The Dark Knight Rises, did you buy the Blu-ray or 1080p iTunes ?

Che Castro said:

I'm undecided as to which one I should get

How's the iTunes quality ?

I already saw the movie in theaters but I wanna check it out again , I'm thinking just getting the iTunes 1080p version than next year around this time just buy the bluray for $5 Black Friday/cyber Monday type of sale , for my collection

I have Apple TV 3 , iPhone 5 , ipad mini


$19.99 seems like a reasonable price

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I got the 1080p iTunes version, and the quality seems good to me.

As long as the video is in 1080p and has Closed Captions (sometimes I like to have them on if there is loud noise or I can't understand some dialog) I prefer getting the iTunes version over the Blu-Ray since with the iTunes version I can stream the content over iCloud from anywhere to any of my devices.

You can get the combo pack on amazon for $18.99 right now. It includes the blu-ray version, DVD, and ultra violet. And then you can always rip the DVD or blu ray and load it into iTunes. Never tried ultra violet though.

I got the Blu Ray last night at Wal-Mart and ripped it myself. I'm a complete nut about video and audio quality when it comes to movies I love though.

You can't get dts sound off iTunes. But if you get the bluray, rip it with makemkv and play it with plex, you keep dts!

I purchased the movie from iTunes in 1080p. I have been purchasing all of my movies from iTunes since they incorporated movies in iCloud. It's so convenient to have all of my movies available on all my devices. Plus, I like having no clutter with the physical blu-rays. I can just power up the apple tv and click on what i want to watch. The resolution of the 1080p iTunes movies is great in my opinion too!

Buy the BD and actually own it.
Buy the iTunes version and it's only a "lifetime license."
BD can be sold, willed, given to someone else. iTunes file can't.

I won't even get into the better audio standards (much better than 1992's Dolby Digital) better video quality (much less compression on the BD), BD extras, etc. I'll just offer that iTunes 1080p with DD is not equal to BD 1080p with DTS Master or True HD, etc audio.

For those indifferent, buy the BD (probably save a few bucks), go to the trouble of creating an iTunes version and enjoy all the benefits of it in iTunes (and on your iDevices) plus all of the benefits of actually owning the movie instead of lifetime "renting" it. Once you have it in iTunes, file away the disc in long-term storage in case you ever have a hard drive(s) meltdown and it can also act as your last resort backup.

Pyromonkey83 said:

I got the Blu Ray last night at Wal-Mart and ripped it myself. I'm a complete nut about video and audio quality when it comes to movies I love though.

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Fernandez21 said:

You can get the combo pack on amazon for $18.99 right now. It includes the blu-ray version, DVD, and ultra violet. And then you can always rip the DVD or blu ray and load it into iTunes. Never tried ultra violet though.

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What do you guys use to rip bluray to your mac?

ECUpirate44 said:

What do you guys use to rip bluray to your mac?

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Combination of MakeMKV and Handbrake, which is what I'm doing right now. It took roughly 7 hours to convert a 1080p file of The Dark Knight Rises!

So, with that in mind, I found it better to buy the Blu-Ray and rip my own 1080p version with a bit of higher bitrates for both the video and audio streams. Not to mention that I can also put subtitles myself.

Same here. Makemkv and handbrake. With my quad core mac mini it would take about 4-6 hrs a movie. With my new retina 15 it's dropped to about 2-3 hrs. I bought a lg external USB superblu for about $100 off newegg. And plex is the easiest and best media server and interface by far!

Any one fancy posting a tutorial on how to rip a blu ray with mac? Similarly, can these rips be uploaded to the cloud? Or does that only come with iTunes purchases?

bonbmdxman said:

I purchased the movie from iTunes in 1080p. I have been purchasing all of my movies from iTunes since they incorporated movies in iCloud. It's so convenient to have all of my movies available on all my devices. Plus, I like having no clutter with the physical blu-rays. I can just power up the apple tv and click on what i want to watch. The resolution of the 1080p iTunes movies is great in my opinion too!

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I downloaded it from iTunes for the same reason as ^^^^

Purchased it from iTunes. While I'm certainly capable of creating an great encode for my Apple environment using Handbrake, I've grown tired of going through the process. I've been at it for 5+ years now... through multiple re-encodes of DVDs, HDDVDs, and Blurays as the application capabilities (and my understanding of them) and the capability of my target devices (iPhone, iPad, AppleTV) has changed over time. I'm almost done with my latest re-encoding cycle to 1080p.

That said, if HRTF encoding (i.e. "Dolby Headphone") ever makes it into the application, I may have to reconsider my stance.

Bought it on iTunes but have not watched it yet.

Watch Lifehacker.com for iTunes gift card discounts. I bought the Best Buy black friday $100 iTunes card for $80. I basically get everything 20% off on iTunes. Therefore, I paid $18 for the HD Dark Knight Rises.

No need for the disc, I don't have a blu-ray player and don't plan to buy one if I don't need to.

