YouTube Takes on iTunes Store With Streaming Movie Rentals

[mambodancer]

This is the big question.

Not without an update, I'd think. Will Apple allow it?

I keep waiting for the AppleTV to get is own app store. I think it's likely you'd see it available then just like you see Hulu+ and Netflix in the iPad store.

But without a store will Apple add this and ONLY this in an update soon? I sure hope so, but I'm not too hopeful.

If Apple incorporated Netflix into the ATV2 despite what every one said about them not doing it (remember when that rumor first started circulating) because Netflix would compete against iTunes, I don't think they'll care too much about a YouTube that supports video rentals on ATV2 or the iOS devices for that matter. I'm betting that app support for ATV2 is something we'll see soon and that some of those apps (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, GoogleTV, Pandora, Rdio, etc.) could compete directly with iTunes

 

[dashiel]

I wonder if they’ll use a better encode of the video? Their “HD” quality video, be it 720, 1080 or even the 4K experiments are noticeably blocky even on smaller screens, on my 109" it’s awful. The iTunes 720 encodes might have lower resolution, but the quality is indisputably better.

 

[gloomcookie1]

That's quite the strawman jump from the previous comment.

And I'll enjoy my Netflix for $19/month, which gives me about 8 BD "rentals" a month. Plus streaming. Plus 8 more disc rentals for my wife.

$4 rentals are a joke. Don't care where they come from: BB (RIP), Vudu, Apple, YouTube.

Gotta agree with you. I don't get why Redbox can rent DVD's out for a buck but streaming rentals are 4. It's insane. Netflix and Hulu are my streamers of choice.

 

[Small White Car]

And I'll enjoy my Netflix for $19/month, which gives me about 8 BD "rentals" a month. Plus streaming. Plus 8 more disc rentals for my wife.

$4 rentals are a joke. Don't care where they come from: BB (RIP), Vudu, Apple, YouTube.

Good luck with the titles they don't have.

I pay for Netflix streaming and I still rent from the AppleTV from time to time. If the "joke" allows me to see the movie I want to see then I'll gladly take it.

 

[mambodancer]

They worked hard for their monopoly, and they want to maintain it! Amazing how Apple and Microsoft have switched places over the past 10 years.

Let's see, I'm able to watch HULU, Netflix, and video streams from just about every major network on my Mac and iOS devices. I'm able to buy music from Amazon and any other service and listen to it on any Apple Product I own and I'm able to stream audio from a host of services like Rdio, Pandora, (Spotify in the UK) etc. on these same devices.

I'm not sure what you mean by by your monopoly statement because, if true, Apple would simply reject all of those apps outright, wouldn't they? And they would not have added Netflix support to ATV2 or MLB or NBA or YouTube.

 

[steadysignal]

Good news. More competition, more choices.

a ***** sandwich is still just that... a ***** sandwich. doesn't matter who makes it.

now, all we have is more fragmentation.

 

[Deeya]

So the industry standard is $4 to watch a movie?

Only costs me a buck to pick up a movie from RedBox on my way home from work, and it can be dropped off the next day. If I don't feel like watching it that night, takes 20 minutes to hand brake and watch at my leisure another time.

Another $.50 for a Blu-Ray disc, when available, is another nice option.

Certainly a lot cheaper than $4 for something I can only watch on my computer, or have to buy an external piece of hardware to watch on my TV.

 

[arcite]

I don't get it. It's still cheaper to download the torrent version.

 

[SBlue1]

I found out that Google TV has 8GB of internal storage for apps. So it shouldnt be a problem for Apple to add App Store too?

apple should take a look at google-tv and copy a little more than just the app store! how about facetime for apple tv? how about full hd with 1080p? how about digital recording?

 

[bushido]

no thx to streaming, i actually have the money to buy me the BD's i want and have them forever on my overfilled shelves

 

[silentnite]

I don't know if I would say you tube took on itunes if rentals would have been $1.00 - $1.99 perhaps. Until that happens, I'm sticking with the red box. One good thing this will do is get everyone on board with the price of a rental. Good or bad that will have to be seen.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

The day I pay $4 to watch a full film on Youtubes horrendously overcompressed codec settings... will never come. And I'm not even a quality snob. I have no TV, no blu-ray, just a 27" iMac and Netflix is fine. ...but YouTube vids are borderline unwatchable. I can't even imagine one of those stretched to fill a 27" screen...

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

If you're such a quality snob you should be insisting on 4K theaters as your only method of entertainment. * I love people who talk about insisting on the best and yet pick something right in the middle to proclaim as their version of 'perfect.'

