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

Apple Removes 99-Cent TV Show Rentals from iTunes Store and Apple TV [Updated]

BTW said:
Apple buying Hulu would be a great way for them to get into that immediately. :cool:
Click to expand...

The concept is great, but what happens when the contractual periods end on the current agreements? Why not just work out their own?

Also, don't forget it's been a hard sell among its own partners. Whatever they've been paying Hulu CEO Jason Kilar to put up with all that BS, he's earned it!

Meanwhile, CBS must still be run by the same people that ran things as when Lou Grant and One Day at a Time were part of their primetime lineup.

Can you tell I'm a little :mad: about how fractured the choices are online?
 
hexonxonx said:
Two days after the Sopranos was released in HD, it was ripped and available for download on many sites.

All iTunes content is available anywhere already ripped.
Click to expand...

The point isn't whether it is available elsewhere, it is whether at what point people are no longer willing to pay.

I don't mind paying to rent a movie at the rental price on the apple tv, because most movies are only worth watching once. However, if I had to pay 3x that price "to buy' as the only way to watch, I would likely no longer be a good honest person and pay. Either that or I'd throw the apple TV in the bin.
 
sza said:
See, they begin to change:cool:
Click to expand...

for all we know this is something that has been going on for a while. Not something that sprang up now that Cook is the top dog (especially he has been so for the last 8 months)

and it is possible that in the near future we'll see a drop in tv show buying prices or even the introduction of a subscription option

----------
bdkennedy1 said:
They are switching to the iCloud. Buy an episode for 99 cents and watch whenever you want.
Click to expand...

If that includes a downloaded file I can watch on my ipad offline then i'm in. I think that 99 Cents for an SD and 1.49/1.99 for HD makes a lot more sense.

Next step is to get HD for all shows and get folks like HBO to put their stuff up at the least the day after the season ends if not the day after each ep airs.

----------
Icaras said:
But my needs haven't changed since: Give me 1080p, Dolby Digital 5.1, and closed captions.
Click to expand...

I'd settle for 1080p even at half the bit rate of a blu-ray and 2.1 sound if they would also give me closed captions and a voice over viz impaired track.

Much like the "Complete My Album" or the "iTunes Plus" upgrade programs for their music?
Click to expand...

Agreed. "Complete the Season" and "Upgrade to HD" would be awesome.

It would also be great if the nets would put in the same 'features' that they do for the disk releases, would let the digital copies in blu-ray sets be the HD and not the SD and if Apple would get the LP, Extras sorted out so you can view them on iOS devices and vice versa with those movie apps (and add a way for them to recognize if you bought the movie before the app came out and trigger the bonus features)

Toss in the networks getting their heads out over the issue that the ratings blow and having those majorly adjusted along with crediting make good with proceeds from itunes, hulu ad money and so on and I'd be a much happier camper

Because what if I enjoyed watching a certain TV series and decided I wanted to buy it after? I don't feel like purchasing an entire season at full price and paying a partial fee would be a nice incentive I think.[/QUOTE]
 
s1nt4x said:
tv shows where not really rental material , the occasion when i wold actually watch a tv show 2 or more times is very very rare so it was just nor profitable, but let`s hope the buy prince will be close to rent price or they will just price them self out of business
Click to expand...

Doesn't your argument actually show a case for rentals and not PURCHASES?

There aren't many shows I'd re-watch and want to buy. I liked rentals because sometimes you miss a few episodes and most networks now only let you go back 3-5 episodes. Dropping a buck or two for hour long shows wasn't a big deal to me, but a few bucks per episodes I'd never watch again was.

I never thought it would be a cash cow for anyone, but it was gravy the studios wouldn't of had regardless. It's not like it was costing them anything extra to offer the rental option.
 
What happened?

Why did Apple pick such lame names for their services? “iTunes in the Cloud", "Documents in the Cloud" etc. Surely there could have been better names for that. Sounds like someone ran out of creativity at the last minute. :confused:
 
newagemac said:
Sorry but Apple TV2 has far more to offer than Roku. Youtube, Vimeo, Airplay, Home Sharing, superior Netflix UI, and iCloud integration just to name a few.

And they recently added the ability to buy tv shows and stream any of your iTunes tv show purchases from the iCloud. So now that you can buy, that's probably why they got rid of renting. You couldn't do either on Roku so I don't get your point.
Click to expand...

