Movie theaters

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ArcticSilver

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#86027 30-Jun-2011 01:27

What has happened to the movie theater industry?

A few years ago, I could go to the movies for $13 and get popcorn and a drink for around $5. I also stepped into a cinema with fine tuned sound and a cristal clear image.

Now, its $16-$21 for tickets, $18 for a drink and some popcorn and lackluster sound.

Last night i went to Hoyts Northlands (in Christchurch) to see the new Transformers, not for the story, but for the audio and visual experience. Instead I found myself wondering if they'd turned on the sub/s.

What good is Transformers if I don't hear/feel the rumble when a huge spacecraft crashes to the ground? Am I not suppose to feel immersed in the movie?

I have had this happen to me time and time again in Christchurch where unfortunitly we have very poor choice.

I don't know about anyone else here, but i go to the Cinemars for the audio/visual experience, isnt that what they are for after all?

Has anyone else noticed this downwards trend?

Time to build a new home theater system i think......

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#487658 30-Jun-2011 08:20

Hi ArticSilver,

I understand where you are coming from believe me. I discovered how poor the movie experience was at Northlands a few years ago and I choose not to go there for that reason.

For the best sound experience I reckon it's either got to be the Reading Cinema at the Palms in Christchurch or at Ricarton Mall (he Mega screen) My work is shouting us to Transformers 3 there next week so I'll be sure to post back here how good it was ;)

As for the ridiculous prices in movie tickets & popcorn/beverages these days? I feel your pain... The days of taking a lovely lady out for a night at the movies is becoming all too rare now? Probably because we Gents almost become bankrupt if we do :s And then there is dinner on top of that!?

In my honest opinion though, I think the prices are so sky high due to how poor the global economy is. It's the same trend with a lot of commodities - Fuel, Groceries, Aeroplane Tickets, The market whether it be renting or owning a house, did I also mention fuel?? Get my drift.

In a nutshell that's pretty much where it's headed unfortunately, however our pay does not follow this ever increasing trend though... Funny that? Anyway I have my own Home Theatre at home so that keeps me & the girl happy, much comfier seats then the movie theatres too! ;)

Good luck with your Home Theatre!

Conor

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#487665 30-Jun-2011 08:29

Yeah pricing at theatres has gone stupid but they blame that on the pirates...

I tend to goto Gold Class sessions now on their cheap night, sound is always great and comfy seat to boot :)

XPD / Gavin

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old3eyes

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#487667 30-Jun-2011 08:36

Unfortunately over the past 20 + years movies theaters have gone from a show piece where it was nice to go to to a movie version of a supermarket where herding people in and out as fast as they can is in the order of the day.. There are still some nice independently owned like the Lido in Auckland that still try to emulate the roadshow days but even they have a hard time getting popular movies that the big chains seem to have a monopoly for..

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wmoore

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#487715 30-Jun-2011 10:11

ArcticSilver: What has happened to the movie theater industry?

Last night i went to Hoyts Northlands (in Christchurch) to see the new Transformers, not for the story, but for the audio and visual experience. Instead I found myself wondering if they'd turned on the sub/s.

What good is Transformers if I don't hear/feel the rumble when a huge spacecraft crashes to the ground? Am I not suppose to feel immersed in the movie?

The problem with multiplex type cinemas is disturbance between theatres. Somebody watching a love story does not want to listen to the action film nearby-so they have to keep the levels down.

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Kopkiwi

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#487760 30-Jun-2011 11:23

This is the reason I bought a projector for the lounge with a 3D adapter. All for under $1500 with 3 sets of glasses. It's cheaper to hire a blu-ray upon release then go to the movies. Plus can buy popcorn and food from supermarket for dirt cheap. Leather recliner is more comfy and I don't have twats talking.

Sound wise. Will it's MORE than sufficient for a home theatre.

The only time I got to the movies is for BIG blockbuster movies.

Asmodeus

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#487782 30-Jun-2011 11:52

I went to Transformers last night and the sound was way too quiet and had crappy bass. Was really disappointing

This was at Berkeley Mission Bay, which admittedly is a small cinema, but that's no excuse IMO

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timmmay

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#487792 30-Jun-2011 12:11

Reading in Wellington is decent. Like KopKiwi I do prefer a blu ray on my home system, with leather recliners, 55" LCD, Onkyo/Wharfdale sound, a volume control, and a pause button. If movies came out on blu ray around the same time as on movies i'd probably rarely go to the movies.

I rarely go to the movies anyway. The main thing for me is they're too loud, and too expensive.

Lurch

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#487801 30-Jun-2011 12:35

I have the problem were they crank the sound up way to hi and you end up being deaf by the end of the film.

As for the picture quality I'd rather watch a blu-ray with a properly setup sound system at home.

clevedon

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#487802 30-Jun-2011 12:36

Lurch: I have the problem were they crank the sound up way to hi and you end up being deaf by the end of the film.

As for the picture quality I'd rather watch a blu-ray with a properly setup sound system at home.

Jaxson

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#487810 30-Jun-2011 12:51

Probably what has changed a bit also is that we can now get full uncompressed sound at home via bluray and tailored it to our specific setup, optimising the sound for us, not the whole theatre space, and we get full HD pictures now too, also optimised distance wise/angle with etc for us.

Kopkiwi

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#487830 30-Jun-2011 13:27

timmmay: Reading in Wellington is decent. Like KopKiwi I do prefer a blu ray on my home system, with leather recliners, 55" LCD, Onkyo/Wharfdale sound, a volume control, and a pause button. If movies came out on blu ray around the same time as on movies i'd probably rarely go to the movies.

I rarely go to the movies anyway. The main thing for me is they're too loud, and too expensive.

Agreed. Living on Wakefield Street, makes it easy to up and go to a cheap $9 movie.

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cgrew

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#487833 30-Jun-2011 13:35

Just out of interest Gentleman, are we running our Home Theatre's at full lossless audio as well as 1080P? What amps ya got?

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#487838 30-Jun-2011 13:40

cgrew: Just out of interest Gentleman, are we running our Home Theatre's at full lossless audio as well as 1080P? What amps ya got?

I'll run anything through it, standard def or blu ray and it looks/sounds good. I use an Onkyo 508 or 608, with Wharfdale Vardus speakers. They're only $700 and $1200 respectively, but they sound SO MUCH better than anything i've had before.

The Onkyo is ok, but not awesome. The simulated surround from stereo sources is only ok, I tend to leave it on 4 channel stereo. Also the amp gets really hot when I play blu rays at a moderate volume, despite a cooling fan i've put into my cabinet. If i'm ever feeling rich I might upgrade to a better receiver, along with maybe stepping up the speaker quality a little.

jbard

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#487848 30-Jun-2011 14:04

They just launched a service in USA for cinemas that works like netflix. Basically US$50 a month lets you go to unlimited movies in and cinema in the country.

They also have cheaper plans for 5, 10, 20 movies a month.

That seems like the best way forward, then you can actually get value for money.

Jaxson

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#487849 30-Jun-2011 14:08

Yeah raises a good point the movie cinemas need to be moving with the times as well. 3D gave them a shot in the arm for a while but that's out at consumer level now too.

Cross feeds to concerts and live sporting events etc seems a logical progression to me.

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