This is a follow up to my previous post about having issues with renting movies through Apple TV. For what it’s worth, my problem was eventually solved when Apple refunded my money, but it seems as though this problem goes a little deeper. What you are about to read is a posted comment from site member CHASH. It seems to deal with the typical problem everyone is having, but this time he gets Apple Support to reveal some interesting information about why movies may be disappearing.

” I have a rather disturbing update on this issue… Here’s the background:
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4 new HD titles were added to Apple TV tonight including Lars and the Real Girl, Pitch Black, The Good Night and Waking Ned Divine.

According to Apple’s support page on Rental Video Formats the resolution for Standard Definition movies is 720 x up to 480 pixels. If you rented the same movie directly from the iTunes Store the resolution would be 640 x up to 480 pixels. Now, I have yet to purchase a movie through Apple TV. Really there hasn’t been a title worth if for me. All though I am looking forward to next week when Indiana Jones is released on DVD, but I digress. My question is, does the 720 x up to 480 pixel resolution hold true for purchase titles also? Has anyone Purchased a movie through the Apple TV and noticed an improvement in quality over a purchase through the iTunes Store. My guess is this is why there wasn’t some huge dump of all the titles into the Apple TV from the iTunes Store, because they needed to be re-digitized for the higher resolution. Opinions? Thoughts? I’m curious. If this is true, and the quality is improved, then this may persuade me to purchase a title for two.

Reservation Road was a DVD release the same week as There Will Be Blood, so I hope to see that title turn Rental and hopefully HD soon. The other two HD titles released were Heartbreak Ridge and The Taking of Palham One Two Three.

Peachpit Press provides an excerpt from their book The Apple TV Pocket Guide at www.peachpit.com. When you reach page five of the book excerpt online, Buy and Rent Media Using the Apple TV, Apple TV Junkie is mentioned as a resource which tracks all the new movies and TV shows that are available on the Apple TV. Now, any press is good press for ATVJ, but I can’t claim that we have ever tracked new TV shows to this point. But we would like to thank Peachpit for the mention and we’ll have to look for the book to see if we made it to print.

We lose Transformers completely and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End to the Purchase Only list for the following HD jems: The 24 Hour Woman, Conspiracy, Kickboxer 3: The Art of War, The Magnificent Seven Ride!, Steep and My Kid Could Paint That.

Along with Transformers and POTC, earlier in the week Ratatouille mysteriously disappeared from the HD rental list, only to become a purchase only title. I hope this isn’t a trend for Apple as an attempt to drive people to purchase A List titles to please the studios or pad their “purchase” sales numbers when it comes time to brag about how successful this new “purchase” venture is.