What resolution is HD movies in iTunes store?

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Level 1

55 points

What resolution is HD movies in iTunes store?

Hi,

I am a bit confused, and I hope someone here can clear up my confusion 😁

I was about to purchase the new TinTin movie in HD from iTunes, but I have become a bit uncertain about the actual resolution of the HD movies, and from which device I should purchase the movie to get best quality.

Here is why:
When I look at iTunes store from my Mac the movie is presented as 720p with a filesize of 3.50GB, and when I look at iTunes store from my new iPad it is shown as 1080p, but the filesize is "only" 3.43GB.

This does not make sense to me. Why should the movie in iTunes on the Mac only be 720p vs 1080p on the iPad. And why does the 1080p version on the iPad have a smaller footprint than the 720p version on the Mac?

Are the versions different or will I get 720p (or 1080p) no matter from which device I purchase it?

Can anybody shed some light on that?

Thanks.

Posted on Apr 2, 2012 2:14 PM

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Answer 1

b noir

Level 9

72,324 points

Apr 2, 2012 6:46 PM in response to lkodk

When I look at iTunes store from my Mac the movie is presented as 720p with a filesize of 3.50GB, and when I look at iTunes store from my new iPad it is shown as 1080p, but the filesize is "only" 3.43GB.

Interesting. I'm no expert on the topic, but this is what I think might be going on. From the How to purchase, download, or view HD 1080p¹ content section of the following document:

iTunes: Purchasing and viewing HD videos

... I'm seeing:

iTunes 10.6 by default is set to purchase, download, and playback HD content in 720p. You must change your local preference setting if you prefer to download, purchase, and playback HD content in 1080p¹.

So, if you adjust iTunes on your Mac as per the instructions in that section of the document does your iTunes also show you the 1080p option on the Mac?

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Answer 2

lkodk Author

Level 1

55 points

Apr 3, 2012 1:37 AM in response to b noir

Thanks for that suggestion. I wasn't aware of this setting.

unfortunately HD movies are still presented as 720p on the Mac while they are presented as 1080p on the iPad.

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Answer 3

b noir

Level 9

72,324 points

Apr 3, 2012 2:39 PM in response to lkodk

Does your Mac meet the specs in that document for being able to use 1080p? (Don't have a Mac myself to check to see if only the 720p versions show up under those circumstances ... anyone with a Mac of such a description please feel free to leap in with observations.)

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Answer 4

lkodk Author

Level 1

55 points

Apr 4, 2012 1:01 AM in response to b noir

My MBP is way above those specs 🙂, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Strange though, that Apples minimum display requiremens for 1080p content is 1280x800.

The 15" display on my MBP is 1680x1050 so that should be ok according to Apples specs, but isn't 1080p native resolution 1920x1280 ?

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Answer 5

Apr 5, 2012 3:34 PM in response to lkodk

How do you verify that the content is actually 1080p on your iPad?

My experience suggests that 1080p is really only available as a rental from my ATV.

Everything else is 1080p.

I have correct iTunes settings and the iTunes store says 1080p will be downloaded.

In fact it's not. I'm in germany, but TV shows like The Big Bang Theory show up as 1080p.

The only thing I get is 720p.

I contacted the iTunes support, they gave me mz money butt did NOT answer any of my questions,

The thing is, I did not evebn ask for a refund, I just wanted to know if it's somehow possible to get 1080p at all.

There seems to be an issue that Apple is trying to avoid to tell anyone.

I successfully watched War Of Arrows on my AppleTV 3 and I'm pretty sure it was indeed 1080p.

My impression is this:

Right now zou can only rent 1080p content from an Apple TV3.

Even if the content is advertised as 1080p, you'll onlz get 720p on all other devices.

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Answer 6

Dec 28, 2012 3:39 PM in response to lkodk

I think that there are a few variables taken into account here. Apple does display that when you purchase a movie it is High Definition and includes the 720p and 1080p version. However you may notice that it will say something like "Downloading 720p). I believe that this is being done to limit the file sizes of the movies downloaded so that 1. their download servers don't get crushed with the bandwidth and 2. people don't download the 1080p version which would be a little less then double the 720p version and fill their hard drives up.

I think the 1080p version if used for streaming purposes only to devices like the AppleTV and iPads.

I am completely speculating here but that's my thought on the matter.

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