Apple 4K TV vs Vudu

[TitusTroy]

I'm not sure if this the right place to post this but I'll give it a shot...I currently have an LG C7 OLED (with Dolby Vision support)...is there a difference in UHD/HDR picture quality from using the LG C7's built in Vudu app versus something like an Apple 4K device when streaming movies?

I keep seeing people rave about Apple 4K (iTunes) but I don't understand...do they use more bitrates in their UHD streams?...is the quality that much better?...what about something like FandangoNow vs Vudu (using the LG apps)?...I always thought streaming quality was generally the same (of course UHD Blu-ray quality is much better)

I've never used Apple TV before and was thinking about picking one up if the difference in quality is much better then LG's built in streaming movie apps

[solarrdadd]

[bonebox]

I have the same TV and Apple TV 4K. There’s no difference in UHD/HDR/Dolby Vision quality. The sound quality will be better from the TV’s VUDU app though (depending on the movie and your sound system), at least until Dolby Atmos is added to the Apple TV later this year. I prefer the Apple TV’s UI, though, and own quite a few iTunes 4K movies that are only HDX in VUDU. But if I have a UHD movie both places I always use the TV’s app for the better audio.

[TitusTroy]

Originally Posted by bonebox

I have the same TV and Apple TV 4K. There’s no difference in UHD/HDR/Dolby Vision quality. The sound quality will be better from the TV’s VUDU app though (depending on the movie and your sound system), at least until Dolby Atmos is added to the Apple TV later this year. I prefer the Apple TV’s UI, though, and own quite a few iTunes 4K movies that are only HDX in VUDU. But if I have a UHD movie both places I always use the TV’s app for the better audio.

so why is the Apple TV 4K so highly praised everywhere?...is that only in comparison to similar devices like Roku, Chromecast etc?...but for those that have a TV with a built in app for things like Vudu etc there is no difference?...so iTunes doesn't offer higher bit rates (compared to Vudu)?

[dunnbluray]

Originally Posted by bonebox

I have the same TV and Apple TV 4K. There’s no difference in UHD/HDR/Dolby Vision quality. The sound quality will be better from the TV’s VUDU app though (depending on the movie and your sound system), at least until Dolby Atmos is added to the Apple TV later this year. I prefer the Apple TV’s UI, though, and own quite a few iTunes 4K movies that are only HDX in VUDU. But if I have a UHD movie both places I always use the TV’s app for the better audio.

The above is inaccurate.

A Vudu engineer confirmed on the Vudu forums, the bitrate is around 15 for UHD streaming. When using the xcode developer app from a Mac, you can see that the average rate is around 25 for the 4K playback on the Apple TV 4K.

https://forum.vudu.com/forum/vudu/ge...ge3#post382967

[bonebox]

Originally Posted by dunnbluray

The above is inaccurate.

A Vudu engineer confirmed on the Vudu forums, the bitrate is around 15 for UHD streaming. When using the xcode developer app from a Mac, you can see that the average rate is around 25 for the 4K playback on the Apple TV 4K.

https://forum.vudu.com/forum/vudu/ge...ge3#post382967

That thread seems to be referring to the Xbox One Vudu app, though. Has it been confirmed that it is also 15 Mbps on the LG WebOS Vudu app? Regardless, to my eye I haven’t been able to perceive any discernible difference when comparing the 2.

[Majoran]

Originally Posted by TitusTroy

so why is the Apple TV 4K so highly praised everywhere?...is that only in comparison to similar devices like Roku, Chromecast etc?...but for those that have a TV with a built in app for things like Vudu etc there is no difference?...so iTunes doesn't offer higher bit rates (compared to Vudu)?

I would say because for many (like myself) it’s qhite close to a one stop shop for streaming (NetFlix, Amazon, Vudu, ITunes , DirecTV Now, channel apps, etc) and local content (Infuse/MrMc). ITunes is a big selling point with fairly cheap digital versions that are 4K HDR (HDR10/DV) that give you an alternative to disc. ATV4K is not for everyone, but for those that can and do take advantage of what is offered it’s one of the best out there. It’s also less likely to become outdated compared to A TV operations system).

[Alan Gordon]

Regarding the bitrate between ATV4K and VUDU, note that VUDU recommends at least 11Mbps for streaming 4K, and as I'm on a 20/1.5 Mbps internet plan, I can state that iTunes 4K content still works.

