Apple TV (etc) quality debate for films

I have a very low opinion of Apple so I was only speaking for myself, but my comment is more directed at not relying on streaming services who are at the mercy of rights-holders. It would seriously p*** me off if I had bought an Atmos/HDR etc film and when I sat down to watch it the quality had been downgraded, even if only temporary. I'll never have that problem with physical media.
A very fair point but an advantage of streaming purchases (exluding the likes of Netflix, Prime etc here as they're not the same) is the potential for titles to be upgraded at no additional cost to higher quality - something Apple (love or hate 'em) is definitely the best at handling so far. For example, my copy of Alien was upgrade for free to 4K/HDR and I only paid £2.99 for it in HD in a sale. There are absolutely still issues that need to be ironed out with upgrades, as anyone who got the old UK iTunes version of The Shining will tell you, but it's mostly been quite smooth IMO. I still like and frequently purchase physical media too but I would be lying if I said that the Apple TV 4K hadn't massively opened up how I choose to watch films and TV shows at home.
 
I have to say its annoying when need to check if its in best format etc before go to buy, I had similar issues on Rakuten TV and even after complained took them a while to realise the option I paid for in 4k/HDR etc was not even available but was still able to paid for.
I look to use Apple more in future now for 4k etc.

Though I do miss older days of knowing what was on the tape/disc and just watching it as wanted. So many times now find need to check is picture/sound right!
 
It's annoying when you've bought at 4K, as there's no notice, explanation, or apology, nor any reason for a reversion over many days before a new file is uploaded. But it's not a reason to avoid Apple or streaming services in general. If the whole library was unobtainable all evening then that would be a good reason. If you're happy to find shelf and wallet space for a UHD collection - maybe you haven't been through this with DVDs and then blu-rays - then your use-case will differ. But it's also annoying when the same few meme wielding posters feel the need to trivialise the problem and apologise on Apple's behalf.

Oh, I've been through it with VHS, DVD and Bluray. I do buy UHD's but because the difference in quality compared to Bluray vs Dvd isn't as extreme I still mainly buy regular Bluray's and save UHD purchases for my favourite films and great films that are from a 4K DI and get great reviews. As a lover of physical media, finding shelf-space/storage is something I accept I'll have to deal with. It's also something I'm going to have to deal with soon, as in my current set-up in the living room I have space for 4 more films and 20 CD's o_O

Perhaps I should think about disposing of the few-hundred DVD's in the loft that I replaced with Blurays and are never going to be used again 🤔

#FirstWorldProblems ;)

I should also add that I only have a 14mb ADSL2+ Internet connection, which is going to stay that way for the foreseeable future, so it's another reason I won't be relying on streaming services for my film-watching needs. It's fine for TV shows but not for films. I live somewhere that got screwed-over when Openreach brought Fibre Broadband to the area. I was on an Exchange-Only line, which means it was connected directly to the exchange rather than a street cabinet and now that the town has Fibre I'm connected to a street cabinet 1000 meters away, and with the more extreme distance vs speed drop you get with Fibre my estimated Fibre speed is between 8 and 10mb. It's going to be years before Fibre To The Premises is available to me so I'll be sticking with physical media for as long as I can.
 
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I see your point, but after amassing over 500 dvds that ultimately proved worthless, both in monetary terms, and picture quality; I won't go down that route again. I used to buy discs and sell them on immediately on here, but have now settled on iTunes rentals as they seem to be very decent quality.
 
I have a very low opinion of Apple so I was only speaking for myself, but my comment is more directed at not relying on streaming services who are at the mercy of rights-holders. It would seriously p*** me off if I had bought an Atmos/HDR etc film and when I sat down to watch it the quality had been downgraded, even if only temporary. I'll never have that problem with physical media.

I do think that’s a fair point, but equally I’ve never had physical media companies upgrade my DVDs or Blu-rays for free either!
 
I do think that’s a fair point, but equally I’ve never had physical media companies upgrade my DVDs or Blu-rays for free either!
I agree with this comment and something else that doesn’t often get mentioned in this is that sometimes physical media fails. The disc that looks in perfect condition that just will not play. So the idea that when you buy something physical it’s yours forever isn’t always the case.
 
I see your point, but after amassing over 500 dvds that ultimately proved worthless, both in monetary terms, and picture quality; I won't go down that route again. I used to buy discs and sell them on immediately on here, but have now settled on iTunes rentals as they seem to be very decent quality.
Same quality as a purchase and price is right
 
Yep same quality but maybe without extras - this weeks 99p rental is Long Shot in DV/Atmos.

We now have quite a lot of 4K film options
Buy new UHD disks
Buy 2nd hand disks (I had no quality issues from MM)
Buy itunes films (or other service)
Rent Itunes films (or other service)
Subscribe to Disney+ to access films during the subscription
 
I do think that’s a fair point, but equally I’ve never had physical media companies upgrade my DVDs or Blu-rays for free either!

