Video Quality
Amazon.com describes the content as "DVD quality." The average video bitrate of an Amazon Unbox download equals 2,500 kbit/s; this means that a two hour movie consumes roughly two gigabytes (2 GB) of storage space. In comparison, a typical DVD averages 5,600 kbit/s, which makes a 2-hour movie about 4.7 GB. However, Amazon uses the VC-1 codec, a more modern codec than MPEG-2, which is used on DVDs. VC-1 achieves a higher quality picture at a smaller file size.
The quality for the TiVo files is advertised as being 2,800 kbit/s and as being "of equal or better quality than videos recorded at the Best Quality setting on a TiVo Series2 DVR."
Due to the large size of the files being downloaded, the service requires a broadband internet connection capable of sustaining transfer speeds of 800 kbit/s. A 2-hour movie may take 7 hours and 20 minutes to download using a 750 kbit/s DSL/cable connection or 1 hour and 50 minutes with a 3.0 Mbit/s DSL/cable connection. Amazon asserts that for customers with an internet connection of 3 Mbit/s or more, any Unbox file will start playing within five minutes. In November 2007, TiVo enabled "progressive download" for Unbox content so that users may watch downloaded files before the download is complete.
While the download versions utilize VC-1 in a WMV container, the format used for streaming HD (both purchased content and Amazon Prime unlimited streaming) is AVC with an average video bitrate of 2,500 kbit/s. On a computer, this encode is streamed in a FLV container.
Read more about this topic: Amazon Instant Video
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