Apple Listing Select Movies as 4K and HDR in iTunes Purchase History

[Booch21]

What are you talking about? Even once Apple releases a 4K Apple TV, and upgrades the iTunes Store to 4K content -- how much 4K content will be available on Apple TV? Netflix, for an added fee that no one will pay. No other popular video service offers anything.

The real world of 4K is that it is mostly no where.

I tend to agree with this. I have a 4K TV that I can use Netflix through the smart functions. I pay the added fee for 4K content and I just don't see that much readily available yet. A great deal of it is Netflix made productions. I'll likely upgrade to a 4K Apple TV, but more and more content needs to be available.

 

[monster620ie]

With AT&T capping my home internet, i will not be using 4K anytime soon. In fact, i have had to lower my apple-tv resolution to 720p and also lower my netflix streaming resolution.


Damn internet data limit capping!!!! my current monthly cap is 1024gb.

How do you intend to use 4K with capping then?

 

[spazzcat]

I pay for 4K streams from Netflix--it also gives me two additionally simultaneous streams that i share so it works out perfectly. Amazon also streams in 4K HDR on all their new shows and many movies. Handmaid's Tale on Hulu was available in 4K so they'll have more moving forward. Most of the streaming cable services currently have or plan to very soon offer 4K content. You can already rent and buy 4K movies from fandango, vudu, etc so AppleTV is far behind the curve here.

You know most of the stuff on Netflix is not 4K? Mainly only their content is 4K. We are to the point where it make sense to have a 4K ATV.

 

[solipsism]

I guess it depends on the licensing fee structure Apple currently has in place with the studios. Apple paid appreciably more to license DRM-free music and passed that cost on to the consumer.

Apple either did not have to pay more for 1080p content compared to 720p content, or that fee was already factored into the price we were paying for 720p content so there was no additional cost to unlock 1080p. If Apple has done similar with their 4K and HDR content, then there should be no fee to unlock it.

Don't forget about compression. Even if there is no extra fee for moving from 720p to 2160p content—which is an unsubstantiated claim—you need to consider that Apple may want to reduce file sizes by only using HEVC for their 4K content.

 

[bbplayer5]

I have a 65 inch OLED LG tv. I can honestly say, I look for HDR content exclusively (when there is an option). It really is amazing! This would be absolutely huge if iTunes started selling movies in HDR!

 

[Icaras]

I guess it depends on the licensing fee structure Apple currently has in place with the studios. Apple paid appreciably more to license DRM-free music and passed that cost on to the consumer.

Apple either did not have to pay more for 1080p content compared to 720p content, or that fee was already factored into the price we were paying for 720p content so there was no additional cost to unlock 1080p. If Apple has done similar with their 4K and HDR content, then there should be no fee to unlock it.

Absolutely hoping you're correct!

But if the studios push down a fee on Apple, as a consumer, I actually wouldn't mind paying $4.99 to $9.99 to upgrade my existing titles to 4K. Considering they are about that much higher than standard blu-rays, I think that's pretty reasonable. Hoping for the former price of course.

 

[Dwalls90]

The last thing we need it another streaming service. And most streaming services have an app for AppleTV.

That same notion hasn't stopped the music streaming services..

 

[CWallace]

Really? No one is willing to pay an extra $2 a month for 4K, HDR, and 4 simulators streaming locations? :eyeroll:

To be fair, there can be costs beyond just the streaming service fees. 4K video requires more bandwidth than 1080p and a fair number of consumers are on ISPs that limit the amount of data they can download a month before incurring fees.

I'm on Comcast and I believe they are one of the more generous ISPs with a 1TB monthly data cap. And I can download as much as I want for another $50 a month on top of that. Which I might have to do since I now am around 600-700GB a month and have almost hit 1TB with heavier streaming of just 1080p content.

 

[blackcrayon]

I pay the added fee for Netflix. I can’t wait for a 4K AppleTV so I don’t have to stream from my PS4.

