time to buy apple stocks. because this increases sales of apple tv, ipods and there will be the halo effect. people will buy more mac's. all in all very positive.
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iTunes Movie Rentals at $2.99 for 30 days?
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Well I will still keep up hope that TV and Movies come to Europe and the rest of the iTunes stores soon, I think Apple would love to bring TV/Movies to iTunes downloads but the movie and music industry is still dragging it feet over online sales and looks like it needs to be dragged screaming and kicking into the new media revolution.
See, this would be cool. I still don't know that it could warrant me buying an 
TV, but still...that'd be great.
TV, but still...that'd be great.
Well, I own a Tivo, and also an tv. I've tried the Amazon Unbox thing, and while it was convenient, the big drawback for me on that was the aspect ratio. All their stuff is made to fit a 4:3 screen, with letterboxed movies having black bars on the top and bottom of the 4:3 sized picture. So, on my 16:9 television, the Amazon Unbox file plays with the picture with black bars on the top and bottom, and then black bars on both sides as well, so the movie appears as a tiny rectangle in the middle of a widescreen tv with a huge black frame around it. And then if I switch my tv to full screen mode to try to get rid of the bars on the sides, then the movie appears stretched way more than should be. So that was kind of a deal killer for me on that. If I'm sitting down to watch a movie that I've paid to rent or buy, it needs to be full screen letterboxed for a wide screen tv (widescreen version). And the ones I purchase on itunes and played on the tv come out properly just like a dvd. So for now I'm sticking to itunes or renting/buying movies that aren't on itunes.
tv. I've tried the Amazon Unbox thing, and while it was convenient, the big drawback for me on that was the aspect ratio. All their stuff is made to fit a 4:3 screen, with letterboxed movies having black bars on the top and bottom of the 4:3 sized picture. So, on my 16:9 television, the Amazon Unbox file plays with the picture with black bars on the top and bottom, and then black bars on both sides as well, so the movie appears as a tiny rectangle in the middle of a widescreen tv with a huge black frame around it. And then if I switch my tv to full screen mode to try to get rid of the bars on the sides, then the movie appears stretched way more than should be. So that was kind of a deal killer for me on that. If I'm sitting down to watch a movie that I've paid to rent or buy, it needs to be full screen letterboxed for a wide screen tv (widescreen version). And the ones I purchase on itunes and played on the tv come out properly just like a dvd. So for now I'm sticking to itunes or renting/buying movies that aren't on itunes.To respond to a few things that have been brought up:
On Netflix: It is possible (and quite easy) to suspend your account for a period of time, during which there is no charge, nor any movies sent out. I used that when I moved a year ago so that I wouldn't have to worry about movies being sent to my old address after I moved out.
On HD movies: Those of you who have gigantic HDTVs andTVs and all the other latest and greatest gadgets, where do you get the money for all that stuff? Some of us are still using small CRT televisions and use VCRs to record television shows we're going to miss while away from home
. I guess if I wanted to max out a few credit cards, I could have all the cool stuff, but I'd prefer to keep my credit score up and not have the bill collectors come and take it all away in a couple of years.
I'm all for movie rentals from the iTunes store, regardless of whether they're HD quality or not. I would still hope that HD quality becomes available within a year or two, as HD-DVD/Blu-Ray discs and players will be much more prevelant by that time, but for the time being, near-DVD quality is fine for me. My iPod dock hooked up to my old-skool television can play movies and TV from iTunes just fine.
On the subject of multiple-week vacations and world travel: I think the majority of Americans don't earn enough money to pay for what they have, let alone spend thousands on a trip around the world without going into serious debt. If money were no object, I'd probably spend a few months travelling the world with my wife. There are plenty of places we'd both love to see, and it would take a while to see them all. But we're poor (by US standards) so we don't get to even travel around to the scenic places in our own country, let alone anywhere else.
/rant
On Netflix: It is possible (and quite easy) to suspend your account for a period of time, during which there is no charge, nor any movies sent out. I used that when I moved a year ago so that I wouldn't have to worry about movies being sent to my old address after I moved out.
On HD movies: Those of you who have gigantic HDTVs and
TVs and all the other latest and greatest gadgets, where do you get the money for all that stuff? Some of us are still using small CRT televisions and use VCRs to record television shows we're going to miss while away from home. I guess if I wanted to max out a few credit cards, I could have all the cool stuff, but I'd prefer to keep my credit score up and not have the bill collectors come and take it all away in a couple of years.I'm all for movie rentals from the iTunes store, regardless of whether they're HD quality or not. I would still hope that HD quality becomes available within a year or two, as HD-DVD/Blu-Ray discs and players will be much more prevelant by that time, but for the time being, near-DVD quality is fine for me. My iPod dock hooked up to my old-skool television can play movies and TV from iTunes just fine.
On the subject of multiple-week vacations and world travel: I think the majority of Americans don't earn enough money to pay for what they have, let alone spend thousands on a trip around the world without going into serious debt. If money were no object, I'd probably spend a few months travelling the world with my wife. There are plenty of places we'd both love to see, and it would take a while to see them all. But we're poor (by US standards) so we don't get to even travel around to the scenic places in our own country, let alone anywhere else.
/rant
30 days?
Having read all the comments, I have to say
1) Those who say this might follow Unbox and be 30 days to start, 24 hours to finish may be right.
To which I say frack that ****. I was excited about 30 days, and I said one week would be enough.
But 24 hours is not enough in my demographic. Often, very often, with the long hours this generation works, one or one' spouse falls asleep during the movie, and you don't find time to get back to it for perhaps a week.
