iTunes Movie Rentals Coming?

[GregA]

If you could rent these while using the AppleTV with the iTunesWiFiStore it would be fantastic...

Yes. It is possible, I guess, that the deal with Starbucks has more far reaching goals than downloading music. A pre-cached set of 1000 (or many more) movies & TV shows could allow for very fast copying to your iPod. This neatly sidesteps any problems with home internet connections not being fast enough for now (depending on where you live, what you pay, etc).

Although you could just select while in Starbucks, I think with some effort it could move well beyond this. For instance, I imagine you could set your computer's iTunes preferences for how you want to pick up your movies, but making this a simple setup might not be simple!. eg: "download here, but off peak", or "load it onto my iPod when I go to starbucks", or "load onto my laptop when I go to starbucks". (I guess you could even say "load it onto my wife's iPod when she plugs it in at her work" or "load onto this laptop but only when I connect to my work network").

 

[GregA]

Am I the only person left on the planet that doesn't like digital distribution? I for I like having a hardcopy of my content. You have backup things you download, and stamped CDs and DVDs are much more durable than any recordable media.

Ahh.. but do you really want the 'hardcopy' for something you're renting?

Downloaded materials are alot much more compressed. I want the highest quality possible.

Fair enough for the AppleTV, but the only way to watch content on an iPod is more compressed anyway.

And if Apple offers HD content on the AppleTV, it will exceed the quality of a regular DVD (not as good as BluRay or HD-DVD though!)

 

[paja]

Bring it on

What is Apple waiting for?

I would love to:

(1) be able to rent a movie at $2.99 for that instant gratification. We absolutely loathe going to the local move theatres anymore. It's usually a lousy experience (crying babies, loudmouths and cell phones). Plus it's become exspensive as h&ll.

(2) give me the option of buying the DVD and have it shipped to me (at a competative price of course).

(3) I would also consider a monthly subscription of $9.99 for viewing 4 movies per month.

Do it already!
___________________________________________
MBP 2.0GHz / iPhone / TV / EyeTV 250 Plus

 

[72930]

The internet (on the whole) is made for 1MB and 2MB internet. Its a pity, because I would gladly buy of iTunes if the quality was at least closer to HD than SD, and its feasible in many places outside of the US...

 

[GeekLawyer]

(2) give me the option of buying the DVD and have it shipped to me (at a competative price of course).

I completely agree with your other points. However, there is no circumstance in which I could imagine Apple ever selling hard entertainment media. I would say they only begrudgingly still sell software on DVD in Apple stores. After (nearly) perfecting the iTS concept which bypasses atoms in favor of bits, it would be a severe regression to press and send physical media through the mail.

The days of those long thin DVD slots on our Macs are numbered. Just have a look at your TV. The future is about bits and bytes, not pieces of plastic.

 

[iSlicer]

Warning

(there was no great place to post this)

Just a warning to early adopters... Chances are that they will update the new iPod touch some time within the space of 12 months. Maybe they will update twice. God, who knows, three times? (that's crazy) But you get my point. Don't complain if in a few months there is a 32GB version. Wow, could there even be a HDD version? I mean, it is coming, so be prepared. DON'T complain if you are soon to be out of date, because you know what... It is going to happen.

That is the end of my rant.

 

[Curtis72]

Exactly

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.

Number fits me perfectly. I have downloaded free stuff and a movie just to test out the download speed (the test case I had $10 bucks to burn).

So beyond the free stuff
1) Full season of an Anime series
2) Two episodes of My Name is Earl since my DVR screwed the recording up
3) Deathrace 2000 (the test case)
4) 7 music videos

If Apple wants me to download more iTunes besides, Audio they will need offer a reasonable price, offer it in 720p when possible, and add a movie rental service. Deathrace 2000 was a quirky 1970's B-Movie that I found entertaining but I don't need to "own" it.

 

[jecapaga]

I would definitely enjoy this if the resolution was better than what is current. Would be great to just get a movie with a couple clicks, watch it and be done without leaving the house and not owning it. I would finally start to use my apple tv beyond streaming photos and music.

