD The issue of whether vie

The issue of whether viewers prefer to watch a first run film in a theatre or wait until it's released on DVD and watch it at home is very much on the minds of movie moguls today. "The $64 billion question in Hollywood these days is what to do about collapsing the boundary between a movie's theatrical and video releaseùthe so-called video window", writes Edward Jay Epstein (Slate, August 1, 2005).

Generally speaking, viewing films in a movie theatre is a better experience than renting a DVD version to watch at home. First, I'll discuss the pros and cons of theatres. Then I'll do the same for watching DVDs at home. Finally, I'll mention some circumstances where the thesis of this paper does not hold true, and the option of watching at home is preferable.

The advantages of watching a film in a theatre designed for that purpose are obvious. First of all, the image size is immense compared to even the largest sized home television set. This adds immeasurably to the intimacy and immediacy of the experience. It's as if the film is a monumental sized super-reality which dominates the viewer's consciousness. Then there's the sound. It's generally played through large high-quality, expensive speakers mounted throughout the theatre, and when panning is used it seems to move around. Both the sound and picture are enhanced by projection in a dark, soundproof room where distracting, extraneous visual and auditory stimulae do not intrude. The seats tend to be comfortable and the screen is generally unobstructed.

But there's a downside to theatres as well. You have to drive to it, find parking, walk to the theatre, buy tickets and refreshments, find your multiplex, get a seat, take off your coat, and place your popcorn and soda in their appropriate places. Food can spill and things get lost in the dark. Other people in the theatre may be annoying, distracting, disruptive, rude, and loud. The sound may be turned up so high that it's painf...

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Theatre vs. DVD The issue of whether vie. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:27, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1705710.html