Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Widescreen.

Thanks...I decided to actually just download the Simpsons and test for myself...there is simply an error.

On another note, I really hope the purchased movies get the better encodes that the rentals are getting...I doubt they will though.
 
hmmm...??

I rented Ratatouille last night, watched it tonight (it said i had 3 hours left.) now it says it expires in 20 hours. a glitch?
 
Completely unverified, but my money's on there is a server call when the play starts, which tells the server that this movie has begun playback and verifies that it has not exceeded 24 hours since the first call. Given that your local clock is 100% in your own control, that seems the only semi-comprehensive approach to this. If that is correct, then your movies are all still there, but unplayable.

On the other hand, if this is NOT correct, then it is quite likely that you would be able to rent a movie, play the first five minutes of it, wait a week, set your clock back to the time you stopped the movie previously, and play the rest. Which would be very nice, but a loophole studios would be clamoring to close the moment they caught wind of it.

Note that the iPhone sync screen does state that an internet connection is required to transfer any movie to the phone. I take this as evidence supporting my theory above :)

I set my clock back to test your theory and you are correct. The time reflected as being left to view changes with the system clock. I suspect Apple will have to find a way to plug that quickly. In the meantime, it's a nice workaround to marginal condition of the rental.
 
Things I would change

1) Apple really should have the time limit be 3-5 days instead of 24 hrs. Unlike Jobs most of us don't have the power to charge our lives around a movie rental. The brick and mortar stores figured this out about a decade years ago.

2) Offer The unrated/enhanced editions of movies. As much as I'd like to rent Live free or Die hard just to check it out, I have no interested in seeing the cut down PG-13 theatrical version. I want it as it was intended.

3) Keep pushing HD titles. When it comes to standard definition titles, itunes rentals aren't a very good deal. You're paying $230 for similar capability to a $50 DVD player. However, $229 is very inexpensive for something that will play HD movies.

4) better link between AppleTV rentals and your computer.

5) offer HD rentals via the Mac.
 
This is what happens after the time expires... The movie doesn't stop on it's own. Although, if you try to pause/stop the movie after it has expired it pops up a warning dialog. You can scrub the video, just not stop it.

picotb6.jpg
 
Oh, and it looks like you have to play via iTunes. You get this if you try to open the .m4v in QT

qthi6.jpg
 
This is what happens after the time expires... The movie doesn't stop on it's own. Although, if you try to pause/stop the movie after it has expired it pops up a warning dialog. You can scrub the video, just not stop it.

That's actually kind of nice. At least it doesn't just close the movie you're watching when it expires.
 
Interesting spin from Time Warner and broadband download pricing

Like we didn't see this coming. Time Warner is going to setup a trial pricing structure for broadband access depending on how much you download.

http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/T/TIME_WARNER_CABLE_INTERNET?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-01-17-07-42-17

The end of the article specifically points out downloading HD video. So if you want to get HD movies from :apple:, you are going to have to pay more in broadband fees.

VOD from Time Warner wouldn't cost you anything more I would imagine.
 
That's actually kind of nice. At least it doesn't just close the movie you're watching when it expires.
As a matter of fact ...It didn't even trigger the deletion when the movie ended. I clicked on the black video window after it stopped and it started playing again! Not sure if that's something they will change in the future ..but as long as you don't hit the stop/pause button or close the movie window it will remain viewable.
 
Like we didn't see this coming. Time Warner is going to setup a trial pricing structure for broadband access depending on how much you download.

http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/T/TIME_WARNER_CABLE_INTERNET?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-01-17-07-42-17

The end of the article specifically points out downloading HD video. So if you want to get HD movies from :apple:, you are going to have to pay more in broadband fees.

VOD from Time Warner wouldn't cost you anything more I would imagine.
as long as I don't have to pay MORE than what I am paying ...I don't care. I'm not big into P2P, but I do download several gigs of data easy in a month's time.

