Category: Blu-Ray

Today’s amusement: Universal Studios (UK) searching Google: “Kick-Ass not available on LOVEFiLM”

Posted by Martyn Drake – July 21, 2010

We all know that Universal Pictures (UK) are not selling any new titles to LOVEFiLM, Britain’s biggest online rental company, due to a dispute involving rental fees paid to Universal. So therefore I was almightily tickled by the following when I noticed the following whilst checking Awstats.

From the logs of this very blog:

213.219.37.67 – - [21/Jul/2010:14:58:35 +0100] “GET /2010/02/12/universal-pictures-bullying-the-market-yet-again/ HTTP/1.1″ 200 21940 “http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1R2ADBS_enGB339&ei=3PxGTOr7K9W6jAe5zpH1Bg&q=kick-ass+not+available+on+lovefilm&start=10&sa=N” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; GTB6.5)”

Let’s confirm where that IP originates from by querying RIPE’s database:

oot@host1 [~]# whois 213.219.37.67
[Querying whois.ripe.net]
[whois.ripe.net]
% This is the RIPE Database query service.
% The objects are in RPSL format.
%
% The RIPE Database is subject to Terms and Conditions.
% See http://www.ripe.net/db/support/db-terms-conditions.pdf

% Note: This output has been filtered.
% To receive output for a database update, use the “-B” flag.

% Information related to ’213.219.37.0 – 213.219.37.255′

inetnum: 213.219.37.0 – 213.219.37.255
netname: TCUNIVERSALP
descr: TeleCity Group Customer – Universal Pictures
country: GB
remarks: In case of abuse please email; nic.admin@ge.com
admin-c: TA515-RIPE
tech-c: TT556-RIPE
status: ASSIGNED PA
mnt-by: TELECITY-MNT
source: RIPE # Filtered

Are Universal Pictures looking to re-evaluate their relationship with LOVEFiLM? I’ve also noticed these two other queries coming from the same IP:

root@host1 [~]# grep 213.219.37.67 /usr/local/apache/domlogs/drake.org.uk | grep -i “google”

213.219.37.67 – - [21/Jul/2010:12:59:36 +0100] “GET /2010/02/12/universal-pictures-bullying-the-market-yet-again/ HTTP/1.1″ 200 21940 “http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CCMQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drake.org.uk%2F2010%2F02%2F12%2Funiversal-pictures-bullying-the-market-yet-again%2F&rct=j&q=lovefilm%20universal%20kick%20ass&ei=GOFGTObqJMOOjAfl1YC3Bw&usg=AFQjCNFf7NDe2bBMA1464YZ1qzTbiim_EA” “Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US) AppleWebKit/533.4 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/5.0.375.99 Safari/533.4″

Translation: “lovefilm universal kick-ass”

213.219.37.67 – - [21/Jul/2010:14:44:52 +0100] “GET /2010/03/03/glorious-inglourious-basterds-universal-lovefilm/ HTTP/1.1″ 200 19927 “http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1R2ADBS_enGB339&q=kick+ass+on+lovefilm%3F&meta=&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; GTB6.5)”

Translation: “kick-ass on lovefilm”

So .. just which people (different user-agents you’ll note) doing the searching and what of LOVEFiLM? Right now, if you want Universal’s latest releases via the rental market your choices are (to the best of my knowledge): Blockbuster, iTunes and Blinkbox.

I’ll admit it right now that I switched from LOVEFiLM to Blockbuster because there were titles that I want to see. I’d rather be a hypocrite than a pirate and resort to downloading them from BitTorrent or similar – and Universal do make and distribute some fantastic films – but I still say they are still too aggressive when it comes to distribution. Unfortunately I can’t afford two rental services, so Blockbuster won out this time. If Universal were to start offering titles on LOVEFiLM again, I’d be happy to return.

Jobs suggests Blu-Ray ain’t coming to Apple any time soon..

Posted by Martyn Drake – July 1, 2010

.. according to this MacRumors report. He says:

Bluray is looking more and more like one of the high end audio formats that appeared as the successor to the CD – like it will be beaten by Internet downloadable formats.

and

No, free, instant gratification and convenience (likely in that order) is what made the downloadable formats take off. And the downloadable movie business is rapidly moving to free (Hulu) or rentals (iTunes) so storing purchased movies or TV shows is not an issue.

I think you may be wrong – we may see a fast broad move to streamed free and rental content at sufficient quality (at least 720p) to win almost everyone over.

