The Impact of High Definition in the Film Industry Today

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Can you imagine that movies used to use reels of film and didn't have any sound? It's kind of like thinking back to the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth. To say, "things have a come a long way" is a severe understatement. Now, with blistering clarity and mind-blowing resolution, the impact of high definition has proved to be a world-shaking force in the film industry.

Theater Quality in the Comfort of Your Own Home
It used to be that whenever a new movie came out, theaters would be packed for days with multiple showings of the new movie. Everyone had to see it. The urgency has gone away. Sure, maybe the theater popcorn is better quality and the sound is bigger, but with high definition quality in a home theater, why bother getting in the car, elbowing fellow humanity, and dropping a few bucks in the process, when you could see it in your own home? So goes the thinking. High definition quality is no longer the proprietary boast of big-time theaters. The same quality is available right in your own home. That's the impact of high definition, very close to home.

Theater Quality in the Palm of Your Hand
Video is everywhere. It has been for a while. But now, HD video is going everywhere? Would you believe that YouTube now has HD video? High definition video quality is ubiquitous, and that leaves theaters with little claim for exclusive quality. Now, people are watching HD movies on their netbooks, iPods, and smartphones. That does a great deal to injure the pride of the big boy status that theaters used to haveespecially when a 2.5 inch screen boasts the same level of quality that a 40 foot silver screen has. Now the impact of high definition is as close as your mobile phone.

Theater Quality...Losing Appeal
The film industry is undergoing a metamorphosis. Box office sales are still high enough to keep the industry afloat, but how long is that going to last? Now, it's not an issue of quality that keeps people coming back to the theater. It's an issue of chronology. People want to see the movie when it comes out, rather than waiting for a few weeks or months until the DVD or Blu-Ray version becomes available.

Those who are patient and brave enough to endure the humiliation of not seeing the movie right when it comes out are being rewarded. With avant-garde boldness, many film industry moguls are launching DVD releases way before the nine or ten month delay that used to be standard.

As HD continues to evolve, and home theaters continue to advance, our cavernous theaters may be monuments to what the film industry used to be...before the advent of this wonderful invention we call "HD."