 

[rkelez]

Quality

The internet (on the whole) is made for 1MB and 2MB internet. Its a pity, because I would gladly buy of iTunes if the quality was at least closer to HD than SD, and its feasible in many places outside of the US...

I have a 6 mb down which isn't common but the avg is a 1.5 mb dsl line people would start their download with. I would assume a couple minutes for my stuff to start and maybe 20 for someone elses movie to start? This is assuming a 720p film probably 4~5 mb. That is very reasonable i believe.

As for that unlimited plan. I would think of it as an access plan for a fee. Meaning for 20~30 a month, I have access to all itms movies whenever. I don't care how much i use it just wow, that would be awesome for when the boys or girlfriend is over and you can say what you want to watch, heres the list. It would be a great library to access. For the multi device users how bout 25 goes to 30 a month and you get 2 devices you can grab stuff for.

Maybe its just me but i would be interested in these lines for tv content as well. I canceled my dish subscription as i watched a lot less tv. I do like a few shows though and would be interested in the itunes model of movies were dreaming of with the addition of tv. So as i said we pay say 25 for movies right, unlimited monthly access, all movies. How about 50 monthly to throw tv in there too? This would also add heroes, lost, and other nicer shows with an HD option, but basically im just thinking of a flat fee for full monthly movie and tv access in HD (where possible of course). You could que up a bunch of stuff i guess if you want to using itunes or just stream when u want to watch. Just on demand done nice.

 

[rkelez]

Quality

The internet (on the whole) is made for 1MB and 2MB internet. Its a pity, because I would gladly buy of iTunes if the quality was at least closer to HD than SD, and its feasible in many places outside of the US...

I have a 6 mb down which isn't common but the avg is a 1.5 mb dsl line people would start their download with. I would assume a couple minutes for my stuff to start and maybe 20 for someone elses movie to start? This is assuming a 720p film probably 4~5 mb. That is very reasonable i believe.

As for that unlimited plan. I would think of it as an access plan for a fee. Meaning for 20~30 a month, I have access to all itms movies whenever. I don't care how much i use it just wow, that would be awesome for when the boys or girlfriend is over and you can say what you want to watch, heres the list. It would be a great library to access. For the multi device users how bout 25 goes to 30 a month and you get 2 devices you can grab stuff for.

Maybe its just me but i would be interested in these lines for tv content as well. I canceled my dish subscription as i watched a lot less tv. I do like a few shows though and would be interested in the itunes model of movies were dreaming of with the addition of tv. So as i said we pay say 25 for movies right, unlimited monthly access, all movies. How about 50 monthly to throw tv in there too? This would also add heroes, lost, and other nicer shows with an HD option, but basically im just thinking of a flat fee for full monthly movie and tv access in HD (where possible of course). You could que up a bunch of stuff i guess if you want to using itunes or just stream when u want to watch. Just on demand done nice. 160gb for those people who que a lot and 40 for streamers like me. That appeal to others or just my dream? What price would be good for that? 40~50 and heres my visa. i mean directv or dish are about that maybe 70 but this would be on demand and I think a lot more appealing.
Sports would be an x factor but that's what your non techie friends house is for. Is there comprable way apple could offer a live sports event stream? I know you can watch at NFL or NBA.com but those are streams of about 320x240.
Im pretty sure the tv thing isnt gonna happen just because lost and more popular shows wouldnt really be able to stand out sales wise with the subscription but maybe, isnt that how current cable works or is that all from commercials. I'm getter way too expectant now of something that probably won't come out for a while, where's my cave to hibernate awaiting an announcement.

 

[mrgreen4242]

This is great, although I hope they come out with a rental option for TV shows also. Drop the price to .99 for a 3 month unlimited viewing for tv shows and it gets real interesting.

You can BUY the show for 99cents, so I'm not sure what you are asking for? I'd like to see a method to bulk rent episodes, though. Pay $20 a month for the ability to watch 30 to 40 episodes that month (you could watch an episode more than once, and if you watched it again next month it would come out of your total for that month as well). You could get close to cutting the cable cord with that kind of system.

I agree. Apple has a real opportunity here to put an end to the format wars. Downloadable HD movie rentals is only a matter of time anyway. And it's the killer ap for Apple TV.

