comment #1

JHRussell says ...

The problem with Apple TV and similar download services is that it is not clear how much cable providers are going to charge for the necessary bandwith...I have read prices as high as $30 per HD movie which is of course a deal killer...

This article was pretty skimpy on the other practical option - Standard Def movies seen with an upscaler DVD player. My recommendation to friends is to forego Blu Ray unless you want and have a need for a PS3, otherwise buy a good upscaler instead...

comment #2

Alex says ...

Did they forget to compare XBOX 360 HD downloads (the current HD rental leader)?

comment #3

Aguirre says ...

jeff, there is absolutely no "slightly" about it. the blu-ray image quality and - just as importantly - the lossless SOUND quality absolutely TROUNCES that of apple tv. obliterates. embarrasses. negates. i was excited about apple's initiative for the film's i didn't want to buy, but after living in the thrall of 1080p HD media for the past few years, my layman's eyes (i'm no technophile) will simply never be able to return to 720p for new releases.

i'm not one of those who foresees blu-ray usurping DVD's market-share, but with japan and europe bear-hugging blu-ray (europe just hit 2 million blu-ray discs sold, the last million coming in a fraction of time it took to reach the first), and the format war reaching its merciful end and consumers becoming less apprehensive to dip their toe in the HD disc waters... blu-ray will expand dramatically from the niche market that it is today by the end of 2008.

my question, as someone who owns a dvd library of thousands of titles and refuses to re-buy most of those films, is will my treasured troves of hard-to-find foreign films see a blu-ray release? will KINO video and its ilk ever feel the need to release on blu-ray? criterion has been mastering their films in HD for years and i imagine will... which would be nice, but... i dunno, i'm just thinking out loud now. i love blu-ray, but i can see it being restricted to the major studios and the niche companies like national geographic.

comment #4

mutinyco says ...

Blu-Ray looks a lot better to me. Sharper, better color, better contrast. Blu-Ray is 1080, while downloads are often 720 down-res files from 1080 masters.

I tried the iTunes rental service this week with Yuma. I think for a computer, it actually offered a higher quality picture to that of a standard DVD. It was a Quicktime in its actual aspect ratio of 2.40 -- not a cropped 16x9 anamorphic. Also, because SD disks are designed for 640x480 playback, but computer monitors invariably have more pixels, DVDs never looked that good when blown up. The Quicktime held together pretty well. On the downside, the sound was pretty weak -- but that's invariably to keep the file size down.

comment #5

TL says ...

jeff, there is absolutely no "slightly" about it. the blu-ray image quality and - just as importantly - the lossless SOUND quality absolutely TROUNCES that of apple tv.

Seconded. Keeping in mind that pointing a camera at the screen is a particularly poor way to make an assessment, the Blu-ray is much more detailed. Not to mention the AppleTV has a poor color balance; the full size shot shows a green sky.

comment #6

Seijornec says ...

Here's a great comparison article that includes SD DVD and HD Cable:

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/apple-tv-20-vs-blu-ray-dvd-hd-cable-the-comparison/

comment #7

Seijornec says ...

Oops guess I should have checked the link first. DOH.

comment #8

sunny82 says ...

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