Something strange is currently happening in iTunes StoreFilms that were previously available in 4K are now only available in HD. Titles that have already been purchased are also being downgraded for no apparent reason.
Users around the world, including our community, have noticed a strange phenomenon in the iTunes Store. Various 4K movies from Warner Bros., Columbia, MGM and 20th Century Fox have been inexplicably downgraded back to HD.
This also includes titles that customers have already purchased. However, there does not seem to be any concrete evidence at the moment. The phenomenon was discovered several days ago at Warner Bros. and discussed in various forums.
It is also unclear whether this is a problem with Apple or the various providers - since films from several production studios are now affected, a general problem on Apple servers cannot be ruled out. When some users asked Apple Support, they said that these problems were due to changes made by Warner Bros. Since support staff are not always the most reliable source of information and other studios are affected in addition to Warner, the cause remains unknown for the time being. Some US media have already asked the individual studios and Apple. As soon as there is any news on this, we will report on it.
Update from May 15, 2019
The phenomenon has now resolved itself - and it is now clear what caused it. A member of our Apfelpatient community asked Apple directly and received an answer. According to this, iTunes Support has examined the ratings of individual films. According to these, there were problems with some titles. Users complained of image noise and other errors during streaming, for example. Apple then informed the individual providers such as Warner Bros. to initiate a review of the affected film titles. This seems to have been successful.
