VIdeo rentals - which is better, best?

[Dave2002]

Occasionally we "rent" videos from download or streaming sites - though not often.

Where there is a choice of iTunes or Amazon (for example) and the conditions and stated quality and price seem pretty much the same (e.g HD), is one better than the other, or are they all pretty much of a muchness?

Not all films are available at all online stores (iTunes, Amazon, Now TV) so sometimes there isn't a choice, but when there is .... ?

With Apple - and with the right kind of devices (e.g Apple TV) - download may be possible - which may introduce a delay, but possibly will give better quality. Not sure about Amazon - might only work with some Amazon related gadgets.

[Dave2002]

Tonight had a chance to test out a few. Wanted to watch "Hidden Figures" - well worth watching. Options were Apple and Amazon, and we also spotted BT Television - which might have been the simplest, but cost 50p more.

We tried BT first - and watched the trailer, but the problem with actually trying to rent the film was that this requires a PIN number - presumably to stop kids from switching channels, and clocking up huge bills. I don't know what our PIN number is - presumably I can log in to our BT account and find that for the future, but tonight didn't have time. It would have been a high quality solution, and easy to use for only a modestly higher price. Next time, maybe!

So - went for Apple. Last time we saw anything from the Apple store we may have used an Apple TV. This time couldn't find the unit easily, nor its remote, so we tried the HDMI cable linked to MBP solution. Should have been easy BUT .... The interface which Apple provide via iTunes on Macs is absolutely lousy. Getting the rental is actually simple - but there is no visual feedback at all. After a lot of blue language, I discovered this link - https://www.quora.com/Ive-bought-a-m...t-What-do-I-do - which gives a solution which works.

Basically sign out of iTunes, Sign back in, look at the Account details and the Purchases, and then the video appears. Click on it, and it plays.
Thanks Apple for making it all so obvious!!!! Ha Ha Ha! After a cooling off period we enjoyed the film.

Using the HDMI link method it's also best to change the sound settings in System Preferences, so that the TV sound is used via HDMI, otherwise the sound comes out of the computer speakers.

One very slight quirk is that there is slightly (it really is pretty slight) more of the film shown on the computer screen than on the TV - though for most practical purposes while watching most films this does not matter. The computer shows a slightly wider view than the TV via HDMI. Most action either pans across, or is only in the centre anyway, so the edges don't matter. I did try to see if I could get settings with our TV which would match the settings on my computer display, but I don't think it's actually possible - and it's not such a big deal anyway.

[Lancashire Lass]

Monday was a black day when I got the e-mail from Amazon telling me they were closing down their rental by post service. More ammunition for the "Make Amazon pay their fair share of tax" lobby!

Glad to see there's a lifeboat: https://www.cinemaparadiso.co.uk

So they will get my custom from November.

[MrGongGong]

One very slight quirk is that there is slightly (it really is pretty slight) more of the film shown on the computer screen than on the TV - though for most practical purposes while watching most films this does not matter. The computer shows a slightly wider view than the TV via HDMI. Most action either pans across, or is only in the centre anyway, so the edges don't matter. I did try to see if I could get settings with our TV which would match the settings on my computer display, but I don't think it's actually possible - and it's not such a big deal anyway.

"slight quirk"

How about the same applied to orchestral recordings?
The slight "quirk" means that the percussion can't be heard but listening to most music this "doesn't matter"

That's a massive deal
people who make films spend huge amounts of time composing the images to work on the screen

[LHC]

One very slight quirk is that there is slightly (it really is pretty slight) more of the film shown on the computer screen than on the TV - though for most practical purposes while watching most films this does not matter. The computer shows a slightly wider view than the TV via HDMI. Most action either pans across, or is only in the centre anyway, so the edges don't matter. I did try to see if I could get settings with our TV which would match the settings on my computer display, but I don't think it's actually possible - and it's not such a big deal anyway.

The slight quirk you refer to is known as overscanning, and is a hangover from the days when all TVs were made with cathode ray tubes.

CRTs could be very variable in how the video image was positioned within the borders of the screen. To solve this, they were set up to show less than the full image, with the far edges of the image outside the viewing area of the tube. This prevented programmes being shown with black borders caused by either improper centering or non-linearity in the scanning circuits or variations in power supply voltage, all of which could cause the image to shrink in size and reveal the edge of the picture.

This was understood by content makers, and they provided for overscanning by defining three areas of all displays so they could make sure all content would display correctly:

Tile Safe: The area that virtually all televisions would show, confirming that no text would be cut off.
Action Safe: The larger part of the viewing area, which was defined by the highest TV set calibration.
Underscan: The full image.

There is no real need for modern screens still to use overscanning, but most do. It should be possible to turn this off on most TVs (although unhelpfully many TV manufacturers use their own jargon to describe this, so it won't always be easy to find on the set up menu). This webpage explains the system, and also provides tips on how to turn it off:

https://www.howtogeek.com/252193/hdtv-overscan-what-it-is-and-why-you-should-probably-turn-it-off/

You'll also need to check your apple tv settings, as this includes adjustments for overscan, which if improperly set up, could be adding to your problems.