Comparison finds iTunes 1080p video nears Blu-ray disc quality - Page 3

This is a rather mute argument given that there is little or no 1080p content available in the iTunes store to buy anyway. There isnt even much 720p content either despite the fact that weve had HD content for a while now. I assume its the studios not wanting to release HD content in iTunes rather than Apple holding it back.

Once there is more content I might consider stopping buying BluRay disks. Until then if you want BluRay quality you have to buy BluRay disks and I cant see that changing anytime soon. Every week I check the iTunes store to see what new HD films have been added to buy and every week Im disappointed.

Sure there is, motion picture is. Infinite resolution because there's no pixels.

You neglect to take film grain into account.

If I understand properly, IMAX is SOTA, due in large part to the size of the film. If you were correct, Super 8 would be infinite resolution - there are no pixels there either.

Ditto on the analog since better shield and quality will reduce degradation, but I wouldn't waste my money there either. I think the Monster cables serve more as a status item rather than any sort of technical achievement in the analog realm, which in any case is pretty much irrelevant these days. My opinion of course.

As to Monster themselves, even more astounding is the fact that Monster offers various level of 'speeds' to their Monster HDMI cables when there are only two types of cables in the standard (Category 1/2), yet Monster offers various 'speed' cables for 60Hz, 120Hz, 240Hz. It's blatant false advertising. Of course they charge you more for each 'bump' in speed for the same damn cable, competing with the same cable for 4 bucks that would deliver exactly the same signal and they dupe people into buying them.

Disgusting.

I never said it would look good.

I agree that Monster is overpriced and mediocre, relying on hype more than any intrinsic quality.

Kind of like Apple products?

I completely agree. I've seen this headline on multiple sites and it really has my hair on edge.

"Aside from the banding, loss of grain, loss of significant detail, and slight smudging...it looks EXACTLY the same!!" Please. All those reasons where the iTunes compression fails is precisely why Blu-Ray is far superior.

Granted, the iTunes compression does look very good, but anyone with a critical eye can spot the difference immediately. Try doing an A/B comparison of a snow fall or fast-action scene and you will see where the greatly compressed iTunes video really falls apart.

Especially since we have to pay for the storage where the Blu-ray movie price includes the storage (the disc). Then there is running out of storage space and juggling those external hard drive for downloads.

Considering every laptop I owned from two Sony's, an HP, a Compaq, and a thinkpad, and only the Thinkpad lasted for more than 2 years without something breaking. Contrast that with 3 Macbook pro's (all in perfect condition with my first now approaching 5 years). I don't think the prices is unusual. The same offerings from the same vendors above cost the same amount. The difference being my Apple gear is still working. Of the other vendors laptops, 2 failed due to a bad screen, one bad power port (cracked motherboard due to lack of support around the plug). The last one became somewhat useless when all of the USB ports stopped working. All of my Apple gear is in perfect condition with no issues.

I can't speak for others, but when I pay the same price from HP, or Sony, or Apple, but the Apple is obviously better quality, then I'll stick with my choice. Considering their quality of service reputation in the industry and the fact that they have been the top vendor for years, I would say I'm not the only one who's experienced this.

Umm yes. It's Understandable that a pro-apple site would quote an unknown webpage with no credibility (kind of like digitimes). When cnet or a real place reviews it, then we'll talk. The fact they did it on a 23" monitor, and said Dolby digital 5.1 is comparable to dts-hd is really the biggest joke I've ever heard. Insanity.

That Blu ray is pretty good quality, although in 2012 standards is more like 4 stars I would assume.

Since you linked Blu-ray.com. Quick plug for them- awesome forum and amazing reviewers. They are the best reviewers of movies on the net at least as it relates to me. If they give it 1.5 stars- it sucks to me. If they give it 5- I love it. Great guys over there.
Plug over.


Let the arguments/debates persist.

Blu ray is way better

And those whiny people who whine about the movie not being on iTunes should put a sock on it too. You don't want physical media, watch something else. It is the 21st century, other things are available.

It is the 21st century. Everything should be available digitally, legally. You're making our argument for us.

Didn't MP3's take off when they were free? Ala, Napster? Yes, that is pretty convenient.

Yes I agree. Blu-ray is digital and legal.

You know exactly what I'm talking about. I can touch Blu-ray, and I don't want that.

But you are ok with touching your TV and AppleTV and iPad? Hmm, interesting perspective.

Correction...


Anybody who thinks a 3.xx GB file can compare to a 50GB Blu-ray needs to get their eyes checked. Not to mention the test used is a joke.

