Apple TV vs Movie Anywhere vs Amazon Video plus HDR vs Dolby Vision

(added a couple of pics since the original posts as some folks doubt what we saw)..

Whilst physical media is not bound for the Smithsonian yet, streaming has taken off in a big way and you can have your ice cream in many different flavours now..

The current main players in this world of movie streaming are

1 - Apple TV and the iTunes ecosystem

2- Google

3- Amazon Video

I’ve previously written about it here:

https://peteswrite.blogspot.com/2019/08/redeeming-your-digital-code-and-buying.html

Movies Anywhere (MA), Fandango and Vudu

These are interesting sites, which collate the movies in which you can redeem your digital codes, and they are available as apps to watch the movies you redeem on it.

One very important point is that you have to do some homework on which site is best for you. Not all movies will redeem in 4k and not all will do Atmos.

So, the million dollar question is are they all the same?

Well a friend and I decided to do an informal comparison.

He had access to VPN and we could use all three apps on my Sony, which can do very good HDR and Dolby Vision playback. It’s a light canon and you can read about my review below.

Review equipment:

Sony ZD9 75"
(Sony TV review)
Denon AVC X8500H

(Denon AVC X8500H review)

Dynaudio Confidence 1 Platinum
( Dynaudio C1 Platinum Review )

Sony UDP X800

(Sony UBP X800 Review )
Sony UDP X700

Dynaudio Confidence C1 and Centre Platinum front and centre

Usher 520 side surround back

Monitor Audio RXFX in dipole mode for rear surrounds

JL Audio E112 subwoofer

REL 1205 subwoofer

Anthony Gallo A'Diva for ceiling Atmos placement

QED XT Revelations for front and centre speakers

QED Micro speaker cable for the surrounds

Monoprice Premium Cables from 4k players to amp and onwards to the TV

Audioquest Snake subwoofer cable 

Blue Jean subwoofer cable

Wireworld Oasis 6 & 7 Interconnects

Wireworld Oasis 6 power cables

Assorted Xindak, PS Audio and other power cables

MK wall power sockets

PS Audio Juice Bar

Rhodium Right Angle Plug adapters for USA power cables

Auralex subdude platform and Mopads under centre speaker

http://peteswrite.blogspot.com/2019/04/my-setup-42019.html

We used the same cables and settings on the TV, which has been calibrated professionally and gives a good platform to see which picture is best. Amazon Video was streamed via a Amazon Fire Stick. 

We use “Aquaman” on UHD disc, and streamed it on Apple TV, Amazon Video and finally Movies Anywhere. You will need a VPN to get Amazon Video if you aren’t stateside.

There’s an underwater scene at the 43:30 min mark, in which Aquaman goes underwater, past the city into a derelict ship. You get to test dark scenes and detail, then look at the gamut of colors and how natural it is.

We used my Sony X700, X800 to play the disc to see if Dolby Vision is better than plain old HDR, then stream the same scene.

What was our finding?

Drum roll…. Heh..

First bit rate matters, and secondly, a stable connection. You only need about 25 mps to stream 4k, but it has to be a good stable connection and not everyone has that. So make sure it’s not because your internet can’t cope.

We also found that iTunes streams at half to a third the bit rate from Amazon Video, and Movies Anywhere is closer to iTunes in it’s bit rate.

At 90 bit rate, Amazon Video is getting mighty close to what comes direct from a disc and it shows. It has the best colour, picture quality and sharpness of the three streaming apps.

However it was still a notch down from the UHD disc, but not too far off.

Sorry about the image quality, but there were some doubters as to what we saw, so I guess a lousy picture is better than nothing. And it's not a "burst" rate.. 

Well it was not that hard to discern the picture quality from a disc compared to iTunes but I’ve tried it on a lesser TV and the differences get less obvious. So some folks might say there’s not a lot of difference and it’s the same when we listen to music on a basic setup and one which is costly but meant to pull out every bit of detail from the CD or streamer.

So should we all switch to Amazon Video? Well, firstly the US site has far superior selections and you need to able to access it. Otherwise it’s moot.

iTunes and MA are more middle of the road and sometimes MA only gives you HD instead of UHD, so check before you redeem or buy. They are meant for the masses and do well on most fronts. The Dolby Vision is the icing on the cake for videos and Atmos is the other icing sound wise. Apple knows users like to tick off the specs and yet don’t want some system that puts too hard a strain on their internet requirements.

As for HDR versus Dolby Vision (DV), well the acclaimed Vincent Teo has a comprehensive video on what he feels and in short, we both felt Dolby Vision offers superior contrast and colour. 

We used the X700 which has DV and the X800 which doesn't. And the Sony is able to show the difference between the two. 

But how do you feel?

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 I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.