I knew it was always possible but didn’t think it would happen....

[BF1M]

...I lost purchased movies due to the content provider pulling them from the store. Really stinks. Even the apple rep I talked to over chat all but admitted it was BS....

I was denied a refund; even though they are still listed in my purchase history. I was given a free movie rental though...

Anyone else lose any movies lately?

 

[JoeShades]

You should have downloaded them when you could

 

[BF1M]

You should have downloaded them when you could

You sound just like the Apple lady! Lol

I have(see had) over 700 purchased movies. No way I could store them all. Not only that you can’t download 4K as you are probably aware...

 

[Wondercow]

You sound just like the Apple lady! Lol

I have(see had) over 700 purchased movies. No way I could store them all. Not only that you can’t download 4K as you are probably aware...

I have over a thousand movies and TV shows, all ripped from their discs, with all of the extras, and no further compression. Basically full discs, minus the ads. They’re all on hard drives.

You could do it if you wanted to 😛

Seriously though, your current issue is the reason why I don’t buy anything but disc-based media. (and the better quality)

 

[BF1M]

I have over a thousand movies and TV shows, all ripped from their discs, with all of the extras, and no further compression. Basically full discs, minus the ads. They’re all on hard drives.

You could do it if you wanted to 😛

Seriously though, your current issue is the reason why I don’t buy anything but disc-based media. (and the better quality)

How many drives\capacity? Lol

I always knew it could happen so I kept a typed list of what we have bought over the years and sure enough the number iTunes was reporting and the number on the list didn’t correlate this morning. Had to manually track down what was missing. Then I got to thinking well maybe I never bought them but I found them in my purchase history.

We switched to digital about two years ago because the amount of space the physical media was taking up was getting out of hand. Two years and this is first time this has happened. We’ve had playback issues but never missing content.

What bugs me the most is this could be a non-issue if they really wanted it to be. Oh well.

 

[Wondercow]

How many drives\capacity? Lol

About 40 TB across 13 drives 😎 What can I say? It’s a hobby 😀

I always knew it could happen so I kept a typed list of what we have bought over the years and sure enough the number iTunes was reporting and the number on the list didn’t correlate this morning. Had to manually track down what was missing. Then I got to thinking well maybe I never bought them but I found them in my purchase history.

And it’s at that moment that all the effort paid off! It’s a good idea to have an easily-searchable list, but why not use a backup drive? One 4 TB drive should do it.

We switched to digital about two years ago because the amount of space the physical media was taking up was getting out of hand. Two years and this is first time this has happened. We’ve had playback issues but never missing content.

Yup, I have Rubbermaid containers stacked floor to ceiling. These types of services are certainly convenient and as internet speed has increased it’s almost as good as local, but it definitely has drawbacks.

What bugs me the most is this could be a non-issue if they really wanted it to be. Oh well.

Apple is beholden to the studios. If the studios OOP a title the services have to remove it, though I’m sure they wish they could also go to people’s homes and remove the disc.

 

[JoeShades]

I know someone that has 2000 movies on hard drives, I am 46 and have not even seen 1000 movies in my life
[doublepost=1568348775][/doublepost]

You sound just like the Apple lady! Lol

I could be her 😀

 

[BF1M]

About 40 TB across 13 drives 😎 What can I say? It’s a hobby 😀

Wow I'll say.....how do you manage swapping the drives while (I'm assuming) using Home Sharing?


One of the main benefits to finally going digital was that I wouldn't have to hand hold my hobby. Buy a movie when it's cheap, stream it weeks\months\years later if and when we wanted to watch it. No more searching for discs, etc. As a huge movie buff it was hard to convince myself to lose the Video quality but something had to be done. 1/4 of my office was nothing but tubs of movies. I should have had my own TLC hoarding special..

Even with the largest External HDD I'd eventually find myself having to move the files\libraries around. I did some quick calculations based on the file sizes for the tv shows and movies we own shown in iTunes and I would need about 10TB(Edit: my math is\was way off on that estimate...it's late lol) as of right now...there is 200 bucks right off the bat.. and that's assuming I never buy another thing

...it's a hassle. Then there is the already mentioned issue that I can't download in 4K....

