Posted by Jim Burgan on 12/28/05 07:41

>> but I still had to share
>> the theatre with a bunch of loud and obnoxious people and pay $7.50 for
>> the privelige.
>>
>
> Fix this and everything will be good again. WTF is wrong with people that
> they cant just sit quietly and watch a movie?

Theatre viewing has been shrinking for the last 10 years (or longer).
Witness the death of Megaplex owners such as General Cinema who wound up in
Chapter 13.
It is extremely difficult for a Cineplex to make money, even the newer ones
with 25 screens staffed with 10 people.
The extra screens were necessary to book the blockbusters. Companies like
Fox made theatre owners promise to give them a couple of other screens for
displaying lower priority files in order to get the blockbuster. I
understand Fox required multiplex theatres to give up one extra screen to
Fox for each print of Star Wars III they rented, and Fox/Lucasfilm
prohibited theatres from 'racking' the movie (feeding one print thru a
series of pulleys and sprockets to they can show the same print on two
screens at the same time). If the theater wanted to show Revenge of the
Sith on 4 screens, they had to rent 4 prints of the film and surrender an
additional 4 screens to Fox (at Fox's discretion).
2005 was not a great year for theatres... There were a few quasi
blockbusters : Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Star Wars Episode III-Revenge Of The Sith
and War Of The Worlds, but the number of films that grossed at least double
their budget (generally considered to be what it takes to be profitable)
were few and far between. The improvements in home theatre hardware and
software will continue to cause decline. The theatres are doing the right
thing by building the 20+ screen Megaplex with stadium-type seating and
Dolby Digital 51. ES or DTS ES audio, but the only thing they can offer is
the bigger screen and (for now) high-def pictures. When the dust settles on
Blue Ray or HD-DVD, and High Def copies of movies are released with HD
equipment, theatres will lose the high def aspect, leaving only screen-size
as the remaining draw. Yet an 8 foot screen with a DLP High Deff Projector
will replicate the exact image you would see at the theatre, and since you
don't have to put up with noisy, obnoxious, demon-children who are intent on
ruining it for everyone, the home theatre will continue to erode the
multiplex market share.
I will have my home theatre completed in June... It will have a 12 foot
(diagonal) glass bead screen, with black matting/edging. The screen will be
about 4 feet above the platform floor. The center and front/left and
front/right speakers will be mounted 4 feet off the floor (at the same
height as the screen, except the dialog channel (center speaker) will be
just below the screen in dead center. The surround speakers will be in the
rear on this 16 foot room. The DLP Projector (with 3500 lumens) and 1400 x
1050 lines of resolution, plus true 16X9 anamorphic widescreen (depending on
recorded content), with 2 incredible 500 watt powered sub woofers to fill
any 15 X 20 home studio.
I will have 3 sofas, each one 10 inches higher than the one in front,
guaranteeing a clear shot to the screen from any seat. And my couches will
be reclining/rocking sofas, thus comfort will not be a problem. I am
insulating the walls with 2" bats of Styrofoam, cut to fit between my firing
strips. Then it will be covered with a dark brown fabric. The three small
windows will have a tight fitting lid which secures sunlight from getting
in. Finally, there will be a curtain covering the outside door (fitting
tightly over a fake frame inside door that seals the opening. There will be
no outside light in my home theater. I will then add 2 Lazy-Boy recliners
on each of the outside perimeter for premium enjoyment.
All cabling will be inside the walls, floors etc, and none will be viewable
to the naked eye.
My tentative Grand Opening Date will be Tuesday June 13, 2006... The first
feature to play will be announced at a later time (when there is actually
High Def product available).
Everyone here is invited :-)
-Jim-

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