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What have you rented on ATV and what did you think?
- Thread starter Chuck
- Start date
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Training Day in HD
Quality was excellent, but I was disappointed that it was not in surround sound... I wish there was some indication of the sound format before renting.
Edit: Other than that, it really was an excellent experience and was ready to play in less that 2 minutes.
Quality was excellent, but I was disappointed that it was not in surround sound... I wish there was some indication of the sound format before renting.
Edit: Other than that, it really was an excellent experience and was ready to play in less that 2 minutes.
Michael Clayton was available last night in HD. Downloaded in less than 90 minutes, ready to play in less than 1 minute. Great quality. My third HD rental and all I can say is goodbye to the increasingly slow Netflix and Blockbuster.
I do wish they would extend the window to 48 or 72 hours though.
I do wish they would extend the window to 48 or 72 hours though.
First thing I rented Day Watch (wasn't too impressed with the film but the quality was great) but took ages to get round to watching.
The other evening I used the rental option in probably the way I'll most likely use it i.e. there was nothing on TV and I really couldn't be bothered leafing through my DVD collection trying to find something I hadn't yet watched. Instead I stayed on the couch, surfed through the selection of films(admitedly still not huge) and opted for Across 110th Street which I watched there and then.
Ferg
The other evening I used the rental option in probably the way I'll most likely use it i.e. there was nothing on TV and I really couldn't be bothered leafing through my DVD collection trying to find something I hadn't yet watched. Instead I stayed on the couch, surfed through the selection of films(admitedly still not huge) and opted for Across 110th Street which I watched there and then.
Ferg
Rented 2 HD movies, the first one took 90 mins before I could start watching it (and it stopped playing about an hour into it because it was still downloading), the second one took 2 hours before I could start watching it (I let this one download overnight). I have a 5m internet service so I'm a bit surprised at the download time. I must say, this slow download time takes away the ability to decide and watch a movie in a short period of time.
You must have another problem.
I have downloaded 3 HD movies with Time Warner plain vanilla Cable line and an Apple AEBS. Less than 100 minutes for all three titles and available to rent within one minute of starting the download.
You may have interference (stereo, AV equip, etc.) slowing up your downloads.
If you are on a wifi network, try plugging in directly to eliminate your wireless network's possible issues.
I have a similar problem to Divindude. I rented Superbad in HD and it took well over 3 hours before it was watchable.
I must say I was pretty disappointed, I have an 8mb line (in reality it tends to run at about 5mb) & my AppleTV is connected by an ethernet cable directly to my router.
I just assumed it was Apple's servers. It takes away the immediacy of it all for me I cant just sit down, decide to rent a movie and watch it right away. This, coupled with the poor performance of navigating through my own synched media makes the Take 2 update a major disappointment as far as I am concerned.
I must say I was pretty disappointed, I have an 8mb line (in reality it tends to run at about 5mb) & my AppleTV is connected by an ethernet cable directly to my router.
I just assumed it was Apple's servers. It takes away the immediacy of it all for me I cant just sit down, decide to rent a movie and watch it right away. This, coupled with the poor performance of navigating through my own synched media makes the Take 2 update a major disappointment as far as I am concerned.
Rented:
Bloody Sunday in HD (excellent movie)
The Hoax in SD (funny)
28 Weeks Later in SD (good movie)
All three were ready to watch within 30 - 90 seconds, including the HD movie, and had no skipping or other problems.
Video quality was very good on all and the HD title looks great.
I have a 60" Pioneer Elite plasma, TIVO Series 3, and a HD-DVD Player (got it pretty cheap luckily
HD Movie did not look as good as HD-DVD, but it doesn't really matter to me. As long as it looks very sharp and clear then I am happy, and Apples HD title definitely met those requirements. I know HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will look better but I don't really need it.
Sound was very good and I can guarantee I will not be able to tell the difference between DD in an Apple HD rental and any superior format on a Blu-Ray, so again I am happy with the sound.
Assuming Apple builds up the selection I imagine myself with the following eventually:
- Apple TV for most movie rentals
- Netflix-1 at a time plan for the more obscure stuff (down from my current 3 at a time plan and maybe one day getting rid of it)
- Blu-Ray player to purchase my favorites (i will only do this when they hit about $150 or less, that day will come, and when there is software that allows me to rip them to 720p for the apple tv.)
Bloody Sunday in HD (excellent movie)
The Hoax in SD (funny)
28 Weeks Later in SD (good movie)
All three were ready to watch within 30 - 90 seconds, including the HD movie, and had no skipping or other problems.
Video quality was very good on all and the HD title looks great.
I have a 60" Pioneer Elite plasma, TIVO Series 3, and a HD-DVD Player (got it pretty cheap luckily
HD Movie did not look as good as HD-DVD, but it doesn't really matter to me. As long as it looks very sharp and clear then I am happy, and Apples HD title definitely met those requirements. I know HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will look better but I don't really need it.
Sound was very good and I can guarantee I will not be able to tell the difference between DD in an Apple HD rental and any superior format on a Blu-Ray, so again I am happy with the sound.
