Rate The Last Movie You Watched - Page 829

 

I saw Rises at my local IMAX theater and I bet the sound was better than your velour-padded HFI-780s

 

I am looking forward to the blu-ray though, killer flick!

Zero Dark Thirty. It was, and I'm quoting someone else, Obamarific!

 

 

 

 

Most of the time public theater sound does not sound that good to me. Too loud and to distorted  imo. Lucky though I know some friends who have spent decades getting their home movie rigs dialed in right. After you hear a correct home theater rig, both headphones and public theaters will never really sound the same.

I have never been to an IMAX theater....always wondered how it is.

Completely agree with that. Puts me off going to the cinema as much.

 

I have a pretty competent surround system (7.1, 15" sub, bi-amped front towers), and I enjoy it quite a bit with blu-rays and a DLP projector. So I  hardly ever go out to the movies unless it's something that I want to see on IMAX, I think that 4 out of 5 of the last movies I saw in the theater were IMAX.

 

There's no comparison between IMAX sound and typical cineplex/home theater sound. Obviously if you are lucky enough to be able to drop $150K on your man-cave you will end up with pretty good fidelity. But with IMAX it's not just the picture that is dramatically different, there are major differences in the sound as well compared to conventional theaters:

 

• IMAX theaters must meet a NC-25 Noise Criteria rating, compared to NC-35 in typical theaters where background noise from air conditioning or traffic might be 10dB higher. Also required is 0.8-second mid-band reverberation time, which is very low considering the cubic volume of the theaters.
• The IMAX playback systems use six discrete channels, including perhaps the most unusual element: the top-center speaker. The IMAX visuals have a great deal of vertical compared to the typical 16:9 aspect ratio (it's closer to 4:3), allowing for the opportunity to do a 'voice-of-God' loudspeaker.
• Another difference is the use of point-source surround, as opposed to the multiple small surround speakers used in conventional theaters, which come in so many different shapes that it is nearly impossible for them to make point-source surround work.
• Overall IMAX system power varies depending on the size of the room, but it is typically in the range of 12,500 watts. "The power is not there for the loudness, it's there for "clarity and freedom from distortion" (I think most of us know how this works ).
• The speaker enclosures are three-way systems using custom-designed components, manufactured to IMAX specifications. Each one combines four low-frequency loudspeakers in each cabinet with nested high-and mid-frequency horns. The trapezoidal dispersion pattern (narrower at the top than the bottom), is designed to match the distinctive shape of IMAX theaters.
• Using a sub-bass system for the deepest lows minimize phase coherence problems. In most IMAX installations, there are eight sub-bass loudspeakers, each in a 16-cubic-foot enclosure. The enclosures include a filtering labyrinth designed to physically trap the higher-frequency components that can otherwise cause overtones and distortion."
• Another distinction between IMAX and other theater surround systems is that no digital audio data compression is used. Both the DDP and DTAC lines are full fidelity, "double-system" approaches, meaning that the sound is not recorded on the film itself. DDP uses three CD-Audio discs with a patented sample-accurate playback synchronization system.
• DTAC, the company's newest system, plays back audio files either from DVD-ROM or from a built-in hard disk. In some older IMAX theaters, the original 35mm six-track, full-coat mag-sound system used from 1971 through1988 is still in place.

Edited by grokit - 1/19/13 at 4:57am

I want Imax.

 

Omnimax would be even cooler :)

The only reason I posted what I did was I honestly believe most people have never heard a really good home theater rig. I know I consider myself an audiophile and I had never heard one for years and years.

 

 

 

 

 

When I head one I was truly surprised that movies could sound that way. My opinion anyway, is that there is maybe 50% of the audio information we never hear in the theater. Maybe I heard an older IMAX system and the newer ones are superior now. Still I was not impressed by the IMAX sound I heard. I hope I'm not coming off here as a audiophile snob, especially that I have the simplest of theater rigs.....HAHA.

 

 

 

 I listen to headphones and have a 42 inch 1080p Plasma. The point I was making was that I was surprised to hear really, really good home theater. Not just someone who threw a ton of money at it hoping things would work out well. I am lucky enough to know some one who has slowly hand picked and matched his components, using some stuff which would seem at first to not be top of the line. It was the critical design where everything was truly matched and tailored to fit the room. He used early 1991 Energy speakers all 5 matched in size but had both a 15 inch and 18 inch subs. He used Elite and Proceed Power Amps. The trick was the digital EQ maybe.

 

It seems home theater has much of the same excess as Head-Fi. There are the same snake-oil potions and personal sound preferences. He prided his system to be completely finished down to each cable being hand picked and each component to fit the room. He had all the power-conditioning and room sound absorption in place.