So enjoy spending $100 on 5 movies for the month.

I'll be renting the $4 720p versions, realizing they look fine, and then going out and enjoying my extra $80 each month.

* (And the fact that many films are only released in 2K should give you an idea of just how important 'resolution' is. Hint: It's not nearly as important as inter- and intra-frame compression is. Movies are not video games or cell phones. The pixels matter a LOT less than you seem to think they do.)

Yes, you are right, pixels matter a lot less than compression.
And with streaming you are getting a whole lot of compression.
(and a lower resolution)
(and lets not get started about sound quality)

 

[oban14]

no

Apple has no monopoly?

They're in the same position Microsoft was 10 years ago, but better: They have everyone locked into iTunes, the app store, not using blu ray, their entire business model is predicated on locking you in and only allowing what they see fit.

Of course, someone could just buy a different computer, MP3 player, smart phone, and run Linux or Windows, right?

Just like what Microsoft said when they were accused of being a monopoly back then. Now Apple is the monopoly and Microsoft is the underdog.

 

[SockRolid]

Negotiations take time.

[...] but it has apparently taken until now to work through any licensing and technical issues to go live in a market that Apple has dominated. [...]

For some reason, Google took their time to work out the YouTube streaming deal with the movie studios. In stark contrast to their naive attempt to do an end-run around the record labels with Music Beta. My guess is that Google felt they needed to rush some kind of music streaming service out before Apple that they could announce at Google I/O. And the only way to do that, without the labels' cooperation, was to mash up a trivial half-baked solution.

So what could Apple do to leapfrog YouTube movie streaming? How about acquiring a majority share of Netflix, then working on deeper integration with Apple TV, Mac, iPod touch, and iPhone? Apple could also use their brand spanking new NC data center to help stream Netflix content to all those devices.

Netflix is too expensive for Apple to buy outright. Better to simply snap up enough of their stock to have significant input into Netflix' long term strategy.

 

[Aquaporin]

I've rented a few movies from iTunes, but for some reason I miss the experience I had going to Blockbuster.

 

[Whozown]

This still doesn't beat the .99 red box rentals

 

[bobr1952]

Hmm--a work in progress at best. Not a lot of information as far as streaming quality or if there are plans to make the movies available on other devices so they can be watched on your TV. I for one don't watch movies on my computer or my phone--that's what my 55 in TV is for. But it is always nice to add some competition to the mix--Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, Vudu, and others--choice is good.

 

[Popeye206]

hummm... I don't think a "me too" service like this is going to work for YouTube. Prices would need to be better, and obviously, that's not the case.

It's going to get interesting as moqre players try to jump in. I'm sure more is coming soon.

 

[Aquaporin]

hummm... I don't think a "me too" service like this is going to work for YouTube. Prices would need to be better, and obviously, that's not the case.

It's going to get interesting as moqre players try to jump in. I'm sure more is coming soon.

If I want to watch a movie and pay, I'll see it in theaters.

 

[sinsin07]

I've rented a few movies from iTunes, but for some reason I miss the experience I had going to Blockbuster.

That's called human interaction. Something that is rapidly being lost.

 

[Just "Vinnie"]

I get the feeling Apple is just falling by the wayside with all these new clouds, music stores and video outlets.

Not to mention all the trial and error manufacturers are going through with their tablets. One of 'em is bound to get something close enough to compete with the iPad very soon. (I said "close").

I hope it looks like somebody kicked an ant hill there in Cupertino and that the creative juices are coming out of their ears.

Apple needs another killer product.

 

[Popeye206]

If I want to watch a movie and pay, I'll see it in theaters.

Same here... Or Redbox gets my buck although Netflix is getting tempting at $8 a month.

 

[ciscored]

I thought YouTube was already renting movies. I'm pretty sure they had sm,e Indpendant/Sundance type films for rent. Wouldn't this just be an expansion of their rental offerings and not a new service?

can anyone elaborate? Im not sure if this a new service or an expansion of less prestigious movies they have already been renting out.

 

[walterg74]

So, one thing I don't get, maybe because I don't live in the us?

How can they charge (or rather why would people pay) $3.99 (or $2.99 if you want) for a movie rental, when for example Netflix (or HULU) offer you unlimited streaming for just 8 bucks? Does that make any sense at all??

Also, like other users have pointed out, we're pretty fed up with all these thing always being "us only"... Studios and companies bitch about piracy, and illegal stuff in south america (and europe) yet they never offer us the legit option of distributing they're stuff and us paying for it properly. In this age of digital distribution, there is no excuse for that not happening...