Buy Option!

[SvenSvenson]

Actually, you can get DVD's that you have onto your iPod. There are a few freeware programs online

I know, but I've a few DVDs that I can't rip. Personally, I prefer to own the DVD as it's better quality & you get 5.1 Surround, but I've bought a few kid's films from iTunes - both my boys have Mac Minis for watching films and they'd just trash a DVD anyway.

Steve

 

[k2spitfire88]

I know, but I've a few DVDs that I can't rip. Personally, I prefer to own the DVD as it's better quality & you get 5.1 Surround, but I've bought a few kid's films from iTunes - both my boys have Mac Minis for watching films and they'd just trash a DVD anyway.

Steve

Just curious, why cant you rip them? And what program do you use, that makes you not be able to rip them?

 

[EricBrian]

Still not an option for me. Way too compressed, too expensive and too restrictive DRM.

I will continue to stick with NetFlix and hope they will bring out a set top box. Now THAT is the way to go!

 

[mambodancer]

Actually, I'm done owning a physical copy of movies

So don't buy it - is that hard to understand? Go down to the shop and buy the DVD. Ok, you'll only be able to watching it at home on your DVD player, which is fine if your get time (which some people don't). If you want to watch it on your iPod on the train into work you can't. If you buy a kids film and they both want to watch it in their rooms, they can't.

It's a personal decision - you do what you want to do. If Apple didn't offer this service and removed the choice, no-one's better off. Some people like the iTunes buy/rent model - they're not being screwed (as you imply), they know what they're doing.

Steve

For the youngsters out there (I'm 48), here is my take on why I am done buying DVD's.

Bought a movie in the 80's on VHS video tape (glad I didn't buy it on Beta)

Bought my movies on Laserdisc (glad I didn't buy it on RCA video discs or DIVX)

Bought my movies on DVD

Buying movies as digital downloads (glad I didn't buy HD DVD)

After seeing how the medium changes from various formats of tape, disc and DVD formats, I've lost any interest in investing in the medium or the players required to play them. BluRay is only the latest iteration in a long list of format changes. It'll probably be around for at least 5-7 years before the next format change and the next "gimmick" to try and get consumers to repurchase the movies they may have already purchased in an older format. A digital copy protects my investment in the movies I like to watch (more than once) for the foreseeable future (probably indefinite future). I'm not interested in a piece of plastic that just takes up space on a shelf somewhere in my house and that really only has a shelf life of about 10-20 years anyway.

In my opinion, a good solution would be to place a digital download, at various resolutions, on the BluRay disc. The disc would have all the special features that some people seem to like and serve as a back up for those that wish to watch on their computers, media players, etc. It also has the advantage of being region independent and the most compatible of formats available with the smallest hardware requirements.

Anybody seriously interested in a Laserdisc collection of about 3-400 discs? Many criterion editions.

 

[macerroneous]

I gotta new theory

You might consider this way off topic, but Apple seems to be facilitating its internet-connected satellite devices (TV, Touch, iPhone) with ever-increasing iTunes store access.
Theory: new iphone will allow ACTIVATION over data connection or wifi without a "computer" connection (which is required by the old model). The point being, there are probably a lot of folks out there for whom the iPhone can now become their FIRST computer.

 

[Gibson424]

Resolution

I don't have time to look through all the posts in this thread, so if this has already been answered, I apologize.

Is the resolution on these new purchases still 640x480? The one thing that has always bugged me about iTunes movie purchases is that they're not even DVD quality. They finally took the plunge with the rentals, offering DVD and HD qualities, but the purchases never changed. Did they finally increase the resolution?

 

[Sir Cecil]

If you want to watch it on your iPod on the train into work you can't.

Watching a major cinematic production on an iPod, on the train, in the rush hour, on the way to work... just about sums up everything we need to know about the mentality of the people Apple is reaching out to.

 

[chazmangus]

Thank you JOBS

I have been waiting for this for some time i spend about 100 bucks a month on ITMS Movie Rentals i would rather buy them but i am to lazy to get up and go find them on ITMS.

 

[w8ing4intelmacs]

Sounds like someone's still living in the 90's (maybe 80's?). Do you still jog with your cassette walkman

Let's say copying is legal. And let's say I have a newly-released, deluxe edition DVD movie you'd also like to buy. I tell you not to buy one yourself and instead pay me the full price (or thereabouts) of my DVD, and I'll send you a download or DVD-R of it.

Does that sound enticing?

I won't give you the original disc, or any packaging, or anything you can put on a home library shelf, and if ever you want to sell it on Amazon or eBay (say, when the next "Director's Cut" version comes out) you can't, because I've got it and all you've got is... well, nothing. But you've paid for it anyway. And if you try hard enough, you can even delude yourself into thinking you "own" it.

Fantastic. Thanks Apple. Great ruse. Looks like many here will be more than happy to play your game.

 

[skellener]

For the youngsters out there (I'm 48), here is my take on why I am done buying DVD's.

