Why going digital isn’t always so seamless

There is no escaping the clutches of digital media within today’s society. It’s both changed and shaped the way we interact on a daily basis.

Over the years we’ve seen products significantly change and adapt in order to compete in today’s consumer market. Companies such as Apple are pioneers in this field offering innovative product solutions over a variety of genres. Their iTunes music store is a prime example of this expansion and it appears that the more a product can do, the more convenient and useful it becomes.

Being a digital ‘freak’ myself, I thrive on being up-to-date with the latest technologies and, this probably comes as no surprise, but I take a bite out of most things Apple. iTunes has become my chosen digital hub and is at the centre of my media content. It was only my DVD collection that hadn’t fully made the transition from disc to digital.

I felt somewhat dismayed that my DVDs were becoming redundant with the introduction of HD (High Definition) and digital downloads. My enjoyment of movies in SD (Standard Definition) had been inhibited by the knowledge that I could be watching them with more pixels. Being eager to start up a new collection and move with the times, it would seem appropriate to venture into the digital world. Considering the rest of my content ran through iTunes, what was I waiting for?

Firstly, I must state, since downloading music, podcasts and apps over the years  – everything has felt so very seamless. I took for granted that films should follow the same pattern. When in fact, movie downloads have the potential to be quite the opposite.

The first problem with iTunes is that, currently you can’t buy HD films in the UK Apple store (only HD TV series). So to start a digital collection you’re left with no choice but to pay out for SD content. Also, films are generally more expensive and lack the extras you get with a traditional DVD.

Although buying online saves space in my living room, my hard drive has started to feel the strain. The average SD film is between 1 to 2GB in size and for those extra pixels of HD you can expect a significant increase. A larger hard drive would definitely be required as well as an additional backup drive to store all those digital movies. This was not necessarily a problem faced with music and apps. because file sizes are substantially smaller.

Bigger files also require faster download speeds. With a lousy average download rate in the UK, it may take a while for films or a TV series to download. Luckily, I don’t have a bandwidth limit, but for those who do, they could find themselves reaching their monthly usage allowance half way through an HD TV series such as ‘Lost’. Film buffs that want to experience true HD may also be disappointed. iTunes currently only supports 720p resolution in comparison to 1080p on the BluRay disc. To the untrained eye the difference may be unnoticeable but still isn’t at the cutting edge of what is offered by BluRay.

If you have a fast computer, with plenty of hard disk space and a good Internet connection, then that’s half the battle won. Now you need to transfer your downloaded movies to the ‘big screen’. This is where I believe the real problem lies. To stream your HD content to your TV you will require an Apple TV box. As iTunes films are copy protected there isn’t really another alternative. Those who want flexibility with the way they stream content will have to look elsewhere. For £223 you get a 160Gb wireless box, which is great for casual users but for those like myself who look to start a new HD collection, I expect more space for my content.

It comes as no surprise that Apple TV isn’t as influential as the iPhone and iPod have been to mobile and music. It’s just lacking in features and doesn’t quite stand out from the crowd. This is not helped by the hindrance of technologies around it (Internet speeds etc.), which impact on how convenient the product could potentially be. For me, it’s only a matter of time before digital movie downloads become the next big thing, it just needs time to nurture. Until then, my DVD collection will stay ‘as is’ and won’t be joining my CD collection just quite yet.