First iTunes Movie Premiere: Purple Violets

[MacRumors]

9to5mac reminds us that the first feature film to be launched exclusively on iTunes is opening today. Written and directed by Edward Burns, Purple Violets is a romantic comedy starring Selma Blair, Debra Messing, and Patrick Wilson. A preview page is already available on iTunes (though ordering is currently unavailable) along with a trailer.

The LA Times notes that this digital-only distribution experience may take some getting used to:

As the first full-length feature to premiere exclusively on Apple's iTunes store -- not in theaters -- your date would have to be cool with coming over to watch the movie on your laptop. Or desktop. Or even on the gorgeous little 3-inch by 2-inch screen of your iPod Touch -- since nothing says romance like sharing ear buds.

But director Edward Burns wants his fans to be able to see his films when they are released, and not face the same issues with limited distribution that he has dealt with in the past. Online film distribution also eliminates printing and distribution costs. That being said, the ultimate success of a film may be limited by this form of distribution. Apple's vice president of iTunes reveals that while the most popular movies have sold "hundreds of thousands" copies each, no single iTunes movie has broken the 1 million download mark.

iTunes Link: Purple Violets

Article Link

[Cassie]

Finally, maybe now people will take iTunes a little more seriously.

[Thanatoast]

Well, give it time. It took the Music Store a while to ramp up, too.

The only problem I have is knowing that I want to spend $10 on a movie I haven't seen. Of course, I'd spend more than that going to the theater, but there's a mental disconnect there.

Once the Apple TV gets sorted out (ie; more compelling) movies and tv shows will sell better, I think....

[evilspoons]

And yet I still can't buy any of 'em, exclusive or not, here in Canada. We're just a little bit north, guys, not on another planet. I'm sure working out deals can't be that difficult!

[adrianblaine]

It's odd they still haven't offered a system to rent movies yet. I'd be renting movies almost exclusively through iTunes.

[firstapple]

Once downloaded, do I then have the movie for life? Or only for a certain number of days?

[Lixivial]

I watched the preview and, in all honesty, this really seems like a gimmick to compensate for an overplayed cliche.

[stevejust]

umm... Apple tv?

I don't understand this posting at all. If anything, it will help apple sell more of those otherwise useless things.

[arn]

Originally Posted by firstapple

Once downloaded, do I then have the movie for life? Or only for a certain number of days?

With iTunes, you own the file. So as long as Apple exists, it won't expire. That being said, it costs $12.99 (in preorder)

arn

[aafuss1]

With movies being sold only on the US iTunes store, those in the UK,Canada,Australia or Europe won't be able to see this movie.

[queshy]

Hmm, so as a Canadian, the most I can do is watch the preview?

[ErikGrim]

If he's all about not having limited distribution, why does he not go the whole hog and release it worldwide on iTunes?

We are desperate for ANY content down here.

[Ha ze]

If only they'd come out with something like like an iPod for your television, an "AppleTV" if you will.. someday maybe.. I can dream..

[bdkennedy1]

I think it sucks they didn't mention Apple TV.

Well, it's Apple's own fault I guess. Once again I purchased an Apple bastard child.

[Sayer]

Apple has spectacularly failed to promote the tv as it did with the iPod Hi-Fi.

I guess its too hard to sell someone on the concept of buying a movie on a computer, in a program called iTunes, and having to wait 3 hours for it to finish downloading AND copy to the tv before you can watch it on your HDTV.

I rented movies on my Xbox 360 many times, its cheaper, you can watch fairly quickly and you can get HD-quality movies. The selection is slightly worse than iTunes, but you can find more indie-ish stuff on the 360 than iTunes, at least.

Afterthought:

I have a suspicion that the USB port on the tv was meant to accept an iPod/iPhone dock so you could browse and view (but not copy) iPod-based content (including videos). I bet the music execs nixed that idea, fearin' us dumb users would somehow not pay another round of royalties to them (I wish I could get paid over and over again for the same completed job indefinitely).

[Peace]

I find it odd that there could be "customer reviews" for a movie that hasn't been released yet.
Other than that it's good to see iTunes beginning to get into releasing first run movies.

[dAlen]

Well, my harddrive is 30GB, and its almost always maxed.
So for me, the time of buying on line movies is not here.
- Not to mention in Hungary I cant use itunes...thanks to apple

And the companies who want to solve this buy renting them (so you dont have to store all the movies on your computer), dont get it either...I like having my own library. I mean they make enough as it is on one movie that your bound to watch 3 or 4 times. (4k forint, $20 for Harry Potter. Suppose the cost is for the 40 million languages that I can listen to it in...which is a waste of time. Learn the language and get the true feel of the movie by hearing the actors original voice. So much is lost in voice dubs.)

