iTunes vs Physical Disc Atmos Quality

[Macalicious2011]

This topic is a bit of a beaten horse. iTunes sound quality is very good and fine if:

1. The majority of films you watch are drama or dialogue focused.
2. You haven't invested heavily into a sound system.

Discs sound noticeably more alive and immersive if:

1. You watch a lot of action and sci-fi movies. Some titles with big directors that have insisted of generous budgets for audio, sound incredible in lossless.
2. You have a knack for sound quality. Some people have a knack for whisky, sports cars, pillows or lawns.

Personally, I'm a sound guy and for the past two months I've returned to rented discs and couldn't be happier to experience all films in lossless. I've already gone through 12 blurays at the cost of just £10/month.

However, I do stream numerous Netflix/BBC shows and don't mind the sound quality because the content, just like drama movies, is mainly dialogues with no complexity.

What I, and I think others were looking for was something like: "I watched both the iTunes and 4K blu-ray version of Dead Pool 2 and I couldn't tell the difference in the audio." Or, "The difference was night and day between iTunes and the 4K blu-ray, you absolutely need to watch the physical disc."

That simple. If some folks go through the trouble of doing to the two blind that would be really cool too. I think a thread that has a whole bunch of comparisons could be helpful; sometimes you can save a decent amount of money buying on iTunes, and if the audio quality is close it might be a good idea to grab that version.

Whats your sound system?

Gotcha!
To me the difference is not “night & day” but clearly discernible in any blind testing.
Have tested both Mad Max FR and BR2049.
And I think Atmos plays little role here.
You could also try with just DD+ 7.1 and TrueHD 7.1, it is the lossy vs lossless difference.
TrueHD is more transparent, open or “spacious” in the mid to high frequencies and punchier down below.
For down below, you may want to check out Fury (2014) chapter 10 (tank battle).

I like that you mentioned the tank battle. Fury is the first iTunes movies I bought that I compared with a physical bluesy 1080p copy. The tank battle is fantastic for testing objects clarity, stage space, bass performance, fidelity and immersion.

Love that scene.

 

[priitv8]

This topic is a bit of a beaten horse. iTunes sound quality is very good and fine if:

To be fair - current tvOS sound is leaps and bounds better than it used to be in early (low bitrate DD5.1) days.
That needs to be attributed to DD+ codec. Now with Atmos, it becomes mandatory to master and release a DD+ track for iTunes movie.

 

[Macalicious2011]

To be fair - current tvOS sound is leaps and bounds better than it used to be in early (low bitrate DD5.1) days.
That needs to be attributed to DD+ codec. Now with Atmos, it becomes mandatory to master and release a DD+ track for iTunes movie.

I just fired up a few scenes in Planet of the Apes and Fury on the ATV. I purchased them both and they are Dolby Atmos movies.

This is what I experienced compared to discs:

-iTunes volume is lower. I have to crank the volume up to 48 even then the sound lacks presence. When YouTube, Netflix on ATV or a Bluray disc level 32-35 would be loud enough for a cinematic experience.

-Bas performance isn't punchy enough.

-Objects don't sound realistic enough. When watching iTunes I'm listening to the movie. With discs the sound presence is so good that it sounds like the movie is taking place in my living room. If I watch an action movie at loud levels the sound utterly dominates my ground floor. This is not the case with iTunes.

It's like comparison a "gourmet" microwavable meal with home cooked meal. The former is satisfying but lacks the magic and visceral experience provided by the later.

This weekend I watched "Ready Player One" by Steven Spielberg and its sound reproduction is a cut above the majority of movies I've recently watched. Through Bluray this came through but wouldn't had I streamed through iTunes.

My sound system doesn't even cost more than £1,000. If it did, the differences between iTunes and Bluray would be even more glaring. Even my GF notice a difference.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

I just fired up a few scenes in Planet of the Apes and Fury on the ATV. I purchased them both and they are Dolby Atmos movies.

This is what I experienced compared to discs:

-iTunes volume is lower. I have to crank the volume up to 48 even then the sound lacks presence. When YouTube, Netflix on ATV or a Bluray disc level 32-35 would be loud enough for a cinematic experience.

-Bas performance isn't punchy enough.

-Objects don't sound realistic enough. When watching iTunes I'm listening to the movie. With discs the sound presence is so good that it sounds like the movie is taking place in my living room. If I watch an action movie at loud levels the sound utterly dominates my ground floor. This is not the case with iTunes.

It's like comparison a "gourmet" microwavable meal with home cooked meal. The former is satisfying but lacks the magic and visceral experience provided by the later.

This weekend I watched "Ready Player One" by Steven Spielberg and its sound reproduction is a cut above the majority of movies I've recently watched. Through Bluray this came through but wouldn't had I streamed through iTunes.

