iTunes SD Movies VS HD Movies
What's the difference between iTunes SD movies and HD movies?
When we purchase or rent movies from iTunes movie store, we usually see there are two different version to choose. One is Standard Definition (SD movie), and the other is HD (High Definition). Anyone who usually watch movie online will know that HD movies feature a higher quality picture, which offered in either 720p or 1080p.
There are different situations happening when you download a HD movies on different devices. In most case , when you download the HD movie from iTunes, you will download movie in HD quality exactly. And if you want the SD version as well, you have download it again from the purchase page. However, you will download a HD movie on a device which is not HD supported sometimes, then the movie it downloaded will automatically change to the SD version and you have to re-download the HD version from purchase page.
Let's list the system requirements for playing iTunes HD movies
System Requirements for Mac OS to play a HD movie
- Mac OS X v10.5 or later
- iTunes 10.6 or later
- 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor
- At least 2 GB of RAM
- A display that supports HDCP with a screen resolution of 1280 x 800 or higher
System requirements for Windows OS to play an iTunes HD movie
- 32 or 64-bit version of Windows 7 or Windows 8; Windows XP and Vista don't support HDCP
- iTunes 10.6 or later
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor
- At least 2 GB of RAM
- A video driver that supports HDCP, such as an Intel GMA X4500HD, ATI Radeon HD 2400, Nvidia GeForce 8300 GS, or better (you may need to check with the manufacturer to determine if your video driver supports HDCP)
- A display that supports HDCP with a screen resolution of 1280 x 800 or higher with a digital connection (DVI, DisplayPort, or HDMI)
The Apple devices that can play iTunes HD movies
The 1080p or 720p iTunes HD movies are only compatible with iPhone 4 or later, iPad, iPod touch (4th generation or later), Apple TV.
DRM Copy Protection on iTunes HD Movies?
Is the DRM facilities the same on the iTunes HD movies?
Yes. The iTunes HD movies you purchased or rented from iTunes movie store are DRM protected by Apple's Fairplay too. So you are limited to play the iTunes HD movies on Apple products only, like playing the HD movies with iTunes on your computer, watching the iTunes HD movies on iOS devices, nothing more you can do with the HD movies unless you can get rid off the DRM protection.
Fortunately, we found some great software for both Windows and Mac users to remove the DRM from iTunes HD movies. Further more, you won't lost the HD quality after DRM removed. The DRM Removal tool for Windows is Aimersoft DRM Media Converter, and the Mac DRM removal tool is ViWizard DRM Media Converter for Mac
Reference: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3209
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