Buy HD movies, I only see the option for widescreen?

[MythicFrost]

OK, so I've had a look at a movie I like, when "trailer" was selected, under the text "movie description" (I think that is what it was called) at the bottom I saw the text HD,
when I moved to "rent" I saw the text Widescreen, I moved to "Rent HD" and I saw HD again, I moved to "Buy" and it showed Widescreen, does this mean I can only buy movies in Widescreen and the option to watch them in HD is only available when you rent them?

EDIT: From what I've read, apparently you can't buy HD movies, is this correct? I guess it is, does anyone know why?

I was planning on buying the movie, but I thought I should rent and then check before spending my money.

I don't know much about this stuff, is Widescreen the same as HD? or better or does that mean standard definition or what?
I currently notice with HD (I rented the movie in HD) that the movie covers the entire screen - which I really liked, would it do the same with widescreen, or would I get the black bars at the top and bottom - I don't want to rent it again in Widescreen just to find out.

I'm not quite sure what any of it means, can anyone help me?

It does say this on the Apple TV page:

Browse thousands of releases. Buy or rent them in HD or standard definition.

Perhaps the movies I'm looking at don't offer the ability to buy them in HD? I checked several that also didn't offer the option to buy them in HD, you'd think if you could rent them in HD you could also buy them right?, the one I watched was "Ghost Town".

I'd appreciate if anyone could explain to me any of this stuff.

 

[uberamd]

HD movies are all going to be widescreen. Widescreen movies are not necessarily HD unless it explicitly says HD by it. Also non widescreen movies (4:3 i believe) are always going to be standard definition.

 

[NightStorm]

OK, so I've had a look at a movie I like, when "trailer" was selected, under the text "movie description" (I think that is what it was called) at the bottom I saw the text HD,
when I moved to "rent" I saw the text Widescreen, I moved to "Rent HD" and I saw HD again, I moved to "Buy" and it showed Widescreen, does this mean I can only buy movies in Widescreen and the option to watch them in HD is only available when you rent them?

EDIT: From what I've read, apparently you can't, is this correct? I guess it is, does anyone know why?

I was planning on buying the movie, but I thought I should rent and then check before spending my money.

I don't know much about this stuff, is Widescreen the same as HD? or better or does that mean standard definition or what?
I currently notice with HD (I rented the movie in HD) that the movie covers the entire screen - which I really liked, would it do the same with widescreen, or would I get the black bars at the top and bottom - I don't want to rent it again in Widescreen just to find out.

I'm not quite sure what any of it means, can anyone help me?

It does say this on the Apple TV page:

Perhaps the movies I'm looking at don't offer the ability to buy them in HD? I checked several that also didn't offer the option to buy them in HD, you'd think if you could rent them in HD you could also buy them right?, the one I watched was "Ghost Town".

I'd appreciate if anyone could explain to me any of this stuff.

They have a lot more HD movies available for rental than they do for purchase. Most of the major labels haven't signed on for it (hopefully soon).

 

[MythicFrost]

Thanks guys, good to know. So I can buy some HD movies, they are just few?
So if HD is widescreen and it covers my entire screen, then widescreen suits me

Normally when I watch TV or a DVD I get the black bars at the top and bottom, this full screen movie was a nice surprise

 

[NightStorm]

Thanks guys, good to know. So I can buy some HD movies, they are just few?
So if HD is widescreen and it covers my entire screen, then widescreen suits me

Normally when I watch TV or a DVD I get the black bars at the top and bottom, this full screen movie was a nice surprise

You can still get black bars on the top and bottom; it all depends on the original aspect ratio of the movie.

 

[zedsdead]

Keep in mind that some TV Shows from Apple (such as Family Guy) are available in HD (I think it is actually 540p vs 720p), but are 4:3 (Full-Screen).

 

[MythicFrost]

Ah interesting, thanks a lot.
So if I got this right, HD is always widescreen, widescreen is not necessarily HD meaning it's SD, the aspect ratio controls whether I see the black bars or not.
How do I check the aspect ratio of the movie? is that possible? I love my ATV it's awesome

 

[mchalebk]

Actually, HD is not always widescreen. The HDTV specifications call for a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio for viewing, but the material viewed can be any aspect ratio. For instance, Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz are available on Blu-ray Disc, but are not widescreen.

There are many sources out there that can be used to determine the aspect ratio of movies, but they're not always correct. iMDb is probably a good place to start.