1. Who watches a movie on a Dell monitor?

2. If they truly want to do a comparison they need to choose a reference quality movie. Think Avatar, The Dark Knight, just about any Pixar movie, etc.

3. Do the comparison on two identical ISF calibrated plasmas (Panasonic VT30) in a light controlled room.

Until then, these "comparisons" are ridiculous... and BTW, screw convenience. I want the highest possible picture and sound quality with no compromise and at this moment in time it's Blu-ray (and for the near future as well).

And this setup is common or relevant to those that want the convenience of an internet download, how?



It's good thing the world doesn't think like you or we would have never gotten optical media because CD was more convenient and less quality than vinyl.

You want convenience? That's perfectly fine, I'm all for it for the people that prefer it. Just don't come up with these lame "comparisons" to try and fool people into thinking it actually approaches the quality of a good quality transfer Blu-ray... it does not. I have Netflix and some of the movies/TV shows are actually quite decent. Doesn't mean I'm gonna compare it to a Blu-ray transfer. That's idiotic.

So you don't care about online video so that makes all comparisons lame? Not a very objective viewpoint.

What you should consider is whether the comparison was fair. Note this has no barring on the conclusion the author makes so long as the comparison was done in a scientific and honest way.

From what I've seen it most certainly was as the banding one of the most important things to me when I consider if I want higher or lower quality clearly shows that Blu-ray is noticeably superior.

Since Blu-ray is 1080p and iTunes Store is 1080p it makes sense to compare them to each other. You're getting caught up on the marketing term. You go back to the beginning of Blu-ray and you'll plenty of 25GB discs that have pushed older movies from the 80s and 90s without any remastering. By saying that Blu-ray, a physical medium, is superior to the average bit rate used by iTS means you aren't even being a little objective in your determination.

That's pretty much my impression. After DVDs came out, nobody cared whether BETA had a few lines of resolution more than VHS: both were shitty compared to DVD. I'm so ready for 4K to do the same for today's HD, hopefully with a minimum of compression loss.

Fair? How are you gonna do a fair comparison with a Dell monitor? Do the comparison on 50" or higher display with surround sound. I get it, people want convenience over quality and that's acceptable. But comparing a digital file with a Blu-ray on a small monitor with a sub-par transfer is not a fair comparison. Will Joe Blow tell the difference or even care? Probably not, but these "comparison" are flat out ridiculous and not at all fair. People that actually think the quality is comparible are either blind or kidding themselves.

1) I don't know why Dell monitor with 1080p 16:9 resolution is inferior at showing 1080p.

2) I don't know why you think larger pixels will make Blu-ray look better.

3) Blu-ray is digital.

4) You don't understand what a comparison is. The point is to see differences. Take the iPad 2 and iPad 3 as examples. If you compare the two side-by-side you get a real feel for how much better the new iPad display is over the old model. It doesn't mean that comparing them is a statement that they are the same.

Then you have no idea what you're talking about. You want to know why it's inferior to a reference plasma that's ISF calibrated? Color accuracy, contrast, black levels, near perfect grayscale, motion resolution, etc. Visit AVS Forum and educate yourself. Until then, your stance on what's a fair comparison is irrelevant.

Perfectly reasonable, perfectly sane response¡

How the hell can you say that the iTunes 1080p video "nears" Blu-ray after looking at that?

You could say that it is "far better than expected" (true) or that it's "good enough that most people won't care" (true) or "who the fuck wants disks anyway" (true for me at least) but let's not pretend the iTunes 1080p video quality is anywhere near Blu-ray.

You don't seem to understand. You're not going to see a difference on a crappy monitor. You might as well compare them on an old tube TV. Blu-ray's aren't meant to be seen on a small monitor. You can if you want to, of course. But the whole point of the high quality transfer and the large sized optical disc is to get the best quality to watch on a big screen. Otherwise, what's the point of having a high bit rate if you're only gonna watch it at your desk. Blu-ray's are meant for the home theater not your monitor/desk.

Your iPad comparison would make sense if the iPad 2 was replacing the new iPad since the better quality is obviously the new iPad/Blu-ray. I don't know about you but I don't want something inferior (iPad 2/digital download) to replace something superior (the new iPad/Blu-ray). Yet some people think digital downloads or streaming is approaching the quality Blu-ray's when it's not. Is it getting better? Sure. But when people use the words "nearing" it's just not true.

Your digital downloads are stored on physical media, how is this any different to Blu-ray/DVD/CD etc?

Yeah, because nothing that I mentioned has anything to do with picture quality. You obviously have no idea what you're talking about or what determines picture quality. Stick to your iTunes "1080p" files on your 23" monitor if you want. I'll enjoy my Blu-ray's on a plasma with surround sound.

