Advice please?

UKCDJ

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First up let me say I am a massive fan of physical media but it is becoming more apparent that less films are coming out now on Blu-ray & not all are available in 4k. A case in question is a film called ‘Trauma Centre’ - no 4k or Blu-ray in the UK & the DVD quality is bad. With all this is mind I am reluctantly thinking of streaming or buying digital content. I don’t have a 4k TV yet but am happy to buy one & I am based in the UK. I have Sky TV & a PS4 player & I want to try & avoid another monthly subscription service. Ideally I’d like to buy a digital film & own it forever no matter what upgraded consoles come out in the future. Thank you in advance for your help.
 
Not quite sure what you’re asking :)

Despite owning thousands of discs still, I’m pretty much all digital now. Can’t remember when I last bought a physical disc.

I watch everything through my Apple TV 4K. Picture and sound is great. Could you tell the difference if you A/B the same content streamed against disc? Almost certainly.

From my point of view, general Watching not looking for deficiencies in the picture with a fine tooth comb it’s great.

There’s also the added bonus of digital generally being cheaper than physical. If you grab an app called CheapCharts it will alert you to the numerous iTunes price drops.

I believe you also get a year’s free ATV+ when you register a new Apple decide for the first time. At least that was still ongoing when my wife got a new iPhone about 2-3 weeks ago.

Also if, in most cases, you own a film in HD and it goes to 4K, you get upgraded to 4K for free.

You can’t download 4K versions though. Only stream.

Occasionally some films get downgraded from 4K to HD. So far, to the best of my knowledge this has always been temporary and they always return to 4K after a while. Most likely to fix a glitch or up grade to Atmos or HDR/DV.
 
I was asking what people recommend. Is Apple TV just a box you plug into your TV & you buy on the app & stream to your TV or can you download too?
 
Ah, ok, with you now.

It’s basically a box you Plug into the tv. Wired or Wi-fi. You need an iTunes account to use it. Comes in 32gb or 64gb versions.

You can’t download films to it. Only games or apps. If you’re not interested in games or apps the 32gb is all you need.

If you want to back up the films, you can to pc/Mac, but as previous, only in HD.

There are rumours of a newer version later in the year, but from the rumoured specs I’ve seen it will only really affect games on it and possibly a new remote. Some people don’t like the current remote, personally I Think it’s fine.

Any other questions I’ll try and answer, or you could try the dedicated ATV thread.

Here
 
The ATV 4K box is the most expensive option but its no longer the only way to access Itunes movies (where many of purchase 4K movies from) as well as other streaming services

In fact a new TV, such as LG, Samsung, Sony will come with apps that are perfectly able to access streaming services including ATV (Apple for Itunes movies and ATV+), Netflix, Prime, and the newest Disney+

Disney+ is a great way to access Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel 4K movies alongside Itunes for films from the other studios

I would prioritise thinking about which shows and films you like, then which services they are on, and then select a TV that best accesses them. For any missing services a £30 stick can suffice.
 
Good point. I suppose it depends what TV the OP has, if it’s a recent model they may be lucky. No sign of it on my C8 as yet.

When I got mine a couple of years ago, it was the only game in town if you wanted access to iTunes. So never had a reason to look at other options since then.
 
I can get Amazon Prime Video on my PS4 but I just watched a trailer for a film on it but the quality was the same as a VHS tape! If you buy a film on Apple TV do you own it as in can watch / stream it again in 5 years time or so? ...
 
Yes. Once you own it you own it. Even if it gets removed from the store for whatever reason, it will still be in your library.

You also need to take into account when watching anything on Prime/Netflix etc... at the moment that bandwidth is being limited, so you’re likely not getting the normal quality.

Not sure about Prime, but I’m pretty sure that iTunes don’t show trailers in 4K, so purchased/rented films may look better than trailers anyway.
 
Yes. Once you own it you own it. Even if it gets removed from the store for whatever reason, it will still be in your library.

You also need to take into account when watching anything on Prime/Netflix etc... at the moment that bandwidth is being limited, so you’re likely not getting the normal quality.

Not sure about Prime, but I’m pretty sure that iTunes don’t show trailers in 4K, so purchased/rented films may look better than trailers anyway.
That’s why I prefer the option of downloading as apposed to streaming as you can pretty much guarantee the quality then ...
 
That’s why I prefer the option of downloading as apposed to streaming as you can pretty much guarantee the quality then ...

To be fair, most of the time streaming is spot on. It’s just that rightly or wrongly some companies have decided to reduce bandwidth due to the current crisis, despite ISPs saying there’s no need.

I will say, I’ve noticed no reduction in purchased iTunes content and the brief look I had at the first Star Wars movie in 4K/DV via Movies Anywhere looked pretty great to me.
 
To be fair, most of the time streaming is spot on. It’s just that rightly or wrongly some companies have decided to reduce bandwidth due to the current crisis, despite ISPs saying there’s no need.

I will say, I’ve noticed no reduction in purchased iTunes content and the brief look I had at the first Star Wars movie in 4K/DV via Movies Anywhere looked pretty great to me.

I am still sticking to discs here,but have brought a few that there is no blu ray out for,one ?,i see you can download them,but info come up for downloads at 720p or 1080p,what is the quality like on the downloads ?

:)
 
The Star Wars movies? You can get US copies from Vudu for $99 for the Skywalker saga at the moment.

Only watched up to the bit where Vader first appears on Ep IV, but they it looked pretty damn good to me. Sounded good with Atmos too.

Not sure wha they look like in HD. Will have to try and check.
 

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