Going to the theater for a movie is complete entertainment to
most of us. A break anyone would look forward to. It could be after a long day
at work, taking kids’ home work, running errands, house work or only for relaxation.
What more could anyone ask for?
The whole experience from getting dressed up, to reaching to
the theaters, buying a bag of popcorn and soda and getting comfortably seated
to have an “awe” experience.
Who would not like such an outing, if it didn’t have any
downside? Firstly, the rising cost of going to the theaters which is at least a
few thousands, inclusive of food, drinks for one evening. It would be alright,
if it was few times in a year, but if it happens few times in a month it
becomes heavy on the pocket. Is it an expensive affair for all, or only
students who are on shoestring budgets and have many things to take care of?
And people with families, especially school going children
are preoccupied either with homework, assessments, or other activities to find
time for a movie. Though watching a new Bollywood release can be something the
whole family would look forward to, but the hassle of booking tickets, getting
other things organized is too much for that experience. How nice would it be to
sit comfortably at home, get cozy in blankets, sip hot coffee and have the same
movie experience?
It sounds very fascinating, the whole idea but how is it
possible. But how is it possible? Technology! Technology has made possible all.
The age old television sets which received analog signals, picture and quality
which was not sharp and crisp enough is replaced by digital technology. The
digital technology which comes in formats such as high definition, standard
definition to give the best video taking care of size and aspect ratio.
And technology also for audio, which has taken over
traditional loudspeakers to sophisticated audio systems meant for such purpose.
How did the switch happen? Did it happen overnight or took some time? The whole
experience of watching movies at home came with the introduction of VCRs, which
enabled people to rent movies and play on the device which would be connected
to the television sets. It was ok to have the convenience of watching movies at
home, but did not have the large screen and surround sound experience.
The other drawback was cropping of picture to fit in the
screen, which lost the movie watching experience altogether. As digital
technology advanced, television sets were developed using plasma, LED, LCD and
other technologies. The technology to play the movie also changed, it became
digitalized using DVD players. These new technology changed the television
watching experience to very high standards. The sharpness of images, picture
clarity was beyond imagination. So much digital television has given us!
The experience remains incomplete, if the audio is not par
with the video. The video playing is perfect as it should be, but the sound is
not synchronized, there is distortion, so the whole experience is lost. A
combination of a large high definition or standard definition television set at
least 27 inches across in size, and surround sound speaker system is what is
needed to have a good home theater system. The other components desirable are
equipment for splitting the surround sound signal, and sending to the speakers
and something such as a projector which can play or broadcast movies in
surround sound, having high picture quality.
