iTunes 8 is here and is suppose to have HD videos that you can put on your iPod, but don’t expect Blu-ray quality video. Apple announced at their Let’s Rock event that they will offer 720p high-definition video through the new iTunes 8. This still isn’t major competition to Blu-ray or other HD video download sources however. A 720p files through iTunes uses about 4Mbps of data compared to 20Mbps for over-the-air HDTV. Some say that this is due to features Apple left out of the encoding like 1080p resolution of 7.1-channel surround sound audio. A reduction as much as this can cause to poor video quality with fast moving HD picture. While the availability of HD on iTunes is a step forward, it’s still no Blu-ray.
-Ray
[Source: Apple Insider]
September 11, 2008
Apple News