[BRussell]

Let's assume that Apple soon begins selling HD (i.e., 720p) videos. How do they handle the differentiation between the small resolution screens of the iPod and the high-reolution screens of the displays people will use to watch HD? Right now, 640x480 is in-between: It's small for computers and TVs, but it's too big for any iPod to display natively.

I can think of a few alternatives:

1) Continue to sell one file, and give iPods the ability to play back HD video. I don't find this very realistic because of hardware limitations on iPods, both storage and graphics de-coding capabilities.

2) You get two files when you buy a video - one for ipods and one for TV. The drawback here is the size of the download, but this would give the best flexibility.

3) You download one large file, and then iTunes can adjust for the particular device. I include this as a possibility, but I think it is completely unrealistic. It just takes too long to encode/reencode video.

4) Sell multiple resolutions on the iTunes store, similar to today with iTunes+. If you want both, you buy both. The higher-resolution version costs more.

[butterfly0fdoom]

Well, iPods don't quite display video in 640x480 anyway.... They'll probably continue what they've got going on right now: it shows in the maximum possible resolution for whatever it's being displayed on up to 640x480.

[mutelight]

If they offered content at 720p and AC3 5.1 I would purchase some content.

[turnedge762]

I was wondering about this same issue. Hopefully they won't make it so that you have to buy different types of files for different devices. Knowing Apple, they'll probably find a simpler way.

[mutelight]

I have no problem if they charge slightly more for HD content and maybe have a similar pricing structure as MS did with the Xbox Video Marketplace. If you buy or rent a HD version of a show or movie you can download the SD version for free.

[mdc]

It might be a hassel because of file size, but isn't there that QuickTime reference movie (or something like that) that Apple has talked about where you can have one movie but specify which version gets played on which device. Maybe you'll download the 'reference movie' off iTunes which downloads the HD version and regular version and iTunes will play the regular version on your iPod/iPhone and the HD on your computer/TV.

Apple Developer Connection - iPhone for Web Developers - Optimizing Web Applications and Content for iPhone.
OK, that link doesn't seem to work. Go there, click "Ensure a Great Audio and Video Experience" then "Create a Reference Movie"