Anyone seen HD on an Apple TV connected to a TV?

[admin_exported]

I am about to pony up on an Apple TV. Yes I know the quality isn't going to be as good as Blu Ray (which I already have - PS3). However, I intend to use the US itunes (have a US credit card) HD rental service and the rental service for non HD shows. This is more about convenience - I can be a videophile but only on certain occassions, most movies I watch only once, so I like the convenience of renting from home.

So what can you guys say about Apple's HD quality - is the 720p low bit rate HD movies still better than DVD quality or HD regular TV? The HD movies are 3-3.5gb. A DVD is more than that but the compression technology used on DVDs is ancient (MPEG-2 versus H.2.6.4 MPEG4).

Also, how do the regular "near DVD" quality movies look like on a flatscreen? How much worse is it to DVD.

Bear in mind guys, that I use my Denon TX-NR905 to do the upscaling to 1080p on my 60" Pioneer Plasma.

Cheers.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, I've had an apple TV for nearly a year now and love it. Used to rent about 1 hd movie a week from it and was always impressed. I've since got a PS3 and rent blu-rays and fair enough the quality is better, however the apple TV still does a very good job. I was actually really suprised when I saw the file sizes being only 3 - 5gb. From the quality of the picture I would have thought the bitrate would have to have been higher.

SD movies on the apple TV are OK, not quite DVD quality and remember they are only in 2.0 not 5.1. I guess the difference in quality to a standard DVD is magnified as most modern day DVD players upscale the DVD, something the apple TV doesn't do as well.

The apple TV is also great for streaming music, photos and especially video podcasts.

 

[Anonymous]

If it's anything like the picture quality my Mac Mini gives through a DVI>HDMI cable (which it probably is), I think it's pretty good.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the comments.

By the way, I have a 10Mb/sec internet connection (which is pretty fast). How long did it take you to download a HD movie?

 

[Anonymous]

Catenaccio:
Thanks for the comments.

By the way, I have a 10Mb/sec internet connection (which is pretty fast). How long did it take you to download a HD movie?

Where from?

 

[Anonymous]

I live in HK and will be downloading content from the US.