Quality indeed does matter if you are a videofile which you obviously are not. Why did you buy an ATV? You should stick with a VCR- it does exactly what your looking for if quality is not an issue for you.
ATV was made for high-end equipment. Quality is exactly what it is all about.
Of course quality matters.
But that's not the point in the case of missing a TV show - watching a TV show in lower quality is better than not being able to watch it at all.
What higher quality alternative to the iTunes versions do you propose for catching a missed TV show?
I've already ready stated : 1.) DVR it. 2.) BUY a DVD of it.
I feel like I need to spoon feed on here sometimes.
Maybe you should drop the attitude and actually read what is being posted.
1) By missed show we're talking about shows you missed tivoing, that's what it said in the original post. If there's a storm and the power goes out to your house during the broadcast, DVR isn't going to help you.
2) DVD comes out months after the TV season ends. If I miss tomorrow's episode of LOST, I can see it the next day via iTunes, or next October or so on DVD. With a serialized TV show, not seeing an episode until months later isn't an acceptable option.
So unless you can think of a third option, it looks like iTunes is the only option to see that missed episode in a timely manner.
My AppleID contains a space, but the on-screen keyboard for entering the AppleID doesn't offer space. The keyboard for the password does, but not the AppleID. So, no rentals for me.
Quality indeed does matter if you are a videofile which you obviously are not. Why did you buy an ATV? You should stick with a VCR- it does exactly what your looking for if quality is not an issue for you.
ATV was made for high-end equipment. Quality is exactly what it is all about.
Ah, the videofile angle. Is that term French? Sounds French - ugh.
Well an HD player is not an option for this techie. We have a georgeous, bright, high contrast direct-view RCA 1080i HD in the LR, but as an early adopter I get screwed by the Studios. They insisted that HDMI is invoked for HD or Blue-Ray players. With my component video, all I would get is 480 - ugh again. So I shall rebel and watch better HD on my ATV than I can get even with a new player. Hopefully bandwidth and content will continue to improve so I NEVER have to buy one of those players.
Dear Viedofile: things change - I bought into all the "better stuff" over the years: FM Stereo (yea, that was an add-on module to my Fisher tuner cira 1965), S-Video, Laser Disk, half-speed mastered vinyl.... ATV offers superior quaility to all those technologies. AND it gets updated with new features without a trip back to the repair shop or Best Buy.
OMG- here we go again. I'm beginning to feel like Miss Sally in a kindergarten class.
He said"AppleTV is great for missed programming."
And I disagree. I'm saying I disagree because they quality is not a good as the original- if anything, it's worse. If it's a digital copy it should look the same as when recorded on a DVR. Also, when you buy a DVD of a TV show/series, if anything, it looks better than the originally broadcast not worse. I think the main reason is that Apple TV show downloads should be optimized for large HD TV's not iPods.
But that's the real problem, isn't it? You have to optimize for the lowest common denominator (the iPod) or else you can't take your programming with you. The magic of "watch it anywhere" is lost.
I suspect that is a whole lot more important to the average consumer than super high resolution. The last thing Apple wants to do is complicate the whole system by making different files for different devices, or force users to wait an hour as their videos are "converted" for use on the iPod.
By the way, on my 720p 32" set, Colbert looks pretty much the same as when I DVR it. I suspect that like all programming (except Blu-Ray), the bigger and higher res your TV, the worse just about everything looks. Broadcast HD TV over cable is often compressed at levels even higher than Apple does in iTunes.
It'll be a few more years before we see the true high quality that HD TV promises in every format. Until then, the true junkies can buy and rent their Blu-Ray discs, and the rest of us can be happy with what we get elsewhere.
Take 3- Let's us buy HD!!! And gives us Safari!!!!
Why do people want Safari on their TV? Web services, maybe. Put in widgets to look up info and such. But a full-blown Safari?
I think the idea on paper sounds a lot better than the actual experience would be. Especially with an Apple Remote. Even with a Bluetooth keyboard, there are still tons of sites that wouldn't work at all without a mouse. And if you're going to hook up a mouse, just get a MacMini instead and plug that into your TV.
