Ruh-roh, Why are Quicktime 1080p trailers are disappearing?

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Ruh-roh, Why are Quicktime 1080p trailers are disappearing?

I'm a huge Apple Quicktime Trailer fan from both the website (http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/) or the Trailers submenu on iTunes. I was going to download the new Elysium Trailer (in 1080p) via iTunes when I noticed it just offered the Play feature and only in 480p or 720p. So not only do they not offer it in 1080p at all and including even newer trailers like the brand new Man of Steel trailer, but they've eliminated entirely the download feature that's been there since forever.

However older posted trailers by a few days still shows the download option and up to 1080p. UNLESS they have added a new trailer like the Man of Steel Trailer, so now all the previous trailers of Man of Steel are also stream only, 720p max, and no download option.

What is up with that??? Are they going to hold back that great content that has always been available going back to the late nineties? How can they go back to 720p??

OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on May 23, 2013 2:11 PM

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Answer 1

bulkmail

Level 1

10 points

May 23, 2013 6:26 PM in response to Toltec21

Amen. Same problem. Why do they keep screwing up things that are working. Between this and making me manually download every episode of my season passes, I'm about done with them.

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Answer 2

May 23, 2013 7:18 PM in response to Toltec21

Yeah, that was a really, really, really BAD move. Offering less is never a good strategy. Hopefully this is a prelude to something better. Some new format with better resolution and 3D steroscopic fetures. If not, Jobs is rolling in his ultra-clean, super pristine iGrave.

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Answer 3

May 23, 2013 7:23 PM in response to bulkmail

I thought I was the only one with that Season pass issue - it's annoying as all get out. I never, ever thought I'd say this but, without a flawless fall lineup of products, the end is near for the big A.

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Answer 4

Toltec21 Author

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May 23, 2013 7:29 PM in response to BrotherEye

We're getting off topic here, about Season Pass issues and "the end is near" (LOL on that!), but has no one else noticed the disappearance of the 1080p trailers of say, Man of Steel? A lot of folks have greater than 40" screens nowadays and Quicktime Trailers at 1080p were essentially Blu Ray quality. This is a serious loss if it's a permanent change. Or a money grab if they start charging for them. I would think they wouldn't charge for "advertising" but people pay for music videos and those, too, were once deemed advertising tools.

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Answer 5

IK_2013

Level 1

6 points

May 24, 2013 12:29 AM in response to Toltec21

I also just noticed the lack of 1080p movie trailers. I can't even download any trailer to watch later. I like to watch trailers on my Apple TV using a playlist. I watch trailers in a playlist because it's eaiser than using the app. I can't watch a list of trailers instead of clicking each one individually using the Trailers App on Apple TV. Aot of the simple things have changed in the new update (iTunes 11.0.3). I can no longer view Album Art at any size. Any have any solutons for downloading movie trailers from Apple?

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Answer 6

May 24, 2013 3:09 AM in response to Toltec21

this seems to be true only for trailers posted over the last 48 hours or so...

if you go to the trailers front page and click on, say, the Pacific Rim pic, you will go to the trailer page for that movie, and i for one, can still view/download any of the options...

but ANYTHING starting one row above that trailer (fast and furious 6 for example) can not be downloaded or viewed as 1080p...

i am seriously hopeing this is a glitch for new trailers and will be corrected...

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Answer 7

Toltec21 Author

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May 24, 2013 5:32 AM in response to reshef316

Does anyone here have experience reaching customer service teams for Apple Products? I know there is a customer service team for iTunes somewhere but I've lost the contact information.

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Answer 8

Bubbi

Level 1

5 points

May 25, 2013 5:31 AM in response to Toltec21

It's kinda strange.

Because the 1080p files are still being hosted by Apple..

If you change the '720' to '1080' in the URL for the trailer, you will be able to watch the trailer in FullHD.

