It is very possible that with the introduction of a new iPod, there could be a boost in resolution on the movie clips. Im sure Apple will provide more playable codec options too.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iTunes Movies to be sold for $9.99?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
AidenShaw said:
And I hope you save some of your money to buy leafy greens, and that you go to the dentist every 6 months, and that you get your prostate checked regularly, and that you buckle your seatbelt every time you get in a car, and that you use a bike helmet....
Come on, dude, what's with the financial counselling on a Mac fan site?
As for movies on iTunes, I'm in agreement with many here: I won't pay $10 for low resolution and no way to burn to a DVD. For that I'll just continue to do what I do now, which is to buy used DVDs from the local video rental store of the movies I want for about $8 apiece.
I think they loose all customers who don't have iPod videos by using this small size, I'd like to buy movies on the net but not in low quality. I'ld also rather rent a movie then buy it (at 500 Mb each your disk'll be filled soon) but at a lower cost of course.
(I noticed today at the iTunes Music Store a serie of ads : "pre-order, Album+Exclusive Video" of several groups. I think this'll be the first time movies'll be sold in the Belgian Music Store. Untill now we only have the movietrailers to watch.)
(I noticed today at the iTunes Music Store a serie of ads : "pre-order, Album+Exclusive Video" of several groups. I think this'll be the first time movies'll be sold in the Belgian Music Store. Untill now we only have the movietrailers to watch.)
Transcoding is the answer.
I've posted a rather lengthy opinion entry on my website about this topic, what do you guys think about this? http://thinkstupid.com/15/03/2006/28/
I've posted a rather lengthy opinion entry on my website about this topic, what do you guys think about this? http://thinkstupid.com/15/03/2006/28/
For those of you that actually think that 9.99 is a fair deal, WHAT CONTINENT DO YOU LIVE ON!!?!? I dont know about you, BUT HERE IN THE U.S.A., it doesn't take much to get great DVD movies at 9.99 or cheaper. Just look in the Target or Best Buy ads, and voila. iTunes can blow itself.
Haven't shopped for a Disney movie lately, did you? This movie is priced 9.99. Disney's movies are always more expensive as most other titles. And we don't know Apple's price point for other movies, because there aren't any on iTMS... Most people are assuming that it will be a single rate like music, but it may or it may not. We just don't know and all is speculation.mackeeper said:
mi5moav said:
Not that this is an important point, but it doesn't matter where the code is. The feature is reported to be in iTunes. Hell, by that logic, music playback is not in iTunes. Technically, since Apple doesn't yet offer any subscription based service, it isn't anywhere so you can't really say if it would be like Napster or not. I promise you this though, if they have a subscription service, the users will access it through iTunes, not directly from Quick Time (though the code may reside in the Quick Time layer used by iTunes).
More importantly, in order to gain a strong marketshare footing, you need to create a platform that is not easily moved away from. If Apple creates it's media center hub with a subscription movie seervice that allows you to experience your media from your TV and bring it with you in your iPod, they will accomplish that. If all they want to do is sell digital movies at 9.99 each, they may sell enough to make a nice profit, but they open the door to other companies to take over with their own platform. What if Microsoft uses their new ultraportable to do this. They could create or partner with a subscription movie and music service and all of a sudden they have a machine that can play movies, music and games on demand portably or on your TV as well as perform all other computing functions. They could pare this down with less computing functionality to compete pricewise with the iPod, but what really kills is that people can use it to replace HBO, Cine, Showtime, etc and THAT'S where you become entrenched. Microsoft will put this technology in with their XBox and the opportunity is lost. Not only that, but people start choosing the MS portable media player platform over the iPod and the Apple marketshare dwindles. Personally I don't think Jobs is going to play it that way (despite what we have heard so far). This is what they have been focused on for years...the time where convergence happens and the home entertainment platform that has been stable since the adoption of cable TV is revolutionized. Once again, it's more than just selling songs and movies, it is about Apple being the Microsoft of home entertainment (marketshare wise) and having the rest of the product line follow behind it.
mackeeper said:
Yeah, but you can also get great CDs for around $10 but that didn't stop iTunes Music Store from catching on, did it? And last I heard around 50% of sales from the iTMS are album sales.
