Compare and Contrast Essay: Watching Movie At Home And Cinema

📌Category: Entertainment, Movies
📌Words: 1332
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 08 February 2022

Horror films: many love the rise in heart rate, many fear it. It is not a new genre in movie history, everybody knows what a horror film is. There are a variety of ways for one to watch these specific films. In the modern world today, there are two usual ways to watch a movie. You can watch the movie at home by either buying or renting a movie or using a streaming service. The other common way is to go out and watch it in the theaters close to when the movie initially comes out. These two different paths most choose have benefits over each other. Such benefits and disadvantages are perceived by humans as small decisions. These small decisions being, “do I/we have the time,” “can I/we pay for it,” and even “is it worthwhile” in terms of going out to watch the film. Some individuals even go the length to create a home theater for their viewing habits. The main subjects to compare are price efficiency, picture quality, sound quality, and scare factor. These subjects will each be compared from a home television experience to a theater experience. It is up to you, the viewer, to make the ultimate decision on how you want to watch films from here on out. 

The main decision that most people think about first is “what is more cost worthy.” While there is a large variety of adaptations for home television, let us put in the ground rule that this is a traditional home television setup and a traditional theater setup so there is no confusion. The cost worthiness of something is a first too many. In this case, most would prefer to stay at home, but if you do not mind spending some extra money, the experience will be better. While the theater experience costs more, it also tends to have a more premium setting and to the right people, it can be a deal-breaker. According to Nikhil Sharma, the average amount paid to watch a film at the theaters is about $152 every time you go out. This calculation is assuming you are bringing a family of four, purchasing four different drinks, and a few popcorn bags (Sharma, Storefyi). Most people do not like the idea of spending that much for only two or so hours. Others like to purchase or rent a movie and watch it at home with their DVD or Blu-ray player. According to Wal-Mart, this approach with snacks you already have around the house could cost near the high end of $30 if the film is a new release (Wal-Mart). In the case you rent the movie, it would cost you “The first day of rental will cost $2.99 for new releases and $1.99 for older films” (Fritz, Los Angeles Times). In the grand scheme of things, that staying at home may be preferable to going out. 

The next most important thing is video quality. Nobody likes a video/film where it is always blurry. The resolution of a television or a projector is especially important to the immersive experience. According to David Nield, “most major cinemas in the UK and a lot in the US will now use 4K digital projectors and will have been doing so for several years” (Nield, T3). This means that in terms of the cinemas, the standard is 4K resolution, which is somewhat accurate to the sight of a person with 20/20 vision. Compare that to home televisions and we have a tie. Most advertisements for televisions feature 4K resolution right on the box. It is not new to anyone that 4K must become the standard for home televisions. Now depending on if one chooses to spend more cash, that individual can upgrade to an 8K resolution television and have a more accurate television. Projectors do have the capabilities to post at 8K resolution, but the theaters have not regulated such accommodation. Televisions win this category of comparison due to there being more diversity in the visual resolution. 

One of the more hidden parts when thinking about watching a movie is the sound system. Casual viewers usually use the speakers within their television, but hardcore fans may have a whole home theatre of speakers. This category can go both ways, it depends on how much the individual is willing to spend on speakers for their own home. From a casual standpoint, television speakers are enough to hear any sound. The theater is different from television speakers because the theater has speakers lined around the room. One of the most iconic memories at the theater is the booming sound you hear. This is the bass of a sound and those subwoofers behind the screen of the theatre can broadcast a deeper bass than the usual home television. To prove my point, Ultimate Home Centre explains that, “the basic commercial theatre sound system involves a series of speakers and subwoofers that are all connected to another series of power amplifiers which are then connected to the central mixing engine that allows you to manipulate (the sound) of each speaker.” (Ultimate Home Centre). This shows that the movie theater’s speakers are much more diverse than the small speaker(s) integrated within the television at home. Televisions nowadays are usually extremely thin and can be wall-mounted with ease. The downside to these new generations of televisions is that they cannot support the same quality audio. Most televisions now must be paired with a soundbar because there is not enough space within the television for a good-sounding speaker. In terms of sound, you would be best off with going out to the theatre to enjoy a decent experience. 

Finally, the most prominent decision to make, which has a higher scare factor? From all the information listed above, movie theaters seem to be the go-to when it comes to horror films just because they set the entire environment to get spooked. The sound quality and picture quality create the perfect immersive experience. Pair that with the high price for food and tickets, and it is a premium experience. However, the one upside to watching it at home is that the immersion is one step larger. In a movie theater, others watch the same movie with everybody else, but at home, it is a more personal experience. If the movie is good enough, after watching it from home, you may get spooked by things you think you saw. This category is more of an opinion than any of the others since people have different tastes as to what makes them scared and horrified. Take if from Andrew McKissock who would say otherwise. He writes, “opting to indulge in a horror movie in the theater requires an individual to summon some form of courage, akin to that of a final girl preparing to face off against the villain on their home turf. In the theater, there is no volume control to reduce every piercing scream to a squeak, each inescapable visual is seared onto the audience's minds.” (McKissock, Game Rant). It is up to the individual on what environment is scarier and chilling. 

Overall, the best experience to witness a horror film new or old is about the individual's preference. The verdict of each category comes down to movie theaters having better sound quality and scare factor while the home television wins at picture resolution and affordability. If people tend to like going out and do not mind spending the extra cash, going to the movie theater is best. Otherwise, if people do not like to spend too much money and do not mind a less immersive environment, watch the film at home. The purpose of this essay is to inform the different paths you take to make the ultimate decision on where to watch the latest horror film. Let us hope that people find use out of this article and make a more well-thought decision. The question must be asked, what is your verdict on where the film should be watched? 

Works Cited 

Sharma, • Nikhil. “How Much It Does Cost to Watch a Movie in THEATERS 2020.” Storefyi, 6 Oct. 2020, https://www.storefyi.com/blogs/blog/movie-watching-cost-2019. 

Fritz, Ben. “Blockbuster Changes Movie-Rental Prices.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2011, https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2011-may-28-la-fi-0528-ct-blockbuster-20110528-story.html. 

“Wal-Mart Movies.” Wal-Mart, https://www.walmart.com/browse/movies-tv-shows/movies/4096_530598. 

Nield, David. “High-Resolution Cinema: 4K, 8k and Beyond.” T3, T3, 10 Feb. 2017, https://www.t3.com/news/high-resolution-cinema-4k-8k-and-beyond. 

“What Speakers Do Movie Theaters Use: A Guide to Setting up Your Home Theater Speaker System.” Ultimate Home Centre What Speakers Do Movie Theaters Use A Guide to Setting Up Your Home Theater Speaker System Comments, https://ultimatehomecentre.com/what-speakers-do-movie-theaters-use-a-guide-to-setting-up-your-home-theater-speaker-system/. 

McKissock, Andrew. “Is It Better to Watch Horror Movies in a Theater or at Home?” Game Rant, 6 Sept. 2021, https://gamerant.com/horror-movies-theater-home-better/.

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