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Interesting Article about differences between Blu-ray and iTunes Hi-Def Downloads

Spymit007 said:
Your thoughts?
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Personally I don't deal with 720p at all as I don't really see much difference between than and good ol' UK 576i/p. The only HD I buy is 1080p stuff, but I'm not too fussed about it being compressed so if Apple offered that (and BT offered us a faster connection) then I'd be happy. But for now I'm sticking with BluRay and HD-DVD.
 
More interesting would have been if they compared compressed vs uncompressed at the same resolution since there's no way of knowing how much the difference was due to the compression or resolution.
 
I am sure the quality difference won't last for long. Much like CDs, Dvds are going away. BlueRay or not, everyone loves the convenience of just hitting play on our 'tv' hardrive. The more business's like Netflix and Appletv offer HD downloads, the quicker they will improve in quality.
 
Question Four: Do you buy movies because of deleted scenes and special features?
Yes, I purchased movies based on special features and deleted scenes. 38%
No, I do not make my purchasing decisions based on special features and deleted scenes. 63%
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In my opinion this question would have been more accurate if it read "Do you buy movies because of deleted scenes, do you buy movies because of other special features, both or neither factors?"

I think you would see far fewer respondents for special features but about the same for deleted scenes. I know some people are major movie buffs and want to hear the commentaries. But I have never seen anyone I know view these extra features. However, I and most of my friends will choose a movie with the cut scenes over those without the cut scenes included if available at the same time for the same price.

I always try to get the extended edition since I want to see the whole movie. Not the last minute chop job to meet the movie theater demands.
 
Well, duh.

BD video is encoded at 40Mbps, iTunes video is encoded at what, 4Mbps?

Even on a 720p screen, that BD video is going to look better than the iTunes HD download. They're both encoded in variations of H.264, so it's not like they're using altogether different compression, either.
 
Another reason for Apple to include Blu-Ray drives. The difference is clear. They can't keep a superior technology down by not including it. Consumers will just pass them by...
 
thanks for sharing the link.

Unfortunately, with only 25 ppl surveyed, it's not that helpful.
I thought it was a link containing some technical differences.

It's an interesting paradigm b/c folks seem to be willing to give up visual (and what most ppl forget about BR) AUDIO quality for convenience.

I've rented some movies on atv, but nothing sci-fi or action. some movies will just get the BR treatment from me for my eyes and ears to enjoy.

I do think that Apple will somehow come up with a dloadable 1080P similar format.
 
Keebler said:
I do think that Apple will somehow come up with a dloadable 1080P similar format.
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Well, since they essentially are using very similiar codecs (iTunes & BD), it's just a matter of jacking up the bitrate and setting the resolution to 1080. There's nothing technically difficult or limiting about that. I imagine the reason Apple is using that much lower bitrate is simply due to size. What's limiting the size is the lack of bandwidth. If the average American (iTunes home market) had pipes as big as say, the Swedes or the Koreans have, then this would be a non issue as you could easily encode at a much higher bitrate and still have a file that downloads in a reasonable amount of time.
 
I have a 720p set and although the picture is quite awesome it doesn't come close to its 1080p cousin.

Not all 1080p blu-rays are created equally either
 
The stuff I read before I bought an HDTV set mentioned the size of the screen as a factor. At 42 inches it was said that there is little that most would see between 720P and 1080P.

Don't have BlueRay yet... but the HD content I have seen so far on my 42 inch plasma looks good enough to me :)
 
Tilpots said:
Another reason for Apple to include Blu-Ray drives. The difference is clear. They can't keep a superior technology down by not including it. Consumers will just pass them by...
Click to expand...

Youd think that....

That may be the case when people actually give a damn about bluray.
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
Don't have BlueRay yet... but the HD content I have seen so far on my 42 inch plasma looks good enough to me :)
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Well there's that, and the fact that plasmas are better. They're (a lot) more expensive, and they're being phased out by Pioneer (I think), one of the biggest makers of plasma, but all the video quality junkies are buying up the last of the big screens.
 
I you have a chance, go see a Blu-ray disc played back on one of Samsung's new LED TV model LCD panels that use LED backlighting. It's so amazingly clear and sharp that it can easily compare with plasma panels, but the power consumption is way under that of any conventional LCD panel.

Given the extreme sharpness and color clarity of these new panels, the poorer picture quality of the highly-compressed 720p picture downloaded through the iTunes Music Store will be quite evident.
 
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