Good news! With the new iTunes 10.6 update, it looks like 1080p pony downloads are fully available. All you need to do is update your program, and hit edit-->Preferences-->Store, then select 1080p instead of 720.
The bad news? iTunes doesn't downscale it for lower resolution monitors.
Now go upgrade your pony!
150 comments:
yay~
Awesome.
That is awesome buying
Nooooooooow
That 1080p ftw.
.. you actually lose quality if you downscale it...
Oh sweet. High quality image.
This is best thing next to sliced bread
I download them for free off youtube. No big deal to me.
I mean, does it work on iTouch's?
Hmmmmm.... Maybe you should buy a Mac? :3
@Penisman
These are without watermarks though.
Now Hasbro has even less reason to release a Blu-Ray box set of the series : <
Now all I need to do is set aside four days for downloading and figure out how to get them to a WMM compatible format.
I'm really not sure what is the point of this. 720p is true HD resolution and looks great. Plus, for a 2D cel/flash animated show without a lot of detailed textures, it could be argued that even 720p is overkill.
are there legit ways to get these in europe now btw?
Good for people who use itunes.
@PenismanThat's nice.
@Penisman
Thats not really helping the team that makes the show at all
For whatever reason, I think it looks better in 720p then in 1080. Might just be my computer.
@Penisman Yeah except for Y'know, it being illegal.
I will personally purchase it legally when the opportunity come my way (aka Briton).
But I can't upgrade The Last Roundup can I?
I want to do this... but will it end up re-downloading the episodes? If so, won't that replace my Derpy-Version of The Last Roundup? Can anyone be the canary in the coal mine for me on this one?
@Kero9xOr more reason than ever. If it's actually 1080p then there's little that'll have to be done to get these to play on a Blu-Ray player (same codec, even). Throw in a few hastily composed menus and special features (it wouldn't be Hasbro if they put actual time into it) and we have ourselves a blu-ray release.
@Brian
Exactly what I thought the instant I saw this. WHY NOW?! Darn it.
I sure hope you don't have to buy it again to upgrade it. I already bought season one on iTunes and it'd be a bummer to have to pay twice.
Eh, I guess my laptop doesn't have 1080 anyway. Time for a new laptop.
Hot damn!
@GraveheartI think if you move the file out of where iTunes think it is, it won't modify the file.
I'm sure there isn't an unedited version of The Last Roundup in 1080p.
Hey! Another reason why iTunes is pretty shitty!
They seem to giving those by the thousands nowadays.
Ordered a new iPad today. In honor of the 2x density of the retina display the back has been engraved: "The fun has been doubled"
Awesome, now if they could just release the episodes in the UK store...
How HD can you get with pastel ponies?
That IS good news! Aw hell yeah, I just bought a better monitor the other day!
On top of that, the show, being produced in flash, is either produced on:
a)an infinite resolution, and then designed to be broadcast at a max of 720p
b)720p, and thus broadcast @ 720p
in both situations, 1080p is an UPSCALE, which will reduce quality.
@DerpGarde
This was their plan all along, man!
Hasbro's, like, trying to eliminate all, like, trace of the original Derpy, man!
They know that Bronies, like, care about things like image quality man!
Now quick, put on this tinfoil hat so they can't, like, erase your memories of the original Derpy man!
@Alex Rolli
Yea, I'd try to pull it out of iTunes too. Or put it on a CD for safe keeping.
Although, I downloaded my version of Last Roundup from YouTube for Derpy. So, there's always that.
1) Still can't buy them in Europe;
2) Can't see any difference between 720p and 1080p when it comes to pony. I do if I try hard but not when I'm just enjoying the show;
3) The torrent I'll make for these files for non-USA bronies will be huge :] I need better upload for that :/
@EPHorizon - You don't need to repurchase, just redownload, and you can do some from any device that you are signed in to with your Apple ID, same as the music stuff since they added iCloud.
Still waiting on the "iTunes selling ponies in UK" post.
One more reason they need to put this up on some source other than iTunes...
No downscaling? Are you kidding me? That's just inexcusable in this day and age.
Now I have a reason to buy the episodes now!
And not a single feather was given.