Assuming Apple builds up the selection I imagine myself with the following eventually:
- Apple TV for most movie rentals
- Netflix-1 at a time plan for the more obscure stuff (down from my current 3 at a time plan and maybe one day getting rid of it)
- Blu-Ray player to purchase my favorites (i will only do this when they hit about $150 or less, that day will come, and when there is software that allows me to rip them to 720p for the apple tv.)
I wouldn't make assumptions so quickly.I have a similar problem to Divindude. I rented Superbad in HD and it took well over 3 hours before it was watchable.
I must say I was pretty disappointed, I have an 8mb line (in reality it tends to run at about 5mb) & my AppleTV is connected by an ethernet cable directly to my router.
I just assumed it was Apple's servers. It takes away the immediacy of it all for me – I can’t just sit down, decide to rent a movie and watch it right away. This, coupled with the poor performance of navigating through my own synched media makes the Take 2 update a major disappointment as far as I am concerned.
I think the least likely reason would be the Take 2 software followed by Apple's servers.
Most likely you have problems with your internet connections or configurations.
You should be able to download a HD copy in about 90-100 minutes, viewable within one minute (2-3 outside)
Rented:
Bloody Sunday in HD (excellent movie)
The Hoax in SD (funny)
28 Weeks Later in SD (good movie)
All three were ready to watch within 30 - 90 seconds, including the HD movie, and had no skipping or other problems.
Video quality was very good on all and the HD title looks great.
I have a 60" Pioneer Elite plasma, TIVO Series 3, and a HD-DVD Player (got it pretty cheap luckily
HD Movie did not look as good as HD-DVD, but it doesn't really matter to me. As long as it looks very sharp and clear then I am happy, and Apples HD title definitely met those requirements. I know HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will look better but I don't really need it.
Sound was very good and I can guarantee I will not be able to tell the difference between DD in an Apple HD rental and any superior format on a Blu-Ray, so again I am happy with the sound.
Assuming Apple builds up the selection I imagine myself with the following eventually:
- Apple TV for most movie rentals
- Netflix-1 at a time plan for the more obscure stuff (down from my current 3 at a time plan and maybe one day getting rid of it)
- Blu-Ray player to purchase my favorites (i will only do this when they hit about $150 or less, that day will come, and when there is software that allows me to rip them to 720p for the apple tv.)
I have a similar set up and agree with your comments. I only question the $150 outlay for a Blu-Ray considering you will just rip them anyway?
Fair point on the Blu-Ray player, I will need a Blu-Ray drive for the computer. When the day comes where this is possible maybe i will just go for the computer drive and skip the dedicated player, though I would be a bit worried about buying the disks and having nothing that actually plays them on a tv.
The reason I am making that assumption is that everything else that uses my internet connection runs at about 5mbs. I don't have any problems with the way my internet is configured, just my AppleTV. I am fairly competant when it comes to things of that nature, it's my job.
The Italian Job HD
Just viewed The Italian Job after downloading it a few days ago. (Maybe the best boat chase scenes since Live and Let Die, although much briefer) I think it looks great, definitely better than DVD. Surround sound was perfect. No pixelation, dropouts or anything like that. I am impressed with this system of rentals.
Just viewed The Italian Job after downloading it a few days ago. (Maybe the best boat chase scenes since Live and Let Die, although much briefer) I think it looks great, definitely better than DVD. Surround sound was perfect. No pixelation, dropouts or anything like that. I am impressed with this system of rentals.
I rented "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in SD which was a great movie and the quality was very good as well.
Then rented Live Free or Die Hard in HD which had astonishing quality on my 42" Vizio.
Also rented Michael Clayton, and No Reservations in HD. They both looked amazing. I'm going to downgrade my Netflix and just rent from AppleTV. It's so convenient and the instant gratification makes all the difference.
Then rented Live Free or Die Hard in HD which had astonishing quality on my 42" Vizio.
Also rented Michael Clayton, and No Reservations in HD. They both looked amazing. I'm going to downgrade my Netflix and just rent from AppleTV. It's so convenient and the instant gratification makes all the difference.
My first rental was "Abandoned" starring Katie Holmes. (Better than average mystery). I rented the HD version. Being my first rental, I didn't know what to expect in terms of download time. I'm on the base level of Verizon Fios (5mbps down). I believe the movie was ready to watch after about 1/2 hour.
Michael Clayton, Jesse James, Valley of Elah, Evan Almighty, The Brave One, 2010 and Abandon.
All were HD and all the downloads (on standard cable broadband) took between 90-100 mins each and all were ready to play within 1-2 mins.
Great picture and 5.1 Dolby.
No macro blocking and they compared very favorably
to the bluray (or HD DVD) discs.
I may not renew my Netflix this month.
All were HD and all the downloads (on standard cable broadband) took between 90-100 mins each and all were ready to play within 1-2 mins.
Great picture and 5.1 Dolby.
No macro blocking and they compared very favorably
to the bluray (or HD DVD) discs.
I may not renew my Netflix this month.