Why does an HD file downloaded from iTunes show up marked as "HD-SD"?

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the.touristthe.tourist
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
What does that mean?



I downloaded all the currently available episodes of the latest season of Mad Men in HD, and I noticed that next to the individual episodes is a little logo that reads: "HD-SD".



I also noticed that when these episodes were downloading, both HD and SD files were downloading. In other words, for every episode, I had two downloads: one marked as "SD" and the other as "HD". But, when the episodes fully downloaded, I noticed that I only have one file per episode, except no fully downloaded episode has a single "HD" or "SD" tag but rather this strange "HD-SD" tag.



I want to make sure I do have the HD files I paid for and since I can't watch the episodes yet, I was hoping someone here could explain this situation to me?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,185member
    You have both... if you drill down into the actual folder where the files are stored (in a finder window), you'll see both.

    If you choose to play the video on your iMac or Macbook it will play the HD version. If you sync it to an iPhone or iPod it will sync the SD version. I'm not sure which is the default position for an iPad... but probably HD... there's a checkbox somewhere in iTunes (when you have an iPad plugged in) where you can select which version to "prefer" when syncing.



    When you buy HD you get both (if both are available)... when you buy SD, you only get the SD file.
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  • Reply 2 of 6
    the.touristthe.tourist Posts: 9member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot View Post


    You have both... if you drill down into the actual folder where the files are stored (in a finder window), you'll see both.

    If you choose to play the video on your iMac or Macbook it will play the HD version. If you sync it to an iPhone or iPod it will sync the SD version. I'm not sure which is the default position for an iPad... but probably HD... there's a checkbox somewhere in iTunes (when you have an iPad plugged in) where you can select which version to "prefer" when syncing.



    When you buy HD you get both (if both are available)... when you buy SD, you only get the SD file.



    Well, that clears things up!



    Thanks a lot for the great reply.
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  • Reply 3 of 6
    jotto4jotto4 Posts: 2member
    here's another question. where is that setting for choosing to sync SD to iphone?



    i bought HD version of a movie through itunes. have the SD HD tag. the SD version syncs automatically to my old gen5 ipod. the HD version syncs to my iPad and my iPhone (4). I prefer the SD version on my iPad and especially my iphone because it is only 16 gb.



    the itunes preferences do have "play videos using standard definition" option under playback. that isn't what i want though. i want HD version to playback on my MBP, when it is connected to TV or standalone.



    there doesn't appear to be any settings under movies or info when looking at my iphone under "devices"



    I simply want to sync the version with the smaller files size on my portable devices and playback at highest level when on my laptop.



    this isn't clear anywhere. been to several forums searching for answer.
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  • Reply 4 of 6
    jotto4jotto4 Posts: 2member
    ok, i see the option for "prefer standard definition videos" under general settings for my ipad...



    but that isn't an option for iphone (4.0.1) that i can find
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  • Reply 5 of 6
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,185member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jotto4 View Post


    but that isn't an option for iphone (4.0.1) that i can find



    is it an iPhone 3GS or 3G ? ... I don't think those models even support HD video at all (they'll always load the SD version)... you need the iPhone4 for that, IIRC.
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  • Reply 6 of 6
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by The.Tourist;


    What does that mean?



    I downloaded all the currently available episodes of the latest season of Mad Men in HD, and I noticed that next to the individual episodes is a little logo that reads: "HD-SD".



    I also noticed that when these episodes were downloading, both HD and SD files were downloading. In other words, for every episode, I had two downloads: one marked as "SD" and the other as "HD". But, when the episodes fully downloaded, I noticed that I only have one file per episode, except no fully downloaded episode has a single "HD" or "SD" tag but rather this strange "HD-SD" tag.



    I want to make sure I do have the HD files I paid for and since I can't watch the episodes yet, I was hoping someone here could explain this situation to me?



    Also when watching in iTunes on a computer you can choose in the settings to prefer "SD" movies. This can be useful when connecting to a non-HDCP external monitor. Yes, HDCP is evil.



    Purchased downloads will have HD-SD. Rentals will only have HD or SD.
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