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I'll stick to buying blu-ray's for my movies and use an ATV for streaming services like Netflix. I rather like having a physical copy of my content instead of having "big corporate" decide what I can and cannot watch or listen to.
 
It's streaming only, just like the previous 3 models of the hockey puck.

Except you could always download to iTunes on a computer on your local network, and stream the downloaded copy via the "Computers" listing on the AppleTV. Great for slow internet connections, where you can download it in full quality and stream over your local network, rather than repeatedly stalling and caching if trying to stream over slower internet.

Can't do that with 4K movies, where it is even more likely to be needed.
 
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This is what I was expecting. There will be no way to back them up.

Back them up for what? I assume you're referring to "purchased" movies. All iTunes rentals expire in 24 hours from the moment they're started.

IF I remember correctly, the original ATV actually had a hard drive where movies could be stored. That was back in the days of much slower internet connections where it was almost guaranteed that if a movie was streamed, it was "buffer time". The only way to avoid buffering was to download the movie for viewing at a later time.
 
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Wasn't sure where would be best to post this.
But it seems to be that you can't download 4K iTunes movies.

From Apple:

"You can download a local copy of an HD movie, and you might be able to download HDR and Dolby Vision versions, but you can't download a 4K version."

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207949

Also does this mean you can't play on macOS either?

From Apple:

“Only the Apple TV 4K, connected to a 4K-compatible television with a compatible ultra-high speed HDMI cable, can play 4K content.”

its says ONLY the apple tv so yeah it means you can't play on a mac.
 
So... fast forward to 2022 and I am wondering why is this still a thing? I went into the preferences in the TV app on my mac and downloads can only max out at 1080p with streaming being the only way to get 4k video. Makes no sense. I assume the appleTV is the same way too?
 
So... fast forward to 2022 and I am wondering why is this still a thing? I went into the preferences in the TV app on my mac and downloads can only max out at 1080p with streaming being the only way to get 4k video. Makes no sense. I assume the appleTV is the same way too?
A long ..long time ago, so long history forgot...
that you paid to have 1080P movies streamed and could be downloaded, but Apple was gracious enough to upgrade almost all movies to 4k FOR FREE, with the caveat, that you could only STREAM the 4K content. :)

That's how it is, and how it shall be...
 
A long ..long time ago, so long history forgot...
that you paid to have 1080P movies streamed and could be downloaded, but Apple was gracious enough to upgrade almost all movies to 4k FOR FREE, with the caveat, that you could only STREAM the 4K content. :)

That's how it is, and how it shall be...
Interesting. I didnt start buying digital media until last year so I didnt know that... I wonder if amazon lets you download your purchases or if its streaming only
 
That ol chestnut. Demand with no supply virtually forcing people resort to more nefarious methods of obtaining it, or go without. Might as well be methamphetamine except the high power usage is from a computer running software encoding an MKV for hours on end.

Honestly if you are happy with 4k streaming quality then get 1080p blurays cheap and rip them yourself (you bought them if there was ever a victimless crime). With a little bit of effort to learn a program like Handbrake and once dialed in for your TV and viewing distance you could make it near lossless in visual quality, or just use the lossless rip if you're a purist. A 1080p bluray digital copy transcoded with quality in mind will look nearly as if not better than a 4k stream.

You could do the same to 4k UHD however at that point I would just recommend a 4k player and get the highest quality possible.
 
So... fast forward to 2022 and I am wondering why is this still a thing? I went into the preferences in the TV app on my mac and downloads can only max out at 1080p with streaming being the only way to get 4k video. Makes no sense. I assume the appleTV is the same way too?

Studios don't want digital versions of their 4k films out there in a file format! Could you even imagine?! Human sacrifice, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria!!

Too many compromises needed for a commercial released 4k digital copy anyway. It would be pointless on a mobile device due to an unnecessarily high resolution. To have quality on par with streaming the file size would be 6-8gb which quickly gets a bit unwieldily and that only gets us on par with what is already considered sub par. Making the file smaller would either need to sacrifice quality OR increase decoding complexity outside the Apple TV's specs (HEVC main 10 level 5).

No real good solution other than UHD Blue Ray Disc for quality and streaming for convenience.
 
A long ..long time ago, so long history forgot...
that you paid to have 1080P movies streamed and could be downloaded, but Apple was gracious enough to upgrade almost all movies to 4k FOR FREE, with the caveat, that you could only STREAM the 4K content. :)

That's how it is, and how it shall be...
Yeah it was pretty much a case of the Studios refusing 4K downloads so Apple argued that if that was to be the case then they cannot charge a premium for 4K, so that’s how 4K at HD prices and free upgrades on previous HD purchases came to be a thing.
 
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