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iTunes Movie Rentals Coming?
- Thread starter dan-o-mac
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Not a bad idea for movies, but not for music. However I don't think the media industries will take to this idea, they seem to be leaving Apple for their own distribution methods, this will create a fragmented digital media world full of problems and DRM.
Wouldn't Apple just have to include the date of the rental in the DRM that is already included with movies now so when you play the movie iTunes checks the date to see if you are still eligible to watch it? I know some people would screw around with the date to bypass this check, but most people would use it as it is intended.
Movie rental for $3 seems reasonable - though I do wonder whether Apple should allow new releases to be more expensive to match Video store standards...
I'd also say $1 for TV show rental is too much, though I'm not sure. I know that when a studio sells a show to a TV channel they get paid far far less per viewer than $1... and I'm a firm believer in "halve the price, triple your customers".
AppleTV is restricted to 720p and 5Mbps. Even if Apple can somehow make 1080p work, they can't go beyond the 5Mbps... and at that bitrate we're better off sticking to 720p. Hell... even 960x540p would be a nice step up (even for pal users... progressive video and greater horizontal res). And Dolby Digital is quite doable AFAIK.
Remember also that BluRay and HD-DVD is in the order of 30Mbps, not 5Mbps... so it does have the significant edge on quality!!!
You can't offer "5 movies at a time" when there's no postal system involved. "1 movie at a time" or "10 movies at a time" would be identical in practice, since you can't watch 2 movies at once (well, most people can't).
But yes... there are 3 possible models
1) buy
2) rent
3) subscribe per month (with whatever restrictions are applied).
I'd love to see rental on AppleTV.
In Australia
This is not economically viable...in any form.
The only argumet for this would be "unlimited downloads of any content for a low monthly fee would kill piracy instantly"... but really, this is just not doable.
I just ordered a 160gb apple tv
Okay... If all of this happens - both the rental service and the access to the itunes music store- will it be a simple software upgrade or a whole new unit...
I just ordered a 160gb
tv and might want to take it back if I would have to purchase another one to get these services...
Okay... If all of this happens - both the rental service and the access to the itunes music store- will it be a simple software upgrade or a whole new unit...
I just ordered a 160gb
tv and might want to take it back if I would have to purchase another one to get these services...Okay... If all of this happens - both the rental service and the access to the itunes music store- will it be a simple software upgrade or a whole new unit...
I just ordered a 160gb
The
TV runs OS X, and as such can easily be updated by Apple for such things.Don't forget they keep modifying the DRM for iTunes and my old 3rd generation iPod is still working fine with songs I buy, I just need to update the firmware when an update is available.
Neither. A rental system would presumably be built under new licencing agreements. While Netflix offers around 85,000 movies for DVD rental, they offer around 5,000 for download (I think). Apple raises the blood pressure of Movie executives more than Netflix does, but it's realistic to figure on a similar target number of potentially downloadable movies. Although it may just start with the latest from Disney.
Probably a very limited set at first and then grow over time. They did it this way with music, TV shows, and movies, (and now songs for ringtones), so I would expect the same to be true with rentals.
The content owners (music, TV, movies) are a pretty stupid bunch who, as far as I can tell, hate their customers. They have to be dragged kicking and screaming to good decisions.
The
I bought the
TV when it first came out, and I absolutely love it. But... I do feel it is a little under powered, and I am concerned with its ability to keep up with 720p HD content (including keeping the audio synced) with lots of movement on the screen.Waiting for an upgraded CPU would be the only reason I would recommend someone delay an
TV purchase. Software, like you say, can easily be updated.What I would love for Apple to do is provide a "buy hard copy" button for music, TV, and movies. If I watch a movie, TV show, or listen to a song and *really* like it, I would like to push a button and have the physical media mailed to me for a discount.
As I understand it, apple tv doesn't output 5.1 dolby audio, correct? Until that's resolved, I don't care if they offer movie rentals in 720p. I have a home theater setup in the living room and won't cripple it to watch DVD or HD movies without dolby surround.
It's a nice option if you want to rent movies for your ipod or iphone, so I'm interested in movie rentals for that only. But for apple tv, that's another story.
If I'm wrong, hey, I'm getting that iPhone $100 credit soon...
It's a nice option if you want to rent movies for your ipod or iphone, so I'm interested in movie rentals for that only. But for apple tv, that's another story.
If I'm wrong, hey, I'm getting that iPhone $100 credit soon...
I was wondering earlier in the week about two things:
1) Why no Wi-Fi store for AppleTV?
and
2) Why didn't iTunes become iTunes 8.0 instead of 7.4 (the fall is usually when iTunes becomes the next whole number, at least for the last couple years. 7.X is a year old now)
I guess we might have an answer now. The announcement I would guess is coming when the studios sign the contracts
As the poster 'csdb' posted in 9to5mac today, let's not forget the the litigation between BURST and Apple, such case may slow the possible release of rented content.
I hope 'csdb' dosn't mind but I'm quoting him here: "One more very important thing is keeping APPLE from releasing the Movie rental service. It is the BURST/APPLE current and on-going litigation. Some of you might know that Apple is being sued by BURST for unlawful usage of FTRT (Faster Than Real TIME) transfert technology" ... "So far the "Jury is out" on who is right and who is wrong. However, several key milestones in the trial are approaching fast and within the next few weeks we should know in which directions the scales are tilting".