I do you one worse- I stream Netflix from the built in software on my Samsung 4K TV. Would love to just use the AppleTV exclusively.

 

[spazzcat]

Really? No one is willing to pay an extra $2 a month for 4K, HDR, and 4 simulators streaming locations? :eyeroll:



Wrong again. All or nearly all of them do except for Apple.



And three strikes you're out. The ability to access 4K content has been available for years, and has even been a feature for video recording in the pockets of over 500 million iPhone users for nearly 2 years now.

This has gone up a lot in the last year. There is just over 100 shows/movies on Netflix with 4k. https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/lists/4k-titles-on-netflix/ I would not call that a lot, but it is growing fast.

 

[Scarpad]

That’s an issue I have with Netflix. I’m paying for 4K content and don’t feel it’s that much better than the HD version of the shows.

I was paying for 4k for awhile after i bought my 4kUHD tv and honestly it was'nt much better than the 1080p version, and the only devices that supported 4k was the built in Netflix in the set and my Xbox one S, both devices that don't match the quality of the image thru the Apple TV. The Apple TV upconverted looks better and $4 bucks cheaper

 

[AidenL]

Fantastic news, I'd be in for this

 

[elev8d]

3D is dead. It's not an advertised feature anymore. 4K and HDR is where it's at. But, you can watch 3D movies from an AppleTV... it has to be a split-screen mp4/m4v that the TV interprets as 3D. I have a few movies loaded into iTunes in 3D, but I never watch them.

3D actually looks really good in a high end VR headset like Vive/Oculus compared to what it looks like in movie theaters. It could be revived as a result. The problem is like you said is getting 3D content easily. I don't know anyone that makes it easy to rent 3D movies online that can be used in these devices.

 

[Duncan-UK]

Don't forget about compression. Even if there is no extra fee for moving from 720p to 2160p content—which is an unsubstantiated claim—you need to consider that Apple may want to reduce file sizes by only using HEVC for their 4K content.

I'd be astonished if they used anything other than HEVC. I'd also expect HEVC to be used for all sub 4K material for any future Apple TV that has hardware support for HEVC.

What interests me is whether Apple will provide a software update to optimise HEVC decoding for the current Apple TV. It struggles with HEVC at the moment via VLC but the rollout of HEVC support in High Sierra makes me hopeful that they will unlock it within either existing Apple TV hardware or provide optimal software decoding.

Also it's a joke that the current software doesn't allow for 24p or 25p output as opposed to 50i or 60i

 

[DotCom2]

Nice, 5th gen here I come. Although I don't expect it, it would be nice if they start native support for 3D as well.

Is 3D even a THING anymore?

 

[nrose101]

With AT&T capping my home internet, i will not be using 4K anytime soon. In fact, i have had to lower my apple-tv resolution to 720p and also lower my netflix streaming resolution.


Damn internet data limit capping!!!! my current monthly cap is 1024gb.

How do you intend to use 4K with capping then?

I never stream. I always download my movies. So the initial hit is all I have.

 

[Speechless]

I AM SO READY FOR THIS

 

[Twinsbb17]

I'll be curious to see what happens to the digital copies I've redeemed in iTunes that came from 4K UHD discs. So far none of them that I own that redeem through iTunes (Allied, Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge, John Wick) are showing up as 4K in my purchase history.

My hope (as slim as the odds may be) would be that all existing iTunes purchases either as digital copies or purchased outright will be upgraded to a 4K version for free (if there is one available).

 

[Saipher]

Finally! I've been waiting for a 4K Apple TV for over a year now. This is a 'definitly buy' for me when it comes out.

 

[nebo1ss]

What are you talking about? Even once Apple releases a 4K Apple TV, and upgrades the iTunes Store to 4K content -- how much 4K content will be available on Apple TV? Netflix, for an added fee that no one will pay. No other popular video service offers anything.

The real world of 4K is that it is mostly no where.

Which hole have you been keeping your head in.

