AppleTV 4K HDR/Dolby Vision and now Dolby Atmos

mpitogo

Per yesterday's keynote. Apple has updated the AppleTV 4K HDR/Dolby Vision which now includes Dolby Atmos. According to them they have the largest 4K collection with HDR/Dolby Vision and soon Atmos. Anyone excited about this?

mantis

I think it's cool, I prefer using disc's but the Apple TV 4k is pretty awesome. The big lacking feature has been audio. Hopefully they also included Dolby True HD and DTS-MA along the way.

GospelTruth

Not really.

I am not into buying movies in "the cloud". Additionally, while I have an Apple iPhone, I don't use iTunes for music or movie purchases.

It does run Plex, which I use - but until I start ripping 4k movies from my discs, this update really doesn't excite me. Additionally, Plex would need to support HDR/Dolby Vision and Atmos for this to be meaningful.

I don't know if Apple will allow VUDU to be both 4k/HDR/Dolby Vision and Atmos enabled. My guess would be not, so they can push people to their own solution, but I don't know about that. I have movies on VUDU only as the digital copy that I get when I purchase discs. I have never purchased a movie on VUDU as I want a physical copy of any media I buy.

If you like Apple and purchase movies through them, then I would think this is a good thing and the Atmos was the one thing they were missing. Now the Roku player has everything the AppleTV has minus the Dolby Vision. Seems like AppleTV is the more complete solution - again, if you buy into their ecosystem.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I run an Apple TV with Plex and am happy with the results. I’ve never purchased anything from iTunes though as I am fundamentally oppposed to buying digital content, I don’t mind streaming services but for some reason I’d rather buy the disc and rio it down even though it’s more work for me.

mpitogo

I’m glad they added the format. It’s another option for consumers. Getting emersive audio was limited and we really needed another source.

Here’s the thing physical media is great but cloud consumption is here to stay. Physical media just stores a local copy and in reality we only own the license to play the content, we do not own the actual material. Same with streaming services. I’m no longer bound by my Sony X800 or Xbox One S to enjoy physical Atmos movies.

GospelTruth

mpitogo wrote: »

Here’s the thing physical media is great but cloud consumption is here to stay. Physical media just stores a local copy and in reality we only own the license to play the content, we do not own the actual material. Same with streaming services. I’m no longer bound by my Sony X800 or Xbox One S to enjoy physical Atmos movies.

Yes, cloud consumption is here to stay. We have Netflix and Amazon Prime. But if I want to purchase the movie, I buy a physical copy (that usually comes with a digital download that we redeem on VUDU).

When you own the physical copy - you own the copy, not the license. If all I owned was the license, then I couldn't resell the disc I bought. However, I can always resell any disc I have as I own that. You can't do that when you buy a movie online through iTunes, Amazon or VUDU. In that case you own the right to watch it, but you can't sell that copy you bought.

While a lot of people may like the "ease" of buying movies in digital form in the cloud, I prefer to have a physical copy in hand. If you ever have issues with your cable provider, or even issues with Amazon/Apple then you lose what you bought.

Some good articles on the topic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/10/when-amazon-dies/409387/
https://www.vox.com/culture/2016/12/27/14057894/physical-media-essential-streaming-dvd-bluray-netflix
http://collider.com/why-you-should-keep-buying-blu-rays-and-dvds/#physical-media

Of course it's up to you and what you want in the end. I just know that for myself I will have a physical copy of the movies I want to own until they stop making physical media.

Emlyn

GospelTruth wrote: »

Yes, cloud consumption is here to stay. We have Netflix and Amazon Prime. But if I want to purchase the movie, I buy a physical copy (that usually comes with a digital download that we redeem on VUDU).

When you own the physical copy - you own the copy, not the license. If all I owned was the license, then I couldn't resell the disc I bought. However, I can always resell any disc I have as I own that. You can't do that when you buy a movie online through iTunes, Amazon or VUDU. In that case you own the right to watch it, but you can't sell that copy you bought.

Same approach here. Although I recently popped above 2,000 movies on disc, I actually watch movies more on Vudu or Amazon via the Ultraviolet digital copy than spinning the actual discs. 4K content is an exception. I use Vudu and Amazon mainly for the convenience and being able to pick up where I left off on a movie wherever I am at. Nice to have options. I had a clear out a few months ago and took about 300 DVDs, that I had upgraded to Blu Ray over the last few years, to the Salvation Army. I had ripped those DVDs to my network server already anyway.

Another observation I have though is that a surprisingly large number of good movies are not available on Blu Ray and may never be. I will buy the HD version of some of those on Amazon or Vudu, which is often cheaper than buying a plain old DVD.

rpf65

I prefer physical media over cloud based simply because the physical media seems to produce better picture and sound. Could be all in my head, but I’m a little on the abnormal side anyway, so I’ll probably continue to listen to myself and think I’m correct about my assessment.

As far as Apple TV, I can’t see me purchasing one. I like Apple products, but that one is a little scary.

I remember that U2 garbage they forced on the masses, and I personally haven’t been back to purchase a music product since. I’ll probably never buy any music from them ever again.

I just have some unnatural fear that they may decide to be benovelont again and force some really bad movie into some kind of cloud line up that I will be forced to watch, or the thing will self destruct, or worse yet nothing will play until that really bad movie is played.

I can’t imagine the psychological damage that I would suffer if I was forced to watch “The Green Latern” or that reboot of “Ghost Busters”. I’m sure there are even more disturbing examples out there, and somebody, somewhere, is working diligently to make an even more waste of 2 hours of my life, but you get the picture.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Lol it’s not like they forced people to listen to it, they gave it away as a free download and if you didn’t want it you just remove it. After the negative press they got on that though I doubt they’ll make that “mistake” again.

mpitogo

Well here is another plus, if you purchased movies back when it was standard HD and DD. With AppleTV 4K, Apple has upgraded your library to 4K HDR if the title is available in that format and will do the same when Atmos updates are available.