TV shows from iTunes NOT OAR!! (1 Viewer)

[Ushabye]

Not sure if I'm posting this in the right section, but thought I'd vent my great disappointment in this service. I was delighted when I read that both LOST and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA would be available to download the day after broadcast from iTunes. Then I was gutted when running the file to find out its not 16:9 but standard 4:3. I am willing to pay $1.99 or even twice that BUT not for a SQUARE picture!

 

[Edward Schatz]

Probably due to the 4:3 nature of the iPod screen.

 

[ElijahS]

The shows on iTunes are shown as originally broadcast for 4:3 screens. For example, The Office is shown in widescreen, as is the newest episode of Law & Order (the first to be shown in widescreen only - NBC's gone the way of ER and The West Wing for all three Law & Order series as of a few weeks ago).

 

[Jay_B!]

people will find anything to complain about, huh?

They are for your ipods, not for you to burn to DVD!!!

 

[MattGSmith]

Here's a question I've had for awhile now. When you download/pay for an episode, it only stays in your itunes folder on your computer right. It's coded so you can't burn the file to dvd, right?

 

[ElijahS]

Well, either in the iTunes folder or on your iPod. The resolution is great for iPod, but would look like crap on DVD anyway. Honestly, with the size of the screen for iPod, I don't blame Disney or Universal for going with full screen for most of the releases.

 

[Dustin James]

.

 

[Mike Heenan]

I second what Jay B said... :rolleyes

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It's fascinating how when 4x3 shows are released on DVD in 16x9, far fewer people complain...

iTunes quality is shit anyway. The bootlegs are honestly 3-4x the resolution and natively widescreen. Personally, I watch on TV then wait for the DVDs. Don't like it, don't buy it. That's all there is to it.

 

[Edward Schatz]

Even more loathesome is the fact that the music videos' audio quality is horrible.

 

[AnthonyC]

What I personally don't get is how a 40-second SNL commercial parody, a 3-minute music video, and a 42-minute episode of Lost all sell for the same price.

 

[ElijahS]

In some cases (the SNL example in particular), it's a way to get you to buy more (you can get one SNL commercial parody for $1.99, or all 24 for $9.99).

 

[Mike*SC]

It's all part of Steve Jobs' (so far correct) belief that buying songs and now video online should be as simple as possible. Any individual music track on iTunes is the same 99¢, regardless of length. Same goes for video, now.

 

[Scott Kimball]

On a 2.5 inch iPod screen, the video resolution is more than adequate. The resolution is approximately VHS resolution, so blowing it up will not satisfy a videofile. As for bootlegs... besides the illegality, people aren't generally trying to play those back on a 2.5 inch screen. iTunes video is not geared to the videophile, and is optimized for a small screen. Different market.

-Scott

 

[seanOhara]

I prefer the business model for Yahoo's music store -- a flat monthly rate ($5.99 I think) for unlimited downloads. Unfortunately, they use a format that's incompatible with an iPod.

I might buy iTunes video if they had a similar deal (or even a per-show subscription), but as it stands now, downloading an entire season of Lost costs more than the DVDs.

 

[ElijahS]

So far, I've downloaded six episodes of programming from iTunes (two for free - SciFi's Battlestar Galactica special and the fourth season premiere of Monk). Of the four I purchased (the two most recent episodes of Desperate Housewives and Commander In Chief), it was because I was missing those episodes for something else (specifically, 24 and Scrubs).

 

[Mike*SC]

Nobody, certainly not Apple, is claiming that iTunes video is a substitute for DVD. The people I know who have video iPods use them (the video part, anyway) for train or plane commutes. (Actually, one watches hers surreptitiously at work.) I have not bought any shows yet (I tried a free download, just to check it out), but if I accidentally miss an episode of a favorite show and it's available on iTunes the next day, I'll probably buy it to watch on my computer.

 

[Scott Kimball]

I've downloaded a few shows from iTunes, mostly from when my stupid Motorola DVR (Adelphia) decided not to record a show. (I've since dumped the DVR and gone with a Panasonic DVD Recorder with HD and TVGuide on Screen - no High Def recording but more reliable and no service fee)

I know everything on TV is available and easy to find for free, but if it's available legally on a pay-per-episode basis, I prefer to support the practice in hopes that they will not only continue the offerings, but increase options, as well.

-Scott

 

[Ushabye]

I dont have an ipod and dont burn the files to DVD, but have my PC connected to my widescreen LCD television, on which I watch downloaded TV shows - hence my complaint in launching this thread. I would much prefer to pay and download shows from official sources than go through weekly bootleg means to watch them. As it stands the unofficial files of the shows are far supperior.

 

[Edward Schatz]

I still think it's fair to point out that you are downloading files designed to played on a tiny iPod screen. I highly doubt Apple thinks that people are downloading these episodes and them blowing them up on an LCD. Why not just buy the DVDs? Of course they cost more but....