Just imagine you're spending a day in the park when you decide you want to watch True Lies when you get home. You just whip out your iPhone and program your Apple TV to start downloading the movie. When you get home, you fire up your Apple TV and start watching in 1080p. No more DVDs, HD-DVDs, Blu-Ray, Netflix or Blockbuster. In one swoop could come right out and be a real game changer.

You can do this with Amazon Unboxed on TiVo right now. I can pick a movie I want to rent while I'm at work, or anywhere I have web access (an iPod Touch would work fine) and have it ready for viewing when I get home. The service is decent, and there's definitely room for improvement in the UI and integration that Apple could make, but it's not like they're the first to do this... I don't need to imagine doing this - I'm already doing it.

I really wish Apple had partnered with TiVo rather than develop the AppleTV, to be honest. The TiVo hardware/software was already really nice and adding some Apple touches and iTMS integration would have been excellent.

(there was no great place to post this)

Just a warning to early adopters... Chances are that they will update the new iPod touch some time within the space of 12 months. Maybe they will update twice. God, who knows, three times? (that's crazy) But you get my point. Don't complain if in a few months there is a 32GB version. Wow, could there even be a HDD version? I mean, it is coming, so be prepared. DON'T complain if you are soon to be out of date, because you know what... It is going to happen.

That is the end of my rant.

Duh. Guess what else? If you buy an iMac now, they're going to release a new one sometime in the next year with a faster CPU, better GPU, bigger HDD and who knows what else! OMG! And if you buy a Zune, Microsoft might release a model with more storage and in HALO 3 green!!! I heard Dell has this plan to sell a bunch of computers with 2.0ghz CPUs and then start selling ones with 2.2ghz models in a month FOR THE SAME PRICE! Crazy!

Sports would be an x factor but that's what your non techie friends house is for. Is there comprable way apple could offer a live sports event stream? I know you can watch at NFL or NBA.com but those are streams of about 320x240.

Even non-live sports downloads would be great... If I could get them a day after the even is over, it would be enough for me. I would subscribe to a deal to get all of a teams games that way, commercial free, or with limited sponsorships. Personally, I'd pay to get the complete games for the Red Wings (NHL/ice hockey team for you non-Americans) and I'd also pay for a highlights/recap type package for the Tigers (baseball team, again for the non-Americans) with the option to upgrade certain games to the full version for a fee. I like to watch entire Hockey games, but I just follow baseball. I'd probably only want 720p level, though. Sports is one of those things that HD was just made for...

 

[Yvan256]

You can do this with Amazon Unboxed on TiVo right now.

Depends who you're talking to.

Amazon Unboxed = Windows-only.
TIVo = USA-only.

Granted, there's still no movies or TV shows in the Canadian iTunes Store, but it's only a matter of licensing and adding the content, the software and hardware is already in place.

High-speed access isn't an issue for most Canadians, either. I live here and I have a 5Mbps cable modem (zoom out, you'll see it's in the middle of nowhere. I have to drive an hour and a half just to reach a highway).

 

[macUser2007]

....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.

?!? If this was true for the majority of the viewers, the movie business wouldn't be a business.

With your viewing pattern, BB can charge $10 per rental and you'll still be ahead compared to a service like Netflix. But that's not the point, because I really don't think you are part of the majority of consumers.

 

[Yvan256]

?!? If this was true for the majority of the viewers, the movie business wouldn't be a business.

With your viewing pattern, BB can charge $10 per rental and you'll still be ahead compared to a service like Netflix. But that's not the point, because I really don't think you are part of the majority of consumers.

I also think that the majority of people rent 2 or 3 movies per month, maximum.

Services like Netflix are great for people like you, who watch a lot of movies every month, however that doesn't mean that most people do that.

As for the "movie business", you don't need to have the majority of users to be profitable. Look at Apple.

 

[Unspeaked]

That'd be because David Watanabe who posted the image is the developer of Acquisition

He's not just the president, he's also a client...

 

[Unspeaked]

That is the end of my rant.

And how exactly does that relate to the price of tea in China...?

