I was thinking about getting a season pass to watch Mad Men. Normally I have no problem waiting for shows to come out on DVD. There’s always something to be watching while I wait for a show to come out.
If you watch shows downloaded from itunes…do you like the experience? Any advice or things a clueless newbie should know?
Ive always had trouble watching them on my monitor, and you cant un-DRM them to watch elsewhere unless you have a mac video type device. Also for some of the shows, the episodes aren’t ready for download for a while after the shows air.
I watched S1 of Dollhouse this way. I had planned on putting them on my iPod to watch on a plane ride, but I wound up not doing so for unrelated reasons.
No complaints from me. If you have the option, you might want to go with the standard definition versions of the episodes rather than the HD ones. HD files are about twice the size and take longer to download.
I downloaded Russel Howard live (stand up show) And Shawshank Redemption. I didn’t have a problem with the service.
And so far I can’t find a valid reason for the itunes-hate that I see in people I know. I am a PC, but I know a good thing when I see it (ipod touch, iphone)
I wondered about standard vs. HD. I run a line from my computer to an Epson projector. I didn’t know if HD looked better even though I don’t have an HD tv. Is the quality better?
I did buy the package of Mad Men, Season 3. Just watched the first episode. SD was absolutely adequate.
I have Netflix, so I feel guilty paying extra, but I love this show. I wouldn’t do it for any other show, but I just finished Season 2 and really wanted the continuity. Also, people and media talk about this show so much I want to avoid spoilers.
As with most Internet video, compression artifacts are quite visible, even in the HD video. I think I may just be too sensitive to that kind of thing, though. And I don’t blame Apple; when you offer video online, there has to be a compromise between quality and download time.
What I don’t get is, why shows cost at least as much as they do on DVD. There ought to be a discount for the lower quality and lack of extras.
I’ve downloaded some TV episodes from iTunes. I also prefer the standard to HD, not just for the reasons mentioned, but also because, at least on my computer, the viewing is smoother. I’m not really sure what’s going on with it, but the standard versions are flawless, like watching it on TV, whereas in HD, the video is a bit jumpy. Presumably the picture is clearer, but I can’t see the difference on my laptop.
You’re paying for being able to watch them almost immediately after broadcast rather than waiting a year. And honestly, most extras I’ve seen on TV show DVDs aren’t really worth it. A few here and there, but …
I’m not sure about running through a projector but if you have a monitor with a high resolution (1280x720 or above) then it will certainly look better on that.
I never watch movies on my Touch but it’s perfect for tv shows…no need really for the bigger screen experience with most shows. I think it’s more expensive than it should be since you get no DVD extras but on the other hand it seems kind of wasteful to have the physical product (that I’ll need to find room to store) that I’m likely to watch only once. So yeah it mostly works for me.
Because DirecTV refuses to carry AMC in HD, I cannot watch Mad Men in the usual fashion, so I buy them in HD via iTunes.
I watch them on my TV via some complicated mastery of all things Mac. I have a spare computer hooked up to my TV I use as a media device, and via that I watch the iTunes episodes from my desktop computer by streaming them over the network into Front Row using shared libraries.
The quality is quite good for iTunes HD shows, and when you buy one you get a download of the HD version as well as the SD version, for the heck of it.
I also have Netflix, but I also have an OMG MUST WATCH NOW demon living in my head, so SD was perfectly acceptable for my needs.
Can’t really say anything about the video quality, as I own a 4-year-old Powerbook and it kinda chugs on everything fancy these days. My playback was a little choppy at the beginning of each video, and I noticed some artifacts, but neither detracted from my enjoyment of the show.
I have a few episodes of Firefly stashed on my iPhone for boring faculty meetings.
If you don’t have an HDTV, the only benefit you’d get in watching an HD version (or trying to) is that you may be getting a less cropped version.
I bring out my laptop and pretend like I’m studiously taking notes on everything my principal and the whiny, “everything revolves around me,” fourth grade teacher say.
I’m actually completing a crossword puzzle.
One thing I’ll say about watching Mad Men: even in “SD,” the quality is MUCH higher than when I watch old TV shows from the 60s and 70s.
I once bought a monthly pass to the Daily Show (this was during when I didn’t have cable and before everything was available free online.) I was happy with it overall. I haven’t bought anything since then, but that’s because a lot of what I might want to see I either DVR, watch online, or is downloaded as either an audio or a video podcast.
We have a few hundred TV shows on our laptop, as well as a couple dozen movies, all from ITunes. Mostly, this is because we live overseas and have limited access to the TV shows we want, when we want them. Most of the shows are for our daughter. We don’t mind watching shows on the computer monitor, but our TV actually has a PC input jack, and you can hook it up to the computer just like an external monitor and watch like that. We greatly prefer having our TV shows and movies on computer, as we can back them up, transport them easily, and not worry about DVDs getting scratched or abused.
It’s awesome for our two girls. The five year old is, right this moment, watching an episode of Kim Possible on her desktop. It allows us to control what they’re watching and provides absolutely righteous long car trip kid distractions.
I’ve downloaded for them (they’re 5 and 9 right now)
Kim Possible
Little Einsteins
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Dora the Explorer
Mythbusters
And a selection of movies.