JULY 23 — Whenever it comes to watching movies, I like to make sure that my experience is the best possible one I can get at the time.

So when I go to the cinema, I always make sure I get a nice seat, a good hair band to make sure my hair isn’t in my face and a pretty girl by my side (these days, I just bring my wife).

I believe that the surroundings and experience of watching a movie can actually determine whether you will enjoy it or not.

Say, for example, if you enter a movie late, and you rushed to get there. You sit down and you’re gasping for breath and sweating profusely.

I bet you your movie experience isn’t going to be a very pleasant one since you started it so uncomfortably.

Recently I went to watch the Leonardo DiCaprio-led movie, “Inception”, at a well-known cinema chain in 1Utama.

I got myself and my wife nice seats with nice leg room. I had showered before going and I smelt nice too.

The movie began and it was great. The visuals were stunning and the sound was awesome. The story and acting weren’t too bad either.

Then somewhere in the middle, the audio started failing. The conversations started to become faint and the ambience and sound effects became increasingly loud.

It happened a few times and I walked out to complain to the staff. They said they would fix it. But after 10 minutes, still no improvement.

I went out a second time to complain and still nothing happened. I decided to complain again the third time in the final quarter of the movie.

But, they still didn’t fix the problem. And hence my entire movie experience was ruined even though I sat through the whole thing.

After much argument outside after the movie ended, I managed to get a refund of the ticket price. But I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted my movie experience back.

I wanted to enjoy watching Leonardo’s beautiful face as he ran around blowing people up in their dreams and avoid getting stuck in dream limbo.

Bear with me. I’m just trying to illustrate that I can be fussy when watching movies (and not just whining about an unpleasant experience I had as a consumer!).

But somehow, the slightly inferior quality of watching movies on YouTube or of low resolution downloads and streams seem to be just fine for me.

I can enjoy a half-hour sitcom and even a two-hour feature film on a palm-sized iPod while on a plane without feeling like I’m missing out on a bigger experience.

I think this is true with many of us in this digital age. We are willing to compromise on certain factors for other factors.

For example, I appreciate the mobility and accessibility of information and content that technology provides.

Hence, I am able to overlook the slightly less favourable technical quality of the information and content that I get.

It’s just like during the early MP3 days. The audio quality of the music in that format isn’t as good as CDs. But people didn’t mind because of its convenience.

With that being said, this only applies to new forms of media. Well, online and mobile media to be more specific. And also the mental preparation we do.

Let me explain further. If I watch a movie on my iPod in a plane, I’m prepared to watch it on a micro screen and with small earphones.

I know what I’m going to get in terms of quality. But of course, I’ll choose a proper movie to fit the medium, like a comedy by Judd Apatow.

If I were to go to a cinema, I’m expecting something totally different. I want to be awe-struck. That’s when I’ll watch a Lucas or Spielberg movie.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that… cinemas should make sure their projections are in tip-top working condition when they sell tickets to the public!

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.