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iPod HD Rentals ONLY for AppleTV

I think it saves Apple alot of headaches. People wont be complaining that they cant sync their rental to thei iPod or iPhone because it wont even show up in iTunes and since they are only available for rent, they wont take up much space on the aTV for very long. I think it was a wise decisions from Apple. Its not an apologist thing, its a smart business decision.
 
peeaanuut said:
I think it saves Apple alot of headaches. People wont be complaining that they cant sync their rental to thei iPod or iPhone because it wont even show up in iTunes and since they are only available for rent, they wont take up much space on the aTV for very long. I think it was a wise decisions from Apple. Its not an apologist thing, its a smart business decision.
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This is what I was silently afraid of when the iPod Classics were announced. The limitation on the Classic was still 640x480 resolution.

I was kinda hoping that when the HD movies got onto iTunes, that Apple would provide some sort of update for the iPods to up the maximum resolution to 1280x720. I'm sure the iPhone and Touch have enough power to play 720p videos, but the Classic and Nano maybe don't have the power.

Oh well. Curiously, the SD rentals (which are supposed to be available on iTunes as well as aTV) have 720x480 anamorphic resolutions. Perhaps the iPods/iPhones have been updated to handle this resolution.

ft
 
kainjow said:
It'll also make pirating them a lot harder.
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While it'll probably be harder to pirate if it's only on the AppleTV, it won't be too hard to do at all. I'm sure some enterprising hacker will find a way to sync the HD Rental back to a Mac/PC, and then strip the DRM off of it. I give it 2 weeks, 3 tops before someone figures it out. Then maybe another 2 weeks before someone else puts a GUI on it. Lastly, it'll take Apple 1 week to put an update out to kabbosh it.

Or, you could wait for the Hauppauge HD-PVR device that they announced at CES to copy it directly off of the Component outputs. It won't be quite the same quality, but it'll be close.

ft
 
ftaok said:
While it'll probably be harder to pirate if it's only on the AppleTV, it won't be too hard to do at all. I'm sure some enterprising hacker will find a way to sync the HD Rental back to a Mac/PC, and then strip the DRM off of it. I give it 2 weeks, 3 tops before someone figures it out. Then maybe another 2 weeks before someone else puts a GUI on it. Lastly, it'll take Apple 1 week to put an update out to kabbosh it.
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Sure people will get the files onto their computers, but only a small percent of Apple TV users have hacked their machines.

It's like a locked door on a house. It'll stop the majority of people from coming in, but there are always a few who will break through :)
 
In reality the only place i'd enjoy watching a HD video would be on a large HD TV. There is no need for that on the ipod.
 
Pizzer said:
In reality the only place i'd enjoy watching a HD video would be on a large HD TV. There is no need for that on the ipod.
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I agree that HD video will be most useful with HDTVs, but there are two other scnenarios that affect non-iPod devices.

1. People who have Macs connected to their nice monitors might want to watch HD movies. All Apple monitors are capable of HD and are pretty nice.

2. People who have Macs connected to their HDTVs. To me, limiting iTunes to 640x480 rentals is a slap in the face to the HTMac crowd. Macs are more than capable of playing the 720p files, but because of piracy issues and iPods, Macs are limited to sub-DVD quality files. BOO!
 
ftaok said:
I agree that HD video will be most useful with HDTVs, but there are two other scnenarios that affect non-iPod devices.

1. People who have Macs connected to their nice monitors might want to watch HD movies. All Apple monitors are capable of HD and are pretty nice.

2. People who have Macs connected to their HDTVs. To me, limiting iTunes to 640x480 rentals is a slap in the face to the HTMac crowd. Macs are more than capable of playing the 720p files, but because of piracy issues and iPods, Macs are limited to sub-DVD quality files. BOO!
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Dont blame Apple on #2, blame the pirates.
 
twoodcc said:
i hope they become available for the computer later
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Seriously doubtful. Apple clearly wants to be in our living room. Also, I think the point that it makes it harder to pirate a great point. I hope it comes to the computer soon too but I hope for a lot of things that are just not practical.
 
Mindflux said:
You'd need an HDCP capable videocard, AFAIK. Not all Mac's (even current gen? ) have that.
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That's what I thought at first. But then you can download and watch Quicktime movie trailers in HD from the Apple website.

Won't an HDCP compliant video card be required only if you're playing content back from a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD disk that enforces such checks?

What format are these downloadable HD movies in?

Damn, blast, confound, and f**k this confusion and profusion of acronyms and standards related to HD. I have a mind to wash my hands of it completely.
 
yeroen said:
Won't an HDCP compliant video card be required only if you're playing content back from a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD disk that enforces such checks?
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This is just a speculation: Studios may have asked for an HDCP compliant chain to watch HD movies in order to make them about as secure as Blu-Ray. As Apple does not make such Macs, AppleTV may have become the only option.
 
theBB said:
This is just a speculation: Studios may have asked for an HDCP compliant chain to watch HD movies in order to make them about as secure as Blu-Ray. As Apple does not make such Macs, AppleTV may have become the only option.
Click to expand...

That's sounds extremely likely, in fact.
 
theBB said:
This is just a speculation: Studios may have asked for an HDCP compliant chain to watch HD movies in order to make them about as secure as Blu-Ray. As Apple does not make such Macs, AppleTV may have become the only option.
Click to expand...

While that sounds plausible, I don't think HDCP is even in this equation.

All aTVs have component outputs, which do not have HDCP. If the studios were worried about the analog loophole and enforced the copy protection, they would have to disable the component outputs on the aTV when watching the HD movies. There's no mention of that anywhere, so I doubt HDCP is an issue.

If HDCP is really an issue, then all of the HD-DVD and BD players out there would be the studio's first concern. You'll see BD and HD-DVD movies coming out with the DRM flags enabled before you'll see the aTV's HDCP enforced.

ft
 
It makes sense, most people will probably be watching the movies on their iPods (wow HD on an iPod! ;)) and the TV mostly requires an HDTV. Also it might add some more sales to their TV.
 
I was just hoping for HD Movies for purchase AND rental. Then enable iTunes to automatically convert the HD copy during the transfer process to iPhone vs. making a second copy in iTunes. Or just update the iPhone to support the resolution.

See it's not that I want HD on my iPhone, just make all movies HD so when I watch it on the big screen it is great quality. 720p is perfect for me.
 
Since the apple TV requires HDCP for HD rentals, i doubt you'll be able to view them via component.
apple TV is not that expensive, so if you want HD movies without a big bulky HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player, it's a good buy:)
Too bad you can't buy the movies. Would be cool if aTV could download them and store on time capsule or an external drive.
 
I don't object to that, HD really isn't that useful unless it is displayed on large TVs... Rentals will primarily be for iPods and Apple TV so it makes sense. The iPod can't do very high quality video now anyway.
 
IT certainly adds another notch in favor of the :apple:TV vs Mac Mini media centre argument. Pity, since I chose the computer instead of the appliance.

But since I still have an old analog TV, the Mac Mini was my only choice.
 
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