iTunes 1080p Content Is Close To Quality Of Blu-ray Format

Color and detail handling Blu-ray (right) and iTunes 1080p (left)

Last week Ars Technica reported on the compression technology being utilized by Apple with the new 1080p video content available on the iTunes Store. This technology has allowed the company to increase file sizes by 15-25% in comparison to 720p while more than doubling the number of pixels. Now Ars Technica published a new analysis comparing relative quality of 1080p iTunes content with Blu-ray format.

Ars Technica offers several blown-up comparison shots, revealing that the iTunes Store 1080p content in most cases compares quite well to Blue-ray content, though it struggle a bit with highly detailed scenes, dark gradients and bright highlights.

“I was surprised to see how close the iTunes 1080p download comes to Blu-ray, considering that it's only a fraction of the file size. And let's be honest: there are lots of Blu-ray titles that look much worse than this iTunes download. But despite an impressive effort by Apple, Blu-ray still reigns king when it comes to image quality. And unlike iTunes titles, BRDs can have uncompressed multi-channel audio, multiple audio language options, and special features”.

Dark gradient handling Blu-ray (bottom) and iTunes 1080p (top)

Apple’s move to iTunes Store 1080p video content is part of a significant transition to higher-resolution offerings. The new content will pair with movie support available in iTunes in the Cloud and upgraded 1080p hardware in the iPad 3 and rumored Apple TV set.