But that's the real problem, isn't it? You have to optimize for the lowest common denominator (the iPod) or else you can't take your programming with you. The magic of "watch it anywhere" is lost.
I suspect that is a whole lot more important to the average consumer than super high resolution. The last thing Apple wants to do is complicate the whole system by making different files for different devices, or force users to wait an hour as their videos are "converted" for use on the iPod.
.
Again I disagree. The whole purpose of ATV is for videophiles not iPods. That is why it is not selling well because those who have HD TVs just look at the image in the store and with the exception of photos- it just doesn't cut it. Hopefully these HD rentals will help change that but it's not there yet. We can buy different quality in music already on iTunes and we should be able to do so with video.
It is true the iPod video came first but now we have ATV with HDMI, built for HD TVs.
Why do people want Safari on their TV? Web services, maybe. Put in widgets to look up info and such. But a full-blown Safari?
I think the idea on paper sounds a lot better than the actual experience would be. Especially with an Apple Remote. Even with a Bluetooth keyboard, there are still tons of sites that wouldn't work at all without a mouse. And if you're going to hook up a mouse, just get a MacMini instead and plug that into your TV.
Widgets are cool and fine too. Just give me something, anything, that's not going to co$t me more to use , please- rental$, movie$, mu$ic , etc.
Ah, the videofile angle. Is that term French? Sounds French - ugh.
Well an HD player is not an option for this techie. We have a georgeous, bright, high contrast direct-view RCA 1080i HD in the LR, but as an early adopter I get screwed by the Studios. They insisted that HDMI is invoked for HD or Blue-Ray players. With my component video, all I would get is 480 - ugh again. So I shall rebel and watch better HD on my ATV than I can get even with a new player. Hopefully bandwidth and content will continue to improve so I NEVER have to buy one of those players.
Dear Viedofile: things change - I bought into all the "better stuff" over the years: FM Stereo (yea, that was an add-on module to my Fisher tuner cira 1965), S-Video, Laser Disk, half-speed mastered vinyl.... ATV offers superior quaility to all those technologies. AND it gets updated with new features without a trip back to the repair shop or Best Buy.
Dear Cintos- How exactly do you plan to buy HD content now? Wish for miracles from the videofile angel?
Ah, the videofile angle. Is that term French? Sounds French - ugh.
Well an HD player is not an option for this techie. We have a georgeous, bright, high contrast direct-view RCA 1080i HD in the LR, but as an early adopter I get screwed by the Studios. They insisted that HDMI is invoked for HD or Blue-Ray players. With my component video, all I would get is 480 - ugh again. So I shall rebel and watch better HD on my ATV than I can get even with a new player. Hopefully bandwidth and content will continue to improve so I NEVER have to buy one of those players.
Dear Viedofile: things change - I bought into all the "better stuff" over the years: FM Stereo (yea, that was an add-on module to my Fisher tuner cira 1965), S-Video, Laser Disk, half-speed mastered vinyl.... ATV offers superior quaility to all those technologies. AND it gets updated with new features without a trip back to the repair shop or Best Buy.
Actually, since no movie on an HD disc thus far has used the Image Constraint Token to limit the component output to 480, you could still get 1080 from a Blu-Ray player via component video (worked just fine the couple of times my PS3 was hooked up to my brother's 1080p LCD TV via component).
Sorry, that technology still hasn't managed to stay put for you. I don't relish having to pay every time I want to watch an HD movie, but if that appeals to you, more power to you.
Maybe you should drop the attitude and actually read what is being posted.
1) By missed show we're talking about shows you missed tivoing, that's what it said in the original post. If there's a storm and the power goes out to your house during the broadcast, DVR isn't going to help you.
2) DVD comes out months after the TV season ends. If I miss tomorrow's episode of LOST, I can see it the next day via iTunes, or next October or so on DVD. With a serialized TV show, not seeing an episode until months later isn't an acceptable option.
So unless you can think of a third option, it looks like iTunes is the only option to see that missed episode in a timely manner.