That's the one and only thing about Apple that made me think positively about them. I was impressed when I first heard about them doing that.
 
I've never had a single disc go wrong to be fair. Not once.

Neither have I, not once, even with the 100+ used discs I've bought from Music Magpie. Between DVDs, Blurays, 4K Blurays and video games my physical media collection is around the 1500 mark.
 
Neither have I, not once, even with the 100+ used discs I've bought from Music Magpie. Between DVDs, Blurays, 4K Blurays and video games my physical media collection is around the 1500 mark.
You guys have obviously never experienced the beautiful format known as Laserdisc 🤔
 
You guys have obviously never experienced the beautiful format known as Laserdisc 🤔
I remember I had Night and the City on laserdic. 2 years later disc rot had set in and it was unwatchable. Same for Die Hard with a Vengeance and Terminator special edition on DVD. Im still a disc purchaser but disc deterioration is something I am a little worried about in the future.
 
I remember I had Night and the City on laserdic. 2 years later disc rot had set in and it was unwatchable. Same for Die Hard with a Vengeance and Terminator special edition on DVD. Im still a disc purchaser but disc deterioration is something I am a little worried about in the future.

Funnily enough, it rotted in about the same time as the age of this thread ;)
 
Ha! Good one.
I watched my fist ATV 4k stream with Atmos last night. Was blown away by how good it was and how good the colours were on a 4K native projector.
 
Yeah agree. I debated going digital for years, wish I’d done it sooner. Think it’s been about 3 years now. I think once Apple announced 4K upgrades it swayed me. Instead of having to re-buy discs, spending hours ripping with handbrake and buying hard drives. Worth the trade off.
 
Do discs really rot? Never had any cds or DVDs do it, have cds from 80's etc.
I to am moving more to streaming, but still disc is generally better.
 
I don’t think anyone argues that discs are generally better. Having said that, if your watching on a normal tv and a half decent sound system, the difference is pretty much negligible.

If you’ve got a massive tv or a projector and an expensive sound system, you’ll probably notice a difference.

For me digital in most cases looks and sounds great and i‘ll take the massive savings over disc any day.
 
Ha! Good one.
I watched my fist ATV 4k stream with Atmos last night. Was blown away by how good it was and how good the colours were on a 4K native projector.
What was it you watched ?
 
Do discs really rot? Never had any cds or DVDs do it, have cds from 80's etc.
I to am moving more to streaming, but still disc is generally better.
Not sure about CD, DVD or Bku-ray but Laserdiscs used to be 2 discs glued together. I think it was proven it was the glue that rotted the discs.
 
I don’t think anyone argues that discs are generally better. Having said that, if your watching on a normal tv and a half decent sound system, the difference is pretty much negligible.

If you’ve got a massive tv or a projector and an expensive sound system, you’ll probably notice a difference.

For me digital in most cases looks and sounds great and i‘ll take the massive savings over disc any day.
Totally agree. But I use a 4K JVC projector and the quality is still great with iTunes, just not with the same fine level of picture quality as a 4K disc - for example the finest layer of grain is missing and you get the very occasional blocking artefact. Occasionally there is a larger difference - I rented WW84 the other day and I was surprised how soft and detail free that looked, while the disc is supposed to have stellar AV. But something like Ready Player One on ATV looks fabulous on my JVC. And sounds great on my 7.1.2 setup. And considering the absolute gulf in prices I’m absolutely fine with the small quality difference. Anyone who says that the best streaming is awful compared to disc isn’t accurate these days, and the gap is going to keep getting smaller IMO. And the quality isn’t just on Apple TV - if someone thinks that something like Luca looks bad compared to a typical disc on Disney+ in 4K / HDR then I don’t really know what to say!
 
Do discs really rot? Never had any cds or DVDs do it, have cds from 80's etc.
I to am moving more to streaming, but still disc is generally better.
I checked mine before trading them all in at a local shop and found a few “rotted“ ones. Both discs in my Fargo special edition had gone a bronze colour and wouldn’t load - I’d never even played them. I’ve gone digital and now I find that films get upgraded for free which is a lot nicer. I don’t buy that many but iTunes have upgraded to 4K remasters of all my Harry Potters, LotR’s, Wizard of Oz, Jaws, Indiana Jones and a few more.
 
I see, I guess I didn't check all DVDs I gave away last year to be honest, only recently checked CDs my dad got in 86/87 Queen a kind of magic album, still Ok, remember him picking up Sony hifi system that tried to look separate system. Though auto reverse was cool on cassette lol.
At the time though cd was a revelation and so wow no rewind!!
 

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