Sure, from the Apple dictionary on my Mac

"the state of being able to proceed with something with little effort or difficulty"

Apple downloads cost more than renting, that easily falls into those two

From dictionary.com

anything that saves or simplifies work, adds to one's ease or comfort, etc., as an appliance, utensil, or the like.

If I pay more for something I have to work more to make up that money.

Maybe I should use the british english definition of a water closet? Because the quality of iTunes downloads to a Blu-ray is crap

"Bottom line: Apple's 1080p is better than their 720p and costs the same price. Apple's 1080p is the best of the major online video services".



Well, if y'all would start concentrating on your wallets, you'd see a big fat Steve Jobs appearing instead of Washington on your dollars. Why is no one commenting on the weenie size of HD material on the Apple store website? I can't tell how many studios are giving anything to Sony/Blu-Ray conglomerates v.s the Stevie "I solved it...I solved the problem about tv" no-BluerayS DRM issues with Apple Store. The point is..twenty dollars for a HD download v.s $10 for std., (v.s $1 from Redbox for most of the utterly crappy D movie material available)-why bother with iTunes movies, unless you like a boring film about ____?
Apparently you guys are too well heeled to consider the amount of hoopla the article generates, and hopes to convince the 1%'ers and on down to pay through the nose for an intangible copy of a format that, like the Emperor's clothing, is bound to disappear...in favor of what, I don't know..but let's ask the question...if you were from the Far East and involved in, err, reproduction of dopyright material, which format would you choose?
Methinks the virtual world of ITunes is a hacker's paradise, except for the fact that 90% of the material is dweeb fodder...and then, note the absence of blu-ray recorders in the US. One big fat solar flare or nuclear bomb could ruin your entire download collection...but hey..."Have a nice day"!!

So for me the fact that apple have released an apple TV that does 1080p is generally a good thing, but it does fall short in a couple of areas.

1. No ability to add apps. ( a BBC Iplayer app would make it a very attractive item in the UK) I suspect this capability is in the pipeline, but it's not here yet.

2. support for High Def Audio formats (Namely DTS-MA, Dolby HD).

If HD audio formats were supported then this would be a very attractive option to replace blu-ray (for me), but as it is, its a half baked attempt. Sure 1080p is a step in the right direction, but its just not a big enough step for me to consider it as a viable alternative to blu-ray.

If they sort the audio problems out then it could be a real contender. And bear in mind there are Media players out there that do support these formats so it can't be beyond the ability of apple to include these features..

3. No 24p support.

I'd be more interested to see a comparison between iTunes 720p and 1080p to be honest, and to know the equivalent file sizes (as I am bandwidth challenged).

I think I'll be sticking to bluray when I can, and 720p apple tv for convenience and when I can't get a bluray.

They gave everyone a free upgrade from 720p to 1080p. That's not something you get with discs.

No, it's idiotic to lose track of how subtle the differences are.

Sure, you can see the differences in a still photo. You can even see them on a TV in your living room if you look carefully. But in terms of watching a movie and enjoying it, the differences you're talking about are very minor. If I'm not actually looking for the differences, I don't see them at all-at least if the movie's any good.

Maybe the problem is that you're watching movies that are so bad that you have nothing better to occupy your mind than individual pixels?

No one is taking your Blu-Ray away. You're free to watch everything on BR if you prefer. But don't act like this isn't a big improvement for people who are more concerned about the movie and the convenience than subtle pixel differences.

Again, it's back to geeky spec games. "Let's measure the heck out of everything and see if we can prove that my favorite is better than someone else's favorite and we'll focus only on one measure of the product so I can feel superior." Some people are willing to trade off minor quality differences for convenience. It's really none of your business.

These people are Apple's prime customers. Most people don't care about being able to do EVERYTHING with their cellphones, for example, and iOS is very convenient. Most people don't care about being able to get software from their choice of vendors, and the iStore is very convenient. Most people don't care about playing all available codecs, and Apple products are very convenient.

If you want choice and quality, you are a geek, and Apple doesn't cater to geeks. They sell to the masses.

will you be buying the new iPad?... if so then your argument that blu-ray is not worth-while is hog-wash. blu-ray is better. period. the new iPad is better. period.
if you are going to get in to a value argument then state it as so.

BTW any time sometime says "And to be honest," they are NOT. also because you are disclaiming that your paragraph is "honest" then it follows that any post that you do not say that you are honest, you are not-honest... thus the question why are you being dis-honest in all of your posts?...