I'm fully aware that this is more than likely temporary since the missing movies are big budget movies from a large studio; they'll more than likely be back but this has certainly opened my eyes to how "buying" something works from iTunes. I may have no choice to start downloading the things we buy and use home sharing to protect my investment...just feels like I'm swapping one chore(physical media management) for another.... Brings up an interesting question: if I download a copy of a movie that is eventually removed from the store will I still be able to play it without any DRM issues?

 

[JWort93]

Can I ask what the missing movies are?

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

With regards to downloading the film... WHY? The Apple TV is marketed to play iTunes films from their servers. Otherwise please explain how you watch an iTunes film in 4K Dolby Vision with Atoms AND access iTunes Extras!

I believe that Tim Cook last year changed Apple's answer to this and greed on a FULL REFUND to the customer.

This has to be addressed as it is NOT a reliable method to play a downloaded iTunes film from a Mac using Apple Homesharing to the Apple TV. I've tried this over the years and it's horrific. Some iTunes films play fine, others stutter and freeze constantly.

***When I buy a film from iTunes IF I end up loving it, I'll download it once to my Mac and TimeMachine back it up to my LaCie hard drive and then remove the download from my Mac. I have an A4 sheet of paper with these back up dates listed and the few films that I adore. However, you simply could not download and store 100+ TV episodes etc.
This explains why to me, iTunes film buying is a cheap and cheerful platform - it's worth the £3.99 to buy when the films go on offer BUT no way would I pay full price for this platform. All Apple wants the customer to do is buy, buy, buy and buy again. I don't see a long term investment in this platform.

Also some people on this site are enthusiasts, a person who buys and streams an iTunes film will not understand Apple Homesharing etc.

Apple seriously needs to get its act together rather than taking people's money at any chance. It's become an incredibly greedy organisation.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

What I will make clear is that iTunes and Apple TV is for someone like me - the once a week viewer, the casual viewer who likes the Apple experience.
IF you love film, then it's not for you with it's low volume quality audio and compressed sound. It's for people who enjoy the experience on their iPhone, Mac/iPad and on the TV through the TV speakers.
If you value real quality, then IMO the only option is to buy the new expensive but beautifully built Panasonic 9000 or Pioneer UHD BluRay players which deliver the ultimate experience that a lover of film deserves.

 

[satcomer]

You sound just like the Apple lady! Lol

I have(see had) over 700 purchased movies. No way I could store them all. Not only that you can’t download 4K as you are probably aware...

This is why Mac and Windows users have been putting their iTunes Library onto smart NASs! Then streaming their Libraries to their Apple TV!

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

This is why Mac and Windows users have been putting their iTunes Library onto smart NASs! Then streaming their Libraries to their Apple TV!

I disagree. The time and money involved in this along with IT unreliability is not feasible.

This is not rocket science. Don't over complicate life. It's a simple film.

A customer buys a film to watch and enjoy. Period. The person who works full time and has a busy life does not think about NAS drives, backing up etc. Their life is complicated enough. Heck, otherwise they'd simply pick up the DVD/BluRay from the supermarket on the way home from work.

The iPad is marketed by Apple as a PC replacement. I know on many friends of all ages who have replaced Windows PCs with an iPad and that's it for their computer in 2019. They can't connect TimeMachine back ups to their iPads or NAS drives to do something as simple as watch a film.

If anything, if it's a problem with Apple then they need to implement a way for the customer to back up this purchase to their own Apple iCloud account.

I have been a victim of the iTunes scandal over the years with one of my purchased films getting deleted by Apple even though it was still for sale on iTunes. Senior Apple engineers told me the it was because the independent distributor had changed distributors.
I decided to get in touch with the distributor and it turned out that the distributor was in fact the famous film maker and his wife and they had not changed any distribution method.
I also lost a DELUXE edition of a Jackson Waters album inc' is music video and a David Ghetta Memories music video.

 

[BF1M]

Can I ask what the missing movies are?

So far it's the movies "Red" and "Source Code".....not 100% there aren't others now

This is why Mac and Windows users have been putting their iTunes Library onto smart NASs! Then streaming their Libraries to their Apple TV!

I know there are options to back my stuff up but I sort of feel like I shouldn't have to...that there is a way for them to cover these bases for those that already bought something and still not sell it if and when they are no longer allowed to.

