DVD, Blu Ray DVDs, and iTunes with Apple TV

I just got Apple TV for Christmas and I have a massive collection of DVDs, TV Series on DVD, and some Blu Ray DVDs. I was wondering if there was anyway to IMPORT DVDs from my DVDs onto Apple TV since there is no disc load and I do not have a digital copy. In addition, if you can IMPORT your DVDs into iTunes can you use Blu Ray DVDs?

Also, when ordering from iTunes is there anyway to get a hard disc copy as well as the digital copy, I am still not used to the whole idea that you have the movie on a hard drive and not on a disc.

Hope you guys can help!

Doug

iMac w/ Apple TV, Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Dec 30, 2009 5:44 AM

Reply
22 replies

Dec 30, 2009 6:32 AM in response to dciallella

dciallella wrote:
iTunes has *HD Movies* available, is that there version of Blu Ray and besides the picture display 1080p v 720 p -- what's the difference between the two visually?


HD does not mean 1080p.or blu-ray.
HD can be 720p, 1080i and 1080p (as well as some other lower resolutions).

blu-ray is simply the type of disc that HD movies are sold on.

1080p is currently only available on blu-ray.
even broadcast TV is 720p or 1080i.

also resolution is not everything. the bitrate also plays a part.
a low bitrate 1080p file can look worse than a high bitrate 720p file.

Dec 30, 2009 6:36 AM in response to Chenks

Thank you very much Chenks, do you own Apple TV? If so, do you find it very easy to get used to not having physical discs?

Last question I hope -- sorry everyone. Say in 3 years I buy a new computer, and I don't have all the DVDs I purchased from iTunes -- or I want to put them on another hard drive, does iTunes know that I have purchased these movies and I can keep them forever no matter what machine i'm using (Since Apple TV only has 160GB HD and my iMac has 320GB HD it won't pose a problem for a few years I am sure).

Dec 30, 2009 6:43 AM in response to dciallella

dciallella wrote:
Thank you very much Chenks, do you own Apple TV? If so, do you find it very easy to get used to not having physical discs?


i own 2. i haven't bought a DVD in years, and have never bough a blu-ray.
i don't even have a DVD player in the house and i only have a blu-ray player due to having a PS3 (although i have only ever played 1 blu-ray disc).

Dec 30, 2009 7:40 AM in response to dciallella

I have 3 about the house, I think Winston has 5 or more.

The beauty of the system is that once the iTunes libary is set up with the media, it's very easy to replicate what you can wach in room 1 with another AppleTv in room2 etc etc with only minimal new settings in iTunes, works in a modular fashion if you like to expand what itunes has available.

AC

Dec 30, 2009 7:47 AM in response to Alley_Cat

The best quality video/audio you'll get currently will be 1080p from BluRay.

Good 1080p will be far better than AppleTV's 720p, however it all depends on teh source material, how well it was mastered/encoded for Blu Ray or iTunes.

I really can't see much point amassing load of Blu Rays myself as the future is clearly going to be on demand video over the internet for most people, though I think DVD will last for some time, especially for people who have no interest in Blu Ray. When Blu Ray players cost peanuts though people may have to change if DVDs are phased out or they can't get decent internet.

Ultimately there are many factors affecting 'HD' quality, and the actual 720p, 1080i/1080p labels can be wothless if quality is poor.

There has been some outcry in UK about BBC HD service- I bought a HD satellite receiver last year to watch this but it was only available a couple of hours a day so I unplugged it. I've recently plugged it in again as they're adding iplayer to the devices, but the HD quality doesn't seem that good anymore - they've been using new encoders for their video which have significantly lowered bitrate and according to many users this has reduced quality quite a lot - BBC currently deny this though.

AC

Dec 30, 2009 10:45 AM in response to Alley_Cat

Thank you AC that was most helpful. I will definitely continue buying digital movies from iTunes then and won't worry about the disc! I find Apple TV to be an awesome gadget especially for playing music through my surround sound on TV instead of having to plug it into speakers for parties.

That is an interesting note for the car ride. I do not have kids yet, but in the future that would be something worth knowing.

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DVD, Blu Ray DVDs, and iTunes with Apple TV

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