But tell me, Mr. Jobs, why Mac and PC owners cannot buy or rent films (at least here in the UK) to watch HD quality films (even if they are 720p) via iTunes UNLESS you currently own an iPad (minimum of £429 spend) or an Apple TV (minimum spend of £223)? Oh, I did try to ask you that and never got an answer – and was told that Apple considered the matter closed. References relating to my conversations with Apple to date are:

I’m sticking with Blu-Ray, I think – although I DO see what Mr. Jobs is getting at. It’s enveitable that HD resolutions are going to improve beyond 1080, and that will mean that the Blu-Ray format will have to change and a new disc system being brought in to replace it. Whereas with a downloadable/distribution system like iTunes, one can get (and possibly even replace) older HD formats – providing one’s current hardware is capable of going higher and better than 1080 resolution, of course. And yes, there is the instant gratification of downloading a movie you want to see. But if I do that, I want it to be made available in the best possible quality possible. iTunes is failing miserably to do that for me right now.

What stopped me having Memset buying me a tricked-out 17″ Macbook Pro or iMac 1.5 years ago was that it was not capable of native Blu-Ray recording or playback. While this can be achieved through external programs such as Roxio’s excellent Toast (although it’s bloody expensive!) and an external Blu-Ray recorder – OS X still does not have native support for these drives. It certainly can’t playback Blu-Ray movies. I also had concerns over the Macbook Pro’s graphics capabilities. The Dell laptop we eventually went with had dual SLI NVIDIA cards which outshone that offered by the Mac. It had two dual hard drives in RAID configuration and all this was considerably less than the most expensive MacBook offered.

As somebody mentioned on the MacRumor’s forum: “There’s nothing wrong with Blu-Ray, Steve – you’re just holding it wrong..”!

Apple’s Sauce: iTunes UK Terms of Service mention films in HD for computer..

Posted by Martyn Drake – June 30, 2010

.. but make no provision that it’s ONLY available for iPad and Apple TV. Similarly, the iTunes UK store does not mention that HD films available for iPad and Apple TV are NOT available for computer playback. There is no FAQ on the iTunes support pages. One assumes that if you buy a film that has HD mentioned, you’d be able to play it back through iTunes/Quicktime on the PCs and Macs that your iTunes account is authorised to use.

Apple have mentioned in their emails to me that these films are optimised in HD for those devices only . They have not given any sensible reason whatsoever (legal or technical) why HD films are not available for playback through iTunes on the computer itself. Apple also state that HD films must be purchased through the relevant iTunes Store on the device (i.e. through the iTunes store app on iPad or Apple TV).

Here’s what the live Terms of Service (captured full PDF version here) has to say on High Definition content on iTunes UK. This is valid as of the 29th June, 2010:

4. System Requirements. Use of the Service requires a device such as a computer with the iTunes application installed, Internet access (fees may apply), and certain software (fees may apply), and may require obtaining updates or upgrades from time to time. Because use of the Service involves hardware, software, and Internet access, your ability to use the Service may be affected by the performance of these factors. High speed Internet access is strongly recommended (and is required for Film Rentals). Content in high definition resolution (HD) is viewable only on computers or TVs using your Apple TV and must be downloaded directly to your computer or Apple TV. You acknowledge and agree that such system requirements, which may be changed from time to time, are your responsibility. The Service is not part of any other product or offering, and no purchase or rental (as applicable) or obtaining of any other product shall be construed to represent or guarantee you access to the Service.

and

(xv) Film Rentals:

(aa) Films are viewable only on your Mac or Windows computer (using iTunes 7.6 or later), iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iPod nano (3rd or 4th generation), iPod classic, or on TVs using Apple TV. Films in high definition resolution (HD) are viewable only on your Mac or Windows computer, iPad, or TVs using your Apple TV. Films are viewable on only one device at a time.

and

HIGH DEFINITION PRODUCTS

Products in high definition resolution (HD) are viewable only on computers, iPad, or TVs using your Apple TV; however, HD Products purchased also include a standard definition version delivered to your computer that may be transferred to your iPod or iPhone.

So if the terms of service for iTunes UK state that HD products (which I assume covers both movies and TV) are viewable on computers, iPad or TVs using Apple TV – why are Apple NOT providing a computer download of their HD movie content? This is what you’ll see when buying a movie with HD content:


Click to enlarge

Also Available in HD implies, to me, that HD is available for all formats including iPad and Apple TV and NOT JUST iPad and Apple TV. Apple have yet to give me a satisfactory response to that. They simply re-iterate that HD movies are not available to play on computers. That’s it.

I’m passing all this information onto the relevant trading standards to see what they have to say about it.

To say that I’m now truly fed up with Apple’s dicking about with consumers after five years of using their products (one iBook, one Mac Mini G4, one Mac Mini Intel, one iMac Intel Core Duo, two Macbooks, three Macbook Pros, multiple iPods through three different generations..) I’ve had it. I can live with FairPlay DRM. I can even now live with Apple’s closed development for iPhone, iPod and iPad applications, but not giving HD content to your computer when it is only available for their expensive products when I already using their services on a device that is more than capable of HD playback is bloody ridiculous. I cannot afford to spend £500 each and every time Steve Jobs sneezes a new product into existence.