I-TUNES SUCK! HAHAHA! Man, it really bugs me how the only legal way to obtain a episode is through apple's shit service.
Youtube download all the way, ha you I-tunes folk barely getting 1080p.
Good thing there was pony archive. Got a lot out of those.
I support the show by watching it on the actual channel and I'm gonna buy merch. And also Mickey D's here I come. Happy meal for girl please. Yes... fluttershy is mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D1cap6yETA
@smokeydops2
no, you lose quality if you UPSCALE, with downscale you will not lose quality unless you mess up the bitrate or the aspect ratio of the video
Time for an upgrade!
Oh Apple... when you you fix ALL your damn software?!
So they finally managed to put up the 1080p videos, but it is still not available outside of the US, but hey that's why we have Xyro!
Be careful when updating, make sure to read the terms of use.
The card game enjoys this news if it turns out to be a full 1080p, and not a 720p upscale.
Too broke to afford Apple stuff. I'll stick to youtube for now.
How do I get my 1080 p on Mac? Do I have to download everything again?
Hm sounds legit but they should bring down the price for the full season. Last I heard it was like $50 or $60, which is more than I payed for a full boxed season of Clone Wars with extra content. I guess that wasn't in HD but still, since the show was made in HD from the beginning that shouldn't add to the cost. If you don't even get a box, the price should be a lot lower.
If I get a reasonable discount I might go for this, but I'm still holding out for boxed DVDs.
@Clockwork
Just buy a $10 i-Tunes gift card from Best Buy or something, go onto their market redeem it. It's a very quick process. Surely you can muster up $10. We all gotta support the show if we want it to keep going.
Believe me, I hate Apple as much as anyone else here, but it's worth putting my own issues aside to support FIM.
@Arcainum
Or Europe in general, for that matter. :p
I am still waiting for it to be available in Canada :/
No downscaling? What kind of ass-backwards rubbish is that? No wonder nobody likes iTunes...
@Mattatatta
Well, to be fair, you DO get all the other resolutions for free
So is it true 1080p or 1080i? because I'm pretty sure the TVs broadcast was upscale
@Armando92
Yes, I understand that. For those who may be watching these comments and may not understand, that is helpful to point out, but it is also helpful to point out that I have never seen a downscale with no errors. It's practically impossible to do unless someone goes in and corrects the errors manually, which I doubt they did... because I've never seen that done, either.
Call it paranoia. I have little faith in modifying original content!
@garturo62
I can tell you first hand. It's true. The quality on iTunes is freakin' amazing. I made a comment before about the Youtube versions being just as good, but then I went back and looked at my iTunes copies. I was wrong.
It's phenomenal to see all the tiny, microscopic little details the animators put in. It's especially apparent with their eye movements.
I still wish there was a second method to getting these episodes online. I really really dislike Apple, iTunes, and all that jazz...
Eh. Every company has Karma. Think of it as thanking Apple for inventing the Graphical User Interface we all know so well today on virtually all operating systems.
Does this mean we now have full HD episodes without logos? THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
> Best program ever
Nope, it still sucks.
So I'm assuming that this will work for my 1600x900 external monitor. Just not the built in display for my laptop, which is 1366x768.
I guess it's time to add a little space on my iTunes VM to actually download the episodes instead of just buying them and leaving them there. The colors are still crazy, but that's easily fixed.
Also, on a related note, I'm still 24+ hours faster than iTunes. :P
@NostaligNoom: no, from what I see you need a huge monitor to dl the videos.
That's 1080p+
@garturo62
TV Broadcast is not upscaled. It is 1080-60i deinterlaced to 1080-24p when put online.
iTunes are true 1080p (no manual deinterlacing required), I haven't checked the framerate yet.
I suppose it was made to play Ipurchases on Idevices. As much as I hate that rotten company, Apple really knows how to get the most out of their customers.
Ill stick with Youtube rips, as much as people claim HD makes everything better, it really doesn't matter with cartoons.
I already payed for all the episodes available in 720, license fee :) Does this mean I get the 1080p now too? I may actually watch those, I hope the didn't screw up the colours with these too.
@Sothalic
Are you sure about that? Cartoons I think benefit more from HD than live-action stuff does. If it's produced in HD, the colors are way more vibrant and you can see more detail.
