Itunes default video playback set to 720p, I want default 1080p

As promised, here’s my full tutorial:

Recently, iTunes received an update, 12.6.0.100. In previous a version iTunes had the option to right-click on each item to change to 1080p, but now that option is gone. It's still in the menu bar > Movie > Video Quality > High Definition (1080p). It's still not possible to select multiple titles then check the 1080p option, it has to be done one at a time.

Lets fix this using Automator!

First we need to create a keyboard shortcut that will change the selected title to 1080p.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click Keyboard.
3. Click Shortcuts.
4. Click App Shortcuts.
5. Click the "+" button.
6. In the Application field, select iTunes.
7. In the Menu Title field, enter "High Definition (1080p)" without the quotes.
8. In the Keyboard Shortcut field type a unique keyboard shortcut. I used "ctrl+opt+cmd+h" w/o the quotes.
9. Click Add. Quit System Preferences if you want.
10. In iTunes, click the ‘View Chooser’ - that little drop down menu in the upper left next to the [<] [>] buttons (Music, Movies, TV Shows, etc) - Click on Movies.
11. Beneath that ‘view chooser’, in the Sidebar, under "Library" click "Movies" so you see all of them.

    If you can’t see the Sidebar, type opt+cmd+s.

12. In the menu bar, click View > View As > List.
13. Select the title at the top of the list. Or which ever title you need to change.
14. Type your super-awesome keyboard shortcut - "ctrl+opt+cmd+h" w/o the quotes.
15. Type the down arrow on your keyboard then repeat the keyboard shortcut as needed.

If you only have a few to fix, then you can manually enter this keyboard shortcut for each title. If you have more than a few, it’s time for that little Automator robit to get to work.

1. Open Automator.
2. Click New Document.
3. Click Service.
4. Make it look like the attached screen grab, including the part at the top, "service receives [no input] in [iTunes.app]”.

1. Change the Loop to whatever you want, but test with smaller increments first. *See notes below*
2. Save it as "Auto 1080p" or whatever. It will go in a super secret folder where you'll never find it ( ~/Library/Services/ )
3. In iTunes, follow steps 10-13. This will be the ‘starting point’ for your workflow.

   Alter step 13 as needed - select the title where you want to start the workflow.

4. In the menu bar click iTunes > Services > Auto 1080p.

   Pro Tip- You can create a keyboard shortcut for this Service!

   1. Follow step 1-4.
   2. Click Services.
   3. Scroll to the bottom of the list to find your new Service.
   4. Click “none” to the right of the Service name.
   5. Click “Add Shortcut”
   6. Type a unique keyboard shortcut. I used "ctrl+opt+cmd+a" w/o the quotes.
   7. Go back into iTunes and type "ctrl+opt+cmd+a" w/o the quotes.
5. Watch the workflow then enjoy your 1080p content!

Just a few notes:

1. Enter at your own risk. This is a keyboard macro emulating your typing on the keyboard; if you didn’t follow exactly, or even if you did follow exactly, it might do something undesirable.
2. Don’t touch your computer until it stops unless you know how to stop the workflow... I couldn’t figure that out. I tried going back up to menu bar > iTunes > Services, but I couldn’t even get that far since the keyboard was typing.
3. So maybe don't set your loop too high in Automator.
4. It will not perform the desired function if you click out of iTunes, but it will technically keep going so you still have to wait for the loop to end.
5. If you followed steps 23.a.1. - 23.a.6. DO NOT reenter the Service keyboard shortcut. I haven’t tried this, but I assume it will be like crossing the streams: total protonic reversal.
6. This won’t undo any title that is already set to 1080p.
   1. Nor is it smart enough to skip the titles that are already 1080p.
   2. Nor could I find a way to first sort titles by Video Quality.
   3. You'll hear an error sound (boop) if the file doesn't have a 1080p version, then it will move on.
   4. That means titles with max 720p will stay 720p.
7. If you show the Size column in List view, you’ll be able to watch the file size change from small to large as the workflow proceeds.

