iTunes Movie Releases Trying to Kill the DVD

[admin]

Today Apple announced a deal with Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate and New Line to release movies into the iTunes store simultaneously with DVD releases. iTunes has already experimented with what is being referred to as "day and date release" titles with such films as Juno. MGM was noticeably absent, but smaller studios like Magnolia and Image Entertainment were included. This announcement follows Apple's recent announcement that it inked deals with all of the major studios to provide 30-day rental access to films for $3 - $4 each and also provide "download/purchases" for around $15.

Discuss "iTunes Movie Releases Trying to Kill the DVD" here. Read the article.

 

[westcott]

Other than the problems I have with downloads from NetFlix and their "watch it now" program, how big, or small, depending on how you look at it are these files compared to the DVD originals?

I am skeptical that they are full downloads with the original quality!!!!

 

[gliz]

there are not enough folks with high speed internet to have this take over DVD's, at least not yet. even if there were I still like to have something in my had for my dollars. I have been in IT for 10 years, that is why I like my HT gear, never have to reboot an AVR! ! we were talking about compression from Comcast in other threads, well brother, these are even MORE compressed.

Chris

 

[Wayde Robson]

I completely agree with the above two statements, except that from time to time you do have to reboot AV gear But not nearly like a computer.

I've said it before in posts and articles that compression and quality is going to be sacrificed for the scalability of digital movie/TV-show downloads.

I got blasted by people folks who believed the market will bear full quality 1080P lossless 5.1 surround tracks on par with DTS HD MA.... I'll believe it when I see it.

Digital downloads have a long way to go before it catches up with physical media.

 

[allargon]

People who download stuff are willing to live with the reduced quality for the convenience. Some of them do so in order to avoid paying for it. Most just do it for the convenience.

I have a buddy that went on a rant about people who actually still buy CD's. I told him CD's sound way better than MP3's. He said you needed a high end system. I thought he needed better ears, since I can tell in my car with ease. He told me that he downloaded Mission Impossible 3. I laughed at him and told him he could've borrowed my HD DVD. No fricking way would I watch a movie on a tiny window on my monitor when I have a 57" 1080P. (He has a 50" 1080p Panny plasma that is used for upconverting children's cartoons most of the time. )

 

[usfscaptain14]

I have some questions. If someone would help me out i would appreciate it.

1. Is Apple tv able to download HD movies?
2. Do all downloaded movies give up quality for digital?
3. Is Itunes and Apple tv DRM?
4. what is DRM?

Thanks!
Jason

 

[tomd51]

1. Is Apple tv able to download HD movies?
Yes. Apple offers quite a few HD (720P/5.1, IIRC) releases. Their SD movies are usually a dollar or two cheaper than the HD downloads.
2. Do all downloaded movies give up quality for digital?
Not sure I understand the question. If you could clarify, please do.
3. Is Itunes and Apple tv DRM?
The Apple iTunes Store is attempting to phase out DRM in their audio downloads, however I believe it is still part of their movie downloads. You can likely find the answers to this on their site.
4. what is DRM?
Digital Rights Management, similar to copyright protection for electronic-based files, but much more restrictive, here's a good explanation for it.

 

[tomd51]

I've been using a utility called Handbrake to convert a good portion of my DVDs to stream from my Mac to the Apple TV. Surprisingly, using a quality codec such as H.264 or MPEG-4 with a decent average bitrate (~3,500kbps) produces a good quality picture. Is it HD? Seeing how the source is only 480P, obviously not. But the difference between the same movie on standard DVD is minimal, particularly so on my 42" plasma. On my 61" RPTV, probably slightly more noticable, which stands to reason with the screen size increase.

There obviously is going to be a small amount of compression, but using a high quality encoder and minimalizing the amount of compression, quite often you can produce a quality picture in a portable format... -TD

 

[bandphan]

Ive said before, and again IMO most if not all physical media will be dead. May not be soon, but within a resonable time, especialy with the next level of broadband speeds and the grid on the way.

 

[10010011]

Downloads kill the DVD? Someday maybe, but not today, or next year, or in the next five years.

With more and more rumblings in the ISP arena of moving to a per byte billing model and monthly download caps. I doubt this will ever become more than a novelty. Providers like Comcast make a lot of money off of their On Demand service. They are not going to let internet download services take that away from them, least not for very long.

 

[Gimpy Ric]

Not sure about movies, but mp3's...Hmmm

I hate 128 Kbit mp3's from iTunes. They DO NOT have CD quality audio compared to the store bought CD. At least not to my ears. And 99 cents per song is a straight RIP OFF!!! I'll gladly pay 13-15 bucks for a CD compared to a crappy soundinging iTunes 128Kb album for 10 bucks.

I have 2200 mp3's I bought from ALL OF MP3.com before the RIAA finally put them out of business. I bought all my mp3's @ 320 Kbps, and they sound far better than that 128 crap from iTunes.

