Live HD

I attended the New York Metropolitan Opera yesterday, except I was in California. The Met has a new program of broadcasting their current opera live to HD digital projection movie theaters around the country. Our local cineplex in Daly City (Bay Area) was one of the hosts so I gave it a try. I was an opera virgin, but really enjoyed it. 

I could easily follow along with the subtitles. The big screen quality was excellent, minus three or four glitches in the transmission (everyone stutters for a few seconds). But overall you get the best seat in the house. You are close enough (via the camera) to see the actor’s faces, and in between scenes to go backstage and witness the elaborate mechanics of stage-craft. Like football, watching in HD is far better than being at the game itself. The Met HD Live gives a hint of how great hi-def media will transform spectacles.