Bought a movie in the 80's on VHS video tape (glad I didn't buy it on Beta)

Bought my movies on Laserdisc (glad I didn't buy it on RCA video discs or DIVX)

Bought my movies on DVD

Buying movies as digital downloads (glad I didn't buy HD DVD)

After seeing how the medium changes from various formats of tape, disc and DVD formats, I've lost any interest in investing in the medium or the players required to play them. BluRay is only the latest iteration in a long list of format changes. It'll probably be around for at least 5-7 years before the next format change and the next "gimmick" to try and get consumers to repurchase the movies they may have already purchased in an older format. A digital copy protects my investment in the movies I like to watch (more than once) for the foreseeable future (probably indefinite future). I'm not interested in a piece of plastic that just takes up space on a shelf somewhere in my house and that really only has a shelf life of about 10-20 years anyway.

In my opinion, a good solution would be to place a digital download, at various resolutions, on the BluRay disc. The disc would have all the special features that some people seem to like and serve as a back up for those that wish to watch on their computers, media players, etc. It also has the advantage of being region independent and the most compatible of formats available with the smallest hardware requirements.

Anybody seriously interested in a Laserdisc collection of about 3-400 discs? Many criterion editions.

Hmmm....I only purchased DVDs. They still work fine. They are digital. I don't have to repurchase anything. There's no 24 hr. time limit. New players can up-res them to look close to HD quality (sure, HD still looks better). The original may be in disc format, but it can be ripped into any format I like so I'm not locked to any single device. No one can "pull the plug" on the DRM and make the media stop working (like Google and MS have done).

I really don't see a problem by sticking with DVD at this point.

 

[slate1]

Good news. But the best part about Apple TV is that any new features that need to be added will come through a software update. So as one person mention how there isn't a new rental section, that will probably be added later if Apple sees that people want this feature.

Not true - all they have to do is add a New Rental Releases section in Top Movies like they just added a Top Purchased Movies section.

 

[gkarris]

For the youngsters out there (I'm 48), here is my take on why I am done buying DVD's.

Bought a movie in the 80's on VHS video tape (glad I didn't buy it on Beta)

Bought my movies on Laserdisc (glad I didn't buy it on RCA video discs or DIVX)

Bought my movies on DVD

Buying movies as digital downloads (glad I didn't buy HD DVD)

After seeing how the medium changes from various formats of tape, disc and DVD formats, I've lost any interest in investing in the medium or the players required to play them. BluRay is only the latest iteration in a long list of format changes. It'll probably be around for at least 5-7 years before the next format change and the next "gimmick" to try and get consumers to repurchase the movies they may have already purchased in an older format. A digital copy protects my investment in the movies I like to watch (more than once) for the foreseeable future (probably indefinite future). I'm not interested in a piece of plastic that just takes up space on a shelf somewhere in my house and that really only has a shelf life of about 10-20 years anyway.

In my opinion, a good solution would be to place a digital download, at various resolutions, on the BluRay disc. The disc would have all the special features that some people seem to like and serve as a back up for those that wish to watch on their computers, media players, etc. It also has the advantage of being region independent and the most compatible of formats available with the smallest hardware requirements.

Anybody seriously interested in a Laserdisc collection of about 3-400 discs? Many criterion editions.

Yes, but you will be subject to DRM (if that matters to you) - you can't every watch them outside of what the studio "lets you".

I'm hearing the studios want to go to pay-per-view for everything eventually.

Your LD collection, there are plenty of online places that will buy them from you:

http://www.laserdiscvault.com/


Some, not available on DVD, look like they've actually increased in price.

 

[InstantCool]

I would be more excited about this if I could buy movies in HD. What's up with that? We can rent them, but not buy them? Why?

 

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

I was wondering when they would add this. This is cool.

 

[digitalbiker]

I would be more excited about this if I could buy movies in HD. What's up with that? We can rent them, but not buy them? Why?

Most likely the movie studios are limiting the content to Apple. But to be honest Apple needs to label their HD content as pseudo HD.

I have a 60" plasma HD 1080p TV and Apple TV high-def looks like crap compared to Satellite and Blu-ray disc. They are highly compressing the 720p signal to make the download sizes smaller but the quality suffers dramatically.
I would rate Apple HD as comparable to SD DVD which really pales in comparison to true 720p, 1080i, and 1080p on blu-ray and satellite.

However this really only stands out on 50" or larger HD TV's. If you are just watching it on a 20" monitor screen it looks almost identical to good quality HD.

I suppose if Apple went to less compression and had 20 -30 GB files like blu-ray, then it would take 3 days to download the files!

 

[skellener]

I have a 60" plasma HD 1080p TV and Apple TV high-def looks like crap compared to Satellite and Blu-ray disc. They are highly compressing the 720p signal to make the download sizes smaller but the quality suffers dramatically.

Absolutely. I've looked at them all too. Nothing can touch the quality you get with HD disc media (Blu-ray or the now defunct HD-DVD) as long as a decent transfer is made. I didn't see much of a difference between a 720p digital download (highly compressed as you said) and an upres DVD.

 

[slapppy]

No longer a hobby.

I think its safe to say that ATV is no longer a hobby.

I can comfortably recommend the ATV to friends and family now.

