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Apple Compromising On iTunes Movie Terms?

"Digital DVDs"

What are the chances that we will be able to buy "Digital DVDs" like this soon?

http://www.flip4mac.com/drivein.htm

That is what I really want, a "Digital DVD" with all the menus, special features, etc. If they sold them like that in HD in iTunes, AMEN!
 
I just don't think rentals on the home computer are going to take off. OnDemand and stuff like that work because you watch them on your TV at your leisure. Until there is 100% convenience to getting digital media on your TV, I can't see this taking off.
 
If Apple raises the price on movie downloads then they will lose a lot of customers who would have otherwise downloaded movies. They may be able to keep it about the same at that price if the movies are HD, but at the current resolution they will lose more customers from the price than they will gain by increased ammount of content.
 
My two cents about it:

I'm not paying Apple, i.e. the movie studio with Apple's b*lls in a vice, almost the wholesale price for a DVD on iTunes. That means you just get the movie and no special features or anything else. That's just ridiculous.

And for rentals, $4 for 24 hours? I have Netflix, that's 3 movies at a time unlimited a month. That's around $17 a month.

So:
Apple iTunes Rentals: for one month of content (to compare with Netflix) - about 4 movies a month for around $16

Netflix Rentals: for one month of content - over 20-25 a month for around $17

I'm sticking with Netflix.

~Crawn
 
Wow. It seems so obvious from the consumer point of view that :apple:TV needs to be positioned as a slightly more convenient/expensive Netflix killer. Unfortunately, the movie industry are dinosaurs who don't understand the technology or what they have to lose by sticking to their same tired delivery systems. Also, they are very greedy expecting people to pay more for less when it obviously costs them far less to deliver the content digitally. For that matter, it has been obvious for years that releasing on-demand content on the same day as the theatrical release could be a winner too. People are moving away from going to actual theaters for movies because many of us have 50 inch or bigger HD home theaters sitting in our living rooms that offer better quality without the hassle and crowds. If movie theaters want to survive in the 21st century they need to offer a premium experience. For example, theaters that serve beer & wine, or dinner theaters etc. Right now, the couple of movies I see a year convince me more and more that the main appeal is that people use them as a low cost babysitting service so that they don't have to gasp :eek: spend time with their kids. Unfortunately, this leads to theaters having to hire off duty police and even deal with lawsuits associated with unsupervised minors.

For me, I will continue to use Netflix and occasionally rip a good movie to my iTunes collection (I know breaking copyright on DVDs is illegal but we all know this is only because we have greedy/corrupt politicians who were paid off by Hollywood lobbyists when authoring the digital millennium copyright act.) I'm sure others will continue to download from bit torrent until a more attractive online solution is offered.

The one question I have is: How is Apple ever going to compete with the cable companies in this market? I mean Verizon Fios already has $3.99 24hr rentals that I don't have to buy a $300 box to play. Also, what is to stop Verizon or Comcast etc. from throttling bandwidth for downloads from the iTMS if they see Apple as a threat to their on-demand business?

I think Apple might want to look into taking a loss on the hardware for this business as I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft or Sony would be willing to do this in the future just to control mindshare (of course cable companies already do). Look at the Xbox...M$ still loses tons on them just so they can control the living room for gamers. How long will it take them to put 2 & 2 together and do this for a movie box. After all, movies are still far more mass market than games. And before you say that they make up losses on hardware for Xboxes with game/accessory sales I already thought of that and I still think the mindshare/exclusive control of people's living rooms is worth a huge investment and possibly could be made up in some way with directed ad content, premium subscriptions, micro-transactions etc. It blows my mind that Google or one of the cell operators hasn't offered a discounted or free cell phone service that serves directed ads every time you make or receive a call on the screen. I know people hate ads but I bet they hate their large cellular bills more... The technology companies (Google, Apple, Microsoft) etc. are in a much better position to do something like this than the old-school entertainment/cable companies IMO...
 
MacFly123 said:
So with EVERYONE whining about HD content, how come NOBODY ever talks about Apple's new ProRes codec??? What do you all think about that? I mean isn't that something pretty amazing that they can encode HD at SD file sizes, and if they are going to do HD content wouldn't that be the ultimate way to go? What would it take for them to do that? Would they have to update QuickTime, iTunes, iPods, iPhone etc? Anyone know what kind of implementation that would take on the Mac and Windows? Is it possible? I'm really surprised more people don't talk about this. DISCUSS :)
Click to expand...
I am pretty sure ProRes is much bigger than H.264. I think when Apple means encode HD at SD file size I am pretty sure they are talking about HD compressed to uncompressed SD file sizes. Which is still a far higher bit rate than DVD, BD, and HD DVD offer.
 
Bottom Line: There is no way this kind of deal will attract me away from Netflix. At $4 a pop I doubt I'd even rent one just to 'check it out' let alone occasionally rent one to satisfy an instant urge to watch something.

If this is the deal hopefully Apple will go back to the studios after a while and say "how do you guys feel about pulling in half as much revenue per rental on 10 times more rentals?", and get them to agree to a more reasonable price point.
 
diamond.g said:
I am pretty sure ProRes is much bigger than H.264. I think when Apple means encode HD at SD file size I am pretty sure they are talking about HD compressed to uncompressed SD file sizes. Which is still a far higher bit rate than DVD, BD, and HD DVD offer.
Click to expand...

Yes...the Pro Res is a Professional Codec like Avid DNxHD Codec...it is not for distribution.
 