@XyroTR1
Will this be the highest quality with no water marks of the show possible?
@Ooze33
Indeed, going from 460p pony to 1080p pony was amazing. Funny enough, every time I go to a store and see a new, expensive movie on the HD tvs, they actually seem faker than they did at low res. The characters and foreground pop beautifully, but the background is left out of that. It looks like a backdrop.
itunes y u no sell mlp:fim in Australia ><
@Sothalic
You should do some research into Flash. It (primarily) uses vectors instead of razterized images. Since vectors are just mathematical object's they're not subject to things like aliasing. Flash *technically* supports infinite resolution (or, at least, however accurate standard floating point numbers can get).
In English: it's a pretty big benefit
Glad the TV and movie companies didn't get greedy and demanded money for upgrading HD shows. You had to pay 30¢ extra per song to get the DRM-free versions of songs you ALREADY purchased because of the meddling of record companies. Oy...
I compared the 720p and 1080p versions of the first episode, from iTunes, and the 1080p version is barely any better than the 720p one. I'm thinking they just up-converted the video.
I also compared the trailer for the Simpsons Tapped Out game (under the "free TV episodes" section) - there's a pretty decent difference between 720p and 1080p, there.
Needs more availability in Canada.
@smokeydops2
Yeah, Xerox PARC was a total ripoff of Mac.
Wait.
As an aside, Beagle Bros put out a program for Apple][ that emulated the Mac desktop in glorious hires. Slow as balls though.
@FuckYouGoogle
I loved Beagle Bros., they always put out the best stuff back in the day!
Ugh, why must things be so difficult. I have $50 in my wallet just waiting for these downloads to be available in Canada.
Anyway, has anyone been able to download the 1080p versions of the episodes even though their monitor does not support the resolution and play them using some other video player, i.e. VLC media player?
@Arcane Scroll
I think I still have one of their Peeks & Pokes charts kicking around here somewhere. Those guys were fucking wizards.
Eh, I'm still waiting for a complete Season DVD release. Preferably blu-ray, but that probably won't happen anytime soon.
@MyBoyJ
My friend, thou art killing me. lol
@FuckYouGoogle
We had those charts in our computer programming class in high school, extreamly useful!
Is there any way to convert the iTunes m4v files to a DRM free mp4 or mkv file so that I can watch it on xbmc? I'm happy to buy the episodes, but I'm not going to watch them through iTunes.
I re-downloaded an episode. The only thing I noticed, was better sparkle effect for magic. So I don't think its worth my time to re-download every episode I have.
Ill care more when Itunes gets better color corrected rips. Then Ill be more than happy to re-download.
People, remember one thing, this show is flash and flash uses vectors and using vectors mean the resolution can be anything they want it to be. If they wanted to, they can release MLP in 4k while setting the frames to anything they want as long as it's a multiple of 24. So there is no quality to be loss, only gained.
just downloaded "putting your hoof down" in 1080 in itunes. ok, when i click to play, it tells me its too big, and asks me i i want to play smaller version, if i click the smaller one, it plays the SD, if i just click "ok" it plays the 1080 version....and oh boy is it amazing. its color corrected on mine, so not sure if its because its a newer ep, or if settings are fixing it, idk, but its 1000000000x better than my illegal version . i wil def be buying the series from now on. and when season 3 comes out im getting the season pass
@Pinkie Guy
when i downloaded mine, it said "your computer cannot play this video bla, blah, blah" but when i hit ok, it played the episode in all its 1080p glory
@malostraza
Awesome! I might just have to create a false US iTunes account and purchase US iTunes gift cards online with Paypal to get a hold of those episodes. Everyone between my Canadian-ness and pony may hate my money, but I'll get it to them somehow!
If someone who has bought all of the 1080p episodes on itunes doesn't mind telling me, how much space do all of the episodes take up put together?
Wonderful for those who are in the States and use iTunes, but this makes no difference to me because I'm in Canada. I also don't have any Apple products nor do I want to start buying them.
Legal complete season purchase options in Canada, plz. kthnxbai
ITUNES IS THE GREATEST PIECE OF SOFTWARE EVER PROGRAMMED. *shifts eyes back and forth*
@R10t Pol1ce Y'all fergot to scrunchie up yer muzzle there, sugarcube!
