No more 1080p downloads

[megalaser]

Just noticed that all movie/TV show downloads (not streaming) are now only 720p in iTunes INCLUDING PAST PURCHASES that were clearly advertised as 1080p download - now re-downloads are reduced to 720p, new movies and TV shows, all 720p which falls way short of the resolution of a retina iPad or iMac . . . . .

 

[Julien]

....and what do you have this set to????

 

[megalaser]

Thanks

 

[betman]

I just clicked on a random show on itunes (House of Cards) and it's showing as 1080p.

 

[StinDaWg]

If you were smart you'd be downloading the 720p version anyways because they're better quality.

 

[betman]

Why would the 720p version be better?

 

[cebseb]

If you were smart you'd be downloading the 720p version anyways because they're better quality.

I too would like to know. It could save me some band with.

 

[Dunk the Lunk]

Why would the 720p version be better?

The resolution is smaller but there is less compression (to make the file size smaller). This means the quality of the picture is 'better'.

However unless you only have a 720p TV/monitor, have a 1080p tv with a very good upscaler or are sat very close to it, personally I'm not sure you'd notice much difference.

 

[markyr17]

The resolution is smaller but there is less compression (to make the file size smaller). This means the quality of the picture is 'better'.

However unless you only have a 720p TV/monitor, have a 1080p tv with a very good upscaler or are sat very close to it, personally I'm not sure you'd notice much difference.

Don't listen to this guy. There is no argument here, 1080p > 720p.

 

[Menel]

Don't listen to this guy. There is no argument here, 1080p > 720p.

You need to understand compression. This is not a hard rule.

720P at 20mbps, is far better than 1080P at 4mbps.

You can't take one variable of many and set a hard rule.

And IIRC Apple did not increase the bitrate of their 1080P video enough to compensate for the additional pixels.

 

[cardsdoc]

There have been lots of comparisons of different streaming formats vs blu ray over the years. Not surprisingly blu ray is always on top but with some movies the difference can be quite small except for the sound. In regards to 720p vs 1080p itunes there seems to be quite a lot of variability depending on the movie or scene. In scenes that are more difficult for h.264 with a lot of shadow or darkness itunes 720p can be better due to its relatively higher bit rate. In scenes where that's less of an issue 1080p is more detailed/sharper. Also I think I recall some reviewers feeling apple's compression has gotten better over time improving 1080p encodes but don't quote me on that.

 

[StinDaWg]

Why would the 720p version be better?

Because apple only increased bitrate on 1080p videos from 4 to 5 Mbps for their tv shows, while there are 2.25x the amount of pixels to fill. Because of that there is severe detail loss with their 1080p videos. Animation generally looks better in 1080p because it compresses better. "Filmed" video looks better in 720p. Their movie offerings fair even worse. The bitrate on 1080p is lower, sometimes even lower than the 720p version.

Plenty of discussion in here.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1376130/

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/28741
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/23134
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/3822
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/3820
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/3821
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/21051
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/23267
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/8096/picture:1

 

[markyr17]

Ok.. I eat my words