Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!leah!rpi!itsgw!brspyr1!miket
From: miket@brspyr1.BRS.Com (Mike Trout)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Electronic Banking
Summary: goin' to the movies...
Message-ID: <6024@brspyr1.BRS.Com>
Date: 7 Jun 89 19:16:45 GMT
References: <2491.248B4D5C@isishq.FIDONET.ORG>
Organization: BRS Info Technologies, Latham NY
Lines: 31

In article <2491.248B4D5C@isishq.FIDONET.ORG>, Doug.Thompson@p101.f162.n221.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Doug Thompson) writes:

> But television sets cost a fair bit too, and also have repair and 
> maintenance costs. Yet we think of broadcast TV as "free". Add a VCR, make 
> that a colour TV, and the costs are comparable to those of portable 
> computers. But we still think of the rental video as a "cheap" movie. You 
> save your $7 movie ticket, the drive down-town, the parking fees, the gas 
> and oil, the time . . . though you've spent thousands in hardware to 
> accomplish those "savings". PLUS, you get a much wider selection of viewing
> material. 

But there are substantial qualtiative differences between viewing movies in a
theatre and viewing them on a VCR.  Much detail is lost on a TV screen (this,
of course, may eventually be partially rectified by HDTV), both due to scan
methods and screen size differences.  The differing height-to-width ratio
results in much of the theatre image being chopped off for TV.  Directors shoot
for the theatre, and their original output is often adulterated for TV formats.
There's a different atmosphere, too; watching a movie at home is just too
constricting and there are too many familiar distractions.  Movies in REAL
theatres (not those mall phone booths) are an unmatched romantic experience
that can never be duplicated at home.

Technological advances may negate many of the theatre's superiorities, but
theatres will be around for a long time to come (and tickets here are still
under $6, except at the Hoyts Fascistfilm Empire).
 
-- 
NSA food:  Iran sells Nicaraguan drugs to White House through CIA, SOD & NRO.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Michael Trout (miket@brspyr1)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BRS Information Technologies, 1200 Rt. 7, Latham, N.Y. 12110  (518) 783-1161
"God forbid we should ever be 20 years without...a rebellion." Thomas Jefferson