WELP, time to buy ponies!
Woop-de-friggin-do. This news means absolutely nothing to me, because I live outside the united States, and I can't even buy it.
Would this give me the edited Last Roundup if so I think I'll just skip re downloading that episode
@smokeydops2
Thank Xerox not Apple, Jobs And Gates stole it from them at the same time. Xerox wasn't interested in personal computers and their engineers wanted to get their software out there even if they wouldn't get paid.
Putting Your Hoof Down according to Quicktime:
1080- 4.51mbps- 779.45MB- 24fps- 48.0kHz stereo
720- 4.20mbps- 729.70MB- 24fps- 48.0kHz stereo
480- 1.66mbps- 325.83MB- 24fps- 44.1kHz stereo
Bluh, iTunes sucks.
Also, I have a 1080p computer screen, and I still get the screen-size message. No problems with playback though.
Okay, guys, I did a trial download of Lesson Zero. Went through my computer files and saw I had all three versions of the show. Maybe I wouldn't lose Derpy if I did download the 1080p version, even if the Derpy versions were limited to 720 and 480. I don't THINK those two versions got overwritten.
But... I'm in no hurry to download them all. I don't have any iDevice that can play back 1080p yet.
Hmmm... my iPod Touch would probably play the unedited lower resolution versions, as would my computer... But then again...
*head blows up*
@XyroTR1
What do you do to correct the colors Xyro TR1 for iTunes downloads? ie contrast; red blue green adjustments? trying to use avidemux but haven't done much playing yet.
@smokeydops2
I think you mean thanking Xerox Parc for inventing the GUI :3
@AzmariaYup this gives the edited Derpy version. I just downloaded it. Also Episode 1 Season 1 is glitched while Celestia is telling the story in the beginning it stutters for a second not a big issue but still, this issue is happening for me at least in the 1080p version but my old 720p version works fine. Not sure why.
@LosKnoggos
Might I recommend this http://lancewiggs.com/2010/04/13/how-to-have-a-us-itunes-account-on-your-ipad-iphone-apple-tv/
Yeah, cartoon with little detail - perfect for HD.
Lolno.
Now, if only iTunes would let me buy from the US store, it would be awsome.
Seriously, what's up with that?
@David Kreutz With 'fun' you mean marketing BS...?
@adlerman
Eeyup... and Xerox got all those concepts from Doug Engelbart and his "Augmented Human Intellect Research Center", WAY back in 1968.
Back in 1968, Engelbart demoed a graphical user interface computer that featured a mouse, what we might call a macro keypad today, windows, clickable hyperlinks, some simple graphics, networked communications (the demo was between hardware 30 miles apart), collaborative document editing, and video conferencing.
A good chunk of the opening of the presentation goes through the basics of viewing the desktop as if it were just a blank sheet of paper waiting for you to do something with it. Real world ideas for how the computer could be used, in even the most mundane tasks were presented, most importantly, visually. He provides examples such as maintaining a shopping list, managing travel routes on a map to make the most efficient sequence of stops over the least distance traveled, and gradually working up to concepts like multiple users editing a document simultaneously while video chatting with one another in a separate window. That is basically Google docs... in 1968... with video chat. How cool is that.
Did I mention...
He did this in 1968
It's a nerd's wet dream, but the whole demo was recorded, and can be found online.
The mane page full of info and stuff:
http://www.dougengelbart.org/firsts/dougs-1968-demo.html
First part of nine youtube videos of the demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfIgzSoTMOs
The other links are in the description.
Clip 2 is particularly impressive, because it basically outlines the underlying structure of how the most file systems and the internet itself works, with a series of hierarchal arranged linkable objects. He even links these between a graphic... which can link back to the data.
Computer nerds may find themselves in need of a change of pants. As a tech demo, there are glitches and boring parts, but it's SO worth it for the real gems that highlight the presentation. You may think it primitive... but consider that the earliest home computers were nearly a decade away, and paled in their interface capability.