My sound system doesn't even cost more than £1,000. If it did, the differences between iTunes and Bluray would be even more glaring. Even my GF notice a difference.

Great review Macalicious and no doubt very upsetting for Apple. Not a problem for me as I don't watch action films. My problem is that the majority of the films that I love or even want to see are not available on disc!
Take the A M AZ I N G 'Joyride' brand new film on iTunes. Truly great feel good comedy - beautifully recorded and amazing picture quality on our OLED. 99p to rent on iTunes - No disc release in the UK not even crappy DVD! So many other films that I've seen maybe 50+ times again from iTunes are not on UK BluRay disc release - This Summer Feeling, Summer of 8, Before we go, Joyride, Flashdance, Something's Gotta Give along with many nutrition and environment documentaries that I enjoy and have helped with my MSc in Nutrition. Without streaming i'd of never got to enjoy these films either with friends or on my travels passing by late night plane, Eurostar or train travelling

In essence, it simply looks as though the mainstream Hollywood films appear on disc whilst the ones that don't sell a trillion simply do not.

 

[Macalicious2011]

Great review Macalicious and no doubt very upsetting for Apple. Not a problem for me as I don't watch action films. My problem is that the majority of the films that I love or even want to see are not available on disc!
Take the A M AZ I N G 'Joyride' brand new film on iTunes. Truly great feel good comedy - beautifully recorded and amazing picture quality on our OLED. 99p to rent on iTunes - No disc release in the UK not even crappy DVD! So many other films that I've seen maybe 50+ times again from iTunes are not on UK BluRay disc release - This Summer Feeling, Summer of 8, Before we go, Joyride, Flashdance, Something's Gotta Give along with many nutrition and environment documentaries that I enjoy and have helped with my MSc in Nutrition. Without streaming i'd of never got to enjoy these films either with friends or on my travels passing by late night plane, Eurostar or train travelling

In essence, it simply looks as though the mainstream Hollywood films appear on disc whilst the ones that don't sell a trillion simply do not.

Yes. Apple take streaming very seriously. Long term I see them using their war chest or billions to buy a huge share in Disney. That would help them get access to more content and also be able to influence movies on a technical and format basis.

Sure it's great that Apple, Amazon and netflix are investing in own content but they can only get you so far in the long run.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Yes. Apple take streaming very seriously. Long term I see them using their war chest or billions to buy a huge share in Disney. That would help them get access to more content and also be able to influence movies on a technical and format basis.

Sure it's great that Apple, Amazon and netflix are investing in own content but they can only get you so far in the long run.

True but the films that I mentioned some are available on BluRay in the US but of course, they are Region 1. I once bought on Ebay a BluRay of Flashdance from a 'respected' seller' as it stated Region Free. It turned out to be a pirate disc from Mexico! That sealed the end of me searching for disc copies of my films :'(

I'm not bothered about Apple ever buying Disney as that's not an interest to me. I hate to see companies buying companies - often they lose their DNA and become bloated and obese whilst loosing direction.

 

[awp69]

Great review Macalicious and no doubt very upsetting for Apple. Not a problem for me as I don't watch action films. My problem is that the majority of the films that I love or even want to see are not available on disc!
Take the A M AZ I N G 'Joyride' brand new film on iTunes. Truly great feel good comedy - beautifully recorded and amazing picture quality on our OLED. 99p to rent on iTunes - No disc release in the UK not even crappy DVD! So many other films that I've seen maybe 50+ times again from iTunes are not on UK BluRay disc release - This Summer Feeling, Summer of 8, Before we go, Joyride, Flashdance, Something's Gotta Give along with many nutrition and environment documentaries that I enjoy and have helped with my MSc in Nutrition. Without streaming i'd of never got to enjoy these films either with friends or on my travels passing by late night plane, Eurostar or train travelling

In essence, it simply looks as though the mainstream Hollywood films appear on disc whilst the ones that don't sell a trillion simply do not.

Kind of unrelated to the thread but what Joyride movie are you referring to? I know of two — one is a thriller from 2001 that is half decent and another a crappy 1996 thriller with Tobey Maguire that wouldn’t even be worth a $.99 rental. Both of those don’t really sound like the “great feel good comedy” you are describing. Is there another one I don’t know of? Just got me curious.

 

[priitv8]

-iTunes volume is lower. I have to crank the volume up to 48 even then the sound lacks presence. When YouTube, Netflix on ATV or a Bluray disc level 32-35 would be loud enough for a cinematic experience.

That is what I observe as well.

