HD Content without Apple TV

Quick Question.

If you don't buy the Apple TV device, can you still watch the HD content onyour HDTV in HD. Also, is it 720p or 1080p? Also, can a HD movie be viewed on the iPOD (my understanding is the maximum bit-rate for the iPOD is 1500kbps, not nearly enough for 720p)

Thoughts?

i was thinking the same thing. i have an HDMI cable which connects from my macbook pro to my HDTV. will this play HD movies in HD downloaded from iTunes ?

on the site it says HD Movies only by Apple TV and rental only(bummer i know). If you have Blu-Ray or HD-DVD you can watch HD Content that way. HD Video wont go on iPod.

Yup. Reason being that the AppleTV is the only one that has HDCP. So it's the only device that will play those HD files for you.

Shame - I can watch HD movies on the Xbox360 from Marketplace

Zoolook said:

Shame - I can watch HD movies on the Xbox360 from Marketplace

Click to expand...

Xbox 360 is another standalone device which supports HDCP. They are not going to allow any system that will transmit a digital picture over an HDMI link "in the clear" (ie, unencrypted). Standalone Apple computer will do this. Therefore, no HD downloads for them.

It sucks, but blame the content companies. Better yet, boycott them until they drop such stupid crap. People who want to pirate stuff, will. People who have no intention of pirating stuff generally have to suffer with all these limitations that DRM schemes impose. You can only use your media in a select few ways that they thought of and as soon as you want to use your legally purchased content in a way that they didn't initially forsee and/or approve, then you're prevented from doing so.

Did I mention how much I hate DRM?

Well maybe we're spoilt... I mean 20 years ago, I couldn't watch a VHS recording on something the size of a wallet...

I thought the 24" iMac was HDCP compliant?

Some of the components are. Such as the video card and the LCD. But that doesn't mean the computer as a whole is.