As a cable alternative the Apple TV's big advantage over the Roku was reasonably priced current TV shows. The Roku has Netflix and Amazon VOD and higher resolution output (1080 vs. 720) though source material is still mostly 720 or less.

iPhoto/iTunes integration are nice but they are not product defining features.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; de-de) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Filesonic is where its at anyway ;)

and i never understood why anyone would pay for it anyway. every Network lets u stream their shows for free on their sites
 
bushido said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; de-de) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Filesonic is where its at anyway ;)

and i never understood why anyone would pay for it anyway. every Network lets u stream their shows for free on their sites
Click to expand...

Some people like watching TV shows in their living rooms on their fancy audio visual setups with widescreen televisions and 5.1 surround and all that. And they don't want to plug some laptop or goofy Linux box into the TV to do it.

Free isn't that great of a deal if it sucks.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; de-de) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

WestonHarvey1 said:
bushido said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; de-de) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Filesonic is where its at anyway ;)

and i never understood why anyone would pay for it anyway. every Network lets u stream their shows for free on their sites
Click to expand...

Some people like watching TV shows in their living rooms on their fancy audio visual setups with widescreen televisions and 5.1 surround and all that. And they don't want to plug some laptop or goofy Linux box into the TV to do it.

Free isn't that great of a deal if it sucks.
Click to expand...

call me a cheap but i rather plug in my laptop than paxing redic amount of money on something u wont even own after.

lets say stream a hd season on itunes. it'll be like 48$! too bad u can get the BD once released for may be less
 
reverie said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; de-de) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I think Fox said last year that this is a limited test run. It's likely that they expected (and Steve promised them) far more than a doubling of sales to make up for the lower price point and that never materialized. I personally think it's a real shame. The iTunes video selection is still crippled by multiple issues. Too high prices were and remain one of them, others are spotty selection, "viewing windows", unreliable picture quality and removal of features vs DVD releases.
Click to expand...

You're clearly not drinking your Kool-aid :p

Don't you know it doesn't matter how much inferior the iTunes video service is, than DVD/BD? Don't you know it doesn't matter how much more limited it is in usefulness or how much more it costs?

It's the future :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

good thing Apple is giving us more Macs without an optical drive......../sarcasm

I don't know what the future is, I don't pretend to know - but I know what it is not; it is not iTunes video. Even after the Apple TV v2 it still gains no traction, nobody talks about it outside dedicated tech forums and even there, the reception is mixed.
 
I guess Apple has decided to remove any incentive for me to upgrade my 1st Gen Apple TV units. Being able to rent TV shows (instead of being forced to buy something I'd likely only ever watch ONCE) was one of the few features I liked on the newer model, although I did think it was ridiculous they didn't add that feature to the older model.
 
This is rediculous. This is why I bought my apple tv. Guess I'm going back to buying blu-ray movies and hulu.
 
Apple:“iTunes in the Cloud lets customers download and watch their past TV purchases from their iOS devices, Apple TV, Mac or PC allowing them to enjoy their programming whenever and however they choose.”
Click to expand...

Not in the UK it doesn't.
 
What do they think their episodes are worth $5?! It is a rental, I only get to watch it for a short period of time. You can rent most movies on Amazon on Demand for $2-4 but they think their 22 minute tv shows are worth as much or more.
 
gugy said:
That would be nice, but the issue all comes down to lack of content. iTunes doesn't have enough yet to satisfy most consumers. Too bad, I am looking for the day I can drop my cable bill for good.
Click to expand...

And replace it with bigger bill from Apple?
 
AppleScruff1 said:
And replace it with bigger bill from Apple?
Click to expand...

I've done that for the last two years. I cancelled my DirecTV two years ago because I rarely watched TV. All the shows that I used the DVR for were reruns and nothing worth paying $70 per month for. If they ever offer a local channels package, I'll be back.

Everything I liked watching as in new shows I was buying on iTunes so I figured I would start saving the $70 each month. I probably spend less than that on iTunes per month. Three to Four HD shows per week doesn't add up to $70 per month.
 
Legal

Just started enjoying the simple life of renting tv shows. For me, this is the right way to enjoy shows, I rarely watch an episode more than once, and when I've seen it it's out of the way.

Since I don't live in the US, I've gone through all the hassle of importing an ATV2, and getting iTunes credit just to actually pay for the things I watch, since the networks aren't willing to let me do it in my country.

But apparently, Apple/The networks don't want my money, so I guess I'm back to torrenting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back