Apple’s expensive alternative to Blu-Ray: iTunes Store UK

Posted by Martyn Drake – June 25, 2010

Following up to my previous post asking Apple about HD availability of their movies on iTunes UK, I decided to put it to the test. I picked Alice in Wonderland which states that it’s available in HD for iPad and Apple TV (but no mention that it’s NOT available for HD playback on computer, but similarly it’s not mentioned that it is – it’s left up to the consumer to decide the meaning of that I guess).

After 30 minutes of downloading a 1.5Gb file, and another 834Mb iTunes Extra bundle, I checked to see what the resolution was along with the bitrate. It was most definitely not HD – I forget the exact dimensions, but it was at least that of DVD resolution (albeit widescreen) if I recall correctly. Upscaling using iTunes to 1920×1200 was horrible. At least using something like WinDVD Ultra or Cyberlink PowerDVD 10 3D can utilise the NVIDIA CUDA system to help upscale video content. iTunes/Quicktime simply cannot do that.

I’ve written to the iTunes Store demanding my money back (or at least offer me an iPad at £150 – the cost that I’d have to buy a Blu-Ray player – I didn’t actually demand that in my response though!), and clarification of HD availability once more. It’s akin to being made to buy a Blu-Ray player that can only play 720p HD files from one supplier and costs twice to four times as much as that of any other bog-standard Blu-Ray player on the market (only the £449 version allows you to watch it on a 9.7 inch screen unless you use special cables to hook it up to a TV or monitor). I already have a system that I can hook up to a TV or monitor (if I had one) – but I do not want to be forced to buy another device to do exactly the same thing.

This just isn’t acceptable.

Update 26/10/10 – Apple’s iTune Store customer services got back to me to say that they are still looking into this – they’re a bit swamped from the looks of things having just had the iPhone 4 launch and everything.

If Deborah is really from Charlotte, NC then I’m a tap dancing chicken on the moon

Posted by Martyn Drake – June 23, 2010

I wanted to get the official stance from Apple relating to the iTunes UK Store HD movie playback on any computer, since any HD information is listed only as “Available in HD on iPad and Apple TV”. No mention of anything else. So I dropped iTunes customer support a quick email via their online form, and this is what I got as reply. Somehow, I think Deborah is fibbing as to where she really is given the style of reply..


Click to enlarge

I’ve decided to email Steve Jobs and get his official verdict and clarification – I just Apple to clarify what you’re getting when you’re buying or renting a movie from them. I ought to have asked about the iTunes Extras as well as I’ve noticed that not all listings provide exactly what features you get when you buy the film. That said, Mo McRoberts (from whom I’m hosting the Project Baird mailing list) has told me that his purchases have arrived as 720p HD files. But why is Apple being a little unclear on it’s movie description about HD availability, referring to only the iPad and Apple TV?

iTunes movie purchases/rentals would be an excellent alternative to Blu-Ray – but they’ve got to be a bit more upfront as to what the consumer is getting for their purchase/rental and if I’m a little confused by it, I reckon other people will be too.

Me, Ubuntu and Hollywood

Posted by Martyn Drake – June 13, 2010

Over the past few days I’ve been tinkering with Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid). I like it enough to seriously consider moving my work Dell laptop running Windows 7 with Blu-Ray reader/burner and dual SLI NVIDIA 9800M GT graphics cards over to it. Especially as I’ve found a good number of articles surrounding how to play Blu-Ray titles. It is still awkward, but then again, Linux is unfortunate that Hollywood doesn’t seem to like it much. I’ve discussed this issue on this very blog time and again, but here it is again for those that may have missed it:

But Hollywood DOES like Linux. Or rather the multitude of post-production and visual effects facilities that rely on Linux to create the gorgeous artwork that we see grace our cinema screens, Blu-Ray discs, or DVD discs. Yes – Linux is used in both big VFX studios and small boutiques. And yet for the artists, producers and engineers that work on these films it’s never easy because Linux has not yet (to the best of my knowledge) received proper licensing from the relevant authorities that control DVD and Blu-Ray specifications. As a result most artists require a standalone DVD player attached to a TV to playback any reference material DVDs/Blu-Rays rather than on their own workstations. And given the complications of region encoding, these facilities have to use multi-region players – mainly those that can use the DVD manufacturer’s control codes to work around the set region which the unit ships with.

So Hollywood loves Linux to create it’s movies (as it’s also free as in beer to them), but HATES anybody wanting to use it on their own home computers to watch the very same movie that Linux helped create in the first place.

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