I hope 'csdb' dosn't mind but I'm quoting him here: "One more very important thing is keeping APPLE from releasing the Movie rental service. It is the BURST/APPLE current and on-going litigation. Some of you might know that Apple is being sued by BURST for unlawful usage of FTRT (Faster Than Real TIME) transfert technology" ... "So far the "Jury is out" on who is right and who is wrong. However, several key milestones in the trial are approaching fast and within the next few weeks we should know in which directions the scales are tilting".
There is actually a case for wireless synching. To put it in perspective, keep in mind that my 20" iMac is in our living room and a super clean setup. It is on a glass desk with as few cables as possible. I even moved my router & cable modem to a hidden part of the house and use wireless now, since all the wires and devices sitting next to the iMac were fugly.
I can see a powered doc sitting somewhere in my house *away from the computer*. The doc would still charge my iPhone, yet it could sync wirelessly without being plugged into the iMac! Would save a USB port on my iMac also. And the dock could be in a more convenient place like where I usually put my keys and wallet.
I agree though, just wanting to sync from my couch with the iPhone in hand makes little to no sense.
The Apple TV does pass Dolby Pro Logic II, which embeds surround info in a stereo channel...this sounds pretty good when the reciever is set to decode it to surround...
The Apple TV also has a very powerful 7.1 Audio Decoder Chip...there has to be a reason for it...I imagine the HD downloads will have AAC 5.1...and maybe the Apple TV will decode that to Dolby or DTS on the fly...hopefully.
This Would Be Great 4 Me!
I'm hoping to get an iPod Touch soon and even on my 5g iPod this would be gr8 cause I can't even watch video on my computer besides the fact that I'm on the go a lot and don't have much time to sit down and watch a movie.
I'm hoping to get an iPod Touch soon and even on my 5g iPod this would be gr8 cause I can't even watch video on my computer
besides the fact that I'm on the go a lot and don't have much time to sit down and watch a movie.
I disagree. I think they do this kind of stuff on purpose. Their biggest asset in some ways is the rumor mill working itself up into a frenzy. "The Beat Goes On" is a perfect example of knowing The Beatles connection that most people would interpret this to mean... I think that type of stuff happens all the time. In fact, I would bet that there is a site or two that are (think) secretly ran by Apple to leak info themselves. Probably only a few people know it and there are no traces back to Apple, but I believe it's quite possible.
The biggest con they've got going is that they've got most people into believing that they don't want ANYONE to know what they're doing. It serves them well, though, when the public has a bit of the information because then they can generate all this publicity known as Mass Speculation.
It would make that device go from useful to only a few to very useful for everybody. With the file size and lack of quality and features compared to DVDs, iTunes movies never made sense to me, especially if you're going to own a large collection. The ability to download a rental for a subscription fee and watch it on any TV, computer, or iPod makes a lot of sense to me.
If movie rental from iTunes is to be successful, Apple will need to able to make use of the existing user base, which would mean a simple software update to existing units. Requiring a new unit would likely result in to small of a market to make the service profitable.Okay... If all of this happens - both the rental service and the access to the itunes music store- will it be a simple software upgrade or a whole new unit...
I just ordered a 160gb
Why download from iTunes? I know that was a rhetorical question, but I'll give you some of my own reasons...
(1) Impulse watching: You're home and don't really want to go out to Blockbuster to get something or just returned from there because they were out of the movie you wanted. You want to watch tonight not buy something from Amazon and wait a week to have it. Buy it on iTunes.
(2) iPod Media: You want the movie on your iPod, but either you don't want to "break the law" by ripping a movie from a DVD; don't know how to rip a movie; don't have the time or are too lazy to do so. Buy it on iTunes.
(3) Cheaper: You just saw a movie for sale and it was more than $10. You (a) don't care to spend more than $10 and (b) don't care about the extras. Buy it on iTunes.
(4) Miss the TV Show: These days, you can afford to be out on a Wednesday ABC "Lost" night... the next day,... buy it on iTunes.
(5) Fill in the blank: lots of reasons to download it today. Buy it on iTunes.
Sure. There's some music/movies/tv shows in our lives that we want at the highest quality. We know we'll want to experience them over and over. We want all of the extra features and want the back up. We want to rip our music at the highest possible quality.... but then there are other music/movies/tv shows that we casually want to experience or we want for our iPod.
There's a few for you.
$2.99?!!!
Back to the '80s we go, when a VHS tape cost $50 to the video store, so rentals were $3 per movie.
This is crazy. The future is in a flat-fee, Netflix-like rentals. Netflix already streams, and the latest releases I can get on a DVD, including hidef format one, in one day.
Apple has to do better, or this is another nail in the coffin of Apple TV.
Back to the '80s we go, when a VHS tape cost $50 to the video store, so rentals were $3 per movie.
This is crazy. The future is in a flat-fee, Netflix-like rentals. Netflix already streams, and the latest releases I can get on a DVD, including hidef format one, in one day.
Apple has to do better, or this is another nail in the coffin of Apple TV.
Wow - so I guess Im not part of the "future" since I watch about 1 movie a month and cancelled my Netflix because it was a rip off for my viewing patterns.
The future as I see it is a system that supports more than one narrowly defined viewing pattern. I would never pay Apple $20 a month to watch unlimited movies - why? Because I on average only watch one movie a month that I can rent from Blockbuster for $3/$4 - and this is true for the majority of consumers.
This just points out the need for a selection of pricing options. There should be a per-movie option and some sort of flat-fee option. Other options could be obvious. x rentals per month for y dollar amount, or what have you.
Two things I can't imagine renting: music and episodes of TV shows. Sure, with Netflix I rent TV shows, but it just seems different when I think about renting an episode with
TV. Which, I wonder, could be the reason that Apple wanted to reduce the per-episode cost to $.99...?