We populate in an age where a huge depository library of film and boob tube show mental object can be yours at the suction stop of a clit , but once you ’ve decided what you need to bribe and keep evermore , you ’ve got a choice of where to get it from . Here we ’ll explain the pro and cons of two of the grownup digital stores in the line of work , Google playact Movies & TV and Apple ’s iTunes .
You might already have a favored place to get your content from , but these two media storehouses have different apps , different libraries , and dissimilar ways of working . If you ’re grease one’s palms something for life , then you need to make the right pick .
Apps
Let ’s start our analysis with the apps : Google being Google , the easy way to get at Google Play Movies & TV ison the vane . Points for handiness then , because you could stretch it up on any computer , running any weapons platform , as long as it has a web internet browser .
Your motion-picture show and TV show can also be played in any web web browser on any computer , which is unproblematic enough . What you might not jazz is you’re able to also get at your purchase throughYouTube , if you ’re signed in with the same Google account — the tie-in is on the seafaring pane on the left of the web port .
out of doors of the internet browser , Google Play Movies & TV is uncommitted onAndroidandiOS . you could see your stuff through both , but you ca n’t purchase anything on iOS — you’ll have to purchase your subject elsewhere before watching it on iOS . Offline synchronize is useable in both cases .
On top of that , Google wreak Movies & TV is useable on Android boob tube , as you would expect , and works seamlessly with Chromecast gadget . There ’s an prescribed channel on Roku ’s platform , but no official app for the Amazon Fire telly sticks and boxes .
Another gadget you might need to use Google Play Movies & TV with is the Apple TV . As with Amazon ’s hardware , there ’s no official app here , but unlike onAmazon devices there is an prescribed YouTube app available for the Apple TV . It will at least let you watch your purchases . Alternatively , you may use AirPlay to beam over content from the Google Play Movies & TV app for iOS .
As you might expect , with Apple being Apple , the choice of apps and devices is more circumscribed when it comes to the iTunes Store . You get full access to the store and all your purchased content on the official iTunes apps for Windows and macOS , and can easily rain cats and dogs any movie or show to an Apple TV on the same connection via AirPlay .
All of Apple ’s hardware devices derive with iTunes sustenance built in too . That let in the iPhone , the iPad , the iPod Touch , and the Apple TV . Unlike Google ’s apps , which stream content by default , iTunes content is downloaded locally — though you may start watch mid - download . You ca n’t , however , regard video from iTunes on yourApple Watch , but you did n’t seriously want to , did you ?
At the same time , iTunes Store support is lack on non - Apple ironware devices : Anything operate Android , and streaming twist from Amazon and Roku . You ca n’t even watch your media on a Chromecast , because the iOS player miss the cast function . If you ’re going to buy cinema and telecasting appearance from Apple , you ’d well be somewhat confident you ’ll only ever watch to watch them on Apple devices or Windows computers .
Last but not least are console . You may well have a PlayStation 4 or an Xbox One under your TV screen , so what ’s the situation there ? It ’s just about out of the question to get your iTunes moving picture and television set shows over to a console , without a quite a little of effort and a sketchy conversion app or two . Google Play Movies & goggle box cognitive content is easy to access , because you’re able to go through YouTube as we mentioned above , but there are no official cabinet apps for the Google Play Movies & TV store .
It ’s no surprise that titles purchase from Google are loose to access on more platforms and more devices . There are some restrictions on which formats can playact on which character of hardware though , which we ’ll get into in the Formats subdivision below .
Interface
On the desktop , the iTunes Store pack in plenty on each screen , and pass on you a innkeeper of different options to cull from besides , you recognize , just searching for what you want . you’re able to browse new release , browse by genre , see what ’s popular with other exploiter , sift through movies and shows by price , and check off out content recommended for you .
Drill deep into anything in the program library to see a review , a description , user reviews , trailers ( where useable ) , and related title of respect . Everything is distinctly laid out and well demonstrate , and it ’s almost like a little IMDB ( only with better visuals ) .
Google Play Movies & TV on the World Wide Web does what it always does with interface : It ’s clear and it ’s fast but it ’s pretty thin . It ’s easier to jump around between pageboy , but you do n’t get as many ways to navigate around the depository library , and you ca n’t see as much on silver screen at the same time . you may still browse by writing style , popularity , and release appointment , as well as mark off out title Google has recommended for you .
That same dim-witted - but - sparse approach extends to individual Page for flick and shows . You get a description , reviews , a cast lean , and a trailer ( if there is one ) , but everything ’s a little more awkwardly repose out — just not enough that it would put you off using it . Thankfully the search feature film is a zephyr to use .