 

[Macalicious2011]

True but the films that I mentioned some are available on BluRay in the US but of course, they are Region 1. I once bought on Ebay a BluRay of Flashdance from a 'respected' seller' as it stated Region Free. It turned out to be a pirate disc from Mexico! That sealed the end of me searching for disc copies of my films :'(

I'm not bothered about Apple ever buying Disney as that's not an interest to me. I hate to see companies buying companies - often they lose their DNA and become bloated and obese whilst loosing direction.

Thanks for reminding me about the 99p section. I was disillusioned by it because it previously mainly had movies I could buy at a petrol station for the same money.

I just discovered that I can rent Phantom Thread for just 99p in 4k! It's less than a year old and is coincidentally next in the queue in my Cinema Paradiso rental list.

From now on I will check the section every week.

 

[Snoopy4]

disc will always be better

This. All about bandwidth. The disc has a “cleaner sound” where Atmos on ATV is a bit muted. Have to crank the amp way up as well. O rally don’t get this. We’re still a ways out from streaming being as good as physical.

 

[iFan83]

Personally I don’t think the difference between iTunes audio and disc is that big, a bit more detailed and sharp on disc but it’s slight and you have to really look for it. The biggest difference is in the low bass, disc has a lot more of it and works the sub much better than streaming.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

We've just watched 'Rough Night' from iTunes this evening. 4K Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Whilst the film was not very good (and that is being kind) all I can say to both the picture and sound is WOW WOW WOW! Yes the picture simply shined out of our LG B7. The DD+ Atmos sound was alive, dynamic, crystal clear, LOUD on the dialogue, music throughout the film, gun shots, the sound of the waves (something that I notice within a milli second being surf mad).
Anyone who can find fault with a stream like this and say that streaming wins because of convenience seriously wither needs a life or is in urgent need of more sociable hobbies!
Our house this evening was full of friends all from a radio background - all used to hours a day in top flight broadcasting studios and they were bowled over.
Yes it was convenient having a 4K Dolby Vision / Atmos stream as I bought it and 2 seconds later it was on my ATV 4K, iPhone and MacBook and I didn't need to order a 4K BluRay from the USA at £25 + £10-15 postage + tax and then wait 10 days for delivery. It fitted the fast, full lifestyle that I live but no, I don't feel that there was any compromise in picture or sound apart from the fact that I couldn't see any degrading copyright notices, unskippable trailers and disc spinning noises coming from a player
I enjoy many hobbies in my life and when it comes to watching a film once a week, this experience this evening has me convinced that I don't need any more from simply watching a film. It was perfect.
[doublepost=1538098079][/doublepost]

Thanks for reminding me about the 99p section. I was disillusioned by it because it previously mainly had movies I could buy at a petrol station for the same money.

I just discovered that I can rent Phantom Thread for just 99p in 4k! It's less than a year old and is coincidentally next in the queue in my Cinema Paradiso rental list.

From now on I will check the section every week.

Treat Yourself Tuesday has a great pick for £1.99 every Tuesday of a new film too plus there are many good ones at £1.99. One year on and I still will not pay £5.49 to rent a iTunes film, not even £4.99. I either buy the film if I really want it or simply move on.

 

[archer75]

The difference is noticeable but it depends a lot on your environment, speakers and receiver. With my setup I can hear the difference.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Maybe there's a difference with action movies BUT I have a very very interesting take on it this evening.
Again, we had our usual Thursday evening movie night with my crowd - the majority who work in dance/RnB/indie radio as presenters, DJs and producers.
This evening we've just seen the most incredible documentary by the outstanding company 'Dog Woof' on STUDIO 54.
It was AMAZING. iTunes should be proud of both the video and audio quality.
Now when it comes to music, my ears are silver coated when it comes to any compression artefacts or anything done wrongly. I had years using different forms of compression for playout whilst editing in Adobe Audition (Cool Edit Pro) and Logic Pro X.
The final song of the doc' Candi Staton - 'Young Hearts Run Free' absolutely shined with quality. I know this song and its technical quality inside and out, and I can tell you that the iTunes 1080p version playing from our Apple TV 4K was 100% perfect. Not 90% not 98% but 100% on this transfer. Where this was merely a DD or DD+ I don't know, I'm guessing a DD but in all of the years that I used flat boring dull lifeless sounding DVD with DD, i've never come across something that sounded so alive.
This certainly seems to be holding true for the majority of iTunes films that we've seen this year so far.
In conclusion, certainly with music, the quality from this iTunes version of 'Studio 54' was 100% broadcast quality and I wouldn't of hesitated from allowing it to be broadcast from the stations that I worked at a few years back.

A truly excellent documentary for anyone who loves liberal New York culture of the late 1970s, disco music, fashion and being a 'total rebel'
10 out of 10 for production, story, video quality and audio.