Peace

dAlen

[sgljungholm]

your date would have to be cool with coming over to watch the movie on your laptop. Or desktop. Or even on the gorgeous little 3-inch by 2-inch screen of your iPod Touch

Like I don't have my AppleTV hooked up to a HD projector with a 100" screen. I would still try the earbud sharing thing because that is just cool.

[grappler]

Originally Posted by Sayer

Apple has spectacularly failed to promote the tv as it did with the iPod Hi-Fi.

I suppose they could have promoted the Hi-Fi better, but that doesn't change the fact that it wasn't a very compelling product. I mean, why would somebody buy it? If you want a good sound system, you're going to want it to be capable of stereo separation, no?

Originally Posted by Sayer

I guess its too hard to sell someone on the concept of buying a movie on a computer, in a program called iTunes, and having to wait 3 hours for it to finish downloading AND copy to the tv before you can watch it on your HDTV.

Exactly. The problem with these products is that they feel like a stopgap measure, until something much, much better comes along next year.

As someone who likes gadgets, the biggest frustration about them is when they don't fit right into the rest of the stuff you have and make a cohesive whole. When I'm looking at the next thing I might buy, that's the biggest concern.

Right now, I have a macbook pro with the 30" cinema display. For my little apartment, it's perfect. It is my tv, stereo and workspace, home or away. This screen is way better than most tvs. Why would I want to clutter up that experience with other junk that still doesn't satisfy?

At some point, I'll probably have a big living-room screen. But I won't even consider it until it's linked directly to the internet and can get any web content, movie or show on demand from the living room remote at a reasonable price. Why put that much money toward such a goal when it doesn't exist yet?

Originally Posted by Sayer

I have a suspicion that the USB port on the tv was meant to accept an iPod/iPhone dock so you could browse and view (but not copy) iPod-based content (including videos). I bet the music execs nixed that idea, fearin' us dumb users would somehow not pay another round of royalties to them (I wish I could get paid over and over again for the same completed job indefinitely).

That's a shame. The Apple TV would make much, much more sense if it had that. Then I'm at my friend's house and I want to play a song or movie for everyone, so I just take my iphone out of my pocket and dock it to his apple tv. Done and done.

[Stella]

Movies, or TV series on iTunes... whats that?!!

Apple should be negotiating harder to get more countries on board.

[twoodcc]

Originally Posted by Cassie

Finally, maybe now people will take iTunes a little more seriously.

that's what i'm hoping for as well

[diamond.g]

Originally Posted by sgljungholm

your date would have to be cool with coming over to watch the movie on your laptop. Or desktop. Or even on the gorgeous little 3-inch by 2-inch screen of your iPod Touch

Like I don't have my AppleTV hooked up to a HD projector with a 100" screen. I would still try the earbud sharing thing because that is just cool.

Are movies of high enough bitrate to get rid of the macro blocking? I would think that it would be pretty bad/noticable on an 100" screen.

[phillipjfry]

Originally Posted by stevejust

umm... Apple tv?

That's what I was thinking. LA Times hasn't heard of AppleTV? I have instant distrust of them!

[operator207]

Originally Posted by stevejust

umm... Apple tv?

I don't understand this posting at all. If anything, it will help apple sell more of those otherwise useless things.

+1 to the watching on Apple TV. I don't see them as useless, though a bit over priced.

I am so glad the LA Times has writers/journalists that have no clue what Apple sells. Then they go out and make statements that do not make sense to the somewhat informed (trendy crowd).

[GeekLawyer]

Originally Posted by operator207

+1 to the watching on Apple TV. I don't see them as useless, though a bit over priced.

I am so glad the LA Times has writers/journalists that have no clue what Apple sells. Then they go out and make statements that do not make sense to the somewhat informed (trendy crowd).

Another plug for the AppleTV here. I pre-ordered the movie and at about 11PM EST last night, I got an email from Apple letting me know that it was ready to download. Twenty-five minutes and 1.15 GB later, the movie looked gorgeous on my AppleTV/42" plasma. I won't watch it until later, when my honey is over for date-night.

Aside from "event movies," I won't go anywhere near my local theater. The movie-going experience has declined with the advent of cell phones and the seeming break-down of civil society in general.