Will iPhone 4 play HD Films?

[jwillpresents]

I experienced watching Transformers in HD for the first time on the HTC HD2 today and it was beautiful. I know the resolution on iPhone 4 is higher than that of the HD2 so I am wondering will mp4/h.264 movies for the iphone 4 have a higher quality than the HD2?

[bli625]

Originally Posted by jwillpresents

I experienced watching Transformers in HD for the first time on the HTC HD2 today and it was beautiful. I know the resolution on iPhone 4 is higher than that of the HD2 so I am wondering will mp4/h.264 movies for the iphone 4 have a higher quality than the HD2?

HD videos will look great on the iPhone if they are encoded properly.

[specops]

I would imagine it plays 1080p now but it for sure plays 720p since it records 720p with the camera and you can edit it right on the phone.

[THE BG 86]

do you know if you will be able to rent hd movies from the itunes store to play on the iPhone 4?

[saving107]

Directly from apple.com

[cavemonkey50]

Originally Posted by THE BG 86

do you know if you will be able to rent hd movies from the itunes store to play on the iPhone 4?

I forget where I heard this, but you will be able to play the HD movies and TV shows directly on the phone and not have to use the SD version.

[That70sGAdawg]

Use Handbrake if you have a Mac to encode/recode your video ripped from a DVD, or downloaded.
I'm sure the iTunes store will be full of "premium" video if your prefer the faster, but more expensive route.

[css1323]

I've been wondering the same thing.. after finally getting my iPhone 4, I have to say "yes, absolutely".

HD movies and videos look amazing on the device. You can even watch HD YouTube videos as well which look equally amazing.

[The Ray]

Okay...

What are my options here? I've downloaded a few movie trailers from iTunes in 1080p, but they will not sync to the phone. I get an error saying that they won't play on the iPhone.

So what CAN I download from iTunes? What do they offer in HD that I can put on the phone to show it off when I'm not near wifi, and can't just hop onto Youtube? Is there any free HD content I can get from iTunes for this purpose?

[xxjonoxx]

Originally Posted by The Ray

Okay...

What are my options here? I've downloaded a few movie trailers from iTunes in 1080p, but they will not sync to the phone. I get an error saying that they won't play on the iPhone.

So what CAN I download from iTunes? What do they offer in HD that I can put on the phone to show it off when I'm not near wifi, and can't just hop onto Youtube? Is there any free HD content I can get from iTunes for this purpose?

You can download any trailers from iTunes that are 720p. The iPhone 4 is the same as the iPad, as it cannot play 1080p videos, only 720p.

Now only if Apple would sell every movie they put up for sale on iTunes in HD. (specifically the one movie I can think of that NEEDS to be in HD to be enjoyed fully, Avatar. Cool single-definition choice only.)

[The Ray]

Well what's the reason for that? I don't see why the iPhone 4 would be incapable of playing 1080p video. The display is better than any I've seen, anywhere.

[css1323]

Originally Posted by The Ray

Well what's the reason for that? I don't see why the iPhone 4 would be incapable of playing 1080p video. The display is better than any I've seen, anywhere.

It's possible I'm sure.. anyone remember using FileAid to view 1080p videos on the older iPhone OS devices? My iPhone 3GS was able to open up and view a 1080p file, but it was choppy as hell and glitchy. I'm guessing with the new iPhone 4, it may actually handle it this time around.

And right now, it's easy to view HD trailers on iTunes. If you click on a movie, you'll see "HD" in text at the top right-hand corner of the screen to let you know.

[joe1946]

Why would anyone want to run 1920x1080 1080p on a 3.5" screen when you will not see any difference from 1280x720 720p ? When I view 1080p movie trailers on my 26" Samsung T260 HD (1920x1200) monitor from 18" away I have a hard time seeing any more detail compared to 720p HD trailers.

[Los]

Go in to the TV Shows section of iTunes and download some free TV Shows. I bought the first episode of 30 Rock for free and I've been hooked ever since. It's in HD so it looks fantastic on the iPhone. They also have The Office, Eureka, and Fringe, all great shows.

[FearNo1]

Exactly, I was wondering the same thing. Why watch HD content on such a tiny screen? You are just killing the battery faster.

Originally Posted by joe1946

Why would anyone want to run 1920x1080 1080p on a 3.5" screen when you will not see any difference from 1280x720 720p ? When I view 1080p movie trailers on my 26" Samsung T260 HD (1920x1200) monitor from 18" away I have a hard time seeing any more detail compared to 720p HD trailers.

[saving107]

Originally Posted by joe1946

Why would anyone want to run 1920x1080 1080p on a 3.5" screen when you will not see any difference from 1280x720 720p ? When I view 1080p movie trailers on my 26" Samsung T260 HD (1920x1200) monitor from 18" away I have a hard time seeing any more detail compared to 720p HD trailers.

