November 12th, 2011

A home cinema for minimalists

In our home there is no TV. We have thrown it out about five years ago and didn't regret it. But there is one aspect I miss: watching films. We used to watch films on the computer screen, but since we've moved to a bigger apartment there is no appropriate setting that allows this in a comfortable manner.

I thought I had found the solution when acquiring a projector two weeks ago. But the day after having watched the first film in our home cinema, I was having doubts. Don't get me wrong, I was truly impressed what even low price projectors are capable of. But somehow it felt wrong.

• I disliked that I had to wire a lot of new cables.
• I disliked the idea of having to maintain another device.
• I disliked how I needed to tell my daughter not to touch anything.
• I disliked the idea of giving money to huge consumer electronics manufacturers.
• I disliked that watching films could become a time consuming (and finally less rewarding) habit.
• I disliked having to choose from an infinite number of movies via video on demand.
• I disliked the idea that having this home cinema would keep me from going out.

The decision had been made, return the projector and get a refund. But what about watching films? I still wanted to do that! The solution was quite obvious: go to the cinema.

• I liked the idea of having a clean and minimalist home.
• I liked not having another device that could break and drive me mad.
• I liked how my daughter can enjoy playing without possibly breaking stuff.
• I liked the idea of giving money to the people in my home town.
• I liked having less habits and more slack time.
• I liked the idea of having only a limited selection of movies.
• I liked the idea of sharing an experience with other people in the cinema.

In Bonn we have three great cinemas, Bonner Kinemathek, Rex and Neue Filmbühne (plus the annual silent film festival). From now on, I will refer to each of these cinemas as my home cinema.

Maybe there's a film you want to see? Let me know and I'll tag along.