Does iTunes video have the same problem with their music in that you can only have it on a certain number of computers? Had to replace two computers in quick succession and now I have to restore my laptop with iTunes so I won't be able to move my downloaded songs any more legitimately very soon, despite only having one working version at any one time. Its one of the many issues I have with iTunes...
@Hawkeye92 Here's some info that might help you out.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1420
1080p ponies?!?!
Mind = blown (but enjoyable) HD Derpy eye's yay
Ugh. This presents a real dilemma for those of us lucky enough to have the "real" Last Roundup. Modified Derpy at 1080 or the real Derpy at 720? Curses.
Do these have DRM or can I play them in other things besides Itunes, or on a standalone media player?
@Hawkeye92
You can deactivate computers from your iTunes account to free up "slots" before you sell on or wipe it. This isn't much help if the computer suffers a catastrophic failure, is stolen, etc., but if you've used all your slots you can do a complete deactivation which clears all computers from your account, then you just reactivate on the computers you currently use.
They're still not selling outside of the US? Damn it, iTunes.
I bought my copy of the DVD to show my support. I want full season Blurays!
Why MLP FiM épisodes are not available on the French iTunes store ??? I have to illegally download them !
@smokeydops2
"thanking Apple for inventing the Graphical User Interface"
XEROX invented it in 1970's in their PARC labs. For buck sake. Xerox, not Apple!!! Apple just copied the idea from Xerox's first device with full GUI, the Alto. And, Apple didn't invent tablet computers either. Microsoft showed their first tablets in 2002, thats 10 years ago and 8 years before iPad.
If only my geographic location and hippie made operating system wouldn't limit my ability to spend money on digital media.
I would so give money to Hasboro for my weekly fix of hd-non-drm-h.264 of ponies.
It would be really nice to know how to remove the DRM from these files now. Then I could re-burn my personal custom Blu-ray set to have 1080p episodes without logos!
Finaly, 1080pony ^^
It's too bad that 50$ for the entire season is absurd. That's what a nice blu ray box set would cost, no way I'm paying that.
@Ooze33
There are softwares that will do that. They cost though (free trials, but they are usually limited.)
This one, for instance, is $40
There are ways... No free ones that I know of, though.
Like this, fer instance:
http://www.iskysoft.com/article/remove-drm-protection-from-itunes.html
Most I've seen are in the range of $20 and up. Google it.
@Eri Rethink that. We are speaking of PONY. I think they are worth the money.
@FY There are ways to make an US iTunes account, in which you can pay with US gift cards. You can buy them here: http://www.buyfrompowerseller.com/USA-iTunes-Guthaben-Karte-email/ They also explain how to make the account. It's really simple!
@Shador
You are the coolest of the cool.
By the way, is anyone having trouble getting Sweet and Elite and the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy to download in 1080p? I keep re-downloading and it's always in 720p. The other episodes worked fine.
@corvinus
Actually, Steve Jobs worked out the concept of a tablet computer all the way back in 1982.
And As I mentioned, Doug Engelbart and his "Augmented Human Intellect Research Center" team started delivered an amazing tech demo that showed a functioning networked GUI computer to a crowd of over 1000 computer scientists back in 1968. Their work started in either 1962 or 63. That predates Xerox's contributions. They even demo the first concepts of the ARPAnet... the network that ultimately grew into the modern day internet.
I hope the new version of iTunes will even run on my old Mac. I already paid for my season pass, but even if my old machine can't handle the 1080 files, I'll just wait for them to go online. I can rip them from youtube or find torrents. I paid for it already, so I don't feel any reason not to. Once I have DRM free copies, I'll copy them to my PS3.
My brain is full of SQUEEE!!!!
@Ooze33
I am, please let me know if you find a solution.
Ugh, they couldn't have done this prior to slicing the Derpy episode, could they?
@ZobeidHaving a 1920x1200 monitor, I can tell you the difference is huge. It's actually much more evident BECAUSE it's a flash cartoon with solid areas of color and sharp, well-defined edges and smooth animations and many fewer details like hair strands, pockmarks on skin, blades of grass, or grainy concrete to clutter up the picture. The 720p video files have blurry, pixellated edges and slight artifacting due to upscaling to fit the larger monitor. 720p also is NOT full HD; 1080p is and has been since the standards for HD were fully established. Most HD televisions on the market today have native 1080p displays.