MarcelV said:
Actually I recently did buy a Disney movie, and it wasn't $$$. Pirates of the Caribbean at Target for $10. Great movie!! + DVD quality + 2 disc and all the special features that make DVDs WORTH MORE THAN iTUNES' ANYDAY!
If you're talking about purchasing Disney TV shows like Alias and Lost, then it is more $$$$. Especially Alias, it's old but still $50!
milo said:
Uhh...High School Musical? What kind of gay sh*t is that?? That's right...who cares if PoTC is old. You can get someone to buy the DVD in china for extremely cheap! Point in case, there are ways to get better and cheaper digital video than having to go through Apple's monopoly.
And to compare CDs to DVDs? No way, music is much different from movies. You can't watch a movie a million times like you can listen to a song.
BugSitter said:
Thanks for the info! I was going to ask someone who has used Vongo what the reality of downloading movies is like, but it looks like you went above and beyond, I appreciate it.
Unfortunately I only have a mediocre DSL connection, and downloading 1 GB files is not something I look forward to. I suppose if they start playing after a little while (before they finish downloading) the wait wouldn't be quite so unbearable.
Thanks!
mackeeper said:
Ummm....the kind that preteens are watching 2-3 times per day. Doesn't really matter how "gay" or "sh*t" it is, all that matters is that people are watching it ....a lot. In that respect t is just like the music market. ;-)
mackeeper said:
To be honest I don't know what it is, but I do know that it's newer than POTC and hasn't been released on DVD yet.
My point is that prices usually drop on DVD's as the months and years pass. That has nothing to do with how "gay" you think any given title is.
And I didn't compare cd's to dvd's, what are you talking about?
mackeeper said:
Actually while I agree with you for most movies, HSM is a bad example because it is one of those movies that kids (especially my daughter) are watching over and over again. At $1.99 I typed as fast as I could to get to the iTunes store to buy it, but it was gone. At $9.99, I will let my daughter keep watching the copy we taped from cable...
GFLPraxis said:
That about sums up the whole issue.
Apple is probably chasing download time, not bandwidth. So they need a preference "Prompt Me for Video Quality" preference so when you click "Buy Movie" it asks does a quick speed test and then offers you:
[ Normal Quality (Download time: 24 minutes) ] [ High Quality (Download time: 56 minutes) ]
and then everybody is happy. DVD's will still sell for people who want extras, crackable DRM, etc.
iMeowbot said:
First of all, as I said, it is a movie that kids are watching over and over again right now as it just came out a few weeks ago. Secondly, it is the first full length movie and a lot of people are probably buying it out of curiosity, just to see, download time/quality, etc. Third, it was selling for $1.99 for a while, I am sure the sales numbers reflect that somewhat. Lastly, what does 93rd translate to? It's lot like it was the top seller.
iMeowbot said:
...and you point out something great here. Even if the majority of us complain about it being too expensive, or saying we wouldn't purchase it at this price. It isn't like Apple is going to lose too much money by placing this on the web, and if people have paid for it they are making profit, even if it is just a small bit.
maestro55 said:
Well on the movies program as a whole they do stand to loose a bundle. They have to pay for the data storage systems and facility and people to maintain it and to develop it. Even before it opens they will need to sell n > 0 movies to defray that cost. Not to mention that they might have a deal to sell a given ammount of movies or pay the difference in royalties.
~V
theBB said:
i've thought about this before, and i agreed with you at first. however, if there is a new ipod video released, it would make more sense to have the videos stored on the ipod, but not on your comps hdd (by default). the movies would still show up under 'videos', but they would be on the ipod, not the computer. that way, there is no wasted space. i like having my music on my computer because i listen to it all the time, but a movie i'm only going to want to watch up to 10 times in my life -- no thanks.
Phil
ps: 4"ipod video plz!