 

The whole system was maybe 35K, which is nothing when you see some home rigs. The thing was it was absolutely perfect in how it's set up. There are so many levels of bass. A start maybe would be this bass you don't hear but feel in an area between your lungs. Then another bass response you feel in your lower gut. This is all before hearing anything. There are even sub bass frequencies which you don't hear but in the quietest moments the dishes across the house are rattling like some stranger is in the kitchen doing dishes!

 

I just simply feel it may be much more easy to do sound reinforcement in a smaller area. Even with all the money they spend to build an IMAX, I still think it is very hard to fill a room that size with optimal sound. I could be wrong. It may be that I just have a preference to smaller sound listening areas. Still though I have never heard a perfect bass response in a big hall. It always sounded unclear, but that's just me.

 

I tend to view concert sound the same way. I believe it is close to impossible to make big concert halls sound correct. The bass always seems out of control to me anyway. The only concerts that I have ever thought sounded great was in my younger years and it was most likely from being inexperienced and under chemical placebo enhancements which ( I'm sure ) had a dramatic influence in the perception of music.

Seating yourself in the ultimate seat of the theater takes some experience,to get the best sight lines and killer sound.

The first rule is to sit directly in line with the projector's beam.
Look back and situate yourself with the windows of the projector booth.

If you are neurotic,some technicians state the ideal seating distance is 1.5 screen lengths back.

Sit in line with the first of the surround speakers - too far back and sound signals interfere with those coming from behind the screen ; too close and it becomes a mush of ambience behind you.
This location usually coincides with the edges of the screen at the limits of your peripheral vision,your field of view filled without needing to turn your head.

The best cinema sound in Toronto is the Toronto International Film Festival Bell Lightbox Cinema 1.
It is considered one of the best on the planet for moviegoers.
When the venue was constructed they made it a "room within a room" situating the inner structure upon rubber padding to create audio isolation from the rest of the building.
A hush sets in acoustically as you walk down the hall to your seat,you know it's going to be special.
It's the closest you'll come to seeing a film from within a recording studio - headphones or home theater rivaling the 7.1 Mayer Sound Acheron Audio System in this hall ?
I'd have to hear it to believe it.

Next in sound is the UltraAVX Cineplex Silvercity at Yonge and Eglinton in Toronto.
Newest technology from Dolby Labs,the only place in Canada with Dolby Atmos (64 Channel surround sound) Got that ?
Rather than a traditional surround setup,where speakers on the walls all share the same audio information,mixers can now target individual points in the room.
There are even a dozen or so speakers hanging from rails above the audience's head,meaning that the entire venue becomes an audio playground for the filmaker.
Seeing The Hobbit mixed in this format is an exciting development that simply cannot be replicated at home and makes for a truly immersive sound field.

These types of cinematic sound are well worth the price of admisssion.
Courtesy of Jason Gorber - thanks for pointing out all the best seats at nine Toronto screens.
Edited by 5aces - 1/19/13 at 11:10am

So, who'll be watching this tonight? 

 

  

Erm.. I'm washing my hair :D

If I am dropping money on a film the last thing I need is a crappy theater sound system and people chattering thru the film.  The last five films I went to were on IMAX screens.  Great sound and they keep it cranked to a level you can't hear someone talking behind you unless they screamed.  I feel fortunate as an IMAX is around the corner.  Regal cinema has their home here and their state of the art cinema is here as well.

Les Miserables. 

Anne Hathaway lights up the screen, the scene when she sang I dreamed a dream, that alone is Oscar worthy. Truly.

Hugh Jackman is also really fantastic, as is Russel Crowe. I didn't expected in a million years these two "action" movie actors can sing.

Sacha Baron Cohen...LOL, comedy character, fun but I found him annoying but he can sing too !

What I remember it all is Anne Hathaway, her performance almost made me emotional ! it is that good. The movie itself is fantastic but I don't think it will win the Oscar for Best Picture, not that i've seen all the ones on the list yet. But Hathaway will surely pick up hers.


p.s. I know it is a musical but my god, I have never seen one with so much singing, practically every dialogue is sung. It makes Mouline Rouge seem like a drama.

Looper 5/10. Okay I suppose. Why the wunderbaums and retro mopeds with jet engines?

 

Mine was only around $5K, still way better than an average theater or any HTIB on the planet and better than a couple of more expensive systems that I've heard. Includes Oppo BDP, 7.1 receiver, speakers, 1080p DLP, an 83" pull-down screen, and a 32" LCD TV that went for $900 a decade ago and goes for 1/3 that now.

 

So $4K without the TV, but back to $5K including additional video players/consoles as I take pride in being able to play every video format except Betamax; DVD, Blu-ray, Laserdisc, VHS, and HD-DVD.

 

I've probably got twice that into my headphone system

 

 

 

You are lucky, my closest movie house is a 2-hour drive each way (but so are most things like that for me). Luckily it's a brand new Regal multiplex with a state of the art IMAX theater. There used to be a couple of others that were closer but they closed, good riddance I say because they sucked in every way.

Edited by grokit - 1/19/13 at 6:27pm