There is so much 4k content around. You could have done a Google search before posting but i did it for you.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/where-and-how-to-watch-4k-uhd-content/
Some of us have been streaming 4K even before HDR became available and now we have Dolby Vision as well.
[doublepost=1501268822][/doublepost]

Apple is like the last company on earth to support 4k. I thought they would be among the first.

Wait until Apple start supporting 4K and the fanboys will be treating it like they are the first.

 

[nt5672]

Apple is like the last company on earth to support 4k. I thought they would be among the first.

Another example of Apple following the pack, instead of leading the pack as of old, all in the name of profits. In this case, marketing wanted so bad to announce 4K with a media deal that Apple forced a lot of users that got tired of waiting into other products to get 4K.

If this was not enough, then personally, I don't want my media locked up in a walled garden controlled by the whims of a 3rd party, who wants to control what I watch and make sure it is politically correct.

 

[solipsism]

I do you one worse- I stream Netflix from the built in software on my Samsung 4K TV. Would love to just use the AppleTV exclusively.

Me, too. Despite Samsung’s issues they make a great TV. I even find their Tizen-based TV OS to be surprisingly solid.

That said, I’d much prefer to get my 4K/HDR content via the Apple TV. If this also includes an Amazon Prime app then I might be able to kill my Samsung TV’s internet connectivity altogether.

 

[Dwalls90]

No, they were not forced. It was a choice. They built the TV4 so that it was still pretty much locked to 1080p MAX while simultaneously rolling out new hardware in other Apple devices that could both shoot and play 4K... and touted that 4K ability in the spin to help sell that other hardware.

Correct. Certainly Apple is smart enough and resourceful enough to roll out a 4K STB that could play 4K YEARS AGO. Instead, they clung to 1080p until pretty much everyone else had gone 4K. They did the same when TVs clung to 720p as "HD" when pretty much everyone else had gone 1080p.

For a couple of years now, we've been able to shoot 4K on our Apple devices, edit 4K on our Apple Macs in Apple video software, export 4K video to an Apple Quicktime file (MP4), store those files in Apple iTunes where they will play just fine. The one "just works" link between iTunes and a 4K television is this Apple product clinging to a standard Apple rolled out way back in 2012.

Nevertheless, I'm completely ready to buy several 4K TVs as soon as they are released. It's frustrating how slow Apple can move on stuff like this but welcomed once that finally show up.

There are a lot of infrastructure and planning reasons why, in my opinion, it was deferred. Again, Apple is rarely on the cutting edege of technology, whether that be first to adopt 4G LTE.

Market research shows only a sliver of homes had 4K TV's by the end of 2016, which was a full year after the ATV4 launched. Apple is a conusmer based company now, and with the ATV already having a small market share, I'm sure the cost/benefit analysis to bringing 4K to the market in late 2015 wasn't worth it.

Additionally, 4K uses H.265 for streaming, which is basically the only way to get content onto your Apple TV. Ironically, iOS 11, Mac OS High Sierra and the new version of TvOS are venturing into H.265 this fall.. so the stars are aligning.

Many content providers still do not offer 4K. Netflix offers it for handful of shows, but you are speaking as if everything is in 4K nowadays and that Apple is years behind, which absolutely isn't true.

 

[fde101]

Apple also really hasn't ever been the earliest adopter of most technologies. They're known to wait a little and then refine it to consumer perfection.

Such as...

Personal computers (the first ones commercially available came out in 1973 or so, and Apple's first one, the Apple I, in 1976)?

The GUI?

The 3.5" floppy drive?


Also, 4K isn't a technology, it is just a larger number of dots. That has been going on since practically forever.

 

[JRobinsonJr]

Will be dead on arrival if they cannot provide us with a subscription model. Purchasing movies individually off iTunes is a real pain in the ass, even more so with Netflix & Co. striving.

While I agree that an Apple branded move subscription would be freakin amazing... absolutely NOTHING Apple releases is ever DOA. Even the Apple Watch, which doesn't sell in quantities of billions, probably makes more in revenue than many Fortune 1000 companies.

GO APPLE!!!