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Finally! HD movies for purchase!

1080p - not likely soon.

Warrior09 said:
So.. what do you guys think this means for 1080p downloads? Will we see them by the end of the year or will this be the standard for the foreseeable future?
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I'm doubtful you will see 1080p resolution, simply because the cable companies like Comcast will limit the amount people can download over the internet connection. If we could all get 1080p via the internet, cable companies couldn't sell both internet and cable to people.
 
I gotta say the PQ of my downloaded stupid Disaster movie is excellent though. I mean, I know its 720p and all, but it looks better than some of the 1080i content I get from cable, and it looks just as good as blue ray to me from my ps3, though I don't have the same movies.

Overall, I don't have the eyes of a hawk, I can't tell the difference, and even if I could, I think its pretty negligible.

Mo
 
I like the change

This is still a good step forward and nice to see HD movies. I still wish there were more and would get to iTunes faster.
 
mohanman said:
I know its 720p and all, but it looks better than some of the 1080i content I get from cable, and it looks just as good as blue ray to me from my ps3, though I don't have the same movies. Overall, I don't have the eyes of a hawk, I can't tell the difference, and even if I could, I think its pretty negligible.
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Most people won't notice a difference between 1080p and 720p on screens 42" or smaller (or so) at typical viewing distances.
 
Alan S said:
I'm doubtful you will see 1080p resolution, simply because the cable companies like Comcast will limit the amount people can download over the internet connection. If we could all get 1080p via the internet, cable companies couldn't sell both internet and cable to people.
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Nawww, Comcast would love it if people were doing big downloads. I mean with their new download tax and all they're trying to sneak in on us. 😱 You wait, everybody will be taxing us on bandwidth soon!
 
I also did a trial download (The Lucky Ones). I was actually quite happy with the quality. Having said that I just have my Gateway 24in HD monitor (no AppleTV or Home Theater set-up). I don't think I will regularly be downloading the HD version of a film but if its one that I really like I may consider it.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Can't be done. You'd need to boot into Windows and use AnyDVD HD to rip the files. Everything else involving the conversion to a single, contained movie file can be done in OS X
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What do you mean? AnyDVD HD runs nicely in a Parallels virtual machine. I've ripped and encoded over 30 Blu-ray movies into my AppleTV.. all on my lowly iMac 😉
 
hitekalex said:
What do you mean? AnyDVD HD runs nicely in a Parallels virtual machine. I've ripped and encoded over 30 Blu-ray movies into my AppleTV.. all on my lowly iMac 😉
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Can you give us more details on the software/hardware you use to do this? Do you use handbrake after you rip it? Also, how long does the whole process take? How do you even get a blue-ray to be read with an imac?

thanks
Mo
 
Volante said:
I wanted to make a comparison to what other sources provide. I'm sure you know that quality!=resolution.
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Oh, yes, of course, so were you referring to color accuracy, compression, and the like, then?

hitekalex said:
What do you mean? AnyDVD HD runs nicely in a Parallels virtual machine. I've ripped and encoded over 30 Blu-ray movies into my AppleTV.. all on my lowly iMac 😉
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Sky Blue said:
and what OS does Parallels run?
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What Sky Blue said. You're in Windows.

mohanman said:
Can you give us more details on the software/hardware you use to do this? Do you use handbrake after you rip it?
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AnyDVD HD (in Windows), and you can use the Mac version of tsMuxerGUI thereafter.

How do you even get a blue-ray to be read with an imac?
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Contrary to popular belief, OS X reads and recognizes Blu-ray. Yeah. Crazy, I know. OS X can do EVERYTHING associated with both Blu-ray AND HD DVD EXCEPT play HDCP movies.
 
At $19.99, it seems to be a GREAT deal. You are getting a 720pHD and iPod/iPhone version, can be transfered to to authorized Macs, shorter time spent downloading.

If you were to buy a Blu-ray DVD @$19.99, rip it with MTR, convert it with Handbrake, long time spent doing all this. You get the same result as buying from iTues.

Your thoughts?
 
I wouldn't mind the $19.99 if I knew it would be upgradeable in the future. iTunes 1080p and beyond is inevitable and I don't want to have to pay the full price again for the same movie. If they were to announce an HD Movie/TV version of iTunes plus I wouldn't hesitate in building my iTunes HD library.. 😀:apple:

DjAmTraX said:
At $19.99, it seems to be a GREAT deal. You are getting a 720pHD and iPod/iPhone version, can be transfered to to authorized Macs, shorter time spent downloading.