If the price goes up for me because I watch several videos on hulu.com or iTunes and download a couple updates ...I would be ticked. :mad:
 
I've had Netflix since Day1 and am getting more frustrated every month as all the movies in my cue have very long waits and just never come. These are not obscure movies but new releases. If I have to wait a month with Apple, at least I will get it then. I feel I will never get a hit movie again from Netflix as they just don't buy enough to supply the demand.
I use Blockbuster online as well and it is only slightly better.
Bye bye mail, hello instant satisfaction.
 
I rented Pirates of the Caribbean last night. It was a big download, 1.84 gigs. I'm not sure how long it took to download. Maybe 3 hours? I started watching it after it was half way downloaded.

The quality was good. I have a 19" widescreen LCD and was very pleased with the video.

What made the experience extremely disappointing was the fact that the audio has been throttled. I have a severe hearing loss and watch movies with earbuds. I rarely have a problem with Netflix DVDs or other content from the Net. I've bought one TV show from the iTMS and one other movie. The TV show was unwatchable for the same reason, the movie was ok. The only way Pirates of the Caribbean was tolerable was because of all the action.

Since they don't enable closed captioning on iTMS rentals AND throttle the volume, I won't be renting any more movies. It's a shame really, but that's the way it is.

When I bought the TV show, I emailed Apple and they gave me a free download but it was really pointless because the volume simply wasn't loud enough. They also didn't address the problem.

I honestly have no idea why they do this.
 
I rented Pirates of the Caribbean last night. It was a big download, 1.84 gigs. I'm not sure how long it took to download. Maybe 3 hours? I started watching it after it was half way downloaded.

The quality was good. I have a 19" widescreen LCD and was very pleased with the video.

What made the experience extremely disappointing was the fact that the audio has been throttled.
What do you mean by throttling? Do you mean compression? Can you explain what you are hearing? Also what type of connection do you use for audio? HDMI, optical, component or composite.
 
As a matter of fact ...It didn't even trigger the deletion when the movie ended. I clicked on the black video window after it stopped and it started playing again! Not sure if that's something they will change in the future ..but as long as you don't hit the stop/pause button or close the movie window it will remain viewable.

Actually I tested this tonight. If you do close the viewing window, it will pop up that warning. All you need to do is click resume.

This is a nice way to get around the 24 hour limit actually. You know, for those situations where you just can't finish a movie in one night. All you need to do the next night (assuming you get back to your PC before the 24 expiration) is launch iTunes, start the movie (it picks up where you left off) and click pause.

Leave iTunes open until you're ready to watch. Doesn't make any difference if it's after the expiration period at all. Even if you accidentally try close the iTunes window, that warning will prevent you from making that mistake..very nice.

This should alleviate some of the complaints by those of us with kids that sometimes just can't make it through a 2+ hour movie in one night. Well, at least it has for me.
 
i love the idea of rentals. however, i do not like the 24 hour limit. and i hate the fact that i can only rent certain movies. spiderman 3 is a rentable movie that i want to BUY! its not apples fault, its those stupid ass companies that think they know everything. i garuntee you that if every studio sold and rented their movies on itunes, people would be flocking to purchase them! hopefully this rental service will take off and the movie studios will make their titles purchaseable.
 
glitch

Side note.

I rented a movie. I watched it. It said I had 22 hours left to watch it. I bring my laptop to work (new IP). I open up iTunes. I go to the rented movies tab. My timer goes from 16 hours left to 23 hours. Odd.
 
What do you mean by throttling? Do you mean compression? Can you explain what you are hearing? Also what type of connection do you use for audio? HDMI, optical, component or composite.

I have a 12" PB hooked up to a 19" LCD. I have earbuds connected directly to the PB.

What I believe the issue is, is this. Due to the fact that video can be played on the iPod and the fact that the iPod has to conform to certain volume limitations, the maximum volume is simply reduced at the source.

