WarnerMedia/HBO Max Plan, Will it Kill Theaters & Do We Even Care?

M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
Exactly. It isn't that complex for them to survive, but the days of cities having theaters all over the place are over. I grew up in a place that had ~100k people. A lot, but outside of that area there was pretty much nothing. We had something like 4 movie theaters that all showed new releases. That's usually all they showed. We did have a dollar theater (which was awesome) and that showed movies a bit later than the "bigger" theaters in town. You could get away with that stuff back then because movies didn't hit at home release for a very long time. Now I think it's only 3 months out of the theater and even then some go directly to streaming. Theaters can't compete with that.

What they can do is show older movies like you said. One of the coolest things I got to do in college was go see Raiders of the Lost Ark in the theater. One of my all time favorite movies, but theaters everywhere around me only showed new releases so I would have never gotten the chance had we not gone to this old school theater that only had one screen and showed one movie a night. It was awesome.

Theaters can have events and rent out rooms too. A lot do that now, but more could. PS5 on an Imax screen/sound system? Yes please. Kids would love that.

While I do agree that theaters showing new releases or even older movies with dinner or just quality food/snacks is awesome, but most don't have the capacity to do that and to build that into an existing theater would be expensive. They should do it, but a lot of theaters won't and still need to close.

One of the biggest mistakes companies made was putting too many locations of whatever business type too close together. Now there are so many that nobody cares anymore and just gets everything online. Saturation is bad. People want something new that they can't get just anywhere. The experience has to be special or nobody will go. It's not complicated.
I am not a fan of the restaurant style movie theaters. Or whatever they're called. Never was. I don't need to hear people slobbering down burgers and fries and guzzling down beer. Already have to deal with popcorn, soda and candy.

I used to go to the movies almost every weekend, but the older I get the more annoyed I get of people. So now I'm very selective with my choices. I think the first movie I'll go back to theaters to see is going to Bond 25. Which doesn't come out until Nov. I'll wait for everything else to hit streaming or physical disc.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I am not a fan of the restaurant style movie theaters. Or whatever they're called. Never was. I don't need to hear people slobbering down burgers and fries and guzzling down beer. Already have to deal with popcorn, soda and candy.

I used to go to the movies almost every weekend, but the older I get the more annoyed I get of people. So now I'm very selective with my choices. I think the first movie I'll go back to theaters to see is going to Bond 25. Which doesn't come out until Nov. I'll wait for everything else to hit streaming or physical disc.
Yeah, we don’t want a bunch of people eating a lot of beans, cheeses and other gas-producing fatty foods. :D
 
J

JengaHit

Audioholic
Exactly. It isn't that complex for them to survive, but the days of cities having theaters all over the place are over. I grew up in a place that had ~100k people. A lot, but outside of that area there was pretty much nothing. We had something like 4 movie theaters that all showed new releases. That's usually all they showed. We did have a dollar theater (which was awesome) and that showed movies a bit later than the "bigger" theaters in town. You could get away with that stuff back then because movies didn't hit at home release for a very long time. Now I think it's only 3 months out of the theater and even then some go directly to streaming. Theaters can't compete with that.

What they can do is show older movies like you said. One of the coolest things I got to do in college was go see Raiders of the Lost Ark in the theater. One of my all time favorite movies, but theaters everywhere around me only showed new releases so I would have never gotten the chance had we not gone to this old school theater that only had one screen and showed one movie a night. It was awesome.

Theaters can have events and rent out rooms too. A lot do that now, but more could. PS5 on an Imax screen/sound system? Yes please. Kids would love that.

While I do agree that theaters showing new releases or even older movies with dinner or just quality food/snacks is awesome, but most don't have the capacity to do that and to build that into an existing theater would be expensive. They should do it, but a lot of theaters won't and still need to close.

