The distinction does matter. If I go buy some Blu-rays from Walmart, am I to go back and scream at them when one of the flicks is a DNR special?
I know there is HUGE encoding quality difference between BR releases (if that's what you meant). This is why I always consult the absolutely excellent encoding quality listings at
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1168342/the-new-pq-tier-thread-for-blu-ray-rankings before ordering Blu-ray discs from Amazon.
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Apple is getting a pass from the mainstream tech media on this, and I'm not sure why.
Because the American tech media (Engadget, The Verge etc.) is pretty much pro-Apple?
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Edit: I have no dog in this fight but fwiw imo if the iTunes HD sources were higher bitrate and not so pared down, the title of this thread would probably read " Why does it take forever to stream my movie?" Personally for internet provided video I don't think its that bad considering. And I have done a "fair bit" of video encoding in my days. Now again, its just for what its worth. That and a quarter might buy you a cup of coffee.
While I do agree Apple's decision to go with such low encoding bitrates is to help streaming, they could go with providing a choice for people wanting the best possible image quality by also offering a (much) higher-bitrate version of the same movie. It wouldn't be that hard...
Nevertheless, it's not only the inferior image quality of iTunes movies that I prefer ripping my own Blu-ray discs but also:
- the lack of any kind of subtitles (or even English CC's with about 70% of the titles) - pretty big a problem for non-native English speakers
- no commentary audio tracks in most cases
- copy protection
- priced about the same as Blu-ray discs ordered from Amazon
- extras not playable on iOS devices / ATV (unlike BD extras, which are encoded with plain H.264 and are directly playable after ripping on non-x86 platforms)