iTunes Movies Purchased on iPad: Stream Immediately or Wait to Download First?

[pruppert]

If I rent a movie or TV show from iTunes on the iPad, am I able to stream it immediately (similar to the Apple TV) or do I have to wait until the entire file is downloaded before I can begin playing it?

I sure hope it is the former, but for some reason I doubt it is.

 

[pruppert]

Bump. Anyone know?

 

[Akme]

I bought an HD copy of Iron Man over the weekend on my iPad, and was unable to stream, I had to wait for the download to finish. Perhaps I didn't tap the right thing, or something, but my impression is that you have to wait.

 

[pruppert]

That kind of sucks. I imagine it might take some 40 minutes to download.

 

[Akme]

A lot of the HD movies are 3gb+ in size so it definitely can take a while, but, of course, it all depends on your connection speed.

 

[rorschach]

Yeah unfortunately you can't. I wish it was like the Apple TV.

 

[Silvereel]

I am going to complain to my isp, I think. There are no alternatives where I live, but I pay for pretty fast Internet, yet it's taking me 5 hours to download a two hour HD film...

 

[ClaireL]

Pity cuz podcasts on the iPad play immediately if you choose to stream it instead of downloading. I don't download my podcasts much anymore, I just watch stream them unless it's a long one.