Re: 5 Things AppleTV needs to be a MUST BUY by Apple Gazette

[Ashley Aitken]

Howdy All,

I'm responding to Scott's email here, but the comments are not  
directed at his view per se, I am just using his email since I  
believe it brings up some interesting issues.

On 07/04/2007, at 7:06 AM, Scott Anguish wrote:

> On Apr 6, 2007, at 6:49 PM, Lawrence Sica wrote:
>>
>> Loss varies, most of the stuff I have ripped, the quality is good  
>> enough.
>
> 	(rant, in general) This attitude (and it is wide spread) is not  
> helping us get better quality content from people.
>
> 	'good enough' quality simply isn't.  DirecTV uses this excuse to  
> ramp up compression.  Studios use it to produce crappy transfers to  
> DVD.
>
> 	Studios could use it to ramp up compression on iTunes downloads.

Could?

Don't forget until recently a lot of people have been espousing how  
great 128 kbps AAC is!

> 	If I have the original content on DVD, and I've paid for it, I  
> don't want it at a lesser quality.

Steve seemed to imply in his keynote, "everyone" already has a DVD  
player connected to their TV and, anyway, that's not Apple's business  
model, they're about purchasing content online.

> 	accepting lesser quality is a slippery slope.

I agree.

However, as far as I understand, the current video available from the  
iTMS (that people are supposed to use on AppleTV) is about the  
equivalent of 128 kbps audio.

iTunes audio is not for hi-fi enthusiasts, it's for bopping along on  
the way to work (or at your kid's soccer match).  Enthusiasts will  
still use CDs (or higher) for a while to come.

iTunes video is not for video enthusiasts, it's for people wanting to  
watch the latest episode of Desperate Housewives (or Battlestar  
Galactica).  Enthusiasts will still use (BR/HD) DVDs for a long time  
to come.

I doubt Steve Jobs listens to iTunes tracks on his hi-fi or watches  
iTunes movies on his TV.

All that said, I think AppleTV should play videos rip'ed to disk (if  
just copied directly, or rip'ed to a quicktime compatible format).

Cheers,
Ashley.