 

[Avatar74]

Absolutely. I've looked at them all too. Nothing can touch the quality you get with HD disc media (Blu-ray or the now defunct HD-DVD) as long as a decent transfer is made. I didn't see much of a difference between a 720p digital download (highly compressed as you said) and an upres DVD.

What is the argument exactly? That spending more money on fixed media hardware will get you better fidelity? Conveniences notwithstanding (your time, the inconvenience of sifting through scads of HD discs versus an onscreen menu to buy/rent/preview, etc.), then I will argue this:

Nothing less than a 35mm motion picture projector should be in my living room... because HD is horribly inferior to 35mm. Just look at my 50 foot wall screen... you can see the difference.

The argument either works in both directions or it doesn't... cost differentials aside, even. Sure, 35mm is a gargantuan expenditure relative to BluRay. Either price is a factor or it isnt, in which case AppleTV is still a viable consumer solution and a step in a better direction even if the quality isn't up to snobbish standards...

But if snobbery is what you want, fine... I'll outsnob you by saying this: You're getting ripped off with satellite, blu-ray and HD DVD... because these are also highly compressed formats. You do realize that none of these formats are true 4:4:4:4 uncompressed HD, right? Then you do realize that HD is inferior to digitized film right? A single digitized frame of 35mm is about 40 megabytes uncompressed. That's right... one gigabyte per second.

So why aren't you screaming up and down at the industry for not providing you that ungodly degree of fidelity? Because you've made a conscious choice on what you're willing to settle for at what price.

And those considering AppleTV are no different...

 

[lord patton]

laserdiscs get no respect

Anybody seriously interested in a Laserdisc collection of about 3-400 discs? Many criterion editions.

You know, Laserdiscs get a bad rap, but when you think about it, it was a huge success.

Not in that it dominated the video market... it didn't. But from it's introduction in the 70s to it's last days in the late 90s, it was _the_ premier and uncontested platform for serious video collection. Laserdiscs alone pioneered commentary tracks, deleted scenes, director's editions, and preserved the theatrical aspect ratios. What's more, it's abilities grew with time. Some of the late discs included AC-3.

Will we ever again see a physical medium keep its throne for over two decades?

So víva LD! And sorry, no, I'll pass on your collection. I'm quite happy with my 200 or so that I never watch.

 

[Poll Smoker]

Apple TV went up yet another launch in the quality scale today (and I already consider it one of the greatest pieces of technology out there).

Compared to what? A shoe-horn?

 

[Krevnik]

I have a 60" plasma HD 1080p TV and Apple TV high-def looks like crap compared to Satellite and Blu-ray disc. They are highly compressing the 720p signal to make the download sizes smaller but the quality suffers dramatically.

Sure, it isn't as good as Blu-ray, and the HD quality varies (depending on the movie)... but overall it still stomps all over Comcast's HD in my area. They overcompress it in MPEG-2, and then give you macroblocking in all the action sequences.

I also find that newer releases on Apple TV look cleaner and more crisp than older ones, which is usually true of HD rentals (as they may release the rental download before the master has been fully cleaned up for a BD or HD-DVD release).

But yeah, against Blu-ray, I wouldn't say the HD rentals are as good, but they beat the alternatives to HD rentals, and match the XBox Live HD rentals in overall quality.

 

[digitalbiker]

But if snobbery is what you want, fine... I'll outsnob you by saying this: You're getting ripped off with satellite, blu-ray and HD DVD... because these are also highly compressed formats.

This is not about snobbery or your ridiculous comparisons. It is a comment about video quality to inform others that not all HD is the same. There needs to be a better rating system for video quality because most buyers do not realize that there are big differences in what is called HD.

Apple sells their video as HD when in reality it is so highly compressed it is more like the old ED designation.

Satellite has a high degree of variability in compression of it's HD. For instance live sports feeds generally have very little compression due to the fact that highly compressed video results in bad motion artifacts for rapidly moving objects. However programs such as the Food Network are highly compressed because food displays don't change much from frame to frame.
Blu-ray is much less compressed and is the best realistic source available at a reasonable cost.

So when you go to rent your next movie and the choice is between AppleTV HD rental, On Demand Satellite, or a blu-ray rental from blockbuster people will know that even though the costs are about the same and all tout HD quality. The blu-ray option is best quality, the satellite is second best, and Apple TV is the poorest of the three.

 

[skellener]

What is the argument exactly?

There wasn't one really. I was agreeing with digitalbiker that's all.

 

[Robbadore64]

Let us buy HD

Until I can buy HD content on my TV I don't see why I'd ever buy a movie there. For roughly the same price I can pick up the hard copy and my kid has a case too look at and destroy. HD purchases would be awesome for me because I don't watch enough to be compeled to purchase a Blu-ray player (yet) so it would be nice if my TV sort of served that purpose. HD titles costing similar to Blu-ray discs yet I don't need more hardware.

Still, Apple is moving forward so this is only good news in my opinion.

 

[ruckus]

Digital distribution is going to be wonderful. I am, however, waiting until we can re-download things we have already purchased. It is just my luck that I'll have a hard drive crash and lose everything. Even redundant backups aren't fail proof.

Let me re-download movies i've purchased and I'll be on board.