Make sense now, captain spoonfed?
Please re-read again
Quality does matter for me. I wouldn't settle on your waste of my money.
Quality does matter for me. I wouldn't settle on your waste of my money.
Thanks for clarifying - so you agree iTunes is the only option for watching a missed episode in a timely manner. I think you're in a tiny minority being OK with missing a show, hardly anyone would be happy missing an episode of a show they love or seeing it months after the season ends, as opposed to seeing it in time for the following episode.
I'm guessing you probably don't watch much TV, or at least not much that is plot driven.
Because most DVDs have DTS 5.1, which has several times the bandwidth of Dolby 5.1.
True
Quote:
Originally Posted by Booga
And it's all about bandwidth
Not true.
It is all about a combination of bandwidth and codec efficiency. AC3 is a superior codec to DTS, and can deliver equal sound quality at lower bitrates (much like AAC and WMA at a given bitrate deliver equal quality to mp3 at a higher bitrate).
But, this has prompted a good question: what is the bitrate of the AC3 track in the rented files?
Hopefully bandwidth and content will continue to improve so I NEVER have to buy one of those players.
So you never intend to BUY an HD movie? Remember, HD content is only a rental. It will be a VERY long time before they are streaming the same 25GB of quality from a Blu-ray disc through iTunes. They're only at 2GB(?) now. But at least at 2GB you could (theoretically) store them on a hard drive. At 25GB quality, you could only keep 10 on a 250GB disc. How many movies do you currently own? How many hard drives would you have to stack up to amass a collection? Optical discs are still way better quality, more features, watch them as many times as you want, they're easy to store, and they don't crash and lose 10 movies at a time.
Comments
'
Quality indeed does matter if you are a videofile which you obviously are not. Why did you buy an ATV? You should stick with a VCR- it does exactly what your looking for if quality is not an issue for you.
ATV was made for high-end equipment. Quality is exactly what it is all about.
Of course quality matters.
But that's not the point in the case of missing a TV show - watching a TV show in lower quality is better than not being able to watch it at all.
What higher quality alternative to the iTunes versions do you propose for catching a missed TV show?
I'm not a videofile either. Maybe I am a videophile.
I'm so glad you can spell. Sorry that you can't add anything interesting to the thread.
But we all welcome your spell check skills.
Of course quality matters.
But that's not the point in the case of missing a TV show - watching a TV show in lower quality is better than not being able to watch it at all.
What higher quality alternative to the iTunes versions do you propose for catching a missed TV show?
I've already ready stated : 1.) DVR it. 2.) BUY a DVD of it.
I feel like I need to spoon feed on here sometimes.
I've already ready stated : 1.) DVR it. 2.) BUY a DVD of it.
I feel like I need to spoon feed on here sometimes.
Maybe you should drop the attitude and actually read what is being posted.
1) By missed show we're talking about shows you missed tivoing, that's what it said in the original post. If there's a storm and the power goes out to your house during the broadcast, DVR isn't going to help you.
2) DVD comes out months after the TV season ends. If I miss tomorrow's episode of LOST, I can see it the next day via iTunes, or next October or so on DVD. With a serialized TV show, not seeing an episode until months later isn't an acceptable option.
So unless you can think of a third option, it looks like iTunes is the only option to see that missed episode in a timely manner.
Make sense now, captain spoonfed?
'
Quality indeed does matter if you are a videofile which you obviously are not. Why did you buy an ATV? You should stick with a VCR- it does exactly what your looking for if quality is not an issue for you.
ATV was made for high-end equipment. Quality is exactly what it is all about.
Ah, the videofile angle. Is that term French? Sounds French - ugh.
Well an HD player is not an option for this techie. We have a georgeous, bright, high contrast direct-view RCA 1080i HD in the LR, but as an early adopter I get screwed by the Studios. They insisted that HDMI is invoked for HD or Blue-Ray players. With my component video, all I would get is 480 - ugh again. So I shall rebel and watch better HD on my ATV than I can get even with a new player. Hopefully bandwidth and content will continue to improve so I NEVER have to buy one of those players.
