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iTunes Movie Rentals at $2.99 for 30 days?

Drm

Porchland said:
The Netflix business model works because the time delay for mailing out and returning movies puts a practical limitation on how many you can get in a month. That doesn't seem to translate to downloads.

How would you have four downloads "out" at a time? If you can "return" a movie as soon as you finish it and immediately download another one, you don't have any certain number of movies "out" at a time.
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Now you see what DRM is good for. Online rentals couldn't exist without it. When used properly, it can actually give us more choice.
 
Disposable convenience > picture quality, sound

I'd be up for it just to watch a movie I'll never want to watch again. Until I get it on much better media...
 
aristotle said:
I thought of that saying because people are paying for subscriptions already whether they use it or not. Examples of this would be: Cable, internet, Satellite, newspapers, magazines and gym memberships.

I like the idea of movie rentals but I hate the idea of subscriptions.
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I agree subscriptions can be a waste, but it depends on the level of use. If you use the service a lot then a subscription makes sense. I think you just have to plan it out before you buy. For example, Netflix was a better fit for me than Cable. (I just hate missing the first 1/4 of a movie.) And without Netflix or Cable, I'd be paying for a *lot* of movie rentals, probably 2-3 times what I pay now. On the other hand, if I had a Gym membership, I might not ever go a single day. :D

Bottom line: If Apple offered a subscription service comparable to Netflix, it would be more convenient for me with the Apple TV and I'd buy. I'd still rent $2.99 iTunes movies from time to time regardless.

Edit: to be more on topic
 
Hmm... DVD hire is dirt cheap down here. If you buy in lots of 6, then it works out to about $1.24 per DVD.

Then of course Handbrake comes in handy.....
 
williedigital said:
Compare itunes selection to netflix selection. unless you want the biggest blockbusters only, itunes would have a longggg way to go to catch up.
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All in due time I think....iTunes Plus will slowly get more Music, iTunes Movies will slowly get more Movies...just like iTunes did w/ music, and iTunes did with TV/Music Vidoes...now there are TONS of Tv shows on iTunes, not everything yet, but its a good start, when you look back at what was there when it started
 
aristotle said:
You know the old saying "There's a sucker born every minute"? I was reminded of that when someone mentioned netflicks. Do you have to pay that 20 bucks ever month regardless of whether can find the time to watch movies in that month? What happens when you want to go on holidays for 3 weeks or more? Do you have to go through some trouble of suspending the account? Can you even suspend it?
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My wife and I used Netflix for about three years. We cancelled it recently because we actually watched all of the movies we were interested in seeing and could no longer keep our queues full :eek: That cost us roughly $720, and I think we watched in the area of 500 movies (yeah, about 15 per month -- my wife and I hate TV and love movies) in that span of time. It comes out to be roughly $1.50 per rental. There are various other benefits that aren't added in, of course.

So in the vast scheme of things, $20 more or $20 less isn't a big deal at all. If we paid $740 to watch 500 movies, it comes out to an extra $0.04 per rental. Of course, if you're going on three-week holidays, $20 probably isn't going to bug you very much anyway.

Netflix is a hell of a deal for most people. Movies you like, from a vast library, delivered to your door in the order you prescribe. Even the payment's automatic. What's not to like?
 
iTunes movie rentals sound great to me.

If I'm going to OWN a movie (or TV series) I want high-def quality and full special features, in some form (disc or iPod) that I can take to a friend's house.

But I almost NEVER want to watch a movie often enough to be worth owning. Nearly all movies--even ones I enjoy--I watch once and never again. Occasionally I'll re-watch it years later.

And I don't want to devote long-term STORAGE to most movies either.

Now, if I'm going to RENT a movie, I want convenience: rapid gratification without gas expense or the hassle of leaving home and browsing through a store (or library) without knowing what I will or won't find. And for a rental (a file I won't keep anyway), top quality is less vital to me.

iTunes rental with iPod compatibility would be maximum convenience, at a price far lower than a purchase, and with no long-term storage requirement. I would use this a LOT. I don't want a subscription (like Netflix) either, since my habits vary so much from week to week. I want to pay PER movie.

(I do want maximum selection too, and Netflix is unbeatable for that. Let's hope iTunes keeps growing in that regard.)
 
Every time we go to the vid store (not that often) everything's been taken and we end up with the latest Steven Seagal offering. :eek: For the same price I'd be more than willing to save the disappointment with a download.
 
macintel4me said:
That is I've been waiting for!! What a great price too!!
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Been waiting too... been waiting since they started selling movies from the iTS and wanted to rent them and download them easily... as easy as only Apple could make it... hope this is one rumor that doesn't suck and turn out to be false.

apachie2k said:
more options = happier people! some would dissagree... but i would even like a dollar for a day/night kinda thing... like those red boxes at my local Stop and Shop...
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I like Red Box and I see the point of this... some people may not want to see the movie more than once... but I still think it is a wonderful deal at $3 for a month of watching time. Making it a dollar a day would end up not being such a good deal.
 
