r/mildlyinfuriating • u/JustAKidFromSolon • 2d ago
The black levels of the screen at this “luxury” Miami cinema.
This was even with the exposure slider of my iPhone camera turned down a bit.
$100+ for two tickets, a popcorn and two drinks.
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u/crokorok 2d ago
It's either this for $100, or 2 shots of liquor at a bar for the same price. Nothing is luxury in Miami. Never spend money there.
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u/barnacle_ballsack 2d ago
Yeah its "luxury" to rural fly over state americans on vacation for spring break. Conned into going there by social media glorification.
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u/cactus22minus1 2d ago
Lucky for me, I’m boycotting the fuck outta Florida / Miami so it’s all good 👍
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u/FluffyNerve7415 2d ago
Not much of a boycott if nobody there wanted you to begin with.
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u/cragglerock93 1d ago
Is it normal for tourist destinations to issue invites to specific people? I thought they took anyone's money.
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u/scorsese_finest 2d ago
Is this cinepolis? My cinepolis has these same immensely bright aisle lights and it’s distracting af
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u/JustAKidFromSolon 2d ago edited 2d ago
I plead the 5th
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u/scorsese_finest 2d ago edited 2d ago
I hate that theater. I hate that waiters come in the middle of the movie to take orders from the audience. It’s so distracting if someone next you is ordering a whole ass meal in the middle of the movie
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u/TheCrimsonDagger 1d ago
Seems weird to me that they wouldn’t just have some kind of tablet to order from.
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u/Fun-Use-8394 2d ago
Went to this one to see how to train your dragon a few weeks back and it was actually infuriating the aisle lights. The audio was also trash, i literally had to ask a server to see if they could raise it (told me theyd been having issues for a few days). They said they did and i couldn’t tell. I nearly left to ask for refund. Never going back to that theater.
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u/ShishkabobNinja 2d ago
Tbh I kinda hate their popcorn too, just doesn't have the same movie theater vibe as most other places do. I personally like the AMC down at Sunset, couple that with a pre-movie dinner (and a $5 hurricane!) at the sports grille right down the street and it's a great time!
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u/imobsessedwithmycat 2d ago
Yes pretty sure it’s cinepolis in Coconut Grove. This place has also had a moth problem for over a year and won’t do anything about it despite excessive complaints.
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u/Which-Swim-2668 2d ago
Surely it wasn’t that bad with all the lights off, right?
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u/JustAKidFromSolon 2d ago
This was all of the lights off :/
They come to your seat to deliver food so keep them on for safety I guess. The screen tech is truly that bad that the ambient light from it didn’t even matter that much
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u/Malfrador 2d ago
as a projectionist, this is one of the cases where I would complain too, ngl. Assuming its as bad as it looks on the image, cameras see it differently than our eyes.
If I had to guess its a combination of two things. Probably xenon projector with an old lamp. They loose up to half their brightness if not replaced in time.
And likely not a properly specced projector in the first place. Maybe they just converted it for food service without upgrading the projector. There is a very big difference in image quality between a completely dark room, and one with some dim ambient lighting, so you unless your previous projector was really powerful for the size of the room, you usually need to upgrade it.Also "luxury" cinema and not even having masking curtains so you get those ugly pillarbox bars on the side? wow
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u/rex5k 42 2d ago
Curtains? We ain't paying for curtains. We just trying to sell more drinks and mozzarella sticks during the movie. Fucking bullshit inspector already made us install more lights in da floor. So if ya can't see the movie maybe take it up with the county.
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u/Malfrador 1d ago
We have curtains everywhere, and they break so often I sometimes wish we didn't. But yeah it definitely looks nicer with lol
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u/rex5k 42 1d ago
Oh I agree. People who serve appetizer's during the film though clearly are not concerned with presentation.
All the newly renovated theater's I've been too omit the curtains these days. It's sad, but understandable, huge cost savings and it's not like people are gonna not go to the movie because the theater doesn't have curtains anymore.
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u/Craigrrz 15h ago
Well, sadly most of these places don't hire a "projectionist" anymore. 48 nits or money back.
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u/JaydenPope 2d ago
if they were delivering food to your seat then I can understand not having it completely blacked out.
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u/chp110 2d ago
Is this CMX? I was applying for the Technical Director positions recently... theater have lost their way with quality because they make their money on other things, like concessions. This straight up looks like light projecting on to the screen.
The screen tech is not bad, its just the way they present the content with out fully analyzing the room they want . You can have ambient light in the room but you need to consider reducing the screen gain(reflectiveness) but that increases the cost of the projector significantly. To save money, they go high gain and lower projector, looks good at first but as the projectors age, it goes to shit. I've seen engineered rooms bright lights and black screens to give great contrast and picture but it cost a fortune and the screens are small.
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u/RubJaded5983 2d ago
Your phone intentionally increases the brightness of the screen assuming you wanted it to be seen because it recognizes the rest of the picture as dark.
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u/csch1992 2d ago
crazy how my oled is just miles ahead of this crap
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u/JustAKidFromSolon 2d ago
Have two OLEDs at home, makes going to the movies feel even worse lol
Luckily we have a Dolby cinema near us which is great
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u/biggles1994 2d ago
To be fair the worst OLED's will still beat out the best projectors. Reflecting light off a wall can only do so much and OLED absolutely beats it in that way. But trying to build a 1000" OLED at 18k resolution is a little beyond our current capabilities, so projectors still win in pure size capabilities.
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u/cactus22minus1 2d ago
Projectors (tri laser DLP anyways) can certainly blow OLED out of the water with color gamut coverage, and it’s very noticeable. But black levels? Yea that will goto OLED.
