Buy Now...

During my formative years, well before the appearance of the box-in-the-corner period and the small screen devices that are prevalent in today's society, a trip to the local cinema was one event to be treasured.  As well as providing a source of entertainment and occasional education, it brought family members together.  I can clearly remember when my mother worked part-time at the local Odeon cinema, this meant my dad could take me to the pictures using the free staff tickets my mum would receive. 

But times have changed and we all seem more inclined to indulge ourselves in more individual viewing experiences such as those involving PSP, XBox, tablets or smartphone devices.  Yet according to recent information from Epson we might be about to come across a sea change as the concept of a family viewing  session continues to complete the circle and regains its popularity.

Epson has revealed that, according to Bob Dylan, the times are a-changing, as events, such as family TV viewing sessions, are growing in popularity.  Conducted by Arlington Research, on behalf of Epson. some 2,000 UK parents, split equally between men and women, with children aged 18 and younger, were interviewed regarding their viewing habits and thoughts on the subject of television and movie viewing.

Whether watching actual live television programmes or video films was the focus of attention, more than half those questioned felt the use of separate screens for viewing content was a hindrance and interfered with family time spent together.  The overall view of opinion was that a shared cinematic TV experience brought about a situation where the family came closer together with all associated benefits.  This living room reconnection experience was supported by 63% of the UK parents who felt the watching of a shared film brought the family closer together.

The combination of a living room location and its centric position of the site for the home television device, meant it was ideal for bringing the family together and, just as importantly. keeping it together  Around 74% of those questioned were of this opinion.

The survey also revealed how some parents regarded the use of separate screen by certain family members.  With this issue, 26% of parents felt that at least one family member could be accused of isolated themselves due to their use of separate screens and spending more isolated time that was necessary on personal electronic devices.

While the result of this survey was not totally unexpected, there was one aspect that put  a slightly different aspect on the picture.  Epson also took a look at the type and cost of the equipment being used by the parents taking part in this informational gathering exercise.  With the vast majority of UK parent using either a flat screen or traditional TV screen, Epson felt that they could be overpaying for the experience of keeping the family together.  Why not, in the opinion of Epson, opt for using a projector to provide the shared viewing experience.  Spending on the viewing experience could be reduced from £8.47 per inch on a television to £1.66 per inch when using a projector that could scale up to 300 inches.  And now for a question that will leave you with another thought.  Who do with know who manufacturers and sell projectors that can scale up to 300 inches?