 

[jhsfosho]

I used to be a blockbuster online subscriber for 5.99 a month for 2 movies (one at a time). I recently changed to netflix for 4.99 a month for 2 movies (one at a time) plus 5 hours of online viewing. If apple offered a subscription for a similar price for similar viewing, I would still have to think about changing again. Unless I could play these over my xbox 360 using xbox connect. Otherwise watching movies on my laptop isn't the same as a dvd player and tv. I know apple has cables to connect my laptop to a tv, but that is a hassle for me.

 

[KingofAwesome]

(there was no great place to post this)

Just a warning to early adopters... Chances are that they will update the new iPod touch some time within the space of 12 months. Maybe they will update twice. God, who knows, three times? (that's crazy) But you get my point. Don't complain if in a few months there is a 32GB version. Wow, could there even be a HDD version? I mean, it is coming, so be prepared. DON'T complain if you are soon to be out of date, because you know what... It is going to happen.

That is the end of my rant.

Oh lord, calm down. We know you're annoyed because you bought an iPhone when it first came out.

 

[roocka]

i-Rent

I was thinking... If apple decides to rent movies, what is stopping them from emulating the business models of both Netflix and Blockbuster online? Why wouldn't they strike a deal with the movie studios, that allows them to deliver movies immediately to the computers or i-Pods of the end user with little to no distribution costs and a monthly membership fee. You could even place a limit for how many downloads you get per month including "unlimited downloads" and price each plan accordingly. If Apple did this, it would put tremendous pressure on their competitors, especially Blockbuster due to the nature and cost of running a brick and mortar operatoin, because people who own Apple TV would essentially have "On Demand" but with a much larger catalog of movies.

They could even call it i-Putblockbusterandnetflixoutofbusiness

 

[roocka]

i-Rent

I was thinking... If apple decides to rent movies, what is stopping them from emulating the business models of both Netflix and Blockbuster online? Why wouldn't they strike a deal with the movie studios, that allows them to deliver movies immediately to the computers or i-Pods of the end user with little to no distribution costs and a monthly membership fee. You could even place a limit for how many downloads you get per month including "unlimited downloads" and price each plan accordingly. If Apple did this, it would put tremendous pressure on their competitors, especially Blockbuster due to the nature and cost of running a brick and mortar operatoin, because people who own Apple TV would essentially have "On Demand" but with a much larger catalog of movies.

They could even call it i-Putblockbusterandnetflixoutofbusiness

 

[Diode]

With my netflix I watch about 5 movies a month ... thats about the same price if you include rentals for $2.99 ... I'd be all over this and save the hassles of netflix (movie returns etc).

 

[cliffjumper68]

The only way I would do this is if there where also a complete buy solution attached to it. Rent it, if you like it then buy it for the difference in cost (2.99 minus 14.99 purchase price).

 

[cliffjumper68]

I was thinking... If apple decides to rent movies, what is stopping them from emulating the business models of both Netflix and Blockbuster online? Why wouldn't they strike a deal with the movie studios, that allows them to deliver movies immediately to the computers or i-Pods of the end user with little to no distribution costs and a monthly membership fee. You could even place a limit for how many downloads you get per month including "unlimited downloads" and price each plan accordingly. If Apple did this, it would put tremendous pressure on their competitors, especially Blockbuster due to the nature and cost of running a brick and mortar operatoin, because people who own Apple TV would essentially have "On Demand" but with a much larger catalog of movies.

They could even call it i-Putblockbusterandnetflixoutofbusiness

Considering the studios/ media companies are already chaffing at the market power of itunes I do not think they would be very cooperative.

 

[natasha69]

But will Apple pull their heads out and include *real* 5.1 digital surround sound or are we going to be stuck with some sort of weak substitute (i.e. Dolby Pro Logic)?

And I'd be thrilled with 720p rentals. If they're just 480p I may as well stick with Netflix. Which also gives me real surround sound...

uuuuuh, but dolby helped create AAC. me thinks its already there, just not in any current downloads.

 

[natasha69]

Considering the studios/ media companies are already chaffing at the market power of itunes I do not think they would be very cooperative.

why not just buy blockbuster. esp since blockbuster just bought out that internet movie rental company...

unless there is a poison pill in there saying if blockbuster is sold, all license agreements have to be renegotiated....