Apple HD Rentals - DD Audio Bitrate?

[GamerGuyX]

Does anybody know what audio bitrate will be for the HD rentals with Dolby Digital? Will it be limited to 448kbps like DVD?

[mrspeakers]

I'm guessing that is the case. They only said DD 5.1 *not for all HD movies* I'm looking, but no details are available.

[mrspeakers]

Everywhere I look it says Dolby Digital 5.1, so I assume it's DVD rate. Too bad, but better than a stick in the eye.

[GamerGuyX]

This whole thing screams HD-Lite to me. I think I also read somewhere that the video bitrate is 5 Mbps - MAX.

[redfirebird2008]

Originally Posted by GamerGuyX

This whole thing screams HD-Lite to me. I think I also read somewhere that the video bitrate is 5 Mbps - MAX.

How in the hell is that possible? DVD bitrates are in that range.

[mrspeakers]

It IS HD lite, if you expect 1080p. It's 720p, not 1080p, with Dolby Digital, not TrueHD or DTS HD MA. But it's a big step up from DVD.

DVD uses MPEG 2, which I worked on back in the late 80's/early 90's. Compared to MPEG-4, H.264, and VC-1, MPEG 2 is a bandwidth pig, so this should be no surprise at all.

From their specs, it appears Apple uses MPEG-4 for the store, which requires way less bandwidth, and also H.264 which is better still.

Here's their spec for AppleTV:

VIDEO
H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

iTunes Store purchased video:
320 by 240 pixels, 640 by 480 pixels, 720 by 480 pixels (anamorphic), or high-definition 720p
MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Audio formats supported
AAC (16 to 320 Kbps); protected AAC (from iTunes Store); MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps); MP3 VBR; Apple Lossless; AIFF; WAV; Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound pass-through

[Super-VHS]

Originally Posted by redfirebird2008

How in the hell is that possible? DVD bitrates are in that range.

Well, it is only 720p and they are encoded in MPEG-4/h.264 - something far more efficient than DVDs MPEG-2.

Still, it doesn't appeal to me at all.

EDIT: Damn, beat me to it! And did I see a "720p @ 3 mbps" mentioned in the tech specs. Oh well, like I said, digital downloads (even HD) don't appeal to me at all.

[typ44q]

well the DVD quality looks very good, as good as a regular DVD minus the multi channel audio but I am very skeptical with the quality of their HD. I am really curious to see some reviews of this once its available.

[mrspeakers]

I disagree. I bought POTC on the Apple store and it was markedly lower quality than the DVD. It was much more compressed than DVD, and had a soft, low contrast presentation.

I was quite disappointed. I will try a 720p and see if it stands up better.

[ben1080p]

All i know is that HD Downloads are a great thing,, but I wish they offered movies to buy in HD.
Also I wonder if your allowed to transfer a standard version of the movie over to your ipod if you rent the HD version.

[typ44q]

Originally Posted by mrspeakers

I disagree. I bought POTC on the Apple store and it was markedly lower quality than the DVD. It was much more compressed than DVD, and had a soft, low contrast presentation.

I was quite disappointed. I will try a 720p and see if it stands up better.

the only thing I watched was live free or die hard, a movie which I had not seen before at all so I really dont have anything to compare it to but it looked comparable to dvd quality. I did have a bigger problem with the audio and that would probably keep me from ever renting any more movies.

[kamspy]

Originally Posted by GamerGuyX

This whole thing screams HD-Lite to me. I think I also read somewhere that the video bitrate is 5 Mbps - MAX.

Max?

[Reverend Blu]

Originally Posted by kamspy

Max?

The DD Apple sampling rate is 44.1 KHTZ versus consumer level Dolby Digital on DVD discs at 48 KHTZ............sigh

[hidefimports]

H.264 is a much better compression than MPEG2 use on DVD.

It is optimize for both low and high bitrate compression.

[hidefimports]

Originally Posted by Reverend Blu

The DD Apple sampling rate is 44.1 KHTZ versus consumer level Dolby Digital on DVD discs at 48 KHTZ............sigh

Dude, you don't even know how to abbreviate kilohertz. Are you sure you know what you are talking about? It's kHz.

kHz, MHz