One of the biggest mistakes companies made was putting too many locations of whatever business type too close together. Now there are so many that nobody cares anymore and just gets everything online. Saturation is bad. People want something new that they can't get just anywhere. The experience has to be special or nobody will go. It's not complicated.
I think it's a question of what's built up around the theater, not necessarily making it dinner theater (though those can be nice). If the theater's in a destination dining-entertainment hub, like the pedestrian-friendly Grove outdoor mall in LA, then business can thrive with the theater as anchor. The theater complex in the Grove is situated in a courtyard that's surrounded by restaurants with indoor-outdoor seating and shops. When I lived near there it was bustling most nights, even on a Monday. People wanted to go for a movie and a night out dining, or meeting friends. The design was much more inviting and less sterile than the typical indoor mall that's now dying. It had a European-arcade-food-market feel to it, designed for pedestrians and cafe/diner sitters. After I left LA they were trying another redesign in the same vein with the Westfield Century City mall. And I remember the Westfield University Town Center Mall in San Diego having the same feel. This needn't be limited to fair-weather climates; many European shopping-food markets have thrived in cold climates.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Spartan
The Grove is nice. The same outfit did another like it in Glendale, The Americana. You guys are all making me want to go back to the movies. So, I ordered my IMAX tickets for “A Quiet Place II” for Thursday. Joy!
 
J

JengaHit

Audioholic
The Grove is nice. The same outfit did another like it in Glendale, The Americana. You guys are all making me want to go back to the movies. So, I ordered my IMAX tickets for “A Quiet Place II” for Thursday. Joy!
Yeah, heard about The Americana. Friends and family down there like it better than the older-style Glendale Galleria.
 
J

JengaHit

Audioholic
I am not a fan of the restaurant style movie theaters. Or whatever they're called. Never was. I don't need to hear people slobbering down burgers and fries and guzzling down beer. Already have to deal with popcorn, soda and candy.

I used to go to the movies almost every weekend, but the older I get the more annoyed I get of people. So now I'm very selective with my choices. I think the first movie I'll go back to theaters to see is going to Bond 25. Which doesn't come out until Nov. I'll wait for everything else to hit streaming or physical disc.
I hear mixed reviews about dinner theaters. One theater complex near me started doing that before the pandemic (haven't been myself), but friends and family who tried it said it was annoying and distracting to have food service around you while trying to watch the movie.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Spartan
Saw “A Quiet Place Part II” this evening. Full disclosure, it was in Liemax. 60’ wide screen with 1.90:1 aspect ratio. Movie was in 2.39:1. Was sitting in the sweet spot and was impressed with the audio presentation. Only a couple dozen people in total and everyone was quiet and considerate, even the baby! Some great moments in the movie with everybody really into it. You could hear a pin drop. Missed the smell of theater popcorn and experiencing a movie with other folks. Good time.
187A65DD-7439-4081-ACE2-B0D9DE20BD38.jpeg
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
For those interested in seeing A Quiet place 2 but don't want to hit up the theaters, the movie will be released on physical disc in July. Just an FYI.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
For those interested in seeing A Quiet place 2 but don't want to hit up the theaters, the movie will be released on physical disc in July. Just an FYI.
For the record, I am 100% against this 45-DAY release-to-streaming crap on July 12 (Paramount Network) ! :D

Streaming-release should ALWAYS be 14-Day, 17-Day tops. :D
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
For the record, I am 100% against this 45-DAY release-to-streaming crap on July 12 (Paramount Network) ! :D

Streaming-release should ALWAYS be 14-Day, 17-Day tops. :D
I need to get a Kaleidescape. They've got Edge of tomorrow in 4k ATMOS! They've also upgraded the Marvel movies a bit. They had them all on sale for $10/movie all in 4K UHD. The versions on Kaleidescape were over 100gbs compared to the disc versions that were capped around 70-80gigs. I'm down for that!
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I need to get a Kaleidescape. They've got Edge of tomorrow in 4k ATMOS! They've also upgraded the Marvel movies a bit. They had them all on sale for $10/movie all in 4K UHD. The versions on Kaleidescape were over 100gbs compared to the disc versions that were capped around 70-80gigs. I'm down for that!
I have "Edge of Tomorrow "4K Atmos file also, but it was a more compressed streaming file (like 15GB) they released about 2 years ago, not a Blu-Ray or a higher quality BluRay file (like 60GB).

