MGM & United Artists now on iTunes!!

[confirmed]

the iTunes store was just updated, with the addition of many movies from the MGM and United Artist libraries.

movies just added include Robocop, Mad Max, Foxy Brown, Coffy, Rocky, Ronin, Bulletproof Monk, Dances with Wolves, The Thomas Crown Affair (1999 version) and many others.

so far it looks to be the same deal as Lionsgate and Paramount, with no new releases. but it's definitely good to see the number of movies available increasing.

[confirmed]

sometimes when iTunes is first modified, the changes will not always show up consistently. i don't know if this is due to iTunes showing an old cached version of the page or the update not being mirrored on all the servers yet. but it's definitely showing up for me.. on the movies page, just about everything in the New on iTunes section is an MGM/UA film.

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

Yup, they're showing up on my iTunes as well! I really hope Apple gets a move on a rental system before the end of 2007...

Front Page News for sure, Arn!!!

[applekid]

So, which studios still haven't jumped on board? I don't think there's a clear cut of how many major movie studios unlike the music industry's "big four."

[icloud]

im in cananda, that mass of rock and tree a spit away from america, we have no movies, no tv shows to buy, yet strangely this excites me.

i hope theres a way for us to get some US shows (canada tv is umm...)

[brianbobcat]

forget renting, it's all about HD. Apple touting ?TV on EDTV and HDTVs that are all capable of at least 720p, but the only content form itunes is the Washington Post podcast. Let's go apple. If I'm gonna pay 10-15 bucks for a digital copy, I want HD. YOu said HD was the future 2 years ago but won't release HD content yet.

Or is this a studio requirement so that people who want the better quality will need to buy the DVDs for more, and for BEST quality, the even more expensive Blu-ray or HD-DVDs?

Always nice to see itunes get more content either way, just wish it were HD.

-Brian

[mduser63]

Originally Posted by AvSRoCkCO1067

Yup, they're showing up on my iTunes as well! I really hope Apple gets a move on a rental system before the end of 2007...

Front Page News for sure, Arn!!!

Me too on the rental thing. I really doubt I'll ever buy a movie from iTunes because (unlike with music) I very rarely watch movies more than once, but I rent them often and the convenience of renting a movie and immediately watching it through my AppleTV would be hard to beat.

[macjackpro]

So is Apple doing everything on Wednesdays now?

[mickeymikey]

Originally Posted by brianbobcat

forget renting, it's all about HD. Apple touting ?TV on EDTV and HDTVs that are all capable of at least 720p, but the only content form itunes is the Washington Post podcast. Let's go apple. If I'm gonna pay 10-15 bucks for a digital copy, I want HD. YOu said HD was the future 2 years ago but won't release HD content yet.

Or is this a studio requirement so that people who want the better quality will need to buy the DVDs for more, and for BEST quality, the even more expensive Blu-ray or HD-DVDs?

Always nice to see itunes get more content either way, just wish it were HD.

-Brian

+1

[confirmed]

Originally Posted by brianbobcat

forget renting, it's all about HD. Apple touting ?TV on EDTV and HDTVs that are all capable of at least 720p, but the only content form itunes is the Washington Post podcast. Let's go apple. If I'm gonna pay 10-15 bucks for a digital copy, I want HD. YOu said HD was the future 2 years ago but won't release HD content yet.

Or is this a studio requirement so that people who want the better quality will need to buy the DVDs for more, and for BEST quality, the even more expensive Blu-ray or HD-DVDs?

Always nice to see itunes get more content either way, just wish it were HD.

-Brian

i would guess it's a studio issue. that being said, apple (steve) need to get on this.. now! if apple can get HD movies on iTunes, it could truely wipe out blueray/hd-dvd sales. why pay $500-$1000 for a HD disc player, when you can pay $300 for an Apple TV which does much much more. now is the time to take advantage of the blueray/hd-dvd format war.

to those that claim bandwidth costs are too high, i'd like to throw out a guess that the cost of producing and shipping a disc is very close to the cost of streaming 4-6GB of data. whatever difference there is, should be made up in the lack of returns and damaged product.

yes, it must be a studio issue. or an apple timing issue, they may not think they NEED to release HD content yet. but i believe now is the perfect time.

[SoldOutMatinee]

Originally Posted by macjackpro

So is Apple doing everything on Wednesdays now?

I thought it was Tuesday today....

[ogee]

Still no movies or TV shows inb Germany (except for 7 Pixar short films, but they dont count).

[Howmanoid]

Is it me or do these titles seem like they might be the kinds of titles that the studios would test the iTunes water with before jumping on board all the way. I mean, Rocky and Robocop? Not that I have anything against them, they were blockbusters, only 20 yrs ago. This just doesn't have the same ring as the "EMI - It's our full catalog" kinda deal??

Meh - It's late... What do I know. More is better....

[nagromme]

Originally Posted by AvSRoCkCO1067

Yup, they're showing up on my iTunes as well! I really hope Apple gets a move on a rental system before the end of 2007...

Yes, please!

I want rentals even MORE than I want to see high-def come to iTunes.

I don't wish to waste space (nor download time) storing movies that I will never watch again. Which is most movies! They're fun once, if that, but it's not like music you can listen to over and over while doing other things.

And of course the PRICE of a rental would be lower than a purchase.

Renting music, no. Renting movies, YES.

[Evangelion]

Originally Posted by ogee

Still no movies or TV shows inb Germany (except for 7 Pixar short films, but they dont count).

