I live near Portland, OR. In this wonderful land mediocrity is celebrated and Lo-Fi is the new Hi-Fi. Just check out the promo for the TV show Portlandia if you want a taste.
Hey, my iPod is hi-def man!
Consumers here are ecstatic when they listen to sound through a “cool” set of iPod headphones, and they love watching a movie with friends, no matter how it’s displayed. So is that OK? Is it right to just enjoy the media regardless of however it’s delivered?
Yes, enjoy the media, but don’t forget that if you’re listening to it on crappy headphones or watching it on a standard-def screen you’re not experiencing it how the artist intended.
Yes, Music and Movies = Art
When music is delivered to you on a CD, a record, or an MP3, the artist generally wants you to hear it as it is. They have “flavored” it with various tools in the studio to give warmth, dynamics, bass and treble extension, or maybe even harshness and distortion. All of this is meant to be sampled as it is. When you listen to it on poor-quality headphones, or tiny Bose speakers, you are no longer hearing the art as it was originally intended. Sometimes the results can be amazing, just ask DJs who take original works and turn them into a whole other piece of art. However, if you’re not trying to create new art then you’re probably just damaging the existing work.
I think the same goes for visual media. Now, it is much easier to get by with visual distortion. Just think how far off the colors are on the TV that you watched earlier today, I bet that display hasn’t been color calibrated huh? But that tends to be OK because our eyes adjust amazingly well to this visual distortion. They also can fill in the blanks pretty well when resolution is missing, making images much more lifelike than they actually are. With that said, don’t take for granted the visual beauty that the photographer, director, and other artists are trying to convey. There is much to enjoy if you decide to invest in a nice video setup and take the time to set it up properly.
Is it fine to use a 21″ standard-def CRT TV and the built-in speaker if that’s all that you can afford? Certainly!
But if you can afford something nicer, then I encourage you to reach out and build a system that will reveal the dramatic and beautiful details in the audio and video material you partake in.
Should you build a 7.2 surround system with a 150″ 1080p screen in a dedicated theater room? Maybe, if you’re really wealthy and enjoy those sort of things. Don’t be in a rush to get the latest-greatest though, often going 80% of the way is just about as enjoyable as going all the way (to the “optimal” system).
Enjoy what you have, budget wisely, and appreciate the art.
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