Apple in Online Film-Rental Deal with Fox Studio?

[MacRumors]

The Financial Times reports that Apple has signed a deal with the 20th Century Fox studio to launch an online video-on-demand service "that could change the way people pay for online film content." The new service is set to launch at Macworld Expo, which kicks off on January 15th with Steve Jobs' keynote speech. The service will allow consumers to rent the latest Fox DVD releases by downloading a copy from iTunes for a limited time.

Rumors of Apple adopting a rental-model for movies have been circulating since last year. While no pricing information is provided with today's rumor, the Financial Times claimed in June that Apple was negotiating a rental service for $2.99/film for a 30 day rental. Pricing details, however, may have changed since negotiations first began.

Meanwhile, a digitally protected version of the film is also expected be included with DVD releases, allowing users to copy the movie easily to their iPods and iPhones, without resorting to "ripping" or otherwise converting the DVD into another format. This digital version would employ the same FairPlay copy-protection system used by Apple on their iTunes store purchases, though the details of the restrictions are unknown at this time. This move would help cement Apple's iPod and iPhone as the standard devices for mobile video content.

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[4God]

Wow! Finally, something we can sink our teeth into. I really like the digital version idea.

[Pandaboots]

this will revolutionize the movie industry...that is if dumb CEO's like NBC don't stand in the way. This is brilliant. So now we can rent on iTunes/buy on iTunes or for old schoolers..buy the DVD with optimized iPod version already included...

[evilyankeefan]

Not bad. This just screams for a new tv to go with it.

[unity]

Yes... this may push the TV to the next level and make it more practical for me to use.

[kungming2]

This would be absolutely brilliant!

[twoodcc]

i'm sure whatever the deal is, it'll be good. Apple knows what they are doing.

[osustudent]

Originally Posted by unity

Yes... this may push the TV to the next level and make it more practical for me to use.

Completely agree. I've been looking for a good reason to purchase the TV. I would jump on the chance to go to my computer, download a movie to rent, stream it to the TV, and so on. I hope this is going to happen and that it grows with other studios jumping on.

[Yvan256]

Count me in even for 2.99$ for only 7 days.

Especially in winter time... heat the car, un-ice it, drive to pick up the movie, get back home, watch the movie then repeat all steps.

[luminosity]

Sounds great to me .

[X5-452]

Actually.... that doesn't sound like a bad idea.
$2.99 for 30 days, and a digital version (albeit protected) with DVD purchase is kind of smart sounding. But only if the digital version has the same protection as iTunes protected purchases, meaning I can burn a back-up copy and be able to share it with my close friends whose computers are authorized for my purchases.

[cameronjpu]

"One interesting twist that will help, though: Besides the online rental deal, a digital file protected by Apple's DRM scheme FairPlay will be included in new Fox DVD releases, enabling film content to ripped to a PC and video iPod. DVD content can already be moved to an iPod but this requires a bit of an effort."

That quote was in the article I first read on the topic.

I'm a computer professional, helping my customers do anything they want to do with their computers. Now, if 99% of my customers couldn't figure out how to rip a DVD to an iPod, that makes it impossible. Certainly not "a bit of effort". This is a huge development.

[Peace]

Definitely a positive move forward.I don't see $2.99 rentals though. Closer to $4.99 for a 30-day period I'd say.
As far as the physical DVD having an iPod/iPhone version using FairPlay that's going to increase the price of DVD's by a couple of dollars..Cool though !

[amac4me]

Bring on Macworld!!!!

[JimmyDreams]

Originally Posted by evilyankeefan

Not bad. This just screams for a new tv to go with it.

BINGO! I'm waiting on a new version of TV that hopefully will support 1080i.

5.1 sound would be GREAT as well. I'm ready to go full digital and wireless in HD if they'll let me!!!

[Freis968]

Originally Posted by Peace

Definitely a positive move forward.I don't see $2.99 rentals though. Closer to $4.99 for a 30-day period I'd say.
As far as the physical DVD having an iPod/iPhone version using FairPlay that's going to increase the price of DVD's by a couple of dollars..Cool though !

$4.99 is not a good price. I can rent a movie Pay Per View for $3.99 and rent a movie for $3.99 at BlockBuster.

$2.99 is a much better price.

[NightStorm]

Originally Posted by X5-452

Actually.... that doesn't sound like a bad idea.
$2.99 for 30 days, and a digital version (albeit protected) with DVD purchase is kind of smart sounding. But only if the digital version has the same protection as iTunes protected purchases, meaning I can burn a back-up copy and be able to share it with my close friends whose computers are authorized for my purchases.

And that's why we have copy protection. Fair use doesn't give you the right to share it with your "close friends". Maybe family (immediate, not extended), but you're stretching it.

As for new AppleTV, I'm all for it, as long as they update the software on the current hardware. I'd hate to have to buy another one (even though I'd be more than happy to move my current one into the bedroom).

[Metatron]

Hold up people...not so fast. I only want this if the digital rental is the full resolution of the DVD, not this 640x480 crap.

The DVD with iphone/ipod movie...genius, but if I download from iTunes to watch on my HDTV, I better not get the same iphone/ipod version.

Currently this is how the Apple TV, iPhone, and iPod manage to all work so well, at the cost of the Apple TV.

[Peace]

Originally Posted by Freis968

$4.99 is not a good price. I can rent a movie Pay Per View for $3.99 and rent a movie for $3.99 at BlockBuster.

$2.99 is a much better price.

Renting a movie via PPV usually means you're watching a movie that's been out on DVD for a while meaning you have to wait for a while unless you go the Blockbuster route which in itself creates more steps in the process of procuring the most recent movie in the quickest way. This is a valid reason for marketing to increase cost on what could turn out to be a very lucrative deal for all involved.

The buck talks.

[yoman]

This has been something I've been waiting for a long time. If the price is right adios Blockbuster entirely...

[Nermal]

Originally Posted by Metatron

Hold up people...not so fast. I only want this if the digital rental is the full resolution of the DVD, not this 640x480 crap.

Meanwhile, the rest of us will happily pay a few dollars for a 640x480 movie.

[Lancetx]

Originally Posted by Metatron

Hold up people...not so fast. I only want this if the digital rental is the full resolution of the DVD, not this 640x480 crap.

Well, most NTSC DVDs are just 720x480 anyway, so it's not like there is really all that much difference.

[theBB]

$5 for a movie rental means Apple would be positioning the service as a competitor for Blockbuster stores. For me, that puts it into "once in a long while impulse buy" category, just like $2 TV shows. $3 might make it competitive with Netflix once Apple's library is about as large. Then, I would probably cancel my subscription.

For the poster who asked for DVD resolution, not 640x480. What do you think NTSC DVD resolution is right now?

PS: I'd be surprised if the price is only $3.

[angelneo]

Originally Posted by Metatron

Hold up people...not so fast. I only want this if the digital rental is the full resolution of the DVD, not this 640x480 crap.

Not that I don't want full-res DVD download, but the issue is how big the file is and how long does it takes on an average home internet connection to download?

[paulyras]

Originally Posted by JimmyDreams

BINGO! I'm waiting on a new version of TV that hopefully will support 1080i.

5.1 sound would be GREAT as well. I'm ready to go full digital and wireless in HD if they'll let me!!!

As for the 1080i, congrats- The aTV will do that now (I think you were referring to 1080p). As for the 5.1, it SHOULD just be a software update for the current version. I'm surprised it hasn't been enabled as of yet...