Not concerned about reselling the movie or willing it to anyone.

i bought the BD, i dont like spending money on overpriced "files"

i'm "oldschool" that way and i'm not even that old

And just as I posted my last response... Amazon.com posted the Indiana Jones Bluray Collection for $39.99. Guess I'll have another four movies to convert. =)

NightStorm said:

And just as I posted my last response... Amazon.com posted the Indiana Jones Bluray Collection for $39.99. Guess I'll have another four movies to convert. =)

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you are still alive ???

morty192 said:

Any one fancy posting a tutorial on how to rip a blu ray with mac? Similarly, can these rips be uploaded to the cloud? Or does that only come with iTunes purchases?

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MakeMKV settings (I set minimum title length to 1500s, this eliminates all tracks but the main title and set English as my default language which eliminates all other language tracks and subtitles)

Hook up BR reader>put in disc>open MakeMKV>scan BR>select tracks (main title, audio, subs) to copy>run MakeMKV

Handbrake settings: Picture size>anamorphic strict, large file size and optimize for web checked

open HB>select mkv file>select aTV3 preset>select "foreign audio search" (on subtitles tab)>run.

No, iCloud does not store home ripped movie files.

dynaflash said:

you are still alive ???

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Yeah, I'm still around... just never in #handbrake when anyone else is around. =)

bushido said:

i bought the BD, i dont like spending money on overpriced "files"

i'm "oldschool" that way and i'm not even that old

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Yeah, thats another reason I don't like buying my movies in iTunes, cant justify paying the same price as a blu ray, it should be cheaper seeing as there are no manufacturing, packaging, or shipping costs. I do rent from iTunes though.

Its for free as a torrent on the internet

So let's summarise...

Option 1
Buy from iTunes, wait a few minutes, press play.

Option 2
Buy BR (from store or online) wait for delivery or trip home, RIP it to mkv, have plex on the system or jail broken ATV2, press play.

Option 3
Buy BR (from store or online) wait for delivery, RIP it to mkv, handbrake it, press play.

Gee...I wonder which is easier?

I understand we have audiophiles here, old school own the disc people, potential licence issues down the track with pure digital files, but aren't we forgetting something?

Apples mantra " it just works"?

Apples all ways been about ease of use, ease of access, just plain ease. Perfect no, but always getting better.

I don't own a B&O for sound, my TV isn't a $20k vision nirvana device. Unless they are, your not getting the full benefits of everything by goingi BR then ripping, no matter how good the rip. My wife doesn't sit there and go 'wish we had dts or a better tv'.

Ease of use and an enjoyable experience.

With the iTunes store and an ATV, Apple delivers.

Sorry people, but I just can't see myself fretting over how good my RIPs are, or which jail brake is the best. I just want to watch the movie.As long as these days it's HD, I'm reasonably happy. I use to be happy with DVDs.

Buy the thing through iTunes, and enjoy the experience! If you watch it 2 times or more, your ahead of the game.

I'm on the fence with this whole issue. Right now I honestly can't make use of the better audio on BD because I don't have any devices running directly into a sound system aside from my TVs. I have to use them for HDMI switching and then run the audio out. Thus whatever Samsung is outputting, which is Dolby Digital at best, is what I get.

What sucks is there is no good answer. BD provides the best quality and you actually own it. But with iTunes you have a backup everywhere and no discs to manage, plus sometimes you can get stuff early.

If somehow Apple could convince studios that ripping and iTunes Match would be good for bidness, that's the dream. I would pay $50/year for iTunes Match for video. I could put all my damn movies in a box after ripping them.

But I'm just a darn customer, which means I'm one step away from being a criminal. I mean I have been ripping my DVDs for years but don't throw them out there at everyone because of that upper brain of mine, but that doesn't really matter to studios.

I don't have a TV at home, only a simple 23" dell, and it probably isn't even IPS. I don't even have speakers, I use headphones.

However, I love movies and it is my dream to one day have my own little home theatre. That, is the sole reason I buy dvds and blu rays.

Omne666 said:

So let's summarise...

Option 1
Buy from iTunes, wait a few minutes, press play.

Option 2
Buy BR (from store or online) wait for delivery or trip home, RIP it to mkv, have plex on the system or jail broken ATV2, press play.

Option 3
Buy BR (from store or online) wait for delivery, RIP it to mkv, handbrake it, press play.

Gee...I wonder which is easier?

I understand we have audiophiles here, old school own the disc people, potential licence issues down the track with pure digital files, but aren't we forgetting something?

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Ugh. Personally, I'm all for digital downloads but I hate salesmen because their "expertise" is nothing but justification for a predetermined conclusion. In this case, a bunch of made up excuses just to promote an iTunes sale over a blu ray while omitting all the added value of physical media over digital. Bandwidth requirements. iTunes DRM. Inability to lend to family/friends. Loss of Full bonus materials. No Commentary tracks, File quality etc. Sure, you can make excuses for why that stuff is unimportant, but in the end youre paying more for less. Make a digital download half the cost of physical and ill throw away my BD drive, but
for now iTunes is a cool but crippled experience.

And whats with this idea that you need to wait by your mailbox like a dog or going into a store to pick up a movie is some sort of humiliating experience? Not everyone fears physical movement.

Omne666 said:

Apples mantra " it just works"?


Apples all ways been about ease of use, ease of access, just plain ease. Perfect no, but always getting better.

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You know why Apple no longer uses that mantra? Because it's no longer true. Apple makes great hardware but for the last few years their software and services have been mediocre at best (which is why their current restructuring is so exciting and necessary).