Movie Brat

The world certainly has become a more expensive place, and with economic uncertainty looming, it is even more difficult to guess how things are all going to work out. A lot of people in the States are having to step back and decide what stays and what goes in terms of budgets, and one of the first things that gets put on the chopping block is extra money towards entertainment.

However, it's possible to be well-entertained and financially savvy all at the same time, thanks to satellite TV. In fact, at the same time, cutting back on entertainment expenses can actually bring a family closer together, and this is nowhere more apparent than when looking at something like family movie night.

When television still had knobs that required turning to change channels, families would often get together and enjoy weekend showings of movies, usually black and white classics. It's been an important engrained part of the culture long before HD TVs and high-tech everything. However, with the big box office mega-hits of the 1970s, the idea of gathering around a small screen to watch something together sort of got lost in the shuffle.

Since the 1970s, though, prices for movie tickets slowly climbed and climbed, sometimes completely not in tune with the economy. Going out with a wife or husband, let alone the whole family, became costly endeavor that involved two or three digit prices. With movie ticket prices topping off around 20 bucks in some major cities, it just stops being affordable to spend a night at the movies.

However, it's a whole lot easier to have a high-tech night in now. With high-definition television, there's no more crowding around a small television set with terrible photo and sound quality. Sometimes, it's even possible to have a better seat in one's own living room than one would have had at the movie theatre in the first place!

Best of all, satellite TV offers so many options for films, it's possible to find not just one thing, but maybe 20 things, that everyone in the family will enjoy. If the little ones are going to bed after the first film, mom and dad can still stay up and find a movie more suitable to their tastes, like the latest action-adventure or perhaps a long-forgotten classic that is too long to captivate the kids. The myriad of channels on satellite makes finding a movie simple--it's the choosing part that gets a little trickier.

So before thinking that the recession means completely slashing entertainment from your family's weekly schedule, just look to your own home. There is, in all lilkiood, already a television set around. The only thing that needs adding, if you don't have it already, is satellite TV, and then it's just a matter of picking what's best for the evening. And unlike in the theatres, where getting up to use the restroom or get a snack might cost you a crucial plot point, the beauty of satellite is that there is a pause button, too. What could be better?

About the Author:

Popcorn, a living room, and DirecT TV is all that you and your family need to make a true home theatre. And best of all, with DIRECTV, it's possible to have your own nightly double feature at a fraction of the cost for even a single movie ticket.