Some people are just never satisfied with what they have, they always want their product/gadget to do more, for some reason. Just like those people who complain when Apple announces a new iPhone at 4gb,8gb, people complain that they won't buy it until it has minimum 16gb. Then Apple releases 16,32gb, now people complain they want 64,128gb.

So Apple announces 720p playback, now they want 1080p, some people are just never satisfied.

[Pitta]

Hi, long time lurker here.
I just want to remind that you can use video out on the iPhone.
I use iPhone (3GS before and now 4) like a mini media center hooked to the tv, and hd content now look FANTASTIC (yes via component cable that despite what apple says look really fine on my tv with hd content, can't really tell the difference with other gadgets connected in hdmi 1:1 and same video).
To tell the true, I can tell the difference even when watching them on the tiny screen.
Yes you can watch fullHD content on iPhone 4 (I have yet to find the max bitrate because so far it has processed all I tried perfectly).
If iTunes says you can't sync because your device cannot play it, chances are it's NOT true.
Try copying the file on Goodreader (even the lite version) or other file management apps.
Works for me, and I'm very glad of it.
The only things I really miss are a HDMI cable and that iTunes would sync everything instead of doing checks and often be wrong.
And native mkv support, but apps are catching up for that.
It's really handy watching a something hd on the go, then arriving home, connecting it to the big screen, and continuing watching.
It's not Plex but I always wondered why apple didn't put more efforts in this.
Works for me at least.

[ItsJustafnPhone]

Originally Posted by joe1946

Why would anyone want to run 1920x1080 1080p on a 3.5" screen when you will not see any difference from 1280x720 720p ? When I view 1080p movie trailers on my 26" Samsung T260 HD (1920x1200) monitor from 18" away I have a hard time seeing any more detail compared to 720p HD trailers.

Or the fact that 1080p and 720p will look exactly the same given that the iphone resolution is lower than both standards

[Pressure]

You can install Filer form the App Store and playback 1080p without trouble.

The reason why iTunes doesn't sync 1080p is because it is restricting it software-wise.

[ItsJustafnPhone]

Originally Posted by Pressure

You can install Filer form the App Store and playback 1080p without trouble.

The reason why iTunes doesn't sync 1080p is because it is restricting it software-wise.

or the fact that it's 100% POINTLESS

:facepalm:

enjoy playing a movie that will take more cpu and battery to run and give you ZERO additional quality

[Pitta]

Originally Posted by ItsJustafnPhone

or the fact that it's 100% POINTLESS

:facepalm:

enjoy playing a movie that will take more cpu and battery to run and give you ZERO additional quality

I can tell you from esperience that with video out you can clearly tell the difference.
And there is another big point you seem to miss.
Not everyone wants double or triple copies of their media at different resolutions.
If I can play (let's put aside quality perception now) everything everywhere retaining just the fullHD copy of my media, I'm happy.
And I can live with the supposed more drain of the battery (have yet to have the problem on iPhone 4, and using video out you're always charging so it's not a problem).

[ItsJustafnPhone]

Originally Posted by Pitta

I can tell you from esperience that with video out you can clearly tell the difference.
And there is another big point you seem to miss.
Not everyone wants double or triple copies of their media at different resolutions.
If I can play (let's put aside quality perception now) everything everywhere retaining just the fullHD copy of my media, I'm happy.
And I can live with the supposed more drain of the battery (have yet to have the problem on iPhone 4, and using video out you're always charging so it's not a problem).

did you read the part where I mentioned playing this on the iPhone screen

[Pitta]

Originally Posted by ItsJustafnPhone

did you read the part where I mentioned playing this on the iPhone screen

Uh?
Did you read the post?
You said it was 100% pointless.
I explained why IMHO you're wrong.
But if you do not care having one copy of your media for each native resolution of your gadgets....well...whatever....
And (I repeat) this is a reason totally disconnected to quality perception.

To me the OP question is not only very legit, it should be something that apple could and should really improve.

[motoleo]

Originally Posted by The Ray

Well what's the reason for that? I don't see why the iPhone 4 would be incapable of playing 1080p video. The display is better than any I've seen, anywhere.

I could tell, when it comes to HD YouTube videos on the iPhone, it doesn't play HD. The SUPER retina display can't come fast enough.

[Menneisyys2]

Originally Posted by The Ray

Well what's the reason for that? I don't see why the iPhone 4 would be incapable of playing 1080p video. The display is better than any I've seen, anywhere.

Just another silly restriction of Apple. While the iPhone 4 hardware is great even at playing 40 Mbps 1080p30 videos (an example: http://www.auby.no/files/video_tests...mbps_birds.mkv ), Apple has restricted the MP4 (mov / m4v) files you can synch to the iPhone 4 via iTunes to be 720p only.

----------

Originally Posted by motoleo

I could tell, when it comes to HD YouTube videos on the iPhone, it doesn't play HD. The SUPER retina display can't come fast enough.

Strange, my iPhone 4 and iPad 1 (essentially the same CPU / GPU) play HD content over YT just fine.