Blu Ray: how is the codec?

[micrometers]

Blu-ray of course wins on image quality, but it appears to me that it is still using the ancient MPEG-2, no? Meaning that the video files are often like 30gb. Meanwhile Apple offers 720p with more advanced codecs within like 4gb, right? So if Apple really wanted to, they could offer like a 1080p .264 file at 10gb that was superior to blu ray, no?

 

[Bryf50]

Blu-ray of course wins on image quality, but it appears to me that it is still using the ancient MPEG-2, no?

No. Early Blu-rays used MPEG-2. Almost all modern ones use MPEG-4 AVC or VC-1.

 

[Anubis]

most BRs are using AVC now as bryf50 said with some using VC-1

mpeg-2 is pretty rare but still exists

 

[Aikouka]

While this thread seems to be about Apple being able to offer a superior 1080p video for download, I'll take it a different way...!

It's kind of worth remembering when you buy a blu-ray, you should always check the transfer quality through a review. I think one of the biggest uses of my cell phone is checking a blu-ray when I see it on sale in Target (between $5 and $7.50). 😛 It's saved me from buying a few baddies!

 

[sdifox]

H.264=mpeg4 avc

Also like Aikouka said, IQ is not determined by the codec, rather by the source and the skill of the engineer.

And H.264 is not an Apple codec.

 

[JAG87]

MPEG2 is very capable where space is not concerned, it just requires higher bitrate than AVC or VC1 for comparable quality. It is also the easiest of the 3 to encode and decode. That's why it's still used a lot especially in broadcasting.

A 4GB 720p Apple movie looks like crap. You still need a decent amount of bitrate even for AVC, it can't perform miracles.