If only the iPhone had iTunes support. Maybe Steve will announce it tomorrow? At the very least, I have to assume that any flicks you download can be transferred to your iPhone.
 
To me, it's all about the quality. I haven't bought a movie on iTMS because the quality is so poor. If this and iTMS go HD, then I'm all in. Otherwise, I don't get it. The convenience wouldn't get cancelled by the crappy video/sound.
 
Sounds like a great solution. I'd definitely rent movies for such a low price (even if it was for a quarter of the time). The problem I have with iTunes movies right now is that they're not burnable to a DVD. Why would I pay $15 for a movie I can get at the store for slightly more (or less depending on the movie)? Then I can watch it anywhere I want.

HD content is still restricted to retail and until that changes, buying movies online doesn't really interest me.
 
aristotle said:
You know the old saying "There's a sucker born every minute"? I was reminded of that when someone mentioned netflicks. Do you have to pay that 20 bucks ever month regardless of whether can find the time to watch movies in that month? What happens when you want to go on holidays for 3 weeks or more? Do you have to go through some trouble of suspending the account? Can you even suspend it?
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I go through 4 movies a week. And I've never had a 3 week vacation in my life other then when I had summer vacation in highschool. Hell no one I know takes a 3 week vacation.
When I DO go on vacation I take 3 movies with me and drop then in the mail where ever I am. When I get back I already have 3 already there, ready to go.
 
The iTunes movie store is basically dead in the water until Apple gets the quality level up.

TV shows suck too, but it's TV.

I really hope Apple gets their act together on the iTunes store quality--music, TV, and movies....

Once they do that, then purchases, rental and an Apple TV are options.
 
Say goodnight Blockbuster

As the concerned shareholder who asked the movie rental question, I'm glad to see mention of it here so soon.

However my question at the shareholder's meeting was a two parter...

The first part was: Can I get iTunes videos in HD on my AppleTV and can I rent titlles instead of (holding up a Blockbuster DVD return envelope for effect) waiting for these things to come in the mail and then having to drive them back to the store.

And Steve's response is the now famous line: "One never knows" to both halves of the question. So maybe with an announcement of Video rentals through AppleTV there will also be HD content for rental. Now that would rock.

Gee it just doesn't seem to pay to be a BBI shareholder anymore....

Al
 
Not worth it as current video quality is rather poor. Needs to be upgraded to support real HD. Also, real studio support would help...not far off promises.
 
zap2 said:
All in due time I think....iTunes Plus will slowly get more Music, iTunes Movies will slowly get more Movies...just like iTunes did w/ music, and iTunes did with TV/Music Vidoes...now there are TONS of Tv shows on iTunes, not everything yet, but its a good start, when you look back at what was there when it started
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I'd like to think so, but there are just too many rare/foreign/etc films that are BARELY available on dvd, and i just don't see apple courting those makers. even now, years into the itunes experience only about half my music catalog is available on there. It's not like apple is re-releasing OOP stuff.
 
MrSmith said:
Every time we go to the vid store (not that often) everything's been taken and we end up with the latest Steven Seagal offering. :eek: For the same price I'd be more than willing to save the disappointment with a download.
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It's not like that in the usa. I don't think the video store has been out of anything since I was a kid.
 
Keep my Rental

First, movies need to be at least 720p.

Second, they should offer a "Keep my Rental" and let renters pay the extra to keep the movie if they really like it.

I can tell right now I need a larger hard drive for my :apple:TV
 
How about $4-$5 for 720p content, with full 5.1 (maybe 7.1 later). Heck it would be cool if it was
$3-480p
$4-720p
$5-1080p

If they could do those prices, and heck even just a two or one week rental would be fine, I would be all over this. I just wish I could get an Apple TV for less then half of the price of the LCD I want, (just a $600 Vizio).
 
SiliconAddict said:
I go through 4 movies a week. And I've never had a 3 week vacation in my life other then when I had summer vacation in highschool. Hell no one I know takes a 3 week vacation.
When I DO go on vacation I take 3 movies with me and drop then in the mail where ever I am. When I get back I already have 3 already there, ready to go.
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Interesting, are you eligible for 3 or more weeks of paid vacation per year? If so, why haven't you taken a longer vacation? I know people who have taken a month long vacation and a couple that took off even more time to travel around the world.

I'm heading off to Europe soon for one day short of 3 weeks.

I guess it's a cultural difference. Canadians work hard and play hard as well but you Americans seem to work too hard without much down time. It's no wonder so many Americans burn out and have health problems.
 
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