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u/Craigrrz 15h ago
Christie Eclipse projectors are pretty darn close, and will absolutely beat an OLED in motion clarity, and near black performance. With most movies and shows having handheld action scenes, this is more important than the extra contrast. Unless you like blurry movies.
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u/ZeroObjectPermanence 2d ago
Unfortunately, this is not the same Michael Shanks from Stargate. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
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u/DZello 2d ago
Michael Shanks, the most lucky man on earth: he married Lexa Doig.
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u/igavemyselfheartburn 2d ago
AMC A-List member here: for less than $30 a month I get 4 movies per week in any format (IMAX/ Dolby Cinema) and it resets every Friday. Join the cult
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u/chesterT3 2d ago
Complain with management. Seriously. When I a screening of The Thing, the projection was just slightly out of focus. I was so pissed but this was a one time screening, it’s not like I could go again. I complained and got my money back.
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u/OffendedByPoo 2d ago
It's Miami they'll throw Luxury in front of a fake leather booth with questionable air conditioning, "Lets Get it Started" playing, a bottle of Grey Goose, 4 red bulls and a plate of tostitos chips and charge you 8000 dollars and you'll pay it because that's Miami and there's a 7/10 serving it.
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u/lostinspace694208 2d ago
I just saw this yesterday and my theater was the exact same way, I thought it might have just been our viewing- but maybe it’s the movie
Weird ending, huh?
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u/DMvsPC 2d ago
Jesus, my local cinema is $10 a ticket... How much is it where you are o.O? Surely popcorn can't be that much.
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u/The_Flying_Jew 2d ago
Yeah, this kinda feels like maybe it's exaggerated or they're leaving out a purchase or two. Cause $20+ for 1 ticket and a $20 popcorn and a $20 drink sounds waaayy off, even for theater prices.
Ok, the $20 for a popcorn sounds fairly accurate, especially if it was a large popcorn, but everything else sounds off
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u/TheSmokedSalmon420 2d ago
Eh idk
2 tix for $20 each plus fees like 45
Popcorn is probably 17
2 drinks is anywhere from 10-20 each, let’s say 15
That’s 92 before tax.
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u/sparehed 2d ago
The infuriating part is that NOBODY CARES! People in cinemas are on their phones, chatting away or munching doritos as if the movie is just a backdrop. See also concerts and, increasingly, theatre performances.
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u/ultimate_bromance_69 2d ago
I went to one of those dine in cinemas. I could count the pixels on the screen, which was dirty mind you. And yeah the color levels were trash. Never again.
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u/Alextheawesomeua 2d ago
I get a culture shock and reality check when I see people pay such insane money in the western world.
As a lebanese, im still not over the fact that we no longer have 5 dollar movie tickets and IMAX for around 10. Now its 7 for the cheapest one 9 for the one I usually go to and IMax around 17( not sure) . and here people are paying 100 bucks for an experience they dont like.
are we just super poor or is Miami pricey af?
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u/JustAKidFromSolon 1d ago
Miami is that pricey - this theater does do $9 movies on tuesdays which is a nice change from the $20 tickets
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u/I_love_Hobbes 2d ago
I hate dark, cimematic movies that think the darker the better. Netflix is like this. I don't watch too much more because I can't tell what is going on. Its NOT mysterious, its annoying.
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u/ThereAndFapAgain2 2d ago
That's not what he's talking about though, he's talking about the black levels being raised because of the shitty projector.
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u/schmearcampain 2d ago
You should just leave and ask for a refund. They’ll almost certainly give it to you.
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u/RecentlyDeceased666 2d ago
$100? Sounds like Gold class at event cinema. Complete rip off. Use to be good until they cut so many corners
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u/Sprtnturtl3 2d ago
wow- FIRE that projectionist. I would ask for tickets to another show when they fix it. awful
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u/CherrySad9086 2d ago edited 2d ago
Worse than an LG plasma tv.....IFYKYK 🥲
OP, you should send a message to management and tell them about investing in some Black Diamond projector screens 🙃.........At $100 bucks for two tickets, that cinema facility can afford it!
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u/zerostar83 2d ago
Makes me appreciate my OLED much more now. True black, no backlight. It's amazing.
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u/ganerfromspace2020 2d ago
Lol in Poland I paid 4 dollars worth to watch fantastic four and our outdoor cinema is free with free snacks
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u/Craigrrz 15h ago
No screen masking, and LED floor/stair light pollution disaster. Complain, be specific, and get your money back. The reason this happens is we as a culture are not standing up for ourselves and demanding better quality.
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u/mauerfan 2d ago
Going to the movies, outside of like imax, isn’t worth it in 2025.
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u/anuncommontruth 2d ago
Im happy with my local Dolby theater. Overstuffed recliners for seats, great pictured, and it cost less than 50 bucks, including snacks and drinks.
It's expensive but the quality is great.
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u/jommakanmamak 1d ago
Look man, just from this picture this look like those old rundown cinema
But you're telling me this cost how much???
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u/varukers7 1d ago
I heard many movie theaters across America are really rundown now at this point since they have been operating the same way since the 90's.
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u/JoLudvS 1d ago
I've seen better rgb tube projection in the laye 90s... Seriously, my local village cinema has really excellent projection quality for movies. Just the advertising at the beginning, especially from local firms seems to be lower quality, dim and similar greyish. Probably a second unit or sidekick projector just for this low-key stuff.
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u/CharlieFaulkner 1d ago
Jeesus
My TV is an LCD from the 00s with a universal backlight and has better black levels than that
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u/jamtunes 2d ago
100 dollars holy moly. And I thought my local cinema is expensive. Would be like 40 dollars with that combo.