Is being film-like a good thing?

Or is that what we are just use to film??

Many, many (most) times when I have gone to a film cinema, the jerkiness (low frame rate??) of motion scenes has really, really bothered me. Like making me feel dizzy (no, I am NOT a blonde, but my seester...). On the other hand, when I was in San Francisco for Home Entertainment 2003, in June, I saw the movie X-Men 2 at the Sony Metreon. The projection system was based on a Texas Instruments DLP system. What bothered me was that when a bright something-or-other was projected, at first the image was very bright and out-of-focus (for someting like half a second or so) and then would become less bright and more in focus. Just about every initial bright scene started out with a small optical explosion and die down to a less intense steady-state intensity level. This was not an artifact of my vision. The most film-like of projection systems, film, has never done this. I do not know the cause of this problem, but it was most bothersome to me, as much as the "jerkiness" of many film projection systems I have seen.

Elsewhere and elsewhen at the show, the Sony $20,000 LCD projector was fabulous (it should be for the price), the Sony $3,000 LCD projector was excellent (especially for the price: I could be long-term happy with it) but the $1,800 Sony LCD projector, in spite of its low cost, would not satisfy me.

Maybe the DLP projector at the Metreon was not an all-out effort and accordingly has certain performance compromises that I just happened to be particularly attuned to. I hope that this is the case. I swear that I was sober when I watched X-Men 2 at the Metreon. I can clearly remember all the free candy I was given when I presented my complimenatry ticket.

Well, just because film has been around for a while does not make it the ultimate. No, I am not trying to upset people, well, if making them think upsets them, then maybe I am.

Anyway, being the "most film-like" does not automatically make a certain video display technology the best in my book.

Just as an amp being "the most tube-like" (no offense, Soundhound) or a digital source (CD, SACD, DVD-A or whatever) being the most vinyl-like (ticks and pops, wow-and-flutter, rumble, etc, to me are just as distracting as the various digital flaws), a new video display technology being "the most old-something-or-else-wise" does not make it the best, whatever that may be. Nor does something being the "latest" make it the best, either.

I have had next-to-NO experience with the various projector technologies, on an in-home basis, but each one has it's own faults, problems and strengths, as does film. So, being the most film-like may or may not be a good thing, especially if you got stale old popcorn, soda, and candy stuff sticking to the bottom of your shoes.

Well, perhaps if they are giving out high-quality chocolate... I can't be bought, but I can be rented for a while.

Off my soapbox now,

Paul

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the 1derful1

[This message has been edited by Paul J. Stiles (edited December 04, 2003).]