I hope this helps everyone here. It took me much longer to write up this tutorial than it did to create the workflow PLUS fixing my titles!

Good luck!

PS- Let’s hope Apple will fix this issue in the near future. Wish in one hand…

I am seeing this same exact problem in the new iTunes, for BOTH DOWNLOADED and STREAMING 1080p files. Yes I double checked and the actual files are 1080p but the "default" for playback is 720p and requires file-by-file manual switching back to 1080p. This is pretty bad. I'm a long time Apple fan but cringe when I have to show iTunes to new users. It's not friendly or logical like it was back in the 2000's. Now it's even worse. Do you think this might be happening on the Apple TV versions too?

Well, that wasn't so hard....

00- Follow steps 01-09 in my previous post. Make the keyboard shortcut exactly as stated since that's how I set it up in step 04 of this post.

01- Open Automator.

02- New Document.

03- Click Service.

04- Make it look like the attached screen grab, including the part at the top, "service receives [no input] in [iTunes.app]"

05- Change the Loop to whatever you want, but test with smaller increments first. *See step 09*

06- Save it as "Auto 1080p" or whatever. It will go in a super secret folder where you'll never find it ( ~/Library/Services/ )

07- In iTunes, follow step 10-12 from my previous post.

08- In the menu bar click iTunes > Services > Auto 1080p.

09- Don't touch your computer until it stops unless you know how to stop the workflow... I don't, so maybe don't set your loop too high. It will stop doing it's thing if you click off of iTunes, but it will technically keep going so you still have to wait for it to stop.

10- You'll hear an error sound (boop) if the file doesn't have a 1080p version, then it will move on.

Took me longer to write the how-to than the workflow. Apple, never ever kill Automator, please.

I Just noticed that setting yesterday. What a difference now when the file is set to 1080p. I wondered why my HD videos didn't seem to crisp. My iTunes preferences is set to download the 1080p version, but the current version of iTunes requires the user to select playback quality separately on each one. The videos that don't have the option are the ones in 480 SD only.

Yes, this is highly, highly annoying. Over 200 movies in my collection that I have to manually change to 1080p. And since I only have 480p and 1080p versions, it appears to default to play the 480p version. Always looking out for the user.

Thanks Apple!!

You didn't purchase "1080p", you purchased "HD". HD means, it either downloads 720p or 1080p, depending on the machine you run iTunes on. Problem is, iTunes decides for you, so even with a big Mac (:o) you may end up with 720p. This is where Apple's still in the stone age.

I have the same issues. I have invested quite a bit in my film library so going through them one by one and right-click is not a solution.

Some may be misunderstanding. The problem is not with files DOWNLOADED. The problem is with STREAMING files. That is, the default to STREAM the file on iTunes (I do not download all my HD movies for space reasons) the default will be 720p until you change it.

EXTREMELY frustrating.

After I posted my second post (Apr 11, 2017 2:17 AM) I couldn't find my first post. Then I saw the email that it was deleted by the robits.

"We removed your post Itunes default video playback set to 720p, I want default 1080p because it contained rants or complaints that weren’t constructive. We understand wanting to share experiences, but these forums are meant for technical questions that can be answered by the community."

I guess my G-rated language was too harsh. Anyhow, I wrote a tutorial that would show how to make a keyboard shortcut that would change the selected title to 1080p, rather than 720p. Then I referred to that tutorial in my second post, so it's fairly critical to accomplish what's in post #2. I'm going to combine the two of them, see if that works & is accepted.

I have the same issue. It is an annoying bug that hopefully gets fixed.

The playback should be 1080p if the default-download size is 1080p.

Also, I don´t see why the thread says the issues is fixed - it is not.

ignore - I posted a guide on how to make a shortcut to change default playback, not realising it was already covered in this thread.

you can't delete your own posts, only edit them, so this the edit!

sorry, please ignore...

https://recombu.com/digital/article/how-can-i-get-1080p-hd-video-downloads-on-it unes#

http://osxdaily.com/2012/03/14/itunes-1080p-video-content-download-default/