The URL to the Elysium trailer is as follows:

http://trailers.apple.com/movies/sony/elysium/elysium-tlr1_720p.mov

And if you change it to this you can watch & download it in 1080p:

http://trailers.apple.com/movies/sony/elysium/elysium-tlr1_1080p.mov

So it might just be a glitch that has to be corrected.

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Answer 9

May 25, 2013 1:12 PM in response to Bubbi

You can use the above method to view the 1080p versions but you can't download them. I really hope this is a glitch. As a cinephlile, I think it's useful to have an archive of trailers.

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Answer 10

Bubbi

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5 points

May 25, 2013 2:08 PM in response to BrotherEye

Yes you can.

It just takes a bit know-how.

The easiest way would probably be to open the 1080p link in QuickTime, and then go to the file menu and save the trailer.

Or you could use a download manager.

Or simply disable QuickTime in your browser for .mov file types, so the browser asks wether to open or save the file.

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Answer 11

CyberIF.

Level 1

0 points

May 25, 2013 6:38 PM in response to Bubbi

Hi Bubbi.
Thanks for the trick. However how do you get that links in the same format as 'http://trailers.apple.com/movies/sony/elysium/elysium-tlr1_720p.mov'? When I am on the apple trailer page, the only links I get are like 'http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/elysium/includes/extralarge.htm l#videos-extralar_1'.

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Answer 12

Toltec21 Author

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0 points

May 27, 2013 6:31 AM in response to Toltec21

Hey, that was great detective work, and I discovered that via another route in that HD-trailers.net also shows those same links to Apple Servers with the 1080p's, but it obviously is not a glitch because they are hidden across the board elsewhere on Apple products (iTunes, etc.)

http://www.hd-trailers.net/movie/elysium/

However, I have not succeeded in downloading and saving any of these quicktime flles via a quicktime type viewer. There might be a 3rd party solution but am still working on it.

I've got a thread going at MacRumors too with a variety of investigations:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1586552

Also I got a more formal reply from Apple Customer Service yesterday:

" I'm sincerely sorry for the inconvenience your experiencing with downloading movie trailers. After consulting my senior advisors they have informed me that you are longer able to download movie trailer you can however stream them."

So, again, this is no glitch and looks like a major change is underway. Oh well, it was a good run, and goes back to when Apple proffered the trailer for "Phantom Menace" in 1999. That's how quicktime got on the map and turned the tide away from Real Player and whatever else was available in those days.

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Answer 13

May 28, 2013 9:41 AM in response to Toltec21

As this issue has become more widely known, several workarounds for downloading the videos have been documented. I believe they are all in vien as part of the purpose of streaming is to prevent downloading. It was fun while it lasted.

I was quick to judge and berate Apple for sabatoging my hobby however, it is possible that they may have little or nothing to do with this decision. The movie studios themselves may be behind this as it limits fan mashups and other so called rights infringements.

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Answer 14

Bubbi

Level 1

5 points

Jun 2, 2013 10:43 AM in response to Toltec21

To sum this up, there are several workarounds, but just to clarify, this is not Apple's own choice to disable downloads for 1080p trailers.

It's actually the movie industry that doesn't like the idea of us being able to download and "own" pieces of the movie in FullHD quality for free.

What I don’t get though, is why Apple keeps hosting the 1080p files, which we can grab via the workarounds.

But those cursing at Apple for this, you might as well stop, since Apple isn’t the one to blame for this. 😟

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Answer 15

bulkmail

Level 1

10 points

Jun 3, 2013 9:15 AM in response to Bubbi

Bubbi, do you have something to back up the claim that the movie industry is behind this? I've heard people throw that out as a possibility, but personally, until I see facts supporting it, I'm laying the blame squarely at Apple's feet. Their support of the trailers options have been going downhill for the last year with multiple trailers not working per the download link in iTunes, the link to the trailers going away for periods of time and disappearing from the top menu, and generally a feeling like they don't care about the whole thing.

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