Are you an audiophile/videophile?

[PistolShrimp]

At the risk of sounding like a hipster- how important is sound and picture quality to you? How do you feel when listening to music or watching a movie with low quality? Why? What about movies/music recorded in low quality for artistic effect?

I'm pretty picky when it comes to video and sound quality. For example, I play Wii games on an emulator on my computer instead of on my TV because of the massive difference in resolution. I feel like I'm missing something when I watch a new movie on DVD instead of the Blu-Ray version, too. I think we're spoiled by all of the high-quality media that's out there now; it's so crisp and clean that it kinda makes it hard to go back to the lower-quality stuff. Something about the fuzz of VHS-quality video and low-fi sound sure does stir up nostalgia, though; watching Jurassic Park on Blu-Ray just ain't the same as rewinding a VHS copy for the first time in ten years and popping it in a dusty old VCR.

[Creepy-pokeball]

Video is more crucial to me. I can tune out audio easily.

[Pa3s]

Of course I enjoy higher quality of sound and video, but it's not crucial to me.

[Animal]

I'm definitely an audiophile, but not so much a videophile. It started in high school. I was studying singing and applying to classical singing programs at conservatories. One of the requirements for a few of these schools was, in lieu of a live audition, to record a CD of certain pieces. You would never imagine how difficult it is to get a recording of a human voice that sounds close to what it's like in person. Me and my friend sat in that studio for hours with the sound engineer trying to get something representative of reality -- something not tinny, or too close up (you need to hit that "sweet spot" that's just the right distance from the mic that give you a sense of the voice in space, as opposed to really up close and in your throat), etc. I think that made me hypercritical about sound quality ever since, lol. I listen to a lot of opera and classical music -- lots of versions of the same piece of music, played by different orchestras, in different acoustic settings, etc. And you definitely need a good sound system to hear those tiny little distinctions between one recording of a work and another.

As for vintage-sounding recordings for artistic effect, I love the sound of crackly vinyl (yeah I'm joining you on the hipster-bus to Hell, lol). I have a bunch of recordings of opera tenor Enrico Caruso from way back in 1902 and 1903 (on CD), and part of the charm is the crackly oldschool quality. I also love the distinctive sounds of recordings from various decades -- like you can tell something was recording in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, early 90s, etc. because of the recording technology. I don't really like the trend of cleaning up and remastering these old recordings so they sound all the same -- like they were recorded yesterday. From the mid-90s on, most stuff pretty much sounds the same.

I also love when mix-artists use the effect. Like this dude RJD2. I love his stuff:

[Scapegrace]

I can only tolerate good speakers / headphones (and I do *not* mean Bose). I could dork out about audio stuff all day long video not as much.

[Beautiful sky]

I can listen to or watch things of low quality without it bothering me in the slightest bit. I look at the general meaning of the music or the movie; I'm not a sensory type so I don't look at the specifics of the quality of the picture.

[Creepy-]

I have standards for my audio, though I wouldn't really say they are excessively high standards. V2 or better MP3 quality is about all I ask for. Obviously, it shouldn't should be a transcode or anything either, but that is basic stuff. It doesn't bother me that my collection of music isn't FLAC or some other lossless format, but I would still consider myself an audiophile.

Video is fairly different. I don't really have high standards for video. So long as the video isn't very pixelated (as one who primarily watches digital video on the computer), it doesn't really matter much to me, though considering I have well over 2 TB of hard drive space, HD resolution is preferred. DVD rips are nice. But I sometimes notice audio discrepancies in video, and that really pisses me off.

I guess you could say I'm a lot more of an audiophile than a videophile.

[ashlesha]

i don't really care except when its something really horrible, like i havent watched this weeks game of thrones yet because the ones ive downloaded have had mismatched video/audio and the voices don't match the lip movements and i can't stand it

but yeah like i know listening to an mp3 through my earbuds isn't the same as listening to music on great speakers but its easy for me to forget that, i just don't think about that stuff.

[Creepy-pokeball]

Bad dubbing drives me up the wall.

[Absurd]

I thought this is going about paedophiles.

[jessica129]

i don't really care except when its something really horrible, like i havent watched this weeks game of thrones yet because the ones ive downloaded have had mismatched video/audio and the voices don't match the lip movements and i can't stand it

lol same. I've tried watching this show a few times but the ones I download are always either too grainy or the audio is off by a few seconds and you can't help but focus on nothing else aside from the fact the audio is lagging. I can't watch things when one of those things are off. That's why I used to hate youtube and never used it because the video used to be terrible.

[Pookie]

For music, i prefer really good audio. It just simply makes the music better.

But playing video games or watching TV, i bug the shit out of guests when i have them over, because i keep the sound super low. Growing up with thin walls in the house, if i didn't have the sound low i might wake people up. I just learned not to care and to adjust my ears instead. Most video games i have it on mute, and choose to play music instead.

Video, i do not care. Give me a shitty video quality and a good video quality, i'll enjoy them just the same if everything else is equal.

[Creepy-pokeball]

lol same. I've tried watching this show a few times but the ones I download are always either too grainy or the audio is off by a few seconds and you can't help but focus on nothing else aside from the fact the audio is lagging. I can't watch things when one of those things are off. That's why I used to hate youtube and never used it because the video used to be terrible.

Ive been watching it as DL's through my PS3 from Amazon Video It is in HD.

[Park]

I am an audiophile, yes. Quality is important. I have a keen eye/ear for details. I can quickly tell the difference and recognize the similarities between different recordings, hi-fi systems, speakers, etc.