They need to release a real BluRay 4K Atmos version!
 
}Fear_Inoculum{

}Fear_Inoculum{

Senior Audioholic
I need to get a Kaleidescape. They've got Edge of tomorrow in 4k ATMOS! They've also upgraded the Marvel movies a bit. They had them all on sale for $10/movie all in 4K UHD. The versions on Kaleidescape were over 100gbs compared to the disc versions that were capped around 70-80gigs. I'm down for that!
What exactly is Kaleidescape? I've never heard of it before.

Edge of Tomorrow in 4k Atmos? You had me at hello........

EDIT: Just looked it up. It looks way out of my league expensive. Need to win that damn lottery.........
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
What exactly is Kaleidescape? I've never heard of it before.

Edge of Tomorrow in 4k Atmos? You had me at hello........

EDIT: Just looked it up. It looks way out of my league expensive. Need to win that damn lottery.........
Haha, yes it's a very nice product. It's not for everyone. There are not many in the industry for Kaleidescape to compete with so the price to get one is very high. They also don't market for the everyday person either. But what's nice with them is that they work with studios where the studio will send them the actual move file and Kaleidescape will actually make it better. Uncompressed audio and video on a a ton of movies. They will also do things like with Edge of Tomorrow and offer it in 4k way before a physical disc is produced. Prices vary all the time. They have deals going year round. WB movies seem to be the most expensive on their service. But they are also expensive on physical media as well. Most 4k movies avg around $20-$25 with lots of older 4k movies going for $15.
 
}Fear_Inoculum{

}Fear_Inoculum{

Senior Audioholic
Haha, yes it's a very nice product. It's not for everyone. There are not many in the industry for Kaleidescape to compete with so the price to get one is very high. They also don't market for the everyday person either. But what's nice with them is that they work with studios where the studio will send them the actual move file and Kaleidescape will actually make it better. Uncompressed audio and video on a a ton of movies. They will also do things like with Edge of Tomorrow and offer it in 4k way before a physical disc is produced. Prices vary all the time. They have deals going year round. WB movies seem to be the most expensive on their service. But they are also expensive on physical media as well. Most 4k movies avg around $20-$25 with lots of older 4k movies going for $15.
After looking it over, and doing a but of reading on the net, it wasn't as high priced as I originally thought.

Still, it would be in the range of ~10k Canadian Pesos for me. I'd have no problem with that, my wife on the other hand would have a friggin aneurysm. She wouldn't understand the need for it, no matter how I explained it to her. And she'd really be pissed at me when I explained that on top of paying that much for the system that I still had to actually buy the movies as well lol.
 
panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
What exactly is Kaleidescape? I've never heard of it before.

Edge of Tomorrow in 4k Atmos? You had me at hello........

EDIT: Just looked it up. It looks way out of my league expensive. Need to win that damn lottery.........
$17K for a 40TB server? That's a hell of a lot of markup. I'm at double that in storage and nowhere even remotely close to that price range. Granted, you're paying for their software and the ability to get their special mixes for movies, but that's all you're getting.
 
}Fear_Inoculum{

}Fear_Inoculum{

Senior Audioholic
$17K for a 40TB server? That's a hell of a lot of markup. I'm at double that in storage and nowhere even remotely close to that price range. Granted, you're paying for their software and the ability to get their special mixes for movies, but that's all you're getting.
Yeah, it's definitely not for the average schlub that's for sure. More for people that have money to "waste". By "waste", I just mean that they don't care about the cost of the purchase, only the personal satisfaction it grants them.

Also, out of curiosity, why do you have 80 TB of storage, where do you have it, and what exactly do you use it for? HT related? I'm just curious.
 

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