I've noticed a number of threads that include posts that state, "Avoid [Airline X] -- they have no IFE [in coach/on long hauls/on the seat back/etc.]"

I guess I just don't get this. In this age of inexpensive, compact personal electronics, why would IFE even matter? The only IFE I ever make use of is AirShow (on transpacs) and Channel 9 on UA. If I want movies, I can watch them, unedited and in HD, on my laptop, or if I'm less picky about video quality, on my iPod or Blackberry. If I want music, my iPod has my entire music collection and I can listen to what I want, when I want, in better fidelity than any airline channel. My Blackberry can play music, too, if I were so inclined.

I bring my own headphones -- either Bose for long-hauls or in-ear Etymotics of shorter flights. The quality is infinitely better than what the airlines provide and both are noise-canceling or noise-suppressing.

I have an extender battery for my iPod and laptop. My iPod will play for close to 20 hours before it needs recharging. I don't have, but could get, an extender battery for my Blackberry that plugs into the USB port. My netbook will run for 5 hours on the internal battery and, with an APC universal extension battery, five more. I can easily keep myself amused LAX/HKG (16+ hours depending on the jet stream) with my own IFE without ever having to rely on the airline's.

Airline movies are pan-and-scan and, particularly in coach, G- or PG-rated "family" fare, heavily edited and shown on televisions, either cabin or seat-back, that are of relatively poor quality. Why would anyone prefer this to viewing the unedited film of your choice in the original aspect ratio on even the meanest laptop? Why would anyone want the limited music selections available when they can listen to their own choices?

I've always brought my own IFE, starting in the 70s when I'd carry a pair of hifi headphones and a big clunky cassette player. It didn't take me long to figure out that the better the quality of the music I was listening to, the more easily I could put my mind elsewhere -- this was one of the first things I did to learn to cope with my fear of flying (well, actually the second -- bourbon was the first. ). I attracted some stares back in those days, but my entertainment was considerably more varied and of higher quality than that provided to the other pax who had to listen to airline-provided music through those stethoscope-tube headphones.

So why is airline-provided IFE so important that people will choose flights and even airlines based on its availability? Why not just bring your own? I'd really like to know.