Downloadable TV in Australia has been a mostly disappointing affair. There’s limited content, it’s expensive, and up until this week, was only available in standard definition. The good news is that Apple has finally launched HD TV shows in Australia.
There’s a huge selection of TV shows now available in HD, with everything from Top Gear to Breaking Bad available in crisp, clear high definition, with plenty of content in between.
There’s a slight premium on HD – episode costs go from $2.99 to $3.49, or seasons of shows can jump up anywhere from $3 to $10 over the standard definition version, but given the wide selection and added load on Apple’s servers, that’s not too big a price to pay. Although comparing the prices for a season to DVD/blu-ray season prices is a whole different situation.
More interesting is looking at what’s not available in HD. Game of Thrones, for a start, but also some of the older seasons of programs like Breaking Bad are only available in standrad def. Given the HD switch has only just been turned on, let’s hope that updating the back catalogue to HD is just a matter of time now.
Web: iTunes
