Last month we asked you, our ever-opiniated readers, to settle a long-standing argument amongst the reviews team. Specifically, are we living in a golden age of home cinema?
Four weeks on, the answers have come flooding in (many breaking our PG-13 language rule). But, to our surprise, unlike our team of testers, you are not only united in your belief we are not living in a golden age, you also (generally) agree on the reason why.
It’s all about physical media
The importance of physical media was a central point in all your arguments, which shouldn’t be a surprise given how vocal you (and we) are about the benefits of 4K Blu-ray over streaming.
This was initially expressed by reader “mrj6j”, who argued that, despite having a “proper” set-up that he’s spent years, even decades, honing, the age of streaming is a blemish he can’t ignore, which makes it impossible to call the current world a golden age.
“I have been into home cinema for a long time and agree we are at a point where it is more affordable, but mine has grown into a 4k projector in a dedicated room with a 7.2.4 Atmos set-up. And a 136-inch screen in total darkness. But this has taken a long time to grow into what it is today. But it is exceptional; it often sounds better than the cinema (I had it professionally calibrated), and I can enjoy it whenever,” wrote mrj6j.
“The problem is that the 4k discs are the best format, better than streaming without doubt. But do those with a home cinema set-up utilise this? They should, and more distributors should too.”
Reader Michael Peterson agreed, adding that even if you have a more modest set-up, as he does, the increased price and limited selection of 4K Blu-ray discs and players is an issue that stops the 2020s being a golden age for home cinema.
“I have an entry-level Samsung, my Sony receiver, Elac sub1010 and 8-inch speakers in a 2.1 set-up. I use my Xbox One S for Blu-ray and streaming. Good enough [for] me. 4K Blu-ray would be better if the prices of discs and players were more affordable and discs were more reliable,” he wrote.
But it wasn’t just about 4K Blu-ray; some readers, including Andrew Wood, argued: “Culturally [the golden age was], when you shuffled into town, to a shop, to hire or buy a video/DVD and then watched it on your wide-screen CRT TV with built-in 5.1.”
Our hot take
We agree; there is something undeniably special about physical media. At a technical level, we have long championed 4K Blu-ray. It offers a much higher bitrate, superior HDR and far less data compression than streaming, giving you a sharper, more detailed image in most instances. That’s why we use an ever-evolving library of 4K Blu-ray test discs when reviewing home cinema hardware. We even have a monthly Now Showing column where we detail the new movies we're using.
While none of us would go so far as to want to return to tapes and CRT TVs – read this feature chronicling our editor’s attempts to resurrect his VHS collection last year, and you’ll see why – we also agree there’s something emotionally special about physical media. Having it on a disc you own gives you a more personal, emotional attachment to the film, as rather than just clicking on something an algorithm’s decided you will like, you’ve chosen that film, specifically, at some point.
As Andrew Wood points out, there was also something truly magical about the Blockbuster years, when we had to physically go outside to rent a new movie. Many of the team are old enough to remember the experience, and have fond memories of the family trips (and arguments) we had going out to pick a new film to watch after the final school bell rang on Friday. That makes it hard not to agree that there is some substance to his argument that, "culturally", that was a golden age for film fans – even if the hardware was worse and it wasn’t as easy to find new films to watch.
MORE:
These are the best projectors we’ve reviewed
We rank the best surround sound systems
Our picks of the best Blu-ray players