Dear Viedofile: things change - I bought into all the "better stuff" over the years: FM Stereo (yea, that was an add-on module to my Fisher tuner cira 1965), S-Video, Laser Disk, half-speed mastered vinyl.... ATV offers superior quaility to all those technologies. AND it gets updated with new features without a trip back to the repair shop or Best Buy.
OMG- here we go again. I'm beginning to feel like Miss Sally in a kindergarten class.
He said"AppleTV is great for missed programming."
And I disagree. I'm saying I disagree because they quality is not a good as the original- if anything, it's worse. If it's a digital copy it should look the same as when recorded on a DVR. Also, when you buy a DVD of a TV show/series, if anything, it looks better than the originally broadcast not worse. I think the main reason is that Apple TV show downloads should be optimized for large HD TV's not iPods.
But that's the real problem, isn't it? You have to optimize for the lowest common denominator (the iPod) or else you can't take your programming with you. The magic of "watch it anywhere" is lost.
I suspect that is a whole lot more important to the average consumer than super high resolution. The last thing Apple wants to do is complicate the whole system by making different files for different devices, or force users to wait an hour as their videos are "converted" for use on the iPod.
By the way, on my 720p 32" set, Colbert looks pretty much the same as when I DVR it. I suspect that like all programming (except Blu-Ray), the bigger and higher res your TV, the worse just about everything looks. Broadcast HD TV over cable is often compressed at levels even higher than Apple does in iTunes.
It'll be a few more years before we see the true high quality that HD TV promises in every format. Until then, the true junkies can buy and rent their Blu-Ray discs, and the rest of us can be happy with what we get elsewhere.
Take 3- Let's us buy HD!!! And gives us Safari!!!!
Why do people want Safari on their TV? Web services, maybe. Put in widgets to look up info and such. But a full-blown Safari?
I think the idea on paper sounds a lot better than the actual experience would be. Especially with an Apple Remote. Even with a Bluetooth keyboard, there are still tons of sites that wouldn't work at all without a mouse. And if you're going to hook up a mouse, just get a MacMini instead and plug that into your TV.
But that's the real problem, isn't it? You have to optimize for the lowest common denominator (the iPod) or else you can't take your programming with you. The magic of "watch it anywhere" is lost.
I suspect that is a whole lot more important to the average consumer than super high resolution. The last thing Apple wants to do is complicate the whole system by making different files for different devices, or force users to wait an hour as their videos are "converted" for use on the iPod.
.
Again I disagree. The whole purpose of ATV is for videophiles not iPods. That is why it is not selling well because those who have HD TVs just look at the image in the store and with the exception of photos- it just doesn't cut it. Hopefully these HD rentals will help change that but it's not there yet. We can buy different quality in music already on iTunes and we should be able to do so with video.
It is true the iPod video came first but now we have ATV with HDMI, built for HD TVs.
Why do people want Safari on their TV? Web services, maybe. Put in widgets to look up info and such. But a full-blown Safari?
I think the idea on paper sounds a lot better than the actual experience would be. Especially with an Apple Remote. Even with a Bluetooth keyboard, there are still tons of sites that wouldn't work at all without a mouse. And if you're going to hook up a mouse, just get a MacMini instead and plug that into your TV.
Widgets are cool and fine too. Just give me something, anything, that's not going to co$t me more to use , please- rental$, movie$, mu$ic , etc.
Ah, the videofile angle. Is that term French? Sounds French - ugh.
Well an HD player is not an option for this techie. We have a georgeous, bright, high contrast direct-view RCA 1080i HD in the LR, but as an early adopter I get screwed by the Studios. They insisted that HDMI is invoked for HD or Blue-Ray players. With my component video, all I would get is 480 - ugh again. So I shall rebel and watch better HD on my ATV than I can get even with a new player. Hopefully bandwidth and content will continue to improve so I NEVER have to buy one of those players.