$3.99 will fail miserably. Why do that when you can get a sub to Netflix and get movies the next day? Unless you live in the sticks. $16 and I get unlimited movies per month. With the amount of movies I watch a month, and using the Apple rental scheme, the price would be through the roof.

There is no way this will be a viable option. Doing a subscription service is something I would look at, not a per rental fee, especially a 24 hour restricted rental fee.

Give me a set-top box, that doesn't require a PC, and a monthly rental fee and I'm set. Netflix seems to be doing that (save using your PC to queue). If they do do it, Apple will feel the brunt of it.
 
Sony and Blu Ray are said to be offering a PSP Encoded version of the film on the Disks themselves soon, thats not a bad Idea either.
 
Small White Car said:
From what I've heard, the 24 hours starts when you first WATCH it, not when you download it.
Click to expand...

I don't think so. For instance, if you sync the movie to 3 iPods and watch it today on iPod #1: How will the DRM-protected file on the other 2 iPods know when to expire or delete itself?
My guess is that the 24h period will start when the download is completed ...or when you sync the downloaded file to *any* device(s) for the first time.
 
IHateUserNames said:
For instance, if you sync the movie to 3 iPods and watch it today on iPod #1: How will the DRM-protected file on the other 2 iPods know when to expire or delete itself?
Click to expand...

They could update themselves the next time they sync with the system, auto-disabling if it's been more then 24 hours. You eventually will want to connect your iPod back with your computer, so it's not a very good "workaround" to keep a movie for weeks, months, or years - especially on a portable device which will be the least-desirable way to watch it, anyway, compared to a computer monitor or television.
 
(a) even at the current prices, apple and the studios better be packaging the movies dvd style. as in a crap load of extras and commentary tracks, etc.
(b) $4 for a 24 hour rental?! who do you think you are, blockbuster and have you noticed their business going in the tank?!... you sir, are [bleeping] high if you think i'm gonna pay that on a regular basis. well maybe if you give away free apple tv hardware with a subscription or something.
(c) this article is pure speculation and the usual rumor mill running amok. i'll wait to see what apple and the studios have come up with. though i'm not very optimistic.
 
sebimeyer said:
IF this is true it would be a huge deal, not just for Apple. The Writers Guild of America is striking right now because writers get nothing, or hardly anything, for content they wrote that's sold on the internet.

So far the studios are saying "we'd like to pay you, but wen don't know how much we should pay you, so here is nothing instead." If they suddenly make the same amount, or close to, on internet sales that they previously made on DVDs, that line won't fly anymore.

Not saying it won't happen, but it's a mighty weird time to do something like this, if you are a studio head because it would essentially give your opposition (WGA) even more reason to stay on strike.
Click to expand...
To be honest, I don't think the Big 6 even really care at this point. If they are, they're sure not showing it in any way.

I'm waiting for the Studios to outsource the writing, acting, filming, and production ends of the business and just have it high-speed'd to them for stitching in of national commercials, and then re-broadcasting to the general public. I mean, if the rest of Corporate America can outsource their operations, why not the Entertainment Injusticetry?

Then, at that point, they'd have the perfect leverage to use against American writers. Basically, it'd be "You will gladly accept half or less of what you've been getting, or you're all permanently out of work here. Have a nice day."

You folks may scoff and laugh, but just wait. The day (sadly) is coming.
 
ddrueckhammer said:
For me, I will continue to use Netflix and occasionally rip a good movie to my iTunes collection (I know breaking copyright on DVDs is illegal but we all know this is only because we have greedy/corrupt politicians who were paid off by Hollywood lobbyists when authoring the digital millennium copyright act.) I'm sure others will continue to download from bit torrent until a more attractive online solution is offered.
Click to expand...
It's only illegal because we've allowed greedy corporatists to hijack the Federal Government and use it as it's own private pit bull to enforce what should be no more than company policies.

As I don't agree to those terms, I don't rent or (normally, other than to show support) buy movies, and I haven't in an awfully long time. Anything I watch is normally via other means, and I'm perfectly willing to stand up for my right to do so. If I want to buy something, I'll do so. But I'll be d****d if I'm going to be forced by some f*****g corporation to buy something just because they want me to.
 
MikeTheC said:
It's only illegal because we've allowed greedy corporatists to hijack the Federal Government and use it as it's own private pit bull to enforce what should be no more than company policies.

As I don't agree to those terms, I don't rent or (normally, other than to show support) buy movies, and I haven't in an awfully long time. Anything I watch is normally via other means, and I'm perfectly willing to stand up for my right to do so. If I want to buy something, I'll do so. But I'll be d****d if I'm going to be forced by some f*****g corporation to buy something just because they want me to.
Click to expand...
You've got to be kidding me. Why does everyone seem to think they have a right to do whatever they want to? Buying/renting a movie is no different than buying groceries at the store, or a shirt from the mall. Just because you wouldn't buy/rent it anyways does not give you the right to "watch it via other means", unless its on TV/cable. It's because of people with this mentality (as well as the ripping from Netflix rentals mentioned before) that we have executives who are scared to death that everyone is stealing their content and thus force draconian DRM measures onto the rest of us.

Of the DRM out there, Apple's has, to date, been one of the more lenient schemes out there. I'm sure this will continue with rentals, even if they are only for 24 hours (i.e. don't press 'rent' unless you know you can watch it, just like cable/satellite/Amazon/etc).
 
Heyyyyy ... I want a Redbox in my area!

Check out Vongo.com - supposedly online movies, however not compatible with Mac. They do ask if you want to be notified when there is a Mac-version. Sign up ... perhaps it will make them move faster.
 
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