CarmB

elijahg said:

AppleTV+ would be so much more attractive if it had something like MGM's back catalog.

I disagree. It would make it more expensive and as such less attractive. Already own a bunch of MGM titles. Don’t want to pay for access to more, just to get access to Apple’s original content. Apple TV + will be just fine provided Apple is able to ramp up production and doesn’t increase the price tag.

bonobob said:

My ancient ears don’t really care about lossless audio.  They just aren’t capable of hearing the difference anymore.  Dolby Atmos, on the other hand, should be noticeable and much appreciated, especially when listening via Apple TV and my surround system. 

Don’t be so sure about that. There is a misconception that it’s about frequency range but it’s more complicated. If you’re ancient ears have a reduced ability to discern detail in sound, that’s one thing but if it’s the usual, namely losing the ability to pick up higher frequencies - myself, I can’t really hear anything above 13k hz - then a better grade of sound file still matters. It’s less about how high can you go and more about the quality within the range you are capable of picking up. Not saying the difference is so clear as to be undeniable but I would not assume that being older means it’s off the table to get something out of a higher quality audio format. 

dav said:

I assume this won't be applicable to iTunes store purchases, and they will still be 256 AAC?

It really should be an option to be able to purchase, even if at extra cost, a higher grade of file than a 256 AAC. It needs to be noted that if Apple is touting it as a meaningful upgrade that it will offer higher bitrate files on its streaming service, that’s an admission that 256 AAC can be improved upon. It is the case, even now, that movies are offered in SD and HD versions with different price points and yet we don’t get the same choice with music files. I have purchased music from other sources in recent years mainly because I could acquire better quality files from those other sources. Apple is losing sales by acting as if AAC 256 is equivalent to higher-bitrate lossless formats but not everyone agrees with that premise. Now even Apple is acting as if the premise is faulty.

I’m sure that Apple would prefer to just steer everyone into the streaming model but the reality is that you will always have a percentage of people who want to own their content rather than having to forever pay into a streaming service to access a decent collection of music. That group of consumers would be even more likely to be interested in a higher grade of source material. After all, once you acquire a version of music, you can convert it as needed, hence you would want a file suitable to a range of uses. My guess is also that if Apple offered an upgrade option for a modest cost for already purchased files, there would be significant money to be made. 

If one really wants to compare the quality of a lossless file vs ACC, the last thing you would want to do is stream the file. Right from the start you are limiting yourself to the best that the streaming technology can deliver. You can’t really hear a difference if the delivery method is no better than the weakest of the file formats. Feed the digital file to the DAC in its best form and then you might be able to tell the difference, assuming that the DAC and the amplification and the speaker system is up to the task. If any one of the pieces in the system is incapable of delivering the quality that the original files possesses, the comparison falls apart. As has been said for a long time regarding sound reproduction, you’re system is only as good as the weakest link. If you have a superior digital file but any one of the components of the system is incapable of revealing the quality that is there, that file will no doubt be indistinguishable from a lesser version if the best a system can deliver is on a par with whatever quality the AAC file possesses. The biggest difference that I have discerned using a quality system is that lossless files feel more alive. There is something rather sterile about lossy files. The sounds are all there but they lack a certain vibrancy.

The original source material matters. How you deliver that source information to the DAC matters. The DAC itself matters. Amplification matters. Speakers matter. You need enough quality all down the line to do a proper comparison. Otherwise, you end up attributing to one element characteristics that may be about some other part of the system. Obviously if your weakest link, so to speak, is something you’re perfectly happy with, and it means you will not benefit from a lossless file instead of an AAC version, pursuing a better version of a piece of music is a waste of time.

In the end it’s a personal thing in so much as you either prefer listening to superior files or you don’t. Still, you need to have a complete system that can properly present a better version in order to know if that superior result matters to you in the first place. 

I have no interest in legacy content that will only cost me more in part because I have a significant collection of movies spanning eight decades and covering all the genres. What I want from a streaming service is original content and for the most part it’s that original content that I use almost exclusively. Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. when I access those services I couldn’t care less about the inventory of legacy content. So it’s a good thing, not a downside, that Apple is all about original content and the pricing is set accordingly. 

Of course, in these early days, Apple needs more content but that will be addressed over time. I have used the service and enjoyed a lot of the content already so there’s a lot to like. It will only get better. Even so, if I were to add up all the hours of content I’ve enjoyed on let’s say Disney Plus, it would amount to less than what I’ve enjoyed on Apple TV+. The difference is that Disney charges more for a vast library of other content I will never access. 

I like the idea of Apple not bothering to add legacy content mainly for the purpose of charging more. Not charging more and not bothering with the filler suits me just fine. As long as Apple prices it’s service fairly, that it delivers mainly original content works perfectly with what I want.