iTunes HD Movie resolution clarification

Thanks Michael.

There are two locations in iTunes preferences where you can select video resolution, one on the Playback tab, and one on the Store tab. Both of these were already set at 1080p. Even so, I specifically purchased & downloaded the movie ON my iPad because that was were it was shown as being 1080p. I would have thought, even after syncing the movie back to my iMac, that iTunes would show (in Get Info) that the movie was High Definition (1080p) regardless of the value of those settings.

On my iPad 2, yes, it says 3.75GB (720p). However, my new iPad (3rd gen) definitely shows 3.70GB (1080p).

Maybe it's incorrect information in iTunes? I'm pretty disappointed about it because I specifically purchased this movie to run through a new AppleTV and try out the 1080p output.

Unfortunately, for us Australians, there is no purchased list for movies. We can re-download TV Shows, Apps, Books & Music, but not movies. So if they've sold me a 720p movie, when iTunes showed it was a 1080p version, then I'll apply for a refund. The movie is AU$30 over here (US$31), and I'm not happy paying that for a non-1080p movie. I'm not happy paying that for a 1080p movie either.. but you get that :^)

I've done this, but as has been typical with Australia's iTunes Support, they're quick to respond, but they don't read the full message until you send the 3rd email back :^)

The first email said they couldn't do anything about it until the transaction had processed?!?! The second one simply refunded my money. At no point has anyone actually attempted to answer the question or solve the problem.

I've been browsing more HD content on my new iPad & AppleTV, and there are many movies showing as available in 1080p, yet via my iMac.. the same movies are showing as 720p, even though my preferences have been updated to 1080p. Another movie I bought last week (on the 14/3) is showing as 1080p on the iPad, but iTunes Store, and iTunes Get Info on the downloaded movie, are showing that as 720p too.

Maybe this is an Australian thing? Maybe 1080p is only available on rentals in Australia, and not on purchases yet? Although if that were the case, they wouldn't be showing movies that are for sale as 1080p on the iPad 3.

Thanks for the link Hisham. It really didn't shed any light. Movie Information in the iTunes Store on my iMac are still showing as 720p, while on the iPad they show as 1080p.

I'm guessing, but it would appear that HD movies in Australia (via iTunes), can only be BOUGHT at 720p. But they can be rented (via iPad/AppleTV) at 1080p. I'm not quite sure why you can't rent at 1080p on an iMac, that doesn't really make any sense, but then nor do the content licensing rules here in Australia. The crux of the issue is that iTunes, on the iPad, insinuates you're getting a 1080p version if you buy it on that device, and Apple are exposing themselves to claims of false advertising, because the movie information clearly states 'Size: 3.15 GB (1080p)', at no point, anywhere on that page, does it state you'll only be getting a 720p movie.

Ah, no, movies (in Australia) can't be re-downloaded, but TV shows definitely can (as well as music & apps). Definitely backup any iTunes movie purchases & digital copies you may have. For any TV show I buy through iTunes, I still download it and back it up. I know you're meant to be able to re-download them at any time via iCloud, but I'd hate to want to go and watch a show only to find it no longer available.

I'm 99.9% certain the ability to re-download movies (like they can in the US), the high pricing, and the whole 720p/1080p debacle isn't really an Apple issue anyway, it'll be the content companies putting restrictions on Apple. So a Retina TV display from Apple, won't make a difference unless the content providers loosen their grip a little.

I love the iTunes Store for it's convenience, but it's sad to see continual abuses directed at Apple about the pricing when it's the content providers fault.

Have you checked out the 'Purchased' section of iTunes Store :)

At the top you can select Music, TV Shows or Apps. Choose TV Shows, and you can see all the shows you've previously bought. Click on the cloud icon to re-download it. No need to go through the buy again option :)

In the US, they also have Movies listed on their Purchased page, which I hope we'll see one day, I'm guessing it's not Apples decision, but the content providers.

Hey Hisham,

The TV Shows in iCloud works really well. The cloud will appear only if it's not already on your machine, or at least not in iTunes. You mentioned you moved the file out of the media folder, but did you remove the file from iTunes first? iTunes (more than likely) still had a pointer to that file. While iTunes still sees the file, it knows you don't need to redownload it, so doesn't show you the cloud link.

I've bought a lot of TV series via my AppleTV, and I can go to iTunes, click on purchased, and download the whole series to my iMac, or iPad, if I so choose.

If you really want to see it work, you can't just move a file, you need to remove a show from iTunes first (either deleting it, or choose to keep the file and moving the original to another drive/folder), and then go to the Purchased tab in iTunes.