Apple bundles HD video with iPod-ready version

AppleInsider takes Apple to task for offering highly-compressed (though still High Definition) HD video through the iTunes Store:

A standard 720p file downloaded either through iTunes or an Apple TV consumes about 4Mbps of data, or just a tenth the total bit transfer rate of the optical format and a fifth of the nearly 20Mbps for over-the-air HDTV; even Xbox Video Marketplace video affords more, at 6.8Mbps.

So don’t throw that Blu-Ray player out the window just yet.

But the good news is that, according to Ars Technica, with every purchase of an HD video, users will also get a Standard Definition (SD) version suitable for playing on a video-capable iPod:

When you buy an HD show, the SD version will automatically be downloaded, and the new version of iTunes will magically sync it to your iPod or iPhone for easy viewing when you’re out and about.

Is this a value add? Or is it just easier to rip your DVDs into whatever format you need?

Via [Apple Insider and Ars Technica]