The Film-Format War

[on:]

Ok, this poll/thread whatever, is about what format you prefer to watch Films on & Why. (Films only, not TV Shows)

Personally, I prefer VHS Cassette. I know it doesnt have the quality of DVD or VCD, but VHS do have the best films and DVD cant replicate that grittyness of a VHS Cassette.

So whats your preferred Format to watch Films?

[Reply #1 on:]

i love movie theaters. But i'm a film student, go figure. But when watching at home i want dvds. The quality is better and i have the option of widescreen which i prefer over full screen since with full screen you are actually missing a good chunk of the frame.

[Reply #2 on:]

I like the disks.  I have a tendency to watch certain parts of movies and skip other parts.  If I had Jurassic Park on VHS, the main road/T-Rex attack would probably be worn into oblivion.

[Reply #3 on:]

DVD all the way.

The quality doesn't degrade, skip straight to anywhere in the film in a sec, lovely widescreen clear images, MUCH clearer sound - in different languages as well, commentary tracks are cool, extras in general, DVD boxes are smaller so take up less space.... and so on and so on.

[Reply #4 on:]

DVDs, for the reasons already stated, plus the fact that I can watch a movie on my computer if someone else is using the family TV.

[Reply #5 on:]

DVDs... they're quite handy, and work in computers as well as TVs.

Now, if they made universal DVDs instead of these bullshit reigonal ones... then I'd be the happy owner of Futurama Season 3. But alas, the reigon-specific DVD manufacturerers win this time.

[Reply #6 on:]

DVD's mainly because you can just go to to the part of the film you want to with one click...

[Reply #7 on:]

There is something special about going to the cinema though.

Watching a good comedy film in a packed cinema when everyone is really into it generates a great atmosphere - seeing Pirates of the Carribean was a lot of fun for example.

My personal favourite cinema moment: me and my girlfriend watching Mulholland Drive in an empty multiplex screen - incredibly haunting, especially the Club Silencio bit where the two girls are in an empty theatre.

And where is everyone gonna want to see Return Of The King - on the big screen of course 

[Reply #8 on:]

Crown Cinema in Bendigo, can't be beat, the special features on DVD's are good, but i'd rather be moved a couple of blocks down the street by the sound of a cannonball ripping through a ship's hull.

[Reply #9 on:]

Yeah, before I just asw the lats post and thought this was dvd vs vhs thread...Cinema all the way, Popcorn is so good...

[Reply #10 on:]

I like cinemas the best, I try to go weekly.

Asylum:
Everytime I get a new dvd playing device it doesnt take long before I remove the region coding, the longest was my LG player which I had 2 months before I bothered to key in the remote combination to crack it, took all of 15 seconds to do.

[Reply #11 on:]

 

Originally posted by eggsandwich:
Personally, I prefer VHS Cassette. I know it doesnt have the quality of DVD or VCD, but VHS do have the best films and DVD cant replicate that grittyness of a VHS Cassette.

That sorta depends on what your idea of the "best films" is.

As for me, DVD all the way. If I can't have it in widescreen, I don't want it at all.

[Reply #12 on:]

DVD, no question about it, I haven't bought a pre-recorded video since I bought a DVD player, the picture and sound are so much better, not to mention all the extra stuff like commentaries. I don’t live near a cinema so haven’t seen a film there in ages.

[Reply #13 on:]

Definitely DVD... doesn't have the fuzzy sound and vision of VHS, and doesn't have all the annoyances of the cinema (sitting behind some idiot munching away and their huge bucket of styrofoam that cost them about a fiver etc).

Just so long as you don't look to closely at the background of the picture you don't notice the compression artifacts...

[Reply #14 on:]

Huh.  I thought this thread would be about the "widescreen vs. fullscreen DVDs" debate.

Anyway, DVD is my favourite format for the most part, but I do prefer to see some films in the theater.  (Stupid comedies like Meet the Parents actually get kinda funny for some reason when you're surrounded by people who find them great.)

[Reply #15 on:]

If it's a movie laden with special effects, I would much rather see it at the theater. After seeing "Twister" on the big screen, it just isn't the same watching on T.V.
 V.H.S. still has the advantage of being able to easily record T.V. shows and other video tapes, but DVD is closing the gap.

[Reply #16 on:]

I'll go with DVD, but if I had my own personal movie theater in my house, that'd probably win (then again the projector would probably be using DVDs...)... You know you can rent out movie theaters and do stuff like play video games in them?  XBox anyone?

[Reply #17 on:]

Ooohh... Half Life 2 on a huge screen....

[Reply #18 on:]

I'm in the middle between DVD and cinema.
DVD for the features, but cinema for the atmosphere and sometimes dizzifying experience.

[Reply #19 on:]

I don't think anything will replace going out into the cinema, but DVD does rock on.

[Reply #20 on:]

I voted DVD.  Cinema depends on the actual place, DVD is in your home, with a decent TV and a sound system, and it doesn't matter.

Plus there's the quality, and I love the extras too.

[Reply #21 on:]

DVD all the way!   

For the amazingly sharp, crystal clear picture, and sound. The extras and menus rule too. And you can watch it in the comfort of your own home, without having to come into contact with jackass society and all it's shit.

[Reply #22 on:]

 

Originally posted by Otis P Jivefunk:
DVD all the way!   

For the amazingly sharp, crystal clear picture, and sound. The extras and menus rule too. And you can watch it in the comfort of your own home, without having to come into contact with jackass society and all it's shit.

Bam. My thoughts in somebody elses post.

[Reply #23 on:]

Lousy DVD, its doing what CDs done to Cassettes.

[Reply #24 on:]

DVDs, superiour quality, great extras and the ability to copy easily with little/no quality loss.

[Reply #25 on:]

I do like going to see a movie in a theater, but I don't find the quality to be as good as DVD (granted the screen is WAY larger, so small mistakes look... bigger).  That and I can't make fun of the movie as much. Not that it stops me... Well, it does. 

[Reply #26 on:]

DVD.

Although it does depend. If a friend invites me to see a movie, or if I really want to see it, I'll go see it in the theatre. If it's just one that mildly interests me, I'll wait for it on Sky.

But I usually buy things I've already seen on TV on DVD; that way I can watch them whenever I want.

[Reply #27 on:]

 

Originally posted by Stuart B:
Just so long as you don't look to closely at the background of the picture you don't notice the compression artifacts...

I don't use DVD as a master storage, due to the compression technology. DigitalBeta gives better quality, and in a familiar tape format...but for films, it would have to be DVD, simply for the extra features - commentaries especially.