Comparison finds iTunes 1080p video nears Blu-ray disc quality - Page 6

So so let me get get this straight The stuff I've ripped from my HD DVDs and Blu-ray discs I can play on it but not their own stuff wow.

And that's a hardware limitation, isn't it? Dang shame.

Yes, my mistake, though it looks like Apple also made a mistake and modified their document at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4095

"1080p content is only compatible with iPad (3rd generation), Apple TV (3rd generation), and computers that meet the minimum system requirements. HD content purchased directly on iPad 2 or earlier will continue to download in 720p. You may still download the 1080p version using the Purchased page on your computer based on availability. "

All in all, got my AppleTV yesterday and it's all peachy, along with all the usual Apple gear.

Note that for Airplay and iTunes WiFi syncing to ensure seamless results you gotta bite the bullet and get an Airport Extreme or Airport Express. I had a decent wireless router for a good price but ah... what the heck, home is suitably Apple-i-fied now.

There's all sorts of crazy ass limitations for years with iTunes content. I had previously been berated for complaining about HDCP protection which lets you watch protected content on your Mac but not an external monitor when connected via VGA or DVI.

At least 1080p is available throughout new AppleTV, new iPad and existing Macs... They could've gone the AppleTV-only route which based on my earlier observations could have been something they seriously considered.

Because today I woke up, was half asleep, didn't want to leave my new pet cricket (not kidding, it doesn't seem to want to leave the house), didn't have to drive, didn't have to spend petrol or release carbon emissions, managed to rent a 1080p movie on AppleTV for ~$5 USD/AUD, and don't have to use up physical media.

Not saying it's perfect for everyone, but I do see the value. Of course, the key is quality broadband with sufficient quota, which was what prevented me from using AppleTV in the past. As always, gawd bless the first world.

(Please excuse the serial postings, I just got my AppleTV and want to address some points)




AFAIK, the iTunes content is encoded in whatever aspect ratio it's supposed to be in, like 2.3+:1, 1.8+:1, 16:9 and so on.

If you can afford it, the Cinema televisions seem sweet.

Note however that AFAIK there's no "anamorphic" encoding for the latest iTunes 1080p and 720p. It used to be a good advantage during the days of DVD because instead of wasting encoding space with black bars, videos would be "squeezed" into the resolution available and then "widened" out for cinema aspect ratios, and some people used this technique for AppleTV2... See: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1331127

So, the Cinema television you mentioned above has a native resolution of 2560 x 1080. Which is nice because any 16:9 content will be shown as purely native 1920x1080 pixels. However, if there is BluRay or iTunes 1080p content, usually, this will be ~upscaled~ by the TV to 2560x1080 from whatever it was encoded in, say Lord of the Rings at approx. 1920x800 pixels.

At the end of the day, is it going to give you the value and feeling you're after? As much as I would love to see anamorphic 1080p encodes for any aspect ratio wider than 16:9, for now, it's "good enough" for most people. Because when you play the resolution game, there's no end to it... 2K, 4K, until you max out the human perception, then there's 3D, implants, holographic, extra-sensory etc. But I suppose technology will progress.

Remember the iPad resolution too... For the new iPad you'd need around 3K in resolution to display native pixels:



Try out some content with the new TV at the store to see if you're happy with it.

According to the Aussie iTunes Store the new release HD rentals are AU$7, that is NZ$9, I can rent three new release Blu-rays for NZ$10, you are more than welcome to spend your money how you see fit, personally I don't give it away when I don't need to. Also the use of electronic devices generally required the production of electricity, and the vast majority of electricity production requires the release of carbon emissions somewhere in the process, so don't try and kid yourself there...

DVI supports HDCP

I think the article you originally quoted was merely poorly worded, nothing more. They had not made it clear that the article concerned AppleTV only, so when they said 1080p was viewable only on the AppleTV 3, they simply meant that it wasn't compatible with AppleTV 1 or 2. They were not making any statement on compatibility of 1080p content with other devices.