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Jeremy
Member
Location: Las Vegas
Join Date: Jul 2007
Local Time: 08:48 PM
Local Date: 07-06-2008
Posts: 9
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a review of the convention
Here are my thoughts about the convention:
First of all, I have been a reader of tvshowsondvd.com for years, so that is how I found
out about the convention. It also helped that I live in Vegas! So, since I am such a big fan of DVDs
themselves, I thought I would sign up to go. I own over 1,000 DVDs, and my favorite kinds to purchase would definitely be the more rare independent films and other performance type-DVDs. Since I went to school in London, I have also been a collector of region 2 DVDs.
Before attending EMA, I have never been interested in any type of high definition format. I have been more interested in the media itself. I have my HP pavilion dv9000 hooked up directly to my tv screen and surround sound, which is wonderful, although I do not own a high definition television (but I plan to in the future once I have a bit more room). I purchase most of my DVDs, but I do also belong to Netflix, and I am an avid user of the "watch it now" feature, and since my laptop is hooked up to my television, it allowes me to watch and record the media from netflix on there (although I have not recorded anything so far).
I have done a small amount of research on high definition discs, but EMA really allowed me to learn a great deal that I never really was interested in learning about before, and it definitely made me want to invest in a high definition player (I figured I would buy one, until we got lucky enough to get the free players (thanks!!). So the next step will definitely be a new TV. I have one I am eyeing, but it will be a little while before I will be able to get it.
Okay, on to more of the convention. I was suprised at how much us HTF guests really walked away with, and I don't only mean all the goodies. The information in the panels and other things that we were able to attend was much richer than I was anticipating....and the parties were fantastic...especially Tao! Being from Vegas, most of us who live here don't go out to these type of places, so I really enjoyed myself. A personal highlight was Ernest Borgnine (which I think was that way for everyone). Also, meeting the legendary Mink Stole and Margaret Cho whom I have loads of respect for was a big highlight for me. I thought everything was put together fantastically, especially the awards show.
It is really hard to make a list of exactly everything I learned, but if we had not gotten the freebies, I definitely would have forked out some cash for a high definition player, and I had never been interested in one before.
Okay, on to the negatives...eek! Just two!
1. The opening panel. I felt like I should have been up there because I had many things to say (many more interesting things to say! haha), and it just went on forever with the guy who was asking questions asking the SAME ones over and over, just in different ways. I could tell how tired the audience was getting of it as the crowd kept starting to get smaller. Some of the people up there presented some interesting opinions and information, but a few were the wrong people chosen to be up there!
2. The hotel rooms upstairs or should I say the companies who were in them. The person who I went with and I walked in EVERY room, but some of them the way they were set up in the rooms made me feel like we were intruding, but once I got over that awkward feeling, things got a little worse. Everytime we went in a room, they asked us who we were with, and when I said that we were with the Home Theatre Forum, 90% of them had no idea what HTF was. So, I explained that we were the consumers and were invited there, etc. When I said that, most of them actually seemed disappointed and a few were even rude because we had no intention of buying anything from them, so I did not enjoy that part. They have to realize that without comsumers, they don't have a business, and especially with people like me who spends a couple thousand dollars in DVDs a year, it was somewhat offensive noticing their disappointment that we were consumers and not store owners. This however was not the case for EVERYONE. One of them (I forgot
who!) were fantastic. One of the women took us on a whole tour and was really fantastic. Personal standouts for how nice and informational they were from what i can remember was Cinequest and TLA Releasing. They were great.
All in all, I really did enjoy myself, and it would definitely be a pleasure and a privilege to attend again. I'm such a DVD nerd, and I'm only usually around theatre people as I work in that field, so I felt like I could be nerdy in a way that I only am by myself a lot of the time! So, it was fun! I hope this wasn't an awful little blurb to read! Have a great week!
Jeremy
Jeremy D. Juarez
www.jeremyjuarez.com
"You better be sittin' down like Rosa, or risin' like Dr. King. We can change the world together. I'll teach you everything."
Last edited by DeffydThomas : 07-31-2007 at 02:25 PM.
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