Apple Vs. Blu-Ray – iTunes HD Movies on Sale Now


Apple today has officially decided to go head-to-head with Blu-Ray by offering HD Movies for Purchase in iTunes.

They’re kicking things off with pre-orders for “Quantum of Solace” and “Twilight”, and have a few smaller films like “Transporter 3”, “Punisher War Zone”, and “W.” for purchase immediately.

This is just the beginning, though, and more movies will be coming on board soon. HD downloads are clocking in at about 3 Gbs each…so if you’re internet provider has a cap in place on you…you need to be aware of it.

Blu-Ray Disc has had some serious problems catching on…and one of the reasons is the $29.99 price point for a movie.

While Blu-Ray Discs are going to be a higher quality HD than these iTunes downloads, the “price is right” as they say for the HD content on iTunes.

Sure, for videophyles the Blu-Ray Discs with tons of special features are going to be worth the extra $10 – but for people like me who’d like to get their HD movie at 3 o’clock in the morning if they want, and who don’t pause the TV to see what the anti-alias lines look like…well…this is a dream come true.

I’m excited to see how this expands. The REAL format war has officially begun.



Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

8 Comments

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  1. My internet is too slow for that. (8mbps) They should have a stream function for people like me so I can download some of the film and the start watching it. Or do they? I don’t think so anyway. It’s always good to see iTunes expanding though. I really love everything it has to offer. Thanks for the update, sir!

  2. Sorry for the double post, but I don’t think that Apple’s HD movies on iTunes will compete with Sony and Blu-ray. I think they are geared at separate audiences. As I remember, isn’t Apple a supporter of Blu-ray?

  3. @shaun

    No, Apple’s not. I believe they signed on the “Blu-Ray Team” back during the HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray stuff, but there are no Blu-Ray drives in Macs, and Steve Jobs referred to Blu-Ray as “a world of hurt”. So Apple’s not supporting the format.

  4. @Michael
    I see. Well, you’re the expert so I retract my statements. 🙂
    Also, I don’t own an AppleTV obviously. I just splurged on an iPod Touch and a Time Capsule. :S I’m intrigued with AppleTV though.

  5. Just got set up with my Apple TV 2 last night. Works just like it’s supposed to. Also, if anyone has HD video that’s non-iTunes formatted – use Handbrake. it’s a free app and will encode pretty much any video file with it’s H.264 encoder and turn it into an iTunes compatible video file. HD 4.5GB video file takes about 2 hrs to encode. For Standard formatted movies it takes about 30 minutes. For those of you who like to rip video from your DVD’s, it may take up to an 1hr. This app is for Mac, of course.

  6. In response to ultradave’s comment:

    You can also open any video file with Quicktime X and click on the icon with an arrow (located on Quicktime X’s video player controller and have options to convert video to Itunes, upload to YouTube or MobileMe Gallery.

  7. In response to ultradave’s comment:

    You can also open any video file with Quicktime X and click on the icon with an arrow (located on Quicktime X’s video player controller) and select from a list of options to convert video to iTunes, upload to YouTube or MobileMe Gallery. After you click the iTunes you have the option to convert to iPhone & iPod or Apple TV (720p for now).