@smokeydops2 Where do you think all of the 1080p rips come from? The Hub actually broadcasts it in 1080p native, not upscale. I've compared the picture quality up close and side by side, there is NO way at all to upscale the 720p picture to the level of detail and clarity of the native 1080p rips. The episodes were in fact designed to be broadcast in 1080p.
We are not bound to the bandwidth restrictions of a few years ago that limited all HD broadcasts to 720p. Premium channels like The Hub broadcast in native 1080p, at least in the markets where the service providers support it.
For those of you who would like a comparison between a 1080p YouTube episode and 1080p iTunes episode, check out the image here: http://f.cl.ly/items/3t0C2f3W3Y0R1w1U0K3w/1080pComparison.png
Both versions look great, but if you want unsurpassed quality and no pop in ads or Hub logo, iTunes is the way to go. (Not to mention all that sweet monetary compensation those that work on the show get for your purchase.)
Also, I live in Canada, so I had to set up a US iTunes account and buy gift card codes online (JerryCards.com) to get at the pony, but it was totally worth it.
Also, is it just me, or are the 1080p versions of episodes 9-13 and 15 of season 2 unavailable? I can get the 720p versions just fine, which still look great, but it seems strange that those 6 episodes are unavailable in 1080p. (By the way, you can check the resolution of your episodes by right clicking on them and selecting "Get Info".)
@Pinkie Guy
Yup, same thing happening here...
I tried redownloading those specific episodes and it's still in 720p.
@Shipment of Win Alright. I'm going to try contacting Hasbro about it. They probably just haven't uploaded some the new resolution episodes yet, but there is a chance that they are unaware of the problem. I'll add another response to this comment thread once I have something to report.
I just got a reply back from Hasbro saying that they are not sure why those six episodes are only available in only 720p. They suggested contacting iTunes about it. I left a post on the Apple Support forums a few days ago and never received a response, so I'm going to try contacting the iTunes folks more directly and see what happens.
The email is off, and I should be hearing back from them within 24 or so hours.
Welp, I just got a response and the iTunes fellow, and he seems just as clueless as the Hasbro guy. He suggested calling Apple technical support, but there might be a fee associated with the call. (Bleh.)
I just sent another email to Discovery Communications Viewer Relations. Going to The Hub's website and clicking on some support links at the bottom of the page leads me there, so maybe they will have some answers. They say it may be as long as a week before I receive a response.
I also sent an email to EqD as well. If they decide to write a story about it, we might see some results.
I just received an email back from the EqD staff. They said they've known about the issue for a while and apparently iTunes is just slow about rotating higher quality stuff in. Hopefully that means the remaining episodes will be uploaded soon in 1080p. I'm hoping we might even get an update when "Hurricane Fluttershy" is uploaded.
I don't know if anyone will ever really read these comments, but I'll definitely leave more to update episode availability. I know I'm probably one of three people in the world that actually cares about this, but if I can save someone from wasting several hours blundering about the Internet, convinced they don't know how to iTunes properly like I did, it will be worth it.
I'm definitely reading. Thanks for posting and updating about it. :)
Dang, I just downloaded Hurricane Fluttershy only to find out that it was only in 720p. I'm an aspiring vector guy, so the higher the quality, the easier my job is, and 1080p is definitely preferable. Confound it.
I made a comparison image showing the difference in video quality between YouTube, Netflix, and iTunes: http://f.cl.ly/items/3i3e460n3H1M452p3U1M/ponyComparison.png Clearly, iTunes has the greatest video quality, followed by Netflix and YouTube in respectable second and third places.
However, keep in mind that the colour still hasn't been corrected for the first season episodes on iTunes, and episodes 10-13 and 15 in the second season are not available in 1080p. Maybe things might be a little different now that MLP comes in volumes, not seasons, but it does not look like it.
The $120 it now costs to get the first two seasons of the show on iTunes just isn't worth it anymore. So, @Millennial Dan, I strongly suggest using Netflix to get high-res pony. The only way I used to be able to pay for pony was through iTunes because I am Canadian, but now that it is on Netflix here, I'm in no hurry to buy that third season.
Post a Comment