While this may be a requirement, it's also a clear snub to those of us who are hearing impaired. Especially since the videos offer no subtitles. I'm sure that the studios and Apple have chosen this route to reduce the amount of bandwidth but....
 
If you've even been able to download a movie rental from iTunes, consider yourself lucky! Thousands of users can't even access the iTunes store at all after upgrading to iTunes 7.6. Check out the support forums... lots and lots and lots of people really annoyed that they downloaded the upgrade, because Apple is insisting that nothing is wrong.

Really frustrating.
 
Actually I tested this tonight. If you do close the viewing window, it will pop up that warning. All you need to do is click resume.

This is a nice way to get around the 24 hour limit actually. You know, for those situations where you just can't finish a movie in one night. All you need to do the next night (assuming you get back to your PC before the 24 expiration) is launch iTunes, start the movie (it picks up where you left off) and click pause.

ashawley - this is awesome news. Let's hope this workaround remains viable!

However, there are still issues with the 24-hour window:

  1. I don't see how "leave the window open" would work on the :apple:Tv, so this doesn't seem applicable there. Presumably "pause" would keep the flick paused until you are able to watch it, so long as no one else wants to use the device in the meantime.
  2. You obviously have to keep your computer on the full time to use this. You are also asking for trouble doing anything else which might due to bug or user error close that window.
 
Movie Rentals and MacBook Air

This rental thing sucks. Here's what I would expect from Apple:
1. If rented or purchased on Apple TV, I could transfer it to my computer in HD or other
2. If rented or purchased on computer, I could transfer it to my TV in HD or other
3. The ability to rent on my iPhone or iTouch and transfer (at least have a code) to transfer to my Apple TV
4. Something less expensive so if someone wanted to watch the movie I purchased or rented on my computer I could transfer it to any TV in the house wirelessly like an airport that connect to the tv.
5. I want my movies NOW not 30 days later. At hotels you can sometimes order movies that are still in theaters. You pay a lot, but hey, I'd do it so I don't have to deal with paying for popcorn and dealing with cold weather and teenagers who talk on the cell phones during. Wouldn't you?
6. The idea of the MacBook Air being a complete wireless lifestyle is great, but if there isn't universal compatibility then it is a pain in the arse.
7. I want to watch TV on my Mac. If that were the case I would stop buying small tv's for my family and buy MacBook Airs so they can have both and rent movies and do homework. Of course, they need to be much cheaper for that to happen.
They will not succeed until these issues are resolved. I can rent from the cable companies in the same time frame from release and I can have netflix DVD's transfer to any computer or TV. FN duh!
 
Software update for AppleTV?

Well, I thought there would be an updated available for :apple:TV already.

I got the iTunes, FrontRow, and QuickTime. But when I check for updates on the :apple:TV it says my software is up to date.

Did anyone get the update so that you can rent right through :apple:TV?
 
Well, I thought there would be an updated available for :apple:TV already.

I got the iTunes, FrontRow, and QuickTime. But when I check for updates on the :apple:TV it says my software is up to date.

Did anyone get the update so that you can rent right through :apple:TV?

Apple said two weeks from Tuesday.
 
Apple said two weeks from Tuesday.

Thanks zedsdead. I just watched the keynote this morning.

Having watched that now I must say that I like the UI much better. I think the people complaining about the UI must not have an :apple:TV today.

While what I currently have is nice, adding all of the new functionality would create a rat maze with the current set. So, I look forward to trying it out soon enough.
 
Thanks zedsdead. I just watched the keynote this morning.

Having watched that now I must say that I like the UI much better. I think the people complaining about the UI must not have an :apple:TV today.

While what I currently have is nice, adding all of the new functionality would create a rat maze with the current set. So, I look forward to trying it out soon enough.

I can't wait for it either. The fact that the menu has a sub menu right away is more organized given all the new options.

The only thing I am not happy about is that there are no HD purchases and the fact that rentals purchased on the apple tv cannot sync back with any other device. I think that is just stupid.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.