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Are iTunes HD Movie rentals in 1080p?
- Thread starter asdfTT123
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Please, the majority of the people out there don't care what the resolution is... as long as it says HD. You're right though, those networks that use 720p as their broadcast medium are failing left and right now...
Most people with HDTVs don't have a 1080p TV. Moreover, many people with 1080p TVs can't tell the difference between their 1080p picture and a 720p picture.
I think 720p movies are fine for Apple TV and the market Apple are aiming for. Can you imagine the size and the download time for a 1080p movie?
As long as they have 1080i, sure they will. If you have a 1080p HDTV, it doesn't matter if the incoming signal is 1080i, as your TV will deinterlace it into 1080p. I have a samsung HL-T5687S 1080p DLP, and 1080i HDTV channels, and my 1080i Toshiba HD-A3 HD DVD player look amazing on it. If apple's HD vids were 1080i, and they had some of the better sound formats (Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD), I'd get it for sure.
I would agree with most responses. 1080p is only now the standard on hdtv and anything below 50" you can't see a significant difference. even at 50" you can only see a difference if you are close enough to it.
I have a 720p pioneer 60" plasma and espn sportscenter looks better on my tv than my friends samsung 1080p 50". while there is technically a difference and it can be seen in the right setting, 720p looks great on a good tv and the average consumer will be very happy with that.
on the sound front the hd rentals will support 5.1 surround, again, as far as the higher quality audio the average consumer won't care, and the (very) slight difference in quality isn't worth the increased size. you have to have a room customized for accoustics to really tell the difference. the company's love to make money off of these standards, but the increased cost of hardware is tough to justify for casual movie watching.
I have a 720p pioneer 60" plasma and espn sportscenter looks better on my tv than my friends samsung 1080p 50". while there is technically a difference and it can be seen in the right setting, 720p looks great on a good tv and the average consumer will be very happy with that.
on the sound front the hd rentals will support 5.1 surround, again, as far as the higher quality audio the average consumer won't care, and the (very) slight difference in quality isn't worth the increased size. you have to have a room customized for accoustics to really tell the difference. the company's love to make money off of these standards, but the increased cost of hardware is tough to justify for casual movie watching.
I can't tell the difference between standard quality iTunes tv shows and the HD Simpsons movie I just rented from iTunes. Honestly, I can't
I have a Sony Bravia 40" LCD tv that supports 720p and 1080i
I have a Sony Bravia 40" LCD tv that supports 720p and 1080i
I can't tell the difference between standard quality iTunes tv shows and the HD Simpsons movie I just rented from iTunes. Honestly, I can't
I have a Sony Bravia 40" LCD tv that supports 720p and 1080i
If you rented the Simpsons from iTunes, then there is no difference. iTunes does not have HD rentals. In fact, iTunes does not have DVD-quality SD rentals.
iTunes only has "near-DVD" SD rentals.
The TV shows and movies have the same exact resolution limitations, 640x480 (or 640x360 if widescreen).
AppleTVs have HD and DVD-quality rentals. 1280x720 and 720x480 anamorphic resolutions respectivley.
I can't tell a difference between 720p and 1080p. I'm perfectly content with 720p. Not to mention, I love watching older movies and most certainly can't see the difference from 1080p and 720p from early 90's films and before.
Hell, 480p content isn't all that bad when upscaled decently, but 720p definitely seems to be sweet spot between resolution, clarity and file size.
Hell, 480p content isn't all that bad when upscaled decently, but 720p definitely seems to be sweet spot between resolution, clarity and file size.
Movies are 640x480 regardless of full-screen or widescreen. 4:3 content plays back at 640x480 and 16:9 content is stretched to 853x480. I think 2.35:1 content is stored at 640x360 and plays back at 640x272.. I may be slightly off on that one.
I know recently I've downloaded some widescreen TV shows and they too have been 640x480 playing back at 853x480.
They're doing this to accommodate the older 5G iPods, but the iPod classic, iPhone and iPod Touch can all play back DVD-resolution videos (720x480).
This all comes down to screen size.
On a 60"+, one would begin to be able to see differences between 720 and 1080 but on the vast majority of domestic sets, 720 is ample.
I work in the broadcast industry as a cameraman and am still convinced that, once the hype of HD subsides (which it's beginning to do), most people will slowly give-up on HD (unless service providers offer it at no extra cost to SD). The main problem with HD (be it 720, 1080, i or p) is that it doesn't, in any way, affect the content.
*raises hand*
That's me. Sometimes I don't even care if it's DVD quality - especially for rentals and shows I'll only ever watch once.
Most of my library is DVD quality only with a few 720p items - I see why folks like HD so much, but honestly, it just makes the CGI more obvious to me.
Very refreshing that an insider is actually calling it like it is!! Common sense is the least common of all, like a great man once said.
I am afraid though that as with anything they will keep pumping marketing millions to hd, and you can sell anything if you pump enough marketing capital to it.
And the distance from the viewer to the TV.
I think a lot of people are now buying HDTVs (difficult to buy SDTVs these days) for small living rooms where the maximum viewing distance is no more than 2m. You won't need a 60" TV to see the pixellation in a 720p from less than 2m away (nor would you want a 60" if you're sitting that close, mind!
)Define 'better', and don't believe everything you read.
What people seem to forget is that 720P and 1080i are both compromises.
Back in 2004, a rep from Sony Broadcast came to our studios and, as I was the most technically savvy member of the camera dept., I was asked to attend the meeting. The guy told us that the electronics companies were doing it because sales of TVs were in decline and that Sky (a subscription-based satellite TV provider in the UK) were investing in HD as they could charge customers extra for it. We were told if we don't invest in HD, we'd be left behind.
The studios were upgraded to HD in the summer and, as yet, not a single production has paid the extra and made a show in HD.
Now take what I said about that meeting and put '3D' wherever I typed 'HD'...
Well, I should have said "might be better", since for some types of content it is true that 1080i might look better on the screen. But I think it's definitely wrong to say iTunes HD movies should have been 1080i for overall better quality.. For high moving content, there's no contest, 720p is the better choice.
Now, 1080p/50 would have been perfect though
I guess this is why 1080i/p looks better on my Pioneer 151 60" than movies from Apple TV. Though on a 37" Panasonic plasma Apple TV looks not bad.
Well, you would say that as all HD stations broadcast in either 1080i or 720p. There is more to HD than the crap that comes out of networks, btw. There is also the crap that comes out of Hollywood. Most broadcast HD content appears to be nothing more than upconverted SD content so its no wonder many people become cynical and disillusioned. One shouldn't blame the technology on the content.
As pointed out, its a function of both screen size and viewing distance. As a cameraman you should know that. Sit far back enough and even SD looks OK on 60" displays regardless of the display resolution.