Moving on to roving apps and actually watching your content , the same principles implement . Apple has introduce the Apple TV app on iOS for taking on viewing duties , although the iTunes Store app still handles some of the purchases — it ’s a bit fiddly flip-flop from one app to another but the app itself is fresh and simple . catch at your movies and shows is no problem at all .
The Google bring Movies & idiot box apps care browsing , purchasing , and purchasing , and are a bite more unfinished bone , though we do like the info cards that pop up when you pause something to show you who ’s on screen . The apps from Google and Apple both stick to the basics of playback and impart up caption and so on — there ’s very little here that would make you choose one over the other .
Library
With the caution that your mileage may vary , bet on where in the world you are and how obscure your taste perception , we did a speedy head - to - head comparison between Google Play Movies & TV and iTunes and found there was n’t much to choose between them . ( take down : We were testing from the UK , so we wo n’t mention specific prices . )
lead off with new firing , at the sentence of write both digital entrepot were showing the likes of The Last Jedi , Thor : Ragnarok , Jumanji : Welcome to the Jungle , and slaying on the Orient Express . What ’s more , Leontyne Price level and rental availableness seemed to match up jolly exactly between the two , as far as we could tell .
Next we had a looking for critically clap 2017 South Korean plastic film The Handmaiden — present and right on both platform , for the same rental and purchase cost . John Hughes ’ 1987 Thanksgiving classic Planes , Trains , and Automobiles ? Also available in both stores , for the same terms .
diving event into telecasting show , we bet first for the giving hitters . Google and Apple will sell you all seven season of Game of Thrones , for the same Mary Leontyne Price ; you could also bribe digital box seat stage set of The Walking Dead and The Office ( US Edition ) from both places . toll check on The Walking Dead , though iTunes is currently selling the escapade of Michael Scott and company for a criticize - down price — perhaps an example of a temporary sales agreement .
The first season of Westworld is available on both the iTunes Store and Google Play Movies & TV , though here Apple was slightly tatty . Neither store had the first episode of the 2nd time of year available yet , at least in our part of the world . What about older stuff ? Again , it was pretty even . The three seasons of the original series of Star Trek could be found in both blank space , for the same prices , but we could n’t find a digital interlingual rendition of classic cop show Columbo anywhere .
At this level in the digital content secret plan it seems both Apple and Google have access to very similar library and have very exchangeable mess with the swelled studio . It ’s only if you ’re after something very specific that you might have to select between one or the other .
Formats
Both these digital stores are making their first footprint into the earth of 4K / Ultra HD and HDR support — which is to say , a lot of the new stuff will come in this format , but a lot of the old stuff will be stick to with plain honest-to-god 1080p HD .
As with the subroutine library as a whole , the pick are just about identical . The Last Jedi is currently available to buy or hire , in 4 K HDR or SD , from Google or Apple ; Baby Driver is available to buy , in either format , from both place too . Again the prices equalise right across the board . If a film is available in the top format , chance are you ’ll be able-bodied to get it from either spot .
Try as we might we could n’t find any old films or any boob tube testify at all with the 4 K UHD or HDR label attached , so this seems to be a slow and unfluctuating axial motion - out . Even the top programs from television are n’t available in the in force formats right now .
The iTunes Store has a couple of substantial advantages here though : For one , it’sautomatically upgradingany HD purchases users have made to 4 K UHD , where available . Googlehas yet to accompany suit . second , at the moment 4 jet HDR content from Google Movies & TV can only be play on the Chromecast Ultra and some Android TVs ( like the Nvidia Shield ) , whereas iTunes Store users can pick from the 2017 iPhones and iPad Pro , or the 4 K Apple TV .
So which is best for you?
Finally , then , which digital shop is well ? Well , it ’s complicated . We ’ve just mentioned that 4 K HDR movies from Google Play Movies & TV can only be played on a prize number of gimmick , and with its auto - rising slope policy , Apple seems to be execute the agency in terms of Modern content in the very adept quality . Cinephiles take banker’s bill .
On the other bridge player there ’s the common warning about anything you grease one’s palms from Apple : It might not work all that well with your non - Apple contrivance . Are you sure you ’ll never want to watch one of your iTunes movies on an Android telephone set , or in a web web browser , or on a Chromecast ? If you take the Apple route , you have to commit to it — which will be no problem at all for some of you .
Buy something from Google and there ’s a slightly good chance it ’s give way to work with whatever idiot box and mobile outfit you ’ve got in ten years metre , or lash out at your supporter ’s sign .
at last its down to what you ’ve already put your fourth dimension and money into . The good choice for you is probably the ecosystem and the gadget that you ’ve already invested in most heavily .
But should you rule yourself require to tack from Google to Apple or vice versa there is at least one solution : Movies Anywhere . It can take pic bought from Apple and Google and get them playing on just about every equipment out there , let in Amazon ironware — but it ’s only for films right now , and it ’s another overhaul to sign up for .
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