Theater vs Imax vs Blu-Ray?
Monday, December 7th, 2009 at
10:54 am
Which one of these 3 produces the best quality for movies. Assume that the TV used for the Blu-Ray would be a Sony Bravia 55 inch XBR8 HDTV.
Tagged with: Bluray • Imax • Theater
Filed under: 55-Inch Question & Answer
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IMAX at the actual theatre (vs IMAX movies mastered to Blu-ray or DVD) will be by far the best simply because of the high resolution film print and superior sound and screen size.
As to whether Blu-ray at home is better than a normal theater, it’s not clear. The theater may be worse or better depending on the film print being shown (as film is replayed the print degrades), the quality of the sound in the theater, and the quality of the home theater and environment it provides.
For example, theaters can’t legally have as low light levels as a home theater can (but doesn’t necessarily) have. This means that contrast ratio is compromised in the movie theater and the home theater may actually look better.
On the other hand, unless you watch a 55″ XBR HDTV (I’m assuming this is a 1080p model) from optimum distance, the the large screen experience in the theater … even from a marginal print may well be more satisfying than the Blu-ray.
Of course you have to consider the disadvantages of the movie theater, such as having to travel there, pay money, listen to neighbors talk, sticky floors, expensive popcorn ….
In my view Blu-ray on a HD projector in a properly set up home theater beats all but IMAX (and except for special occasions the advantages of a home theater far outweigh the attraction of the extra size/quality of even IMAX).
IMAX or a Tweaked out Theatre.
Blu-ray isn’t even close yet.