Quality of TV Shows purchased in iTunes

Some of the question I have received about the quality of TV Shows purchased on iTunes are as follows:

• Are the shows on iTunes HD?
• Will HD files play on my iPhone 3G?
• Can I share my TV shows with other iPhone 3G’s?

Well, in answer to your questions. Shows on iTunes are NOT in HD, they are all 640px WIDE and depending on the formatting of the show it could be 480 (approx) high, or if in wide screen a lot LESS pixels high. Basically, the size of TV Shows and Movies on iTunes at the moment is similar to that of NTSC video in the USA.

IF however you purchased these movies on your Apple TV, then you would have the option to buy this in HD (720p) as well… why??? Well, to prevent confusion, it’s easier if EVERYTHING from the iTunes Store on your Mac or PC, comes down at 640PX wide, which means every iPod, iPod Touch, iPhone and iPhone 3G will play the TV shows or movies purchased. Imagine how annoying it would be if you bought a movie and found that it would not play on your iPhone.

HD Files will NOT play on any mobile device at the moment, be it iPhone, iPod or iPod Touch.

Using Apple’s FairPlay DRM management you can allow up to 5 computers to play your purchased content, I think this is enough but not more than enough...catch my drift? What this also means is if you have more than one iPhone 3G or 2G in the house, you can share the videos you purchased on as many devices that are synced with that one computer too.