In under a week Tom Cruise has 4 million views on this video educating homeowners on motion smoothing / video interpolation. While most critics and articles headline "It took Tom Cruise to bring AWARENESS...." berating his expertise in home video, I believe this is the catalyst for our industry which is way overdue. Even Christopher McQuarrie's comment on Hollywood's intentions of home movie watching, "We want you to enjoy it to the fullest possible effect, just as you would in a theater" is an atom bomb we need to repeatedly detonate in every opportunity available. Instead of listening to your ego, shunning this video and thinking its "our job" we need to rethink that perspective and realize we do not have the reach or respect of the people who generate the content in which we are the vehicle for delivering. We have had the opportunity for decades and continue to fail.
How many experts, specialists and masters on every side of the headphone tried to translate the experience, for decades, only to be championed by a former gang member from Compton. The awareness and billions of dollars Dr Dre and Beats brought to our industry was never expected and a guy like Tom Cruise can make that look like peanuts in the home theater industry. Dr Dre was the catalyst to dozens of artists attaching their name to personal listening and re-introducing the masses to the importance of music anywhere. Sure they bought the headphones but it was the experience delivered that stirred their emotion satisfying their choice in disposable income spent.
Having an 85" television with or without motion smoothing turned on is not the experience McQuarrie was defining. Especially when that television has at best 3" speakers? The experience they are educating homeowners about is at the core of what our industry was built on. Dedicated spaces with larger than life visuals, immersive surround sound, relaxed seating and distraction free acoustically treated barriers. Yes its an investment but with every dealer I sit with in a home theater demo watching a clip of "Never enough" from The Greatest Showman transports grown men into an experience they cant escape. Think about your last demo-
Embrace Maverick and his co-pilot in help bring awareness, not just for our industries sake but for the experience, the way Hollywood wants "you to enjoy it to the fullest possible effect, just as you would in a theater"! Who is next? A music icon discussing how their performance was meant to be heard, a video game manufacturer describing the perfect gaming environment or maybe Netflix and the NFL advocating these perfect spaces that can grab every one of our human emotions in the comfort and reach of our own home.
Regards,
Rob Skuba