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iTunes 1080p Content Comes Close to Blu-ray Quality, But Can't Quite Match

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They really need higher quality multichannel audio. I was so hoping to see DD Plus announced with the 1080p change.

They also need to make all the iTunes video content actually purchasable in HD. So little of it can be bought in HD.
 
Radio said:
Way to gloss over one of the biggest strengths of blu rays - the Audio!!!!

Lossless 7.1 audio over compressed 2 channel audio isn't even a contest.

Bluray > iTunes
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It only matters if you have the hardware to enjoy it though

Most don't, and it only matters to those who care about it
 
AbSoluTc said:
Slight loss of quality?

Lol. Blu-ray disc holds up to 50gig of data. Most movies are in the 30-40gig range. You lose audio and video quality and it's not a slight loss. Sorry, until Apple gives us excellent quality 1080p with 7.1 surround sound, I'm not going to bite unless it's free. I will stick with my blu-ray movies and DC's for my mobile devices.
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Forget the raw files sizes. The only thing that matters is what the image looks like on the screen.

I agree audio needs to improve, but I think we're closer to indistinguishable than some might think.
 
kagharaht said:
True in the US. Still it a very valid point I made.
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True everywhere. You may not know it, but HD video is heavily compressed before you ever see it. IIRC, it is 53x compression from camera to 1080i video's 19Mbps, even live feeds like sports.
 
samcraig said:
All fun and games until your internet goes out - or slows down. Now you have no access to anything you "own."

Meanwhile, I'll enjoy popping in my much better quality audio and video experience into my player and watch a movie I paid for.

Nothing to "get" LTD. You might want to only live in the cloud. I don't.
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The cloud issue is not related to moving from 720p to 1080p. If you have your purchased 1080p content downloaded, you can sync it to your devices without internet.


Radio said:
Way to gloss over one of the biggest strengths of blu rays - the Audio!!!!

Lossless 7.1 audio over compressed 2 channel audio isn't even a contest.

Bluray > iTunes
Click to expand...

Not really sure how this is relevant given that iTunes 720p content has been available in 5.1 for a while. You can argue 7.1 over 5.1, but given the context of this thread, compressed 2 channel audio has nothing to do with it.
 
Anonymous Freak said:
I have access to 100% of my iTunes purchases at home, even when my internet goes out. I can sync a dozen movies to my iPad before going on an airplane flight with no internet access, no need to carry a dozen discs around. I can store all of my movies, music, and TV shows on an external hard drive to carry with my notebook computer (and I could even store them internally if I upgraded the hard drive,) no discs to carry around. VUDU/Ultraviolet - no way. iTunes - the files are mine, no constant internet connection needed.

Even with AppleTV, I have the choice of streaming from Apple or streaming from my local PC. (Or streaming FROM my iDevice to the AppleTV.)
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I forgot what happens when you try and stream from your computer to your TV when your internet goes out. Does AppleTV do ad-hoc? Because I'm pretty sure it doesn't. I could be wrong.

And hey - you're reading someone on these boards who ditched over 900 DVDs in favor of ripping them to a hard drive and using Apple TV.

I just wouldn't do the same for blu-ray.
 
Small White Car said:
Considering I gain 'get it right now' and lose 'annoying menus/trailers/FBI warnings' I consider this very slight loss of quality a very fair trade.


I tend to rent movies instead of owning anyway...but IF I ever buy, this seems like a fair trade-off.




The article full of screen shots seems to indicate that yes, they CAN be compared. Blu-Ray wins, sure. But the comparison is not ridiculous.
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Well, to be honest, still screenshots only tell part of the story. Moving pictures are a lot more complex to handle at decent quality levels when you reduce the bitrate. I'm not sure that the iTunes motion resolution reaches 1080 lines !
Anyway, crappy TVs tend not to offer more than 720 lines in motion resolution. But, say, a mid-range Panny plasma should show the difference quite clearly.
 
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I love it they offer bigger better vids but they still offer 2009 capacities.
 
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samcraig said:
Anonymous Freak said:
I have access to 100% of my iTunes purchases at home, even when my internet goes out. I can sync a dozen movies to my iPad before going on an airplane flight with no internet access, no need to carry a dozen discs around. I can store all of my movies, music, and TV shows on an external hard drive to carry with my notebook computer (and I could even store them internally if I upgraded the hard drive,) no discs to carry around. VUDU/Ultraviolet - no way. iTunes - the files are mine, no constant internet connection needed.

Even with AppleTV, I have the choice of streaming from Apple or streaming from my local PC. (Or streaming FROM my iDevice to the AppleTV.)
Click to expand...

I forgot what happens when you try and stream from your computer to your TV when your internet goes out. Does AppleTV do ad-hoc? Because I'm pretty sure it doesn't. I could be wrong.

And hey - you're reading someone on these boards who ditched over 900 DVDs in favor of ripping them to a hard drive and using Apple TV.

I just wouldn't do the same for blu-ray.
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If the files are on your computer you don't need internet access, just your local wifi
 
not interested in the slightest unless those greedy bastards of studios change their business strategy.

iTunes HD - 19,99 Euro
BluRay + DVD + iTunes Digital Copy Combo Pack - 14,99 Euro

guess what i'm going for?

same with rentals ... 4,99 Euro to rent a movie for 24 hours when the dvd is 9,99 €
 
When you think that within the life of a single human, we've gone from blurry duotone postcards to beaming complete feature films through the ether and watching them in near perfect quality on a device not much heavier than a magazine, it makes you quite optimistic for future of our species. Well, until governments get to grips with it anyway.
 
^ Akira on Bluray is the best sounding thing I've ever heard - 192khz.

I'll stick with Bluray. Cheaper than downloads, can just take the disc to a friends without worrying about DRM, can make your own digital copies.
 
Dagless said:
^ Akira on Bluray is the best sounding thing I've ever heard - 192khz.

I'll stick with Bluray. Cheaper than downloads, can just take the disc to a friends without worrying about DRM, can make your own digital copies.
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Yep just rip the Blueray with MakeMKV, or enjoy the disc with full 7.1 surround.
 
11thIndian said:
It's quality vs convenience- as simple as that. If you're on the road and you want to watch a movie you don't already own, iTunes is there. BluRay can never get more convenient, but digital download quality will continue to sneak up.

The audio issue aside, from a pure picture quality standpoint. If this is the quality Apple is getting out of the 5Mbps. Then someone at home doing their own copy from an HD source at double that [10Mbps], let alone the specs max of 25Mbps- The quality should be pretty wonderful.
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Look I'll be the first to say that te video is close but there is no way apple will capture the sound from my blurays to my b&w home theater set up.

Again it's the movie experience and u won't get it from iTunes

Watching normal tv shows? Sure let's go with iTunes


Movies? Hell no- ud be crazy to think its comparable.
 
The gradients (second comparison) is what gets me. Most of the time, I cannot NOT see them. It's a curse really.

Luckily, my ears can't see the difference between AAC 192 (yes, 192) or lossless. :-D

That being said, my rules regarding downloads (iTunes or Netflix) vs Bluray:
- Epic movies: Bluray
(Star Wars, LOTR, any animation movie, which we usually buy "for the kids")
- Anything else: iTunes or Netflix
 
overcast said:
No reasonable distance from a screen will hide terrible gradient banding in dark areas. That is the BIGGEST problem with high video compression.
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I'll have to wait and see it for myself.

If someone wants to show me how bad the banding looks, turning up the brightness to make it noticeable is not the way to convince me. That's gaming the demonstration.

You can turn up the brightness to show that the banding is there, but for me to decide whether the banding will bother me, I have to see it at normal brightness.
 
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