The idea behind digital copy is that it allows people to have the HD experience on the big screen with the disc, and also the on the go experience with a portable version. By keeping the resolution down at normal DVD sizes, and combine with H.264 compression, they can keep file size down to make it portable friendly. If they made the digital copy full HD, then they run the risk of it not playing on a portable. It would also have a much larger file size, potentially requiring a second BluRay disc just to hold it, and thus requiring a BluRay drive in the PC to make use of it.

The thing is, it just downloaded it from iTunes anyway- and normally you get both the HD and the regular when you download from iTunes, so I don't see why they just didn't do that. It is so close to a perfect solution that it's frustrating that it doesn't quite do what I want.

Are you sure it downloaded it? The Digital copy discs I've gotten had an encrypted version that iTunes decrypted and bound to my Apple account. I haven't come across one that downloaded the movie directly, but I've also not bought a new movie with DC in a little while.

Hmmm- I ASSUMED it downloaded it because it came up in the same download list as other stuff I was downloading at the time (Fringe and CSI). That being said, it required the DVD to be in the drive, so perhaps it was just "downloading" it from the DVD. This (Iron Man 2) was my first Blu Ray purchase with a digital copy so I have no idea how it usually works.

Anyway- ripping the Blu Ray isn't so bad. In my head I swear the Blu Ray rips are better than the iTunes HD downloads anyway The only annoying thing is that I have to remove the digital copy from my library or the movie ends up showing up twice on my Apple TV. That isn't the case for HD movies I download from iTunes- I get both versions, but collapsed together. Anyway, at least it's nice to have the iTunes artwork and to be able to have a version I can put on my iPhone.

Yeah, there is a big difference between iTunes HD and BluRay HD. I'm showing around 4.4mbit for the 1280x720 HD version of Warehouse 13 I got from iTunes using H.264. Avatar off BluRay is 1920x1080 and runs VBR, with it maxing out around 40mbit, and usually averaging somewhere in the high 20s to mid 30s, also using H.264. I can easily spot some compression artifacts and blocking in the iTunes video when played back full screen (2560x1440), but nothing really stands out when watching Avatar. If a digital copy came in HD for Avatar, it would at most have around 7mbit to work with to also still fit on a dual layer DVD.

This is why I could care less about most streaming services for HD right now when I want a full cinematic experience at home. Sure, the Roku and others can output at 1080p, but I highly doubt any of them actually deliver a good enough bitrate to come close to BluRay quality. Hopefully faster broadband options start rolling out over the next few years to allow the streaming services to improve quality. It's pretty good now, but could be great once they stop worrying about people on sub 10mbit lines.

Because I'm playing everything through my Apple TV, I'm having to rip my Blu Rays lower- but I'm OK with that. I'm not a big cinematic experience guy. Convenience is more important to me that quality- which is not to say I'm OK with crummy looking video. But the downloaded HD is good enough (especially Fringe- something about that show just looks amazing in HD).

Even at that, though, the Blu Rays appear to be clearer to me and I cannot see any artifacts. I just wish they didn't take so long to rip (currently ripping down Firefly- Blu Ray TV shows take forever!)

Amazon Prime (their all-you-can-eat 2-day shipping subscription) has just been upgraded to include free streaming of some movies and TV shows.

Right now, the TV shows seem to be just BBC and classic US TV, but hopefully that will improve. That said, it seems to include all of Doctor Who, back to the 60s. That's a lot of stuff on its own.

Dude, does Amazon Prime include the Matt Smith Christmas special that we missed?! (checks)

Cool. Thanks Bitt.

It's a really nice addition, especially if you already pay for the service (which I do and I like it). It comes out cheaper than Netflix, though the selection isn't even as good as theirs.

Here's a good comparison chart. Netflix is really doing well in bringing TV to their streaming service. I'd say the ratio of good to bad in their TV selection is much better than the movies, and they have a good amount of TV in HD, including Dollhouse.

I keep meaning to check of Amazon's new service will work with devices like the Tivo. I just do not like watching TV or movies at my computer, despite having a very nice and cushy office chair

It does work on the Roku, though I've not used it as we currently get Prime for free through Amazon Mom and therefore are not entitled to this new feature.

I don't think Amazon are trying to go head to head with Netflix, rather they are trying to increase awareness of there video offerings, but more so to increase the number of Prime subscribers.

We're down to just having basic cable $15, and I'm planning on going OTA to replace that come spring. Netflix Instant Streaming $9.99, Hulu Plus $8, the odd Amazon VOD, and some Roku channels eg Nowhere TV in particular. This is compared with spending ~$70 on DirecTV and $16 on Netflix this time last year.

We're currently trying out Sezmi as a OTA DVR, but so far it has not met minimum WAF levels.

How do you know it works? Is there a special section on your Roku under the Amazon app? Just curious...

I'm assuming it works based on this thread
Amazon also lists it under the compatible devices - thought they also list the Tivo Premier which I though didn't currently support it...

Cool, I'll have to check it out.

That seems to be a list of all devices that support the Amazon VOD service, and not necessarily able to stream the free videos, but I'm still not sure if those are separate things...

That list seems to be of devices you can currently buy from Amazon. I'm pretty sure my Tivo S3, not listed, has Amazon VOD... after double checking, I see it does.

Turns out this isn't accurate. I made a bad assumption.

There are select serials from a lot, though not all, of the seasons, back to season 1. (Yes, I know "season" isn't the correct term for British TV, but when I try to use "series", I feel like I'm being ambiguous.)

They did have the Matt Smith Christmas Special though. For three bucks. We watched it, but the frame rate had some interesting playback issues. Could have been the laptop that it was being played back on, not sure.

The Sezmi went back to Amazon within the 30 day return window.

I wanted a OTA capable DVR, of which there are a few options:
* Roll you own. I didn't look into this, Mark and others (Bruno?) have got this route.
* The DTVPal/CM7000Pal DRV for $300 and no subscriptions costs, but not sure of it's future if any.
* TiVo

Initially I was ignoring the TiVo option as I didn't want to be paying $13 to $20 per month for it, but the upsides were; known high WAF - we had one with DirecTV for years, and portability - it could work with Comcast or Verizon, if OTA didn't workout, made it warrant another look.
Ebay has used Series 3 TiVos with Lifetime subscriptions for roughly $400, though sometimes as low as $350. However I was able, through a friendly existing TiVo customer, to get a deal on a Series4 Premiere with Lifetime.

The TiVo is being feed by a 4-bay bowtie antenna. I'd been advised by folks on the TV fools forum based on the output of my TV Signal Analysis tool to get a 4bay, and borrowed one from a friend - I'll spend the $50 on the recommended CM4221HD later. The channels I am receiving are mostly the ones at 140 degrees, which is the group of antennas just west of Boston, and about 23 miles from me.
Currently we are receiving about 25 channels, mostly the ones in green and yellow in the above report, with a few more that should be get-able with some tuning, plus some Spanish that I'm not counting as I don't speak the language.

Setup was easy enough, but then I'm only feeding one TV and it's a single story building. I acknowledge that I'm lucky to be able to get OTA with such ease, and that not everything that one might want to watch is on the available channels. But OTA and a Roku works for us.

I've been pretty happy with our Premiere XL. I occasionally toy with the thought of cutting the cable, but there are a handful of shows that I just can't (legally) get any other way.

Probably the biggest bonus relative to our earlier (dead) TiVo HD is having 100Mbit Ethernet, which means that content extraction now consistently runs at 30-40Mbits. It used to be interminably slow for HD content.