HD Downloads Starting to Appear in UK iTunes Store

MacRumors · Jan 27, 2009, 11:14 AM

Macworld reports that the first high-definition video downloads have appeared on the UK iTunes Store. The first two episodes of the fifth season of the hit TV show Lost are now available at a cost of £2.49 per episode, with a season pass available for £41.99. Macworld also notes that a free "Lost Starter Kit" is available in high-definition as well.

High-definition TV show downloads were introduced as part of iTunes 8 at Apple's "Let's Rock" media event, but availability has been limited to the US iTunes Store since that time.

Article Link: HD Downloads Starting to Appear in UK iTunes Store

mattwolfmatt · Jan 27, 2009, 11:16 AM

Wow...I had no idea. I'm glad I'm in the US.

justflie · Jan 27, 2009, 11:16 AM

Hurrah for our friends across the pond. It's about time.

talkingfuture · Jan 27, 2009, 11:17 AM

Its a shame the price is so high, but then we are paying a lot for SD content as it is. iTunes video would really take off if the prices came down. I reckon the studios have more to do with these prices than Apple. They want to protect their DVD sales and not give control to Apple.

dannyboi83 · Jan 27, 2009, 11:18 AM

Well it is about time that we had it, but it is still way to expensive, but what can we do. Would also be nice if the shows were released the same time as US as well, but that's asking for too much. Feel much better after that moan

vendettabass · Jan 27, 2009, 11:20 AM

£2.49.. yeah, right :-)

Shoesy · Jan 27, 2009, 11:21 AM

Yay for HD! - Yay!
Boo for price! Boo!

Sehnsucht · Jan 27, 2009, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacRumors

£2.49 per episode

US$3.50?!? Jesus!

johnmadden78 · Jan 27, 2009, 11:27 AM

And those of us in Ireland still get no TV and no movies on iTunes.

WildCowboy · Jan 27, 2009, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sehnsucht

US$3.50?!? Jesus!

Keep in mind that HD shows are $2.99 in the US, so while there is a price premium in the UK, it's not that huge.

scottishwildcat · Jan 27, 2009, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnmadden78

And those of us in Ireland still get no TV and no movies on iTunes.

Beat me to it. Yet still Apple are quite happy to flog AppleTVs in Ireland... I wonder how many they sell?! (Yes, I know you can do other things with AppleTVs... but are they really worth €375 without the ability to buy TV shows and movies?)

Ubbens · Jan 27, 2009, 11:41 AM

Meh, I wonder if they'll ever come in the Netherlands.

bacaramac · Jan 27, 2009, 11:43 AM

And now we continue the wait for HD Movies. I would stop buying DVD's at the store if Apple would release HD Movies on iTunes. I think the SD content is the same price as the DVD with no 5.1 and poor quality.

I will not buy Blu-Ray as I really don't need 1080p with HD Surround, just want atleast DVD quality in the iTunes store with 5.1.

happydude · Jan 27, 2009, 11:45 AM

better yet, hook a mini up to your t.v. and stream the HD version to your tv from ABC's site.

oh how i wish the new mini would come out. our home media hub needs an update!

macffooky · Jan 27, 2009, 11:45 AM

£2.49 ?

Flutter on Jolly Roger, flutter on.

alexbates · Jan 27, 2009, 12:16 PM

Now I would like to see HD movie rentals in the US.

bigandy · Jan 27, 2009, 12:18 PM

Well I can stop holding my breath now.

bassanoclapper · Jan 27, 2009, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vendettabass

£2.49.. yeah, right :-)

That's what I thought, for something that can be watched on TV (at least, for Sky subscribers with an HD set up)

ABC must be getting a very large chunk of that. And they wonder why T*rrent downloads are going through the roof

DyingSun · Jan 27, 2009, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottishwildcat

Beat me to it. Yet still Apple are quite happy to flog AppleTVs in Ireland... I wonder how many they sell?! (Yes, I know you can do other things with AppleTVs... but are they really worth €375 without the ability to buy TV shows and movies?)

Not only Ireland, but Portugal as well and many other countries, I believe. It doesn't make a lot of sense really. You feel awfully discriminated and I don't understand where the issues lie... it means more revenue, so what's the problem?

derryquinn · Jan 27, 2009, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottishwildcat

Beat me to it. Yet still Apple are quite happy to flog AppleTVs in Ireland... I wonder how many they sell?! (Yes, I know you can do other things with AppleTVs... but are they really worth €375 without the ability to buy TV shows and movies?)

Also beat me to it... SO many Irish people on here I never knew

Annoys me every time another European market gets iTunes stuff that we don't

The Panel would be great on iTunes... though it's free on RTÉ if we use crappy Realplayer...

yegon · Jan 27, 2009, 12:43 PM

People pay for this stuff?!!

In times past, games/hardware/misc other junk that was late to these shores and only available as pricey imports annoyed me.

This is not one of those occasions, laugh-out-loud!

Porco · Jan 27, 2009, 12:57 PM

They can keep them. Blu-ray all the way.

lewchenko · Jan 27, 2009, 01:06 PM

£2.50 for one hour (or less!!!) of HD TV ?

You have got to be joking. Do they think we are mugs ? What a ripp off ?

They can shove it up their *&!@'s !

Shuttleworth · Jan 27, 2009, 01:11 PM

Can you keep it on your hard drive, or do you only get a certain amount of time to watch it? Either way they can stick it, for £10.00 a month (i.e. 4 episodes of LOST) you can add plenty of channels to a basic/free SKY subscription, and get LOST included, may not be HD, but I've lived this long without it!!

numbersyx · Jan 27, 2009, 01:22 PM

Very pricey. The UK seems to be charged a premium just for being the UK!!!