I have been a victim of the iTunes scandal over the years with one of my purchased films getting deleted by Apple even though it was still for sale on iTunes.

Wow...so they basically switched one version for another of the same thing and used that as a reason to force a repurchase? That is troubling...

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

So far it's the movies "Red" and "Source Code".....not 100% there aren't others now



I know there are options to back my stuff up but I sort of feel like I shouldn't have to...that there is a way for them to cover these bases for those that already bought something and still not sell it if and when they are no longer allowed to.



Wow...so they basically switched one version for another of the same thing and used that as a reason to force a repurchase? That is troubling...

They did indeed. Luckily, just that one film. JUST BE AWARE! Also the music video is still for sale in the iTunes store too.
It left a very very bitter taste in my mouth and a really bad opinion of the lack of honesty at Apple. I wrote to Tim Cook and the old marketing guy with regards to it and both ignored my Email. It's clear that they are PR people and are only interested in things that shine light on themselves. I then messaged Angela head of the Apple Store at the time on LinkedIn and she passed the message on to her helpers at the Apple call centre.

It's a shame as I was planning on replacing everything with iTunes and because of it, I deleted the idea and realised that it wasn't worth my time and money.

I'm a huge fan of Apple TV etc but that experience with iTunes purchases has made me not trust Apple and, hand on heart, I'm not 100% confident in buying from iTunes. I warn friends about it but luckily, they don't buy film, preferring when they have the time to stream from Netflix, Amazon or satellite TV.

To me, if a film is removed from streaming that a customer has paid for, then it is purely stealing. It's theft. Apple TV is marketed as a 4K streamer from iTunes. To play 4K Dolby Vision film in Atmos, you must stream from Apple's servers. Period.

Theft like this is no different than a member of the public downloading pirate film.

You act 100% honest in life or you are dishonest. Apple needs to find their honesty and soul again!

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Both of your films are listed in the UK iTunes store with RED being 4K DV with Atmos. So it looks as though they've been update but that someone has 'deleted' the old files rather than keeping them on the servers which usually happens.

Is it a member of staff who accidentally deletes the old file because they are incompetent at their job or they have too much work to complete?

This is awful as I thought that this problem of films being deleted by Apple was a thing of the past.

They need to clarify this instead of ignoring their customers.

 

[BF1M]

Both of your films are listed in the UK iTunes store with RED being 4K DV with Atmos. So it looks as though they've been update but that someone has 'deleted' the old files rather than keeping them on the servers which usually happens.

Is it a member of staff who accidentally deletes the old file because they are incompetent at their job or they have too much work to complete?

This is awful as I thought that this problem of films being deleted by Apple was a thing of the past.

They need to clarify this instead of ignoring their customers.

Yea, like I said I knew it was a possibility going in(I actually do read the fine print)but it doesn't have to be a possibility if they didn't want it to be; they could keep copies of the movies on their servers for people who already have purchased it. If a movie went out of print would the studio be able to kick in my door and take back a blu-ray? I also didn't appreciate the "oh well" as an answer even if the agent herself was really nice. It's not the end of the world but does give you pause.... Should I keep "buying"(see leasing) movies? lol

 

[jbachandouris]

I always buy the Blu-Ray, DVD, digital copy version. This way I know at least one that will work...hopefully.

If these titles are that important, I would hit up eBay and Amazon and buy the physical copy.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Yea, like I said I knew it was a possibility going in(I actually do read the fine print)but it doesn't have to be a possibility if they didn't want it to be; they could keep copies of the movies on their servers for people who already have purchased it. If a movie went out of print would the studio be able to kick in my door and take back a blu-ray? I also didn't appreciate the "oh well" as an answer even if the agent herself was really nice. It's not the end of the world but does give you pause.... Should I keep "buying"(see leasing) movies? lol

Yes, this is what I can't get my head around - the absolute majority do stay on the servers when a title is pulled from the iTunes store in order for customers who have bought the film to carry on playing. What is hard to understand is the very very few whose files get deleted. It's as though it's a mistake at Apple HQ by staff.
Obviously any bad press for Apple is bad and this is not good for Apple's long term reputation. It's very clear that a company the size of Apple have agreed with the majority of the studios that these files will always be available for existing customers who have previously bought etc. Hopefully Eddy Cue and his team have agreed on this from day one.

