Lucy Burroughs answered
The arguments for and against home cinema just keep growing as technology advances – some people claim that home entertainment systems will mean the death of cinema, but I don’t think that’s strictly true!
Let’s pitch home entertainment systems against traditional cinema, and you can reach your own conclusions.
Sound and Image Quality Okay, traditional cinema wins hands-down on this one. Movie theatres have bigger and better screens than anything you can fit in your house, and the surround sound is unbeatable!
Comfort The big chairs in the movie theatre may be pretty comfy, but you can’t beat curling up on the couch with a blanket and a cat in your lap. You can watch movies in your pajamas at home, so home cinema has to win on this count!
Experience Going to the movies is a social event; you call up your friends, maybe go for a drink beforehand, and then communicate through facial expressions throughout the movie. Buying expensive snacks and wearing silly 3D glasses is all part of the fun.
You just don’t get that kind of experience at home - watching a movie in bed on your laptop isn’t exactly an event. Traditional cinema definitely wins this one!
Customizability At home, you definitely have more control over the way you watch a movie. You need to pee? Pause it! Your boyfriend’s talking over the movie because he wants you to explain what just happened? Rewind it! Need subtitles because your grandma’s going a bit deaf? Put subtitles on!
You definitely don’t get this kind of control in a movie theatre, so home cinema wins here!
Cost With streaming services like Netflix and LOVEFiLM, you can pay a set price per month and watch as many movies as you like. This does make home cinema a cheaper option than the movie theatre.
And The Overall Verdict? At the end of the day, it’s all a matter of personal preference – the movie theatre is perfect if you want an experience, but for convenience and comfort, you can’t beat watching a movie at home.
Let’s pitch home entertainment systems against traditional cinema, and you can reach your own conclusions.
Sound and Image Quality Okay, traditional cinema wins hands-down on this one. Movie theatres have bigger and better screens than anything you can fit in your house, and the surround sound is unbeatable!
Comfort The big chairs in the movie theatre may be pretty comfy, but you can’t beat curling up on the couch with a blanket and a cat in your lap. You can watch movies in your pajamas at home, so home cinema has to win on this count!
Experience Going to the movies is a social event; you call up your friends, maybe go for a drink beforehand, and then communicate through facial expressions throughout the movie. Buying expensive snacks and wearing silly 3D glasses is all part of the fun.
You just don’t get that kind of experience at home - watching a movie in bed on your laptop isn’t exactly an event. Traditional cinema definitely wins this one!
Customizability At home, you definitely have more control over the way you watch a movie. You need to pee? Pause it! Your boyfriend’s talking over the movie because he wants you to explain what just happened? Rewind it! Need subtitles because your grandma’s going a bit deaf? Put subtitles on!
You definitely don’t get this kind of control in a movie theatre, so home cinema wins here!
Cost With streaming services like Netflix and LOVEFiLM, you can pay a set price per month and watch as many movies as you like. This does make home cinema a cheaper option than the movie theatre.
And The Overall Verdict? At the end of the day, it’s all a matter of personal preference – the movie theatre is perfect if you want an experience, but for convenience and comfort, you can’t beat watching a movie at home.
