Disney HD on Xbox Live... but not iTunes

"Those running an iMac with Tiger 10.4.10 and have movies/tv shows that are in the "movie" folder and are running the Connect360 add-on can also stream tv shows, movies, and videos to the 360 from their iMac. They will be in the order that you store them on your iMac, including the folder breakdown. The title of the movie also appears. However, in this scenario, there is no box art, as the Connect360 doesn't know how to display the boxart thumbnail images with the video folder."

I can't say if this is true or not from your iMac, but those running a DP 1.8 G5 with 10.4.xx cannot do this. Or to be even more specific: I can't do this. I just dropped 3 files into my Movies folder (which I tend not to use because I prefer to keep my video files on an external drive). I put two files in a separate folder and the other just by itself. When I go to the "Movies Folder" on the 360, it lists all 3 files right there, of course with generic icons. One of those files is a .mov, but the 360 lists it anyway, and it doesn't play. When I go to the "iTunes Movies" folder on the 360, it lists everything there in one list - right now 122 files. Granted, maybe I don't have my iTunes organized the way the 360/360Connect set up wants it, but AppleTV likes it. And still there is no indication if the file is playable or not.

I can't speak for purchasing anything from XBL, because I won't do it until I can spend actual money instead of points. Also, I worry about 4 years from now when Microsoft comes out with the XBox3. Will my files still work or will I be screwed the way they're handling the backwards compatibilty thing right now? And where do I put them? On an overpriced add-on hard drive? One other thing I WILL say about the 360 though, is that it plays the files instantly - no buffering like on the AppleTV.

Neither route is perfect, but I prefer the AppleTV. When you get yours, I hope you like it, too.

"No Apple player product currently supports the DRM required to protect the video from source to display: HDCP"

Do XBox360 & Tivo? I thought they used MS DRM not HDCP. Am I getting my DRMs mixed up?

I thought the reason Steve's waiting was because...

A) He can
B) He wants/needs to get it right first time
C) It's important he's not seen to leverage his obvious advantage to extend the iTunes monopoly (the other rushed-jobs can get off the blocks first so their inevitable failure appears to be fair)

McD

I think there are a few things here that make this to me a calculated move by Apple.

HD movies will come but just not yet. Remember they admit to this being a hobby for now. That of course is simply a cover for saying we needed to get something out there to distract some away from Xbox 360 and PS3 devices while they attend to the iphone.

Once some of the iphone hype wears down and Apple releases HD ipods later this year(I'm certain of this) we'll see HD movies appear.

Lastly while Apple has resisted the rental model that might poke them in the butt now in the movie business. The user experience is not going to be very good if users have to go to their computers first in order to rent a movie. Apple needs time to make some adjustments to the way AppleTV works so that users can do this straight from AppleTV. I'm not saying they'll do this but in my eyes I don't think Apple can ignore the demand for renting.

All in all Apple will have HD movies but they're waiting until they can do things "the right way". Remember Apple isn't all that great at paving the way first. They tend to look at what others have done first and then put togther a complete end to end solution.

Are you sure that AppleTV's HDMI port doesn't support HDCP?

The XBox360 is, after all, the iPod of home entertainment (gaming) systems:
http://www.joystiq.com/2005/05/24/xbox-360s-relationship-with-ipod-macs-amp-more/

There is only one concrete reason why no HD hollywood content is available through iTunes or for any Apple product.

No Apple player product currently supports the DRM required to protect the video from source to display: HDCP

This is a cold hard fact and I covered it ages ago:

http://twistedmelon.com/blog/apr2007.html

Of course it's not as juicy as some wild conspiracy theory. The truth is usually very simple.

Wow...there are some truly misinformed people here.

1. Microsoft announced that their library of HD movies they just added are from Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax. They plan to have more older movie titles added to the library. They also stated that they will be getting all the new movies from Disney, Touchstone, Miramax, Hollywood effective now.

2. All HD movies *and* SD movies on the Xbox Live marketplace are RENTALS only. We cannot buy them. Once you download the movie rental, you have 14 days to watch the movie before it expires. Once you start watching the movie, the movie expires in 24 hours from when you start. You can stop, start, pause rewind, and watch the movie as many times as you want in that 24 hour period. Once the movie is expired, it remains on your hard drive until you delete it.

3. When you purchase HD and SD TV SHOWS (yes, you own them...not rent them), and when you rent movies, all of those titles show up on the Xbox 360 dashboard in the video section. They are all categorized, contain the box art, and the tv/movie descriptions, actors, ratings, times, etc.

4. Those running an iMac with Tiger 10.4.10 and have movies/tv shows that are in the "movie" folder and are running the Connect360 add-on can also stream tv shows, movies, and videos to the 360 from their iMac. They will be in the order that you store them on your iMac, including the folder breakdown. The title of the movie also appears. However, in this scenario, there is no box art, as the Connect360 doesn't know how to display the boxart thumbnail images with the video folder.

If you are running Windows and stream these items to the Xbox 360 dashboard, you also do not see the boxart, however, you do see a thumbnail of the movie/tv/video.

$6 is hardly a lot of money to rent an HD movie on the Xbox Live marketplace. SD movies are $4.00. And not everyone wants to pay a monthly netflix fee. These movies are on demand. Old SD movies are $3, more current SD movies are $4, and HD movies are $6. Once you start a download of a movie, it's usually about 5 minutes before you can start watching it, as it begins it's download onto your HDD. This is cheaper then spending gas driving to the local video store (2 times...1 time to get the movie (if it's in), and a second time to return). You also never have to worry about a scratched or skipping DVD either.

I stream from my iMac to my 360 all the time, and watch movies from the marketplace all the time, and love it. I can't wait to get an AppleTV to do the same some day.

In fact there is a reason why I didn't buy a Blu Ray or HD DVD, besides the price! :-)
I didn't because I own a Sony HD Handycam (miniDV) and I keep my movies in High Definition for playback on my TV. In order to do that other than streaming to AppleTV I should have bought:
- a Blu Ray or HD DVD burner for my Mac
( + find out if iDVD burns HigDef on such devices)
- a Blu Ray or HD DVD player for my TV

As you can see this setup would have been much more expensive... So I reverted confidently on AppleTV.
Don't get me wrong, I am happy with the device in all aspects EXCEPT the one I mentioned.

I only wanted to point out that the absence of video content is slowly really starting to become annoying...

@Randy Bultena
Thanks for the "miracle fix" :-) ... The fact is that DVDs are really expensive here, and TV series DVDs (seasons) are available with such a delay that it is really annoying to always go out and hunt the latest. Add to that the fact that I don't live in a major city, so the stores do not necessarily stock the items I'd like to purchase...

I could also buy music CDs following your advice, but I like iTunes a lot more as a marketplace.

@marcello

it doesn't burn yet! But it's starting to get itchy... :-)

Fact is the Xbox 360 is HiDef 720p,1080i,1080p to the TV already. Where AppleTV is not.

@ #12 infectedsphincter

Yeah, I'll be using a game console as my media player. not.