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A DIY Immersive Viewing Experience from Japan

"Cardboard Theaters" are a lot cheaper than movie tickets

By Rain Noe - June 4, 2015

in UX

Do you crave the movie theater experience of yore, when you could watch a movie in pitch blackness, undisturbed by ill-behaved fellow viewers? These days, between the seat-kickers, loud-talkers and distracting glow of smartphones from people who are apparently live-Tweeting the movie, going to the cinema is as unpleasant as it is overpriced.

Help is here from Japan. No, we don't mean those expensive Sony goggles; instead a legion of Japan-based DIY'ers have been creating "cardboard theaters" on the cheap, like this one:

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The good news is it doesn't matter what the box looks like on the outside:

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This one features a plush ergonomic add-on, and what appear to be the theater rules written on the outside:

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Here we see an IMAX version:

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We're not sure what the thinking is here with the hinged flap, perhaps the builder wanted to save themselves from having to make a troublesome third cut, or perhaps it minimizes light leakage:

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This one is trimmed out in what appears to be yellow gaffers tape:

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As kooky as this idea is, it seems undoubtedly effective, and I'd very much like to see a version that has had some industrial design applied to it. Maybe something that folds flat for storage, features an internal pillow of some sort, is light-tight, features Surround Sound and has a more precise screen mount. You guys got any time this weekend?

Via Mashable

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Comments

Allen Spector

9 years ago

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It needs 'surround sound' blue tooth speakers.

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Steve Turok

9 years ago

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Have you ever heard of Google Cardboard?

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- Stuart Constantine
  
  Steve Turok
  
  9 years ago
  
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  Yes! Google Cardboard is an honoree in the 2015 Core77 Design Awards.
  
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