If you were to buy a Blu-ray DVD @$19.99, rip it with MTR, convert it with Handbrake, long time spent doing all this. You get the same result as buying from iTues.

Your thoughts?
Click to expand...
 
DjAmTraX said:
At $19.99, it seems to be a GREAT deal. You are getting a 720pHD and iPod/iPhone version, can be transfered to to authorized Macs, shorter time spent downloading.
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I can do that and more with the Blu-ray disc. Not to mention the extras. My WALL-E BR discs have a bunch of cool stuff on them compared to what you get from iTunes.

If you were to buy a Blu-ray DVD @$19.99, rip it with MTR,
Click to expand...

MTR (or any Mac app) cannot rip Blu-ray discs. You need AnyDVD HD for that.

...convert it with Handbrake, long time spent doing all this. You get the same result as buying from iTues.
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Actually, you can get 1080p, 30 mbps (or more) with DTS support (as well as AC3) if you go the Blu-ray ripping route.
 
Cave Man said:
I can do that and more with the Blu-ray disc. Not to mention the extras. My WALL-E BR discs have a bunch of cool stuff on them compared to what you get from iTunes.



MTR (or any Mac app) cannot rip Blu-ray discs. You need AnyDVD HD for that.



Actually, you can get 1080p, 30 mbps (or more) with DTS support (as well as AC3) if you go the Blu-ray ripping route.
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See what I mean, all those steps and geek talk just to get it on iTunes. In the end, you are still paying more than $19.99 and the time spent doing all that. Please don't get me wrong, I don't like buying stuff on iTunes. I just feel that HD movies on iTunes is now kinda attractive. Standard Def is waste of money, IMO.
 
Yeah. I'll never buy DMR'd stuff, ever, ever again. And you won't see 1080p anytime soon from iTunes Store. The WALL-E 2-disc Blu-ray set was $19.99.
 
HD movies on iTunes has DRM (HDCP), right? So the limitations are not being able to burn to DVD and or watch on TV via Mac Mini?
 
DjAmTraX said:
HD movies on iTunes has DRM (HDCP), right? So the limitations are not being able to burn to DVD and or watch on TV via Mac Mini?
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I can't play them in Plex. That means I can't get Dolby Digital 5.1 out of them because QuickTime (FrontRow) is a piece of sh!+.
 
Cave Man said:
Yeah. I'll never buy DMR'd stuff, ever, ever again. And you won't see 1080p anytime soon from iTunes Store. The WALL-E 2-disc Blu-ray set was $19.99.
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One thing I hate about blue ray is the discs themselves. I mean I have a ps3 and compared my itunes rips to blue ray for I robot and Total recall. Just for the movie to start I had to wait like 1-2 minutes, it pissed me off. I don't want stupid menus to start the movie, just start it damn it!

Appletv, I have 300 movies in my library with instant access, no stupid menus and no gimmicky extra crap.

Just an opinion
Mo
 
DjAmTraX said:
iTunes play 5.1 surround, right?
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Nope. Used to with Dolby Digital AC3 using a work around, but Apple squashed that back in QT 7.5. Wasn't that nice of them? 🙄 And it's never worked with DTS 5.1.

mohanman said:
One thing I hate about blue ray is the discs themselves. I mean I have a ps3 and compared my itunes rips to blue ray for I robot and Total recall. Just for the movie to start I had to wait like 1-2 minutes, it pissed me off. I don't want stupid menus to start the movie, just start it damn it! Appletv, I have 300 movies in my library with instant access, no stupid menus and no gimmicky extra crap.

Just an opinion
Mo
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Uh, yeah. That's why my Blu-ray movies get ripped to a hard drive for playback with Plex. Instant. And none of that metax tagging crap, either. Plex scrapes the file for that info. I only transcode for the Apple TV.
 
I am really happy with the HD movies from iTunes, but for some people I see valid points to buy the blu ray and rip them. If you have the gear to support the 1080p content and 5:1 audio or like movie extras I think the blu ray is the more valid choice.

1. Picture Quality - My tv is only 720p not 1080p therefore the best quality I can view is already present on iTunes.

2. Sound Quality - I do not have surround sound or any type of reciever so again blu ray is overkill.

3. Time - The HD movie i have purchased from the itunes store took roughly 2 hrs withing iTunes and encoding a blu ray would take significantly longer.

4. Cost - I feel that this category in respect to only the movie is a wash when comparing the two means of HD movies, blu ray and iTunes. However, to rip the blu rays I would need additional hardware and software in order to rip the files.

5 Content - iTunes lack of extras is not an issue for me since i never watch anything but the main feature.
 
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