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So you really get nothing over there? Seems a bit harsh! Is this due to licensing or what then?

I don't know why it's so. Finland is a pretty small market so big companies like Apple and Netflix aren't interested and it's hard for a small local service to offer what customers want (new releases, big selection, good quality, reasonable price...). You will also need Finnish subtitles to make the service successful as most people aren't good enough in English to fully enjoy the movie without subtitles.

There are some services that offer SD content but like I said before, they overcharge a lot.

How can you keep talking down iTunes rentals as not being HD when you don't even have the service there? I and most others who have actually tried it would have to say iTunes HD rentals are excellent quality. Not Blu Ray but it is certainly as good as or better than almost anything else referred to as "HD". And that includes Satellite TV and cable.

Explain me the endless amount of threads complaining about poor quality iTunes "HD" then. You are right, I don't know how good it really is but I've heard that the quality isn't that great from many, many people.
 
Explain me the endless amount of threads complaining about poor quality iTunes "HD" then. You are right, I don't know how good it really is but I've heard that the quality isn't that great from many, many people.

I think a lot of those threads are from people who believe in much of a difference between 1080p and 720p (which is what iTunes HD is).
I would have to agree with newagemac here, I have bought a couple of movies in HD and have bought the TV series 'Wonders of the solar system' in HD, and think the quality is fantastic. Maybe its not quite BRD 1080p quality, but thats down to perception, and I personally dont see a problem.

I think a lot of people just like to sit and complain in forums...:D
 
I have a back catalog of a few hundred DVDs. New movies I love get the Blu-Ray purchase + MakeMKV treatment. For everything else I use the service you aren't supposed to gossip about on the internet.
 
Maybe I'm too much of a goodie two-shoes, but my movies either come from iTunes purchases, Digital Copies included with certain Blu-Ray discs, or rips from DVDs that I actually own. So basically I pay for all the movies in my collection.
 
I think a lot of those threads are from people who believe in much of a difference between 1080p and 720p (which is what iTunes HD is).
I would have to agree with newagemac here, I have bought a couple of movies in HD and have bought the TV series 'Wonders of the solar system' in HD, and think the quality is fantastic. Maybe its not quite BRD 1080p quality, but thats down to perception, and I personally dont see a problem.

I think a lot of people just like to sit and complain in forums...:D

exactly true
 
I can very good see the difference between an iTunes HD movie and a Bluray 1080p movie. Many people don't care but I do. I want to have the movies I like the most in the best quality available. Watching a movie in 720p quality is also ok, but as I said when I decide to keep a movie I want it in 1080p quality.
 
I actually used to torrent tons of movies and music. I developed a conscience about it around a year and a half ago and deleted all my illegally obtained content and couldn't be happier. The vast majority of my Apple TV collection consists of rips from my own CD's, BD's, and DVD's. I also use Netflix but I do not rip those films as they do not belong to me. It's funny, I used to tell myself the same lies that some of you posters do to justify torrenting content. The fact of the matter is that it is still theft.
 
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I use a lot of means to watch movies. First choice is Blu Ray--usually from Netflix--or I buy them from Amazon. Also watch streaming on Netflix--like my Apple TV for that. Still not happy that Netflix doesn't offer 5.1 sound--except on PS3. I haven't bought any movies--or rented any from iTunes yet--Apple TV is new--but I will. I have used Amazon Video on Demand and like that but I don't have any equipment that allows me to watch with 5.1 sound so I don't use Amazon for movies--mostly TV shows. I also plan to try Vudu--at least the free first movie they give you. Lots of choices but none are perfect so currently it seems it takes all of them to get what you want when you want it.

I don't use torrents for anything anymore--used to once upon a time but prefer the methods mentioned above.
 
I actually used to torrent tons of movies and movies. I developed a conscience about it around a year and a half ago and deleted all my illegally obtained content and couldn't be happier. The vast majority of my Apple TV collection consists of rips from my own CD's, BD's, and DVD's. I also use Netflix but I do not rip those films as they do not belong to me. It's funny, I used to tell myself the same lies that some of you posters do to justify torrenting content. The fact of the matter is that it is still theft.

I have spent thousand of Euros in DVDs and Bluray films, so I cannot leave such posts uncommented.
In Germany there is no Netflix. There is only iTunes and one or two streaming services, that either require a PC or a special set top box. Movie quality isn't good for the money they demand. There is no way to get the original audio version and I hate listening to Harrison Ford speaking German!
I buy movies I like in Bluray. There are also two renting services that cost around 4 Euro/DVD. I find the price to be very expensive, so I do not use these rental services. Another reason is that I would have to go to the post and send the discs back.
Is it too much to ask? I want an online service like iTunes with 1080p quality, original soundtracks and very good speeds. Prices should be around 1-2 Euro/Rental. A new movie in HD should cost 10-15 Euro.
 