Jan 27, 2009, 11:14 AM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	HD Downloads Starting to Appear in UK iTunes Store Macworld reports that the first high-definition video downloads have appeared on the UK iTunes Store. The first two episodes of the fifth season of the hit TV show Lost are now available at a cost of £2.49 per episode, with a season pass available for £41.99. Macworld also notes that a free "Lost Starter Kit" is available in high-definition as well. High-definition TV show downloads were introduced as part of iTunes 8 at Apple's "Let's Rock" media event, but availability has been limited to the US iTunes Store since that time. Article Link: HD Downloads Starting to Appear in UK iTunes Store

Jan 27, 2009, 11:16 AM	#2
mattwolfmatt macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2008	Wow...I had no idea. I'm glad I'm in the US. __________________ I own several apple products but choose not to brag about them right here.

Jan 27, 2009, 11:16 AM	#3
justflie macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Red Sox Nation	Hurrah for our friends across the pond. It's about time. __________________ 2 x 2.66 GHz 2009 Mac Pro, 6 GB RAM, GTX 285 ; 32GB iPhone 3GS

Jan 27, 2009, 11:17 AM	#4
talkingfuture macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: The back of beyond.	Its a shame the price is so high, but then we are paying a lot for SD content as it is. iTunes video would really take off if the prices came down. I reckon the studios have more to do with these prices than Apple. They want to protect their DVD sales and not give control to Apple. __________________ Futuristical bloggery with a twist.

Jan 27, 2009, 11:18 AM	#5
dannyboi83 macrumors member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wales	About time... Well it is about time that we had it, but it is still way to expensive, but what can we do. Would also be nice if the shows were released the same time as US as well, but that's asking for too much. Feel much better after that moan __________________ iMac 20" 2GHz 3Gb RAM 1Tb HDD Nikon D40 iPod Nano 8Gb 3g Check out my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannyboi83/

Jan 27, 2009, 11:20 AM	#6
vendettabass macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Manchester, UK	£2.49.. yeah, right :-)

Jan 27, 2009, 11:21 AM	#7
Shoesy macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Colchester, UK.	Yay for HD! - Yay! Boo for price! Boo!

Jan 27, 2009, 11:27 AM	#9
johnmadden78 macrumors member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Dublin, Ireland	And those of us in Ireland still get no TV and no movies on iTunes.

Jan 27, 2009, 11:41 AM	#12
Ubbens macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2008	Meh, I wonder if they'll ever come in the Netherlands.

Jan 27, 2009, 11:43 AM	#13
bacaramac macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2007	And now we continue the wait for HD Movies. I would stop buying DVD's at the store if Apple would release HD Movies on iTunes. I think the SD content is the same price as the DVD with no 5.1 and poor quality. I will not buy Blu-Ray as I really don't need 1080p with HD Surround, just want atleast DVD quality in the iTunes store with 5.1. __________________ Alumi iMac 20" 2.0Ghz 13" Unibody MBP Dual-Band AEBS ATV2 40GB 16GB iPhone 3G S⃣ Black

Jan 27, 2009, 11:45 AM	#14
happydude macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: a country with a new sense of hope	better yet, hook a mini up to your t.v. and stream the HD version to your tv from ABC's site. oh how i wish the new mini would come out. our home media hub needs an update! __________________ hi

Jan 27, 2009, 11:45 AM	#15
macffooky macrumors regular Join Date: May 2004 Location: The 51st State	£2.49 ? Flutter on Jolly Roger, flutter on.

Jan 27, 2009, 12:16 PM	#16
alexbates macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Georgia, USA	Now I would like to see HD movie rentals in the US. __________________ 13" 2.53GHz Unibody MacBook Pro: 250GB HD, 4GB RAM 10" MSi WIND Hackintosh: 1.6GHz Atom, 160GB HD, 2GB RAM, Leopard 10.5.7 15" 2.16GHz MacBook Pro: 320GB HD, 3GB RAM Twitter

Jan 27, 2009, 12:18 PM	#17
bigandy macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Soho, London	Well I can stop holding my breath now. __________________ "any day that involves cat pee is a really bad day" - iBlue ǝןƃooɹɯ

Jan 27, 2009, 12:43 PM	#21
yegon macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2007	People pay for this stuff?!! In times past, games/hardware/misc other junk that was late to these shores and only available as pricey imports annoyed me. This is not one of those occasions, laugh-out-loud!

Jan 27, 2009, 12:57 PM	#22
Porco macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2005	They can keep them. Blu-ray all the way. __________________ Mac: Hey PC, what you doing? PC: I'm playing a Blu-ray movie disc. Want to borrow it after I've finished? Oh... sorry, I forgot about your bag of hurt 'problem'. Can't you get an ointment for that?

Jan 27, 2009, 01:06 PM	#23
lewchenko macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2004	£2.50 for one hour (or less!!!) of HD TV ? You have got to be joking. Do they think we are mugs ? What a ripp off ? They can shove it up their *&!@'s !

Jan 27, 2009, 01:11 PM	#24
Shuttleworth macrumors regular Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: UK	Stick it. Can you keep it on your hard drive, or do you only get a certain amount of time to watch it? Either way they can stick it, for £10.00 a month (i.e. 4 episodes of LOST) you can add plenty of channels to a basic/free SKY subscription, and get LOST included, may not be HD, but I've lived this long without it!!

Jan 27, 2009, 01:22 PM	#25
numbersyx macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2006	Very pricey. The UK seems to be charged a premium just for being the UK!!!

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