Buy Movie Again on Itunes Higher Quality

I clearly remember the moment I knew I would never buy another physical CD and would buy all my music online. Since and so, I've been waiting for the moment when I would know that I could buy all my movies online. In November, Apple (s aapl) announced that it was adding Disney movies in high definition to the iTunes Store. I've spent the terminal few months debating with myself if this heralded the end of buying physical media for movies.

In a discussion: No

In 2 words: Not Yet

Why I Purchase Music from iTunes (and Amazon MP3)

For music, one time iTunes Plus was the standard on the iTunes Shop, I knew that I didn't demand to buy physical CD'south any more. All I was doing was ripping my music to 256kbps AAC or MP3 anyways, so why not just buy them that fashion? And album prices on iTunes were the same or lower than brick-and-mortar prices on CD'south. Take Amazon MP3 into account, and information technology was an easy decision to switch to digital purchases.

Why I Accept Non Been Buying Movies from iTunes

Basically, information technology comes down to the stereo sound. I can't stand the idea of not using my environs sound setup and massive subwoofer (it literally shakes my whole house…I beloved information technology). With lower picture quality and lame stereo sound, I was not tempted at all to get movies from iTunes. I did try a few 99 cent rentals and found that to be just fine, but my $nine Netflix (s nflx) membership gives me access to tons of streaming movies at the same quality.

Now that Hard disk movies sport surround audio, I was anxious to compare some familiar titles where I could spot the difference in picture quality and audio.

Disney/Pixar Makes Slap-up Hard disk drive Fabric

I have kids at home and nosotros are therefore obligated to pay our annual Disney taxation to stock our home with family unit-friendly, candy-coated entertainment from our media overlords in Burbank, CA.  Some of the Pixar movies make corking reference material to prove off your home theater and I focused on these titles to compare the departure between iTunes SD & HD, DVD, Handbrake encodes, and Blu-ray.

Flick Quality

Let me say up front that the deviation in picture quality between the diverse formats is clearly visible on a large screen. Blu-ray has the best flick quality and was correctly identified by all the members of my family in a simple visual test. The surprise for me is how close iTunes Hard disk is to Blu-ray. I watched several scenes in Wall-E over and over again looking at the differences between the iTunes Hard disk drive file and the Blu-ray Disc (BRD), specially the first x minutes and the interior shots of the ship. The iTunes Hard disk drive file was quite a bit amend than what I expected and makes a serious case for choosing to buy content on iTunes.

For SD content, I watched Monsters, Inc. and compared the iTunes file (what Disney calls a Digital Re-create) with a Handbrake 0.9.3 rip I made using the Apple TV preset (0.9.4, the current version, should produce similar quality output). The quality is almost identical although the Handbrake rip was slightly brighter. The quality is slightly below DVD, but and so close that well-nigh people probably won't notice.

For my money, the image quality is close enough on the iTunes Hd files that I could be tempted to merely buy them on iTunes. If you're watching on a 42″ screen or smaller, the quality is probably duplicate.

Sound Quality

My Blu-ray role player is configured to decode all the lossless sound formats and send 7.i analog audio to my receiver. It works nifty. I was really concerned about the sound here because I would not buy anything with only a stereo track.

The sound on the iTunes Hd movies is good enough to consider buying them. The difference betwixt Dolby Digital and the lossless sound tracks is noticeable, but 5.1 surroundings sound is enough to get me over the bulk of my previous objections.

Convenience

Convenience is a big bargain for me. I actually adopt having movies on my Apple TV because I don't accept to endure any forced advertizement or trailers. I tin can merely commencement the movie. I too like that my kids don't have to handle the discs, avoiding the possibility of scratching them. Combined with the amazing Apple tree Remote iPhone app, the Apple Television is a great movie jukebox — even ameliorate than the 301 slot DVD changer I used to have.

Now that Extras are bachelor with iTunes Hard disk drive files, I think iTunes movies actually win on convenience, with 1 big caveat — you lot really need an Apple Television or a Mac mini media center connected to your big screen TV to appreciate them. A 27″ iMac would get pretty close on its own though.

Why Movies are Different than Music

I was a weekend musician for a big part of the fourscore's and 90'south and I love music. I owned a SACD player because I loved hearing the subtle details in Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and the sound of Stevie Ray Vaughan's fingers sliding across the strings in Texas Flood. Just I only really enjoyed the difference when I was sitting in the "sweetness spot" of my 2-aqueduct system with perfect stereo imaging. I couldn't really appreciate the difference in the quality of the recordings between SACD and CD when I had music on in the background every bit I was working around the business firm. Music downloads are successful for the unproblematic reason that convenience and quality are sufficient. The difference in quality does not carp people because you typically are not giving your full attention to the sound quality while jogging, working, eating, etc. and the convenience is king because no ane is willing to get upwards and change a CD anymore.

Movies are different because yous are planted in front of the screen for about ii hours and typically devote your total attention to the film while watching it. This makes all the difference in comparing incremental differences in the quality of Blu-ray and iTunes HD. If I'm going to requite my total attention to something for two hours, I want the best quality. I would be tempted by the convenience of iTunes downloads, but at the same price indicate, I just want the best quality.

What Would It Have for Me to Purchase iTunes Movies?

Lower prices. The quality is fine for the movies that I watched. Merely at the same price point, I'll take the Blu-ray and bargain with putting the disc in the changer and the possibility that my kids might scratch them. If I really desire the movie to be easy to get to for my kids, I'll brand my own encode and put it on my Apple tree TV anyways.

I would say 1080p or higher bitrate to bring the video quality closer to Blu-ray, but 10GB (or higher) downloads seem unrealistic at this point. Maybe someday that comment will seem shortsighted when we all have cobweb to the home, just for now I think the best compromise is to get $5 and $10 movies from iTunes and $15-25 discs in the shop.

What about you? Is iTunes Hd enough for you in terms of quality/convenience? If not, what would it accept?

Equipment Used: I compared the files using an Apple TV (3.0) and a Pioneer BDP-51FD connected to a calibrated 57″ Sony KP-57HW40 with a Denon surround receiver with v.ane speakers (Infinity L+R powered total-range towers, 3-fashion center, bookshelf surrounds + SVS 20-39PC subwoofer).

Related GigaOM Pro Enquiry: Who Wins When Movies Are Available Everywhere?

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Source: https://gigaom.com/2010/02/19/can-itunes-hd-replace-blu-ray/

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