Dear Viedofile: things change - I bought into all the "better stuff" over the years: FM Stereo (yea, that was an add-on module to my Fisher tuner cira 1965), S-Video, Laser Disk, half-speed mastered vinyl.... ATV offers superior quaility to all those technologies. AND it gets updated with new features without a trip back to the repair shop or Best Buy.
Dear Cintos- How exactly do you plan to buy HD content now? Wish for miracles from the videofile angel?
Ah, the videofile angle. Is that term French? Sounds French - ugh.
Well an HD player is not an option for this techie. We have a georgeous, bright, high contrast direct-view RCA 1080i HD in the LR, but as an early adopter I get screwed by the Studios. They insisted that HDMI is invoked for HD or Blue-Ray players. With my component video, all I would get is 480 - ugh again. So I shall rebel and watch better HD on my ATV than I can get even with a new player. Hopefully bandwidth and content will continue to improve so I NEVER have to buy one of those players.
Dear Viedofile: things change - I bought into all the "better stuff" over the years: FM Stereo (yea, that was an add-on module to my Fisher tuner cira 1965), S-Video, Laser Disk, half-speed mastered vinyl.... ATV offers superior quaility to all those technologies. AND it gets updated with new features without a trip back to the repair shop or Best Buy.
Actually, since no movie on an HD disc thus far has used the Image Constraint Token to limit the component output to 480, you could still get 1080 from a Blu-Ray player via component video (worked just fine the couple of times my PS3 was hooked up to my brother's 1080p LCD TV via component).
Sorry, that technology still hasn't managed to stay put for you. I don't relish having to pay every time I want to watch an HD movie, but if that appeals to you, more power to you.
Maybe you should drop the attitude and actually read what is being posted.
1) By missed show we're talking about shows you missed tivoing, that's what it said in the original post. If there's a storm and the power goes out to your house during the broadcast, DVR isn't going to help you.
2) DVD comes out months after the TV season ends. If I miss tomorrow's episode of LOST, I can see it the next day via iTunes, or next October or so on DVD. With a serialized TV show, not seeing an episode until months later isn't an acceptable option.
So unless you can think of a third option, it looks like iTunes is the only option to see that missed episode in a timely manner.
Make sense now, captain spoonfed?
Please re-read again
Quality does matter for me. I wouldn't settle on your waste of my money.
Please re-read again
Quality does matter for me. I wouldn't settle on your waste of my money.
Thanks for clarifying - so you agree iTunes is the only option for watching a missed episode in a timely manner. I think you're in a tiny minority being OK with missing a show, hardly anyone would be happy missing an episode of a show they love or seeing it months after the season ends, as opposed to seeing it in time for the following episode.
I'm guessing you probably don't watch much TV, or at least not much that is plot driven.
Could someone who has the update check and see if, under the "music" menu, the Apple TV supports streaming Internet radio at long last? Much obliged!
Drop a radio stream into a play list, sync the playlist and then it you stream on the AppleTV.
Airtunes is also supported!
The ability to stream a podcast is awesome. You can watch news from around the world now by streaming a podcast. Great for language learning.
Because most DVDs have DTS 5.1, which has several times the bandwidth of Dolby 5.1.
True
And it's all about bandwidth
Not true.
It is all about a combination of bandwidth and codec efficiency. AC3 is a superior codec to DTS, and can deliver equal sound quality at lower bitrates (much like AAC and WMA at a given bitrate deliver equal quality to mp3 at a higher bitrate).
But, this has prompted a good question: what is the bitrate of the AC3 track in the rented files?
Hopefully bandwidth and content will continue to improve so I NEVER have to buy one of those players.
So you never intend to BUY an HD movie? Remember, HD content is only a rental. It will be a VERY long time before they are streaming the same 25GB of quality from a Blu-ray disc through iTunes. They're only at 2GB(?) now. But at least at 2GB you could (theoretically) store them on a hard drive. At 25GB quality, you could only keep 10 on a 250GB disc. How many movies do you currently own? How many hard drives would you have to stack up to amass a collection? Optical discs are still way better quality, more features, watch them as many times as you want, they're easy to store, and they don't crash and lose 10 movies at a time.