Max Inconsistent "Enhanced DRM"/720p limit

[KidJoe]

Downloading with Max is giving me "Due to enhanced DRM" pop-up and 720p limit on several titles. I get that there might be DRM issues getting in the way, but I'm trying to understand if there is a "cutoff date" (like files added after mm/dd/yyyy), or some other criteria, where I should expect the 720p limit?

For example the following gave the DRM/720p popup and downloaded as:


Everything Everywhere All At Once pop-up and downloaded as 720p (1280x692, which is 720p at 1.85:1 aspect ratio),
The Maltese Falcon pop-up and downloaded at 576p (with 1.3:1 aspect), not 720p.
Knight and Day Extended Version pop-up and downloaded as 900p at (2:41:1), not 720p

While Beetlejuice Beetlejuice allowed me to select 4K this morning, gave the DRM/720p limit pop-up, but downloaded as 1024x554 which is 576p with 1.85:1 aspect ratio. (just hit Max today, so I'll try this again in a few days)

Dune Prophecy S01E01, S01E02, and S01E03 all gave the pop-up and downloaded at 720p (1280x640 which is 720p at 2.00:1 ratio).


while the movie Beetlejuice did not give a pop-up and downloaded at 4K (3840x2076, which is 4K with 1.85:1 aspect).


Note: Yes I subscribe to Max via Amazon Channels, so I'll get them as 1080p via Amazon. I'm just curious as I still go to the Max downloader for 4K when possible. And I'm sure there are others who subscribe to Max directly and can't go to Amazon channels.

[Germania]

I'm trying to understand if there is a "cutoff date" (like files added after mm/dd/yyyy),
or some other criteria, where I should expect the 720p limit?

Impossible, some episodes of the same release date
differ in the highest with SF downloadable resolution

For Max you only get keys to decrypt SD, HD + Audio for each episode.

A higher resolution is only possible if SF has a suitable key
for decrypting > HD in the database on the SF server.
Unfortunately, this is not the case for all episodes/films.

If I find the time today, I will try the mentioned titles with <720p
but I guess they are not offered in 720p

[AGuyWithAComputer]

I think you'll have to talk to whomever decided to film those in such odd aspect ratios. That's the resolution provided MAX.

[KidJoe]

I think you'll have to talk to whomever decided to film those in such odd aspect ratios. That's the resolution provided MAX.

I'm not worried about the aspect ratio. I'm more concerned with 480p vs 576p vs 720p vs 1080p/4K.

I'd rather not have to wait until the download starts to know that its not 1080p/4K. If I knew that movies added to Max after mm/dd/yyyy will result something lower than 1080p, it would be a big help.

Like D+ we know that content added after mid-2022 will be limited to 720p.

And for example, in December 2023 Max made a DRM change and we were able to determine content added after a certain date we were stuck with 720p or lower (See THIS THREAD for details)

[AGuyWithAComputer]

I'm not worried about the aspect ratio. I'm more concerned with 480p vs 576p vs 720p vs 1080p/4K.

But you are. do those files with 576 have a horizontal resolution above 704 (16:9) or 720 (4:3)?

[Germania]

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice allowed me to select 4K this morning, gave the DRM/720p limit pop-up, but downloaded as 1024x554 which is 576p with 1.85:1 aspect ratio. (just hit Max today, so I'll try this again in a few days)

I could dl/decrypt "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" with 1280x692

vid hd here
decrypted with:

0102591be053bc77ebf6ccb8a156360e:57aa491ee36db541871fce611e8f5010

[KidJoe]

But you are. do those files with 576 have a horizontal resolution above 704 (16:9) or 720 (4:3)?

No, I'm not. I'm concerned about the resolution, the height x width. I don't care about the aspect ratio (1.77:1 or 16x9, 2.40:1 or about 21x9, etc.) as long as the ratio matches what the movie was shot at (assuming the black bars are NOT included in the video file). Example: While not downloaded in this group, Die Hard was shot at 2.39:1 so i expect the resolution of a 4K download, that doesn't include the black bars in the video file, to be 3840x1606 resolution, and 1080p to be 1920x803.

Knight and Day Extended downloaded as 1600x666 resolution which is 900p at 2.4:1 aspect. Yes 900p is an actual "standard" but its not widely used.

The Maltese Falcon downloaded as 794x576 resolution which is 1.38:1 aspect and is considered 576p. The aspect is odd because its an old movie, from 1941, so its "square" not wide screen.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at 1024x554 is 576p because 576p is typically 1024x576 for 1.77:1 (aka 16x9). 1024x554 is 1.85:1 aspect.

Consult the Tech Spec section of IMDB for each of these titles, you'll see the aspect ratios listed, and they match the aspect ratios of these files either exactly, or off by a decimal place. So I'm looking at these being resolution of 720p and lower, rather than 1080p and higher.


Keep in mind, the width will usually not change, unless you switch from Widescreen aspect to a "square" aspect. For example, 1024x576 is 1.78:1 which matches current 16x9 TV's. However, 1024x428 video is also 576p at 2.4:1 aspect (shorter picture, so upon playback you'll see bigger black bars top and bottom, however those bars aren't burned into the video file). And you'd have 766x576 for a 1.33:1 "square" picture like old movies.