Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 1, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Apple has expanded the German iTunes Store offering to include high-definition television programmes. According to a company announcement, users of the download service can now purchase a range of popular US series in high definition. Well-known programmes including “Heroes,” “Law & Order,” “House,” “Criminal Intent,” and “Battlestar Galactica” are intended to be available from the outset. According to Apple, the content is provided at 720p. Individual episodes cost €1.99, €2.49, or €2.99, while complete HD seasons can cost up to €60. The complete first season of “Heroes,” for example, costs almost €38 and occupies around 32GB.
“Until now, HD television series in the iTunes Store were available exclusively in the US and United Kingdom. Strong demand for high-definition content in those countries confirmed that we should now provide a corresponding offering in Germany,” an Apple Germany spokesperson explained when asked by the pressetext.de news service. There is currently no information, however, on whether or when high-definition content might also be introduced in the iTunes Store in other countries such as Austria.
According to Apple, many of the offered HD television series feature 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound. In high-definition quality, programmes can be played either on a computer or, using Apple’s own Apple TV set-top box, on an HD-capable television. To watch the corresponding videos while travelling, purchased content can also be synchronised with an iPod or iPhone. For this purpose, every episode is delivered to users in two versions: HD quality and an iPod- and iPhone-compatible standard resolution.
Only on 16 April 2009, Apple announced that films from major studios would now also be offered for purchase and rental in the German iTunes Store. Around 500 titles from Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, MGM, Sony, or Walt Disney were reportedly available at launch. “Films are available for purchase in the iTunes Store on the same day as their DVD release and can be watched on any video-capable iPod, iPhone, Mac or PC, and through Apple TV on a widescreen television,” Apple said at the time. More than 100 films are also available in HD. Unlike music in the iTunes Store, which was freed from DRM restrictions at the beginning of the year, all purchased videos remain protected by copy-protection measures (pressetext reported: http://pressetext.com/news/090106005/).
