What I don't get is why don't places like iTunes and Amazon offer Lossless options for downloading? I mean, here they are bragging about 720p, 1080p, high definition video which is gigantic in size, approaching or exceeding gigabytes for a typical 2 hour movie. Yet, we can't spare the extra space or bandwidth for a higher quality audio file which is still a fraction of the size? I don't get it.
Apple tend to shun "completeness" for simplicity to the average user.
I.e.
1. Extra complexity without a significant consumer demand.
2. Licensing issues with the studios, should these be priced higher for example.
That video isn't lossless either. The mostly-indistinguishable-from-lossless point has already been reached for downloadable audio, whereas video is still creeping up on it.
Yes,I know this, but the size of the video files are much greater than the music files. I hear people complaining about the sizes of lossless music files, but not about 1080p video files. In fact, I have read comments from people complaining about only having 720p available from iTunes because of their 1080p televisions. However, these files are measured better in terms of gigabytes instead of megabytes. In other words, lossless music files shouldn't be problem, especially so with the cost of storage and bandwidth available. They are not that large when you compare them to even compressed video files (that are 720p or even 1080p).
Not even remotely. H.264 is wondrous, but it can't compete with even ProRes. If we all had gigabit pipes, Apple would be selling/renting the latter over the former, believe you me.
EDIT: Of course, at comparable bitrates, H.264 would likely be superior to ProRes (75-250Mb/s), but the computational complexity involved in decoding even intra-frame only H.264 versus a mezzanine format like ProRes would certainly point towards sending the latter rather than the former down the pipe, ceteris paribus.
Boomkat.com is an excellent source for lossless music. They offer almost everything as FLAC, which unfortunately I have to convert to ALAC in order to make it available in iTunes/on my iPhone.
Quobuz.com on the other hand offers ALAC, WAV and FLAC. Basic french language skills will enable you to buy music there.
There have been rumors for the past few months that Apple will do just that. This release might be consistent with that; it will undoubtedly expand the audience, less because of the source availability, and more because of the Apache license patent grant.