I've honestly never torrented a movie. It's not worth the trouble, questionable quality, and I like having the "physical" media. Every movie I own I purchased myself (I have over 700 DVDs/HD DVDs/Blu-ray Discs). Nowadays I exclusively buy BDs, rip them to MKV using MakeMKV or AnyDVD/RibBot264 and then convert the MKVs to M4Vs using Handbrake.
 
When I get a coupons emailed to me I us BLOCKBUSTER or REDBOX. I have an NETFLIX account so I both stream and get DVDs from them. My Samsung Blu-ray player has both Netflix and Amazon and my :apple:TV gives me plenty to rent. But I mostly get used DVDs and Blu-rays at Pendergrass Flea Market in Georgia. I like owning my DVDs and CDs. Below is an old photo, I have more but I've been collecting since DVDs first came to be.
 

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I actually used to torrent tons of movies and music. I developed a conscience about it around a year and a half ago and deleted all my illegally obtained content and couldn't be happier. The vast majority of my Apple TV collection consists of rips from my own CD's, BD's, and DVD's. I also use Netflix but I do not rip those films as they do not belong to me. It's funny, I used to tell myself the same lies that some of you posters do to justify torrenting content. The fact of the matter is that it is still theft.

Yup, keep telling yourself that. Here's a handy guide for you, if you can read it in your ivory tower.
 

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So it's cool that if you ever come up with an idea, project, report, paper, invention etc etc that I copy it and take the proceeds, thanks!

no, because that - in essence - removes the original (because in those circumstances, the first paper/invention/etc is the only one that counts). guess again, captain smarty.

anyway, torrenting is better for the environment than buying physical media*.


*while this is strictly true, i don't actually use it to justify torrenting.
 
Oooh I like a good argument.

I have spent thousand of Euros in DVDs and Bluray films, so I cannot leave such posts uncommented.

This point is irrelevant. You paid for those movies on Blu-Ray and DVD, as you should. It was the market price for that particular content. It doesn't matter how much you spent on legit stuff, you are still ripping off others.

In Germany there is no Netflix. There is only iTunes and one or two streaming services, that either require a PC or a special set top box. Movie quality isn't good for the money they demand. There is no way to get the original audio version and I hate listening to Harrison Ford speaking German!
I buy movies I like in Bluray. There are also two renting services that cost around 4 Euro/DVD. I find the price to be very expensive, so I do not use these rental services.

You know, there is a lot of stuff I find personally too expensive. I choose not to have that stuff (see VW Camper ref above). Just because you dont want to pay the price for something does not justify piracy. If we all got to decide hw much we want to pay for something, the world economy would probably collapse.
 
The prices movie studios charge us are a rip off. They are taking advantage of everybody and are greedy. I can only see two options: a) stop watching movies or b) return the studios the favor by downloading movies and if they are worth it, buy them.
For everything else in life I would say that piracy is bad, but I cannot say that about movie studios...
I own for example all applications I have on my Macs. I never pirate software because I know that it wouldn't be fair to the developers. With movies it is different. People pay once to watch the movie at the cinemas, then once again to rent it or buy it. At the same time people pay television rights for the movies and actors. Many people have pay TV and can watch such movies. That means they indirectly pay again.
How many times should we pay to watch one movie? According to the movie studios we should be paying money for every different distribution media that exists. This is what I call theft.
 
^ It's not theft, it's capitalism.
It costs money to recut those films, to transfer them, to produce those discs, to ship them out, to license out the music and other copyrighted material. It costs money for the cinema to rent the film, to pay council tax, to power such powerful projects and sound systems.

Yup, keep telling yourself that. Here's a handy guide for you, if you can read it in your ivory tower.

The content creators don't get paid, so if it's not theft what is it?

I see nothing wrong with torrenting currently airing TV shows, what with all the forms of TV recording and (legal) streaming options there are now. But it's a no-go once they can be purchased on DVD.
 
I find it very bizarre how people rationalize their piracy/theft of content. Very strange how people can live in denial....and then make themselves look very silly trying to justify it in public forums.
 
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Piracy is theft no matter how it's justified or excused.

All my movies are either in DVD form of things I've bought (and subsequently used handbrake to put into my library) or purchased from iTunes. I don't netflix, redbox, torrent, or blu-ray.
 
Piracy is theft no matter how it's justified or excused.

All my movies are either in DVD form of things I've bought (and subsequently used handbrake to put into my library) or purchased from iTunes. I don't netflix, redbox, torrent, or blu-ray.

So I can safely guess that you don't really care about FullHD 1080p quality that only a Bluray film can achieve.
 
So I can safely guess that you don't really care about FullHD 1080p quality that only a Bluray film can achieve.

Yep. I've been in the technology world for 30 years. I can see the differences, subtle as they are. I just don't care that much. That doesn't mean it isn't important for other people -- just not important to me.
 
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