We don't even have those shorts in Finland. yes, they are listed there, but if I try to select it, it just complains that "This feature is not available in this store". Bah!

[Howmanoid]

Originally Posted by nagromme

Yes, please!

I want rentals even MORE than I want to see high-def come to iTunes.

I don't wish to waste space (nor download time) storing movies that I will never watch again. Which is most movies! They're fun once, if that, but it's not like music you can listen to over and over while doing other things.

And of course the PRICE of a rental would be lower than a purchase.

Renting music, no. Renting movies, YES.

This is a really good observation. There are some albums that I'll still be playing 20 yrs from now but very few movies (Blade Runner being the obvious exception). This is actually very odd because I do own a stupid number of DVDs. The vast majority of which I've only watched once (if that). Maybe people really do consume video differently from sound, even though I just translated my buying habit from albums to movies (bet there's a white paper or two about this on Google....). Certainly something that AAPLs marketing types should be looking at very closely even though it differs with Steve's stated "people like to own stuff" stance (not that I'd want to argue with him if I was on the payroll)...

[scotty321]

I don't understand why anybody would want to purchase movies OR television shows when I can rent them all for one low monthly fee on Netflix! What is the point in purchasing TV shows or movies -- does anybody watch a TV show more than once or twice? Does any adult watch a movie more than once or twice? It's ludicrous!

[boxandrew]

Originally Posted by nagromme

Yes, please!

I want rentals even MORE than I want to see high-def come to iTunes.

I don't wish to waste space (nor download time) storing movies that I will never watch again. Which is most movies! They're fun once, if that, but it's not like music you can listen to over and over while doing other things.

And of course the PRICE of a rental would be lower than a purchase.

Renting music, no. Renting movies, YES.

I think a lot of people feel like this, but is it enough to make Apple do something about it?

I'm longing for the day I can cancel my Netflix subscription...

[Howmanoid]

Originally Posted by scotty321

I don't understand why anybody would want to purchase movies OR television shows when I can rent them all for one low monthly fee on Netflix! What is the point in purchasing TV shows or movies -- does anybody watch a TV show more than once or twice? Does any adult watch a movie more than once or twice? It's ludicrous!

There are certain titles that I would want to own (Blade Runner, original Star Wars) just because they have a special meaning for me, but the more I think about this, the less convinced I am that I need to control the bits. I'd probably be happy to pay per view and save the TBs of RAID arrays it currently takes to hold a collection like that. Renting could actually be beneficial long term if resolutions got better and providers kept up with scanning clean copies at bigger bit rates. I think I'm getting converted here!

[Analog Kid]

The studios need to sell at rental prices. Kill off Blockbuster and their ilk and keep the revenue stream for themselves. Renting a digital file is stupid and futile-- we've seen it fail over and over again with music. It's just another form of DRM and DRM is will always either be too restrictive or easily cracked. Sell me the movie for $4 and I'll never rent again.

Originally Posted by confirmed

to those that claim bandwidth costs are too high, i'd like to throw out a guess that the cost of producing and shipping a disc is very close to the cost of streaming 4-6GB of data. whatever difference there is, should be made up in the lack of returns and damaged product.

You've done it-- you've actually convinced me that HD downloads are viable. Such simple logic, but I think you're right. I wouldn't want downloads to be exclusively HD, mind you, because I don't have the bandwidth personally.

This does mean that there won't be a cost benefit for downloads, which I'm still hoping someone finds with standard-def (see above), but it would certainly make HD available.

[skellener]

Still low quality movies. AppleTV is shipping and still no HD content from iTunes. WTF?? Didn't Steve Jobs declare "2005 the Year of HD"?? Two years later, still nothing.

[nagromme]

Originally Posted by scotty321

I don't understand why anybody would want to purchase movies OR television shows when I can rent them all for one low monthly fee on Netflix!

I'd LOVE to see iTunes get even a QUARTER of Netflix's selection! (And I'd love to see Netflix get even a quarter of iTunes' speed and convenience )

There ARE some movies and TV shows (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Galactica, Twin Peaks, One Foot in the Grave) that I'd want to own, watch again several times in future years, have around to casually pass the time with a favorite scene or episode, or simply show to friends.

But they are the minority, and when I DO want to own I'll want Blu-Ray with special features (or downloadable equivalent).

Rental fits my needs best the other 95% of the time.

As for DRM, with rentals I don't care. (And I don't see any other likely way to make rentals happen.)

[aLoC]

Being able to access catalog movies is half the value proposition of online anyway.

Something you just can't do in a physical store, is stock entire catalogs back to the start of a studio.

[Howmanoid]

Originally Posted by skellener

Still low quality movies. AppleTV is shipping and still no HD content from iTunes. WTF?? Didn't Steve Jobs declare "2005 the Year of HD"?? Two years later, still nothing.

Ahhhh. There's hype that grabs headlines then there's product roadmaps. The two rarely meet.

[EricNau]

HD? I'm still waiting for DVD quality.
_______________

The movie industry is approaching a big curve, but it still doesn't know where it's going. My movie purchases have decreased lately because I don't know what to buy anymore: should I be an early adopter of online content and buy from iTunes (sacrificing quality and bonus features), should I continue to buy DVDs (and perhaps have to buy my entire collection over again in a new format), or should I support new HD discs such as Blu Ray & HDDVD (but which one)? ...It's like the Betamax vs. VHS format war all over again, only this time there are 4 different formats to choose from.

For now, unless there's a movie I really want, I'm just going to sit back and wait.