When I was a teen, I would watch stuff mostly on my phone and sometimes a low-end laptop that’s like 1366x768 resolution, cuz that’s all I had.
Now I have slightly better displays, I use headphones now, but still I’m probably not going to a movie theater any time soon, mostly because I’m not used to it, and also because the Post-Covid fear still lingers, not to mention, a crowd of too many people making me anxious, and various factors (mostly anxiety of other people, but also: yaRrr 🏴☠️). I mean, its just something I never experienced so its too much anxiety for me, and home viewing experience is more relaxing, even if it isn’t the IMAX experience.
(btw: Does anyone actually enjoy theaters? 🤔)
I have a pretty good setup at home (65" oled with 7.1 sound system) so I rarely go to theaters.
Also every time I go to theater I’m disappointed with something, people making noise while eating, bad audio (I went to a Dolby theater to watch Dune 2 and they cranked it up so high that it was saturated as hell) or poor noise insulation (hearing the rain from outside during silent desert scenes was a bit confusing).
Anyways, I think I would struggle to watch anything in less than 720p and/or with bad audio
For mobile I use a FiiO BTR7 and either my Simgot SM4’s or my Timeless II’s. They work for nearly anything with BT or a wired connection.
At home I run a 7.1 Marantz amp and a 120" 1080 projector in my home theater.
My issue is usually more of a source problem than a reproduction problem. You need high quality input to get high quality output.
I watch on my phone all the time in the train to and from work. I don’t really care for the aesthetics, I’m in it for the story.
When I download, I go for the 700mb rather than the 15gb movies. I only have a small, dumb tv that’s 10 years old. So watching it there isn’t really a theater experience either.
Got to say, Marc Alaimo and Louise Fletcher (RIP) two of the best recurring guests Star Trek ever had… Both on the same damn show, both as villains no less
I watched The Sarah Silverman Show on a flip-phone back in maybe 2009. Sprint (if I remember right) had a “tv” service with select shows they’d licensed. I quite enjoyed the show.
In the 00s I used to download pirated movies and tv shows off of these asian YouTube clones. There were english boards with links to videos on these sites so finding specific movies or shows was easy. They were often split in 10 minute parts. 240p at best. Audio was often out of sync. I’d then load them onto my click wheel iPod (“iPod classic”) and watch them in bed. It’s how I watched a lot of movies my parents wouldn’t let me see, like Alien. It’s also how I watched nearly all of MST3K.
480i tube televisions… Used to do it all the time.
Same here , grew up with 480i. Got my first high def plasma TV about 2009 or 2010 42 inch Panasonic 720p. Will not watch on smaller then my current TV. No point. When this TV dies I’ll cry. Then get an oled 55 inch.
Currently have a 5.1 surround sound system. The front left speaker stands about 43 inches high and about 11 inches wide. Matching right speaker. Gives you an idea of what I’ve got for sound. Won’t go back to TV speakers.
I’m old enough to have begun my high seas days in the era of RealPlayer/.rm files, so I watched whole movies at garbage resolution all the time. I also once watched the entirety of Hot Tub Time Machine on an iPod Classic.
(btw: Does anyone actually enjoy theaters? 🤔)
For me, it depends on the movie. For something moody or really heavy, I’d prefer to watch it comfortably on my couch. But for cheesy action movies or something, I like the big screens and the crowds for the energy they provide.
There’s also something special about theater junk food. Giant bucket of popcorn drenched in not-legally-butter, hot dogs, nachos, a gallon of Coke so that you’ll definitely need to pee right when the third act starts…
Some films are meant to be watched in large formats with insane audio that just can’t be replicated at home. The Dune movies and Oppenheimer are a few recent examples I can think of that looked incredible in 70mm IMAX. I live in a major metro area and there are only 3 screens within 50 miles capable of showing 70mm properly. I choose to go out of my way to these theaters once or twice a year, if a great film is showing.
Short of films shot and shown in a true large format there’s no way you’ll find me in a theater.
I’ll watch content on small screens if I’m on a plane. Otherwise it’s my 80" living room TV with passable surround sound.
Agreed! This is how i watch too. Last two times I’ve gone to theatres was for both Dune movies. Otherwise, its just home.
Very true for both audio and sound. There are just films made by specifically for large formats and higher quality set ups.
Its great that you have headphones OP as it’s a step. If you still enjoy what you’re seeing, that’s all that really matters IMO. Not everyone is privileged to have a nice home system set up which is I think why theatres are still a thing.
More information on sounds and subtitles that I watched a few weeks ago. I also watched a video on TV modes and the differences of visual on theatre vs TV vs mobile but can’t recall the video.
passable surround sound
is it though?
I guess it depends on what you consider passable.
It’s loud enough on 25% to disturb my neighbors, it’s clear and defined enough for me to watch normally and hear everything at 7%. There’s no observable delay, and the installation is clean enough to make my wife happy. It wasn’t cheap, but I wouldn’t consider it expensive.
I used to be a security guard and would have postings like a dilapidated farm house in the middle of fucking nowhere, so I would very often watch movies my whole shift on a portable dvd player. This was back before the iPhone, and I had the OG Motorola Razr. I do remember watching videos on that tiny little, low-res screen a few times tho. But finding a WAP website that had video was rare.
I have a self-hosted media server, though, and will sometimes watch things on my phone from my collection if I am waiting somewhere outside of my home long enough.
The smallest screen I was willing to watch a movie or series on was my old 10" Lenovo netbook. I absolutely will not watch a movie on a phone screen. Right now I’m pretty happy with my 65" 4k TV. I’ll probably upgrade to a 75" (or 80"?) when I have extra funds because we do love watching movies and shows. As for movie theaters, post-pandemic I only go if it’s a movie worth seeing in IMAX or Dolby. I’m fortunate that there is a true IMAX theater in my city. If not, I wait for it to be available to watch at home.
My wife constantly has TV shows running on her phone. She just has Netflix or Hulu on the default settings.
I like going to theaters, but I don’t like how much it costs to take my whole family out.
I put a 55 inch 4k tv on my desk. Essentially within literal arm’s reach, and I think it’s very similar to a theater.
Great for work from home jobs, or just watching movies or YouTube.