I think 30 days for real would be brilliant and would be a win, win, win. Not only would I rent movies from iTunes ( I will not buy them), but I would get an apple tv, and I would consider a video ipod.
So let's get busy on this. I've been friggin' waiting for this for like 10 year already.
Having read all the comments, I have to say
1) Those who say this might follow Unbox and be 30 days to start, 24 hours to finish may be right.
To which I say frack that ****. I was excited about 30 days, and I said one week would be enough.
But 24 hours is not enough in my demographic. Often, very often, with the long hours this generation works, one or one' spouse falls asleep during the movie, and you don't find time to get back to it for perhaps a week.
I think 30 days for real would be brilliant and would be a win, win, win. Not only would I rent movies from iTunes ( I will not buy them), but I would get an apple tv, and I would consider a video ipod.
So let's get busy on this. I've been friggin' waiting for this for like 10 year already.
Well said. And I will add.
For those of us who are not poor, we don't make much per hour. And therefore have no time for vaction or to use gadgets. Also work is fast paced. If I were dumb enough to take a three week vacation, when I got back I would be so behind, someone else would politely take my job.
It is the way of America. Either you don't have the money to afford it, or you have the money, but not the time.
Back on topic: I am busy and I need to relax, and I want movie rentals on iTunes. Like leafy says, HD quality be damned...before we talk about HD quality how about we get the rentals first. As it is now, movie rentals on iTunes are of "zero" quality.
For those of us who are not poor, we don't make much per hour. And therefore have no time for vaction or to use gadgets. Also work is fast paced. If I were dumb enough to take a three week vacation, when I got back I would be so behind, someone else would politely take my job.
It is the way of America. Either you don't have the money to afford it, or you have the money, but not the time.
Back on topic: I am busy and I need to relax, and I want movie rentals on iTunes. Like leafy says, HD quality be damned...before we talk about HD quality how about we get the rentals first. As it is now, movie rentals on iTunes are of "zero" quality.
To respond to a few things that have been brought up:
On Netflix: It is possible (and quite easy) to suspend your account for a period of time, during which there is no charge, nor any movies sent out. I used that when I moved a year ago so that I wouldn't have to worry about movies being sent to my old address after I moved out.
On HD movies: Those of you who have gigantic HDTVs and
I'm all for movie rentals from the iTunes store, regardless of whether they're HD quality or not. I would still hope that HD quality becomes available within a year or two, as HD-DVD/Blu-Ray discs and players will be much more prevelant by that time, but for the time being, near-DVD quality is fine for me. My iPod dock hooked up to my old-skool television can play movies and TV from iTunes just fine.
On the subject of multiple-week vacations and world travel: I think the majority of Americans don't earn enough money to pay for what they have, let alone spend thousands on a trip around the world without going into serious debt. If money were no object, I'd probably spend a few months travelling the world with my wife. There are plenty of places we'd both love to see, and it would take a while to see them all. But we're poor (by US standards) so we don't get to even travel around to the scenic places in our own country, let alone anywhere else.
/rant
Perhaps you're right, but $2 is still an unknown. We currently have no idea what iTunes has in store in the way of rentals or the pricing model, or the quality of future videos. Since these are speculated as a per-view item and not a subscription, I'd say that $2 isn't really that substantial. I pay lots more for stuff I can't even remember.
Well, iTunes still has a way to go, but at least us poor shmucks who have not yet gone with the HDTV route can enjoy the current offerings without any real problems with image quality.
Well said. Honestly though, if you have time, you can just go to the library and rent dvds for free. I find that most city and uni libraries have an excellent selection.
curious
If 480p movies were $3 and 720p were $4, and you had a 720p TV, how many of you would pay the premium for the higher resolution? How much a premium would you be willing to pay?
If 480p movies were $3 and 720p were $4, and you had a 720p TV, how many of you would pay the premium for the higher resolution? How much a premium would you be willing to pay?
High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition, High Definition ........ (said like Ballmer's "developers" address)
If I had the 720p TV, I'd probably pay extra for the higher resolution from iTunes. I'm not sure how much more, but right now it's all hypothetical and theoretical anyways, so it doesn't really matter much.
Something I just remembered as a bonus for digital delivery of content, particularly something you've purchased, not rented: If you house burns down, you only have to grab your hard drive to save all of your media. Sure, DVDs and CDs can be replaced, but how many of them are no longer in production? And how much does homeowner's or renter's insurance cover? Eh, that's probably a topic for another thread.
Uggh! Who cares, I usually watch the movie the same day I get it -- who needs 30 days?!
$2.99 per movie for 30 days works out to less than 10 cents per day. That's 90% less than the price of Redbox. I think Apple's pricing is very competitive.
It IS better, I can walk to the grocery store, and it is 1/3 the cost -- a no brainer! As a side benefit I get the exercise of walking to the store -- Apple's solution helps the fat american pigs... ;-)
Who needs an AppleTV? Who needs iTunes? Who needs music? It's not so much a matter of need, but rather want. I wouldn't mind having a 30 day rental for just a couple of bucks, as I'm an avid repeat-movie kinda guy, so for 2-3 dollars I can watch it until I'm so sick of it for a month, and I'll never care to pay for it again.
For HD movies I'd pay a few more dollars. For the [speculated] month of constant viewing, that's not bad, not bad at all.
If the quality is bumped (Or the option to rent in 720P) I'd be all over that like a fat kid on a cookie
WSJ follows up
Citing two annonymous movie execs, it seems viacom (paramount) is likin' it, and Universal is not (big surprise). See here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118152397413230778.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Citing two annonymous movie execs, it seems viacom (paramount) is likin' it, and Universal is not (big surprise). See here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118152397413230778.html?mod=googlenews_wsj