[squatting hen]

Originally Posted by TitusTroy

so why is the Apple TV 4K so highly praised everywhere?...is that only in comparison to similar devices like Roku, Chromecast etc?...but for those that have a TV with a built in app for things like Vudu etc there is no difference?...so iTunes doesn't offer higher bit rates (compared to Vudu)?

I think it depends on the user. In our household, we have a fire stick, chromecast, Rokus and the ATV4K. The only device that gets used is the Rokus. I have apple devices, but I just don't care for the ATV.

[maddog510]

Originally Posted by dunnbluray

The above is inaccurate.

A Vudu engineer confirmed on the Vudu forums, the bitrate is around 15 for UHD streaming. When using the xcode developer app from a Mac, you can see that the average rate is around 25 for the 4K playback on the Apple TV 4K.

https://forum.vudu.com/forum/vudu/ge...ge3#post382967

I wonder if Vudu will ever increase the bitrate to 30 Mbps for the 4K streams. That seems more appropriate.

[JEArgumedo]

Besides the increase in bitrate, Apple put a specific focus on quality when making the device using an A10X chip which really does a good job handling HDR10 and Dolby Vision. While Vudu works on a variety of devices, Apple streams video very specifically optimized for their devices. Of course, this is mostly for iTunes films and other providers who encode video streams specifically for Apple devices. (Netflix uses Apple's preferred HEVC spec in their app, Google only uses 1080p H.264 on YouTube because they want VP9 hardware acceleration on Apple devices for 4K). Vudu's streams while good, I don't believe were optimized to take full advantage of the hardware, they're just using their already established HEVC spec which just happens to be supported on Apple devices. They'll probably change up to compete sooner or later.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by Alan Gordon

Regarding the bitrate between ATV4K and VUDU, note that VUDU recommends at least 11Mbps for streaming 4K, and as I'm on a 20/1.5 Mbps internet plan, I can state that iTunes 4K content still works.

Note that Apple uses adaptive streaming for UHD content (and also for HD content if you have "quick start" enabled). If your bandwidth isn't sufficient for the highest quality version, you'll get a stream with reduced quality (which may still look quite good).

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by TitusTroy

so why is the Apple TV 4K so highly praised everywhere?...is that only in comparison to similar devices like Roku, Chromecast etc?...but for those that have a TV with a built in app for things like Vudu etc there is no difference?...so iTunes doesn't offer higher bit rates (compared to Vudu)?

I don't know why it is praised "everywhere", but I can tell you why I praise it.

• It's a versatile little box with a very nice UI. Besides various streaming providers I'm also a heavy user of the Infuse app for local streaming.
• It's the only box that can stream iTunes content. iTunes currently has a bigger selection of UHD movies than the other providers, has by far the most Dolby Vision movies, and is the only provider that upgrades existing HD movies in your library for free when they become available in UHD (provided you have purchased or redeemed the movie directly through iTunes).
• Quality is very good in my eyes, although I haven't done a direct comparison with Vudu UHD. Systematic comparisons are quite difficult to do, since there are many variables and there is currently no easy way to take lossless screenshots of UHD streams. Most comparisons you find are subjective and anecdotal.

The main downside is that the ATV4K is relatively expensive compared to other streaming boxes (and of course to apps that come for free with your smart TV).

[WJWS Channel 13:Amity]

Originally Posted by Fiffy

I don't know why it is praised "everywhere", but I can tell you why I praise it.

• It's a versatile little box with a very nice UI. Besides various streaming providers I'm also a heavy user of the Infuse app for local streaming.
• It's the only box that can stream iTunes content. iTunes currently has a bigger selection of UHD movies than the other providers, has by far the most Dolby Vision movies, and is the only provider that upgrades existing HD movies in your library for free when they become available in UHD (provided you have purchased or redeemed the movie directly through iTunes).
• Quality is very good in my eyes, although I haven't done a direct comparison with Vudu UHD. Systematic comparisons are quite difficult to do, since there are many variables and there is currently no easy way to take lossless screenshots of UHD streams. Most comparisons you find are subjective and anecdotal.

The main downside is that the ATV4K is relatively expensive compared to other streaming boxes (and of course to apps that come for free with your smart TV).

True Apple TV 4K is quite expensive however, there are a number of streaming companies that will do promotions to get you an APPLE TV 4k for free.
I got my APPLE TV 4K a few weeks ago with the Direct TV now promotion where if you prepaid for 3 months for their 35 dollar package you would get the apple tv 4k for free. that to me is worth it, especially if i end up canceling my direct tv now come sept 30th/