We've already waded through a number of research reports that found individuals
more likely to stay at home and get their entertainment during rough
economic times, but an insightful piece from Parks Associates takes a more deliberate approach to analyzing what's really going on. When looking at just how many people are viewing video-on-demand content now versus two years ago (it's way up, by the way), it's easy to attribute that -- along with the downturn at the box office -- to a flagging economy. However, the report also notes that HD adoption in general has boomed over the past two years, giving citizens access to more
high-quality at-home entertainment than ever before. As Kurt Scherf, principal analyst at Parks, so satisfactorily put it: "As we're seeing high-definition TV penetration reach 50% of households and home theater penetration well over 20%, we're seeing consumers want to enjoy those investments as much as possible." Nice thinking outside of the box there, Kurt.
[Via
VideoBusiness]
posted Dec 19th 2008 6:50AM
Ten years ago I was going to see movies in public theaters about 60-65 times per year. By 2003 that had dropped to 5. I've not been to the theater in three years now. This didn't take Blu-ray, but rather a cost analysis of a dinner and a movie.
Being able to present a better picture and sound experience without the annoyances of other people with their cell phones, pagers, laser pointers, chatting, etc., etc., etc. The move by the wife and myself really had less to do with HD than being able to better control the overall experience.
Allow for a zoo in ambiance and the non-animals will stop coming (like me).
Everything you just said is spot on for me too. Because of ever-rising prices and increasingly lackluster experiences, I was all but forced to create my own theater if I was going to continue to enjoy the experience. HD just puts me that much closer to the experience I used to get from the theater, but you're right I started building my own theaters long before I could afford any HD electronics.
There was at least one distracting technical glitch during almost every movie I saw this year (i.e. Out of focus, Green Line down the side, Surround speakers cut in and out.) Even the brand new "digital" theater a few towns over couldn't get it right when I saw Indiana Jones.
For me to go to a theater one of the following must be true:
1) I really, really can't wait 3 months for the DVD release.
2) There is some sort of gimmick only available in the theater (like IMAX format or 3D glasses)
They should add an audience track to DVDs that imitates the Cheering/Laughing/Children-Screaming/Cell-Phone-Ringing you get in a theater. Then you could really bring the experience home.
Me too. But I blame having kids. :D
I'm certainly watching more free VODs, but I didn't even have access to VOD two years ago, and I only really started making use of it in the last couple months as I realized that there was stuff there that I wanted to watch, in HD.
I'm not sure that I'm doing it as an alternative to something else.
"giving citizens access to more high-quality at-home entertainment than ever before."
This sentence is incorrect. It should say "more high *visual-quality* at-home"...
Just because programming is in HD, doesn't mean the show doesn't suck anymore.