 

[westcott]

Ive said before, and again IMO most if not all physical media will be dead. May not be soon, but within a resonable time, especialy with the next level of broadband speeds and the grid on the way.

They said the same thing about paper when the electronic file from computers was available.

Don't know about you but almost two decades later and I still shuffle a lot of processed trees!!!!!

 

[westcott]

I hate 128 Kbit mp3's from iTunes. They DO NOT have CD quality audio compared to the store bought CD. At least not to my ears. And 99 cents per song is a straight RIP OFF!!! I'll gladly pay 13-15 bucks for a CD compared to a crappy soundinging iTunes 128Kb album for 10 bucks.

I have 2200 mp3's I bought from ALL OF MP3.com before the RIAA finally put them out of business. I bought all my mp3's @ 320 Kbps, and they sound far better than that 128 crap from iTunes.

Same reason I do not listen to radio stations. I guess I have become an audio snobb but I prefer CD's. All the hype over HD radio really was disappointing when I got to finally hear it. The sound is a lot like what TNTHD pumps out. All the frequencies below about 45 Hz are missing and do not even come close to the audio quality of a standard DVD over the rest of the range.

 

[cwall99]

It's going to take a while, but maybe...

While I have a decent internet connection (roughly 6 Mbps), the thought of waiting for a standard def DVD to download so I can view it at standard def resolution seems a little silly. It may be coming, but it's not anywhere soon, and as other people have noted, given the readiness of cable providers to compress their HD content, my guess is that Apple (and others) will compress their media.

I also laugh at the notion that people will pay for a show that they could have watched for free. And, they pay for it so they can watch it on a tiny screen (come on, even the biggest computer monitors are somewhat smaller than most HT screens - granted, that's changing, but, are you going to want to invest several thousand dollars in a new screen so you can watch compressed video?).

And, I don't want to have to spend whatever it's going to cost to hook up a new device to my router so I can pipe downloaded content onto my 57-inch screen.

Yeah, I'll stick with physical media until a better reason to switch appears, but I'm guessing I'm not going to have a FIOS cable infrastructure any time soon.

Besides, I don't know about you, but I get a certain thrill when I open my media cabinet and see hundreds of CDs, SACDs, DVD-As, and DVDs waiting for me to go through them. It's the same thrill I get at the library or a good used book store.

 

[10010011]

The iTunes Movie Releases Trying to Kill the DVD killer

The iTunes Movie Releases Trying to Kill the DVD killer.

As I said before cable companies and other On-Demand providers are not going to take losing On-Demand revenue for very long...

Comcast Considering 250GB Cap, Overage Fees

A Comcast insider tells me the company is considering implementing very clear monthly caps, and may begin charging overage fees for customers who cross them. While still in the early stages of development, the plan -- as it stands now -- would work like this: all users get a 250GB per month cap. Users would get one free "slip up" in a twelve month period, after which users would pay a $15 charge for each 10 GB over the cap they travel. According to the source, the plan has "a lot of momentum behind it," and initial testing is slated to begin in a month or two...

Sure 250Gig is quite a few DVD's but when streaming HD gets off the ground it will add up fast.

 

[MarieonCape]

I like the package it comes in

I know a large number of people will dismiss me as too old to know any better - but I've always liked the record jackets and liner notes, the tape boxes, LaserDisc jackets and liner notes, and the DVD packaging that came with my media.

Aside from the whole quality issue being discussed I like to have a physical thing I can see, touch, and hold. How does one look at the inserts and notes that come with DVDs on a digital download? Where is the cover art? Do I have to have a computer screen seperate from a TV monitor (enough glow for one room) to see these at the same time the movie is playing.

My daughter (22 now) has always liked holding on to the movie packaging (whether tape, LD, or DVD) while watching the movie. I think it is a physical connection.

I like having the media where I can grab it and take it with me anywhere, be it plane, train, or cottage in the wilderness with no internet. I like that if my machine blows up I still have the media on the shelf - where I can pop it in another machine.

But that is just me. Old fashioned.

Marie

To quote Beth Keane "If it's good, buy all you can, because they're going to stop making it."

 

[tomd51]

Currently only cover art is supported within iTunes and when using the Apple TV, however there is the ability to store lyrics and additional information regarding tracks and albums in the iTunes interface, which I'm sure very easily could be incorporated into the Apple TV as well.

I would like to see the option of multiple cover art entries for tracks, plus the option of displaying lyrics, liner notes, etc. with each track when using Apple TV, however they currently do not have this option. While you can store all of this info using iTunes, I'd like the features passed to their Apple TV along w/the functionality to enable it or not.

This would, at the very least, please some folks (like yourself MarieonCape) that like the additional art and information provided with hard copy purchases. As to a physical case, well... there's always some trade-off, isn't there? -TD