[mu4]

I care a little. I don't like junk and I enjoy higher quality media/system/etc, but ultimately it's not 100% necessary. I would say I'm more interested in having a high quality system at a good price vs the best of the best. Cost, ease of use, screen size(video) and other aspects of a system take a priority if there is a small difference in quality.

[Nowisthetime]

I don't like to listen to live classical music in modern concert halls. It feels artificial, disconnected, like coming from a computer or CD. I'd like more concerts in normal old buildings, where the acoustics is natural, organic, you feel the building in the music.

[willekeurig]

I don't really care about HD videos. Usually I can't even tell the difference between them and normal videos. With music it's a different story. I used to not pay much attention but then I bought more expensive high quality headphones by accident and got spoiled. Music played from cellphones is about as pleasant as the sound of scraping the chalckboard imo.

[Gilly]

Bad.quality audio doesn't make me cringe but I own multiple pairs of headphones, all of which cost $150 or more, and a few different stereo systems of varying qualities. Most of my digital audio is in FLAC/lossless or high bitrate mp3s and my LG G2x is hacked with Voodoo soumd to make full use of its 32 bit Wolfson DAC.

I actually DISlike the newest super high def video, to me it lands in the uncanny valley and I don't like it. I want movies to look like movies, not hyper-real holograms.

[Lotus]

audio is important. video not so much. i like older movies and watch a lot of art films from school which alwaYs have prettY crap vid qualitY so i got adjusted to it.

[Absurd]

At the risk of sounding like a hipster- how important is sound and picture quality to you? How do you feel when listening to music or watching a movie with low quality? Why? What about movies/music recorded in low quality for artistic effect?

I usually aim for a watchable version, that is of good quality both video and audio as long it is something I've been waiting for a long time. I watch crappy stuff even in cam or telescreener for it is crappy.

[Park]

I actually DISlike the newest super high def video, to me it lands in the uncanny valley and I don't like it. I want movies to look like movies, not hyper-real holograms.

Haha. I had a similar reaction when that shit came out.

[Gilly]

Its just weird, it feels like you're there filming instead of in the audience Watching. Takes away the magic of unrealness IMO.

[Park]

Let's fly now.

[Gilly]

[Park]

Awesome pic.

[Gilly]

I picked it because it reminds me of a dream I had once. I was standing in a field near my old apartment in VA and I just started walking, suddenly my steps felt squishy and I looked down and realized I was walking on air. I started running and I sank, so I started taking very.light steps and held my body lightly and I just started soaring. Maybe the best dream of my life.

[strrrng]

somewhat of an audiophile, all of my stuff is lossless. with video it's whatever, I prefer the static graininess of old black and white films.

[Park]

I've had dreams of flying before. Had them a lot when I was a kid. Took off with my bike once. Felt great being inside the dream.

[Gilly]

Yeah flying dreams are amazing, I wish I had more of them. Actually I wish I could fly.

[Park]

Actually I wish I could fly.

True dat. As a kid I used to jump from one couch to another trying to see if I could float and stay in the air as long as possible. I had an intense desire to travel through air.

[Park]

I don't think I've had a flying dream in recent years, though. Most of my dreams nowadays tend to be realistic nightmares or weird scenarios.

[Gilly]

Lol that's awesome. Yeah I dunno, Ive had other flying dreams but that one has stuck with me so vividly, more than any other feeling from any other dream. There is only one that comes close: when I was little I dreamt that I was the character Archangel from the X-Men, and I was being tutored and trained by this old man. We had an enemy who would show up periodically in my family room, but the old man would always beat him away. Then one day I was stuck halfway under the couch in my living room when the enemy came, and the old man was nowhere to be found; I somehow knew that our enemy had fooled or tricked him somehow and managed to kill him. I felt a wave of doom and then woke up.

[Park]

I love how you turn into Delta around me.

Delta types love to share personal experience mixed with their own sentiments regarding their experiences, but all in an insightful and non-dramatic manner.

[Gilly]

Lets do gay porn

The ladies will love it

[Ryan]

i don't really care except when its something really horrible, like i havent watched this weeks game of thrones yet because the ones ive downloaded have had mismatched video/audio and the voices don't match the lip movements and i can't stand it

but yeah like i know listening to an mp3 through my earbuds isn't the same as listening to music on great speakers but its easy for me to forget that, i just don't think about that stuff.

Try this site. They have perfect quality for downloded content. You can stream it though - I never download anything because they have decent quality, usually - I'm talking about Game of Thrones.

I guess this ties with my prefrence. I don't mind either much as long as it's working and not constantly fucking up.

[Park]

Lets do gay porn

The ladies will love it

That would be cool, but I don't get sexually aroused by males. We could film others doing though, if you think it will sell. All we need is a few good cameras, lighting, and everything else is improv. We'll do the video editing on my laptop.

[Gilly]

Lol any porn will sell, as long as its marketed properly.

[Park]

That is a yes, then? I'd start with straight porn. It will sell better. We'll post short clips to every popular porn vid site with links to our official page where we're gonna sell it -- free marketing. I'll get in touch with some people and try to place our work in stores also.

If you want to record gay porn, we'll offer Galen a job and you two can hit it off and I'll film you guys. (I'm sure you'll like the taste of his tongue.)

[fairylights]

I don't care about quality much as long as it's not egregiously bad. That said, poor sound quality is FAR more irritating than poor video quality.