Blu-ray won the format war fair and square (well maybe), but high definition images and sound are only the beginning. For the ultimate home cinema experience, you need a D-BOX - a device that adds movement to films. New Blu-ray movies can be coupled with D-BOX motion codes (currently 800 and going up) that connect to special D-BOX chairs in your home cinema. These look like everyday easy-chairs, but when all linked up, will add pitch, heave and roll movement to the action sequences.
LWLies tested it out with Hayden Christensen’s latest action fun-fest Jumper. As you sit watching the moody young man fight and he gets thrown to the right – so do you in the D-BOX chair. When trucks enter the scene to a deep rumble, you feel it in the chair. When the jumps through time and space take place and characters come to a crashing halt – so do you; as the chair jerks and spasms around in perfect synchronisation.
The experience is initially bizarre and the potential for motion sickness is very real, but as a “check this out” gizmo to impress your friends, this sort of technology is tremendous fun - at a price. This is very much the province of rich man’s toy, but might actually worthwhile for someone looking for a bit more from their home cinema.
Jumper is out on DVD on June 16.
Blu ray -schmoo ray, no amount of wobbly chair action will ever part me from my ‘Laserdisc’ collection- now there was a name that screamed “we’re living in the future”
Written by Marie F on June 17th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
My excitement at laserdics was tempered by the knowledge that they were always way out of my price range. However, their size alone makes them the best format ever. Bigger is better.
Written by Bobby on June 19th, 2008 at 9:58 am