Do you own a Mac or PC. If so, open iTunes and you'll se your purchases, maybe once in a while take a screen shot of your titles and check back on them if you feel that something is missing.

It's a shame when titles get pulled from the iTunes store to buy - Cruel Intentions from 1999 was pulled two months ago even though it's still available to buy from Amazon and Google Play. The Rebound was pulled in 2014 and has never been sold since in the UK iTunes Store since I bought it on BluRay from Amazon for £1.30!!!) - again, available on all of the other sites. I hope all of this gets sorted in time as I don't feel this is the way to move forward with film distribution.

 

[BF1M]

It's a shame when titles get pulled from the iTunes store to buy - Cruel Intentions from 1999 was pulled two months

I’ll be! You are right, that movie is no longer for sale in the states either but I can still play the copy I have bought previously....so yea now I’m a little more upset about all of this. They made it sound like if they couldn’t sell it they couldn’t host\offer it at all either...

Good catch..


I have a hand kept list I keep on my iMac to keep track of what I buy. Not only to make sure I still have it all, it was just easier to consult a list to find something to watch versus shifting through 700 icons on Apple TV.....

Edit: Just for giggles I consulted Amazon, I can still purchase both of the missing movies from there if I wanted to. Hmm.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

I’ll be! You are right, that movie is no longer for sale in the states either but I can still play the copy I have bought previously....so yea now I’m a little more upset about all of this. They made it sound like if they couldn’t sell it they couldn’t host\offer it at all either...

Good catch..


I have a hand kept list I keep on my iMac to keep track of what I buy. Not only to make sure I still have it all, it was just easier to consult a list to find something to watch versus shifting through 700 icons on Apple TV.....

Edit: Just for giggles I consulted Amazon, I can still purchase both of the missing movies from there if I wanted to. Hmm.

Definitely never buy a film from Amazon. Read their small print - it's horrific!!! You can't even download the film in HD to your iPhone - SD only AND you can't even download the film purchase to your computer! It's basically streaming only.

I believe that both of your films are still available to buy from iTunes. The fact that your purchases have disappeared is wrong. It's worth writing to Eddy Cue with regards to this as it's terrible PR for Apple who pride themselves on quality and the customer. In cases like this, both quality of service and customer service is non existent.

In the future, have a ruling where you don't pay more than £3.99 for an iTunes film to own due to its non guaranteed streaming longevity.

 

[chunter1001]

I wish that Apple showed a greyed out image and the title of purchased media that can't be viewed. It seems sneaky to just suppress the item from a customers' list of purchased media.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

I wish that Apple showed a greyed out image and the title of purchased media that can't be viewed. It seems sneaky to just suppress the item from a customers' list of purchased media.

I agree, it shows that they are not bothered about the previous customer.

If you look at how VIMEO operates, their way is pure class. If you click on your purchase and it is no longer available to buy, the following wording comes up...
"This title is no longer for sale on Vimeo On Demand, but you still have access to it."

Apple comes across as very shady when purchases simply disappear from your Apple TV with no automatic financial refund. I call that stealing.

 

[BF1M]

Definitely never buy a film from Amazon. Read their small print - it's horrific!!! You can't even download the film in HD to your iPhone - SD only AND you can't even download the film purchase to your computer! It's basically streaming only.

Oh wasn't going to buy them just interesting that they are still for sale from other digital retailers. That tells me it's not some legal reason they were removed...

I call that stealing.

Not sure what I'd call it besides not good customer service. Apple declined a refund but my credit card agreed with me; all I had to do is provide receipts and transcript of the chats with Apple. I'll get my money back and they will take it up with Apple.

 

[Rigby]

So far it's the movies "Red" and "Source Code".....not 100% there aren't others now

I don't have Source Code, but my Red is gone from my library too (first time this ever happened to me as far as I'm aware). However, I have a download on my server (a VM with iTunes), and when I start it I still have access to the extras, which are streamed from the cloud. So I think the movie is actually still there. My guess is that it's just a glitch. Also note that both movies are distributed by Lionsgate ...