iTunes Movies to be sold for $9.99?

[ordin12]

nice but low res?

I love the iTunes service and use it sometimes. I buy TV shows and watch them on Ipod or TV. But for many movies, I expect higher resolution. I am buying a nice huge plasma HDTV, I can't imagine enjoying the Ipod resolution on such a large screen. Even DVD is better at that point, for a few more US$.

 

[Takeo]

Meh

I won't buy these for the same reason I don't buy music from iTunes... crappy quality. I'd rather pay $15 for a real CD with uncompressed audio that can create a soundstage and has some presence than $9.99 for an iTunes "CD" that is vastly inferior. Same with movies. You'd have to be crazy (in my mind) to pay $9.99 for a low resolution movie with no extras and no 5.1 track. If I was a frequent flyer who was on a plane every other day... I'd think about buying a video iPod and buying these movies... but otherwise... not a chance.

 

[Gasu E.]

So...for a 60-minute TV show, I can buy it for $1.99. For a 99 minute TV "movie" I pay 5 times as much?

Well, the last 39 minutes are really, really good...

 

[Gasu E.]

This is like rilly ya know ahsum?

 

[Gasu E.]

Yes, I'm devastated too. High School Musical was one of my must-see movies this year, and now I'm not sure I can afford it!

It's rilly rilly ahsum? On like my iPod?

 

[jasonbogen]

I won't buy these for the same reason I don't buy music from iTunes... crappy quality. I'd rather pay $15 for a real CD with uncompressed audio that can create a soundstage and has some presence than $9.99 for an iTunes "CD" that is vastly inferior. Same with movies. You'd have to be crazy (in my mind) to pay $9.99 for a low resolution movie with no extras and no 5.1 track. If I was a frequent flyer who was on a plane every other day... I'd think about buying a video iPod and buying these movies... but otherwise... not a chance.

You have to realize that marketing-wise you are so ridiculously in the minority. Funny thing is if people like you took a blind test, 98 % of you wouldn't even be able to pick out the uncompressed one. I love psuedo-audiophiles.

 

[reyesmac]

I would pay $9.99 for movies that are still only being shown in theaters at the time of purchase. It would save me a trip to the movies and I would still buy the DVD when it comes out if I like it that much. But $9.99 for something I can go to the store to get is pushing it. The market will straighten all this out in time.

 

[cgratti]

$9.99 is not bad. I can live with that. Just give me H.264 and 24

for a few more $ you can buy the DVD and own a hard copy....
I think it's way to expensive... $6.99 is closer to what I would spend....

 

[cgratti]

I won't buy these for the same reason I don't buy music from iTunes... crappy quality. I'd rather pay $15 for a real CD with uncompressed audio that can create a soundstage and has some presence than $9.99 for an iTunes "CD" that is vastly inferior. Same with movies. You'd have to be crazy (in my mind) to pay $9.99 for a low resolution movie with no extras and no 5.1 track. If I was a frequent flyer who was on a plane every other day... I'd think about buying a video iPod and buying these movies... but otherwise... not a chance.

I could care less about the audio quality, as long as it sound decent to me i can live with it, but I am with you on the $9.99 price for a download, I would rather pay the extra $ and buy the DVD and really own it. I am sure most people would rip it for their iPods anyway if they had the DVD.

Maybe if it was still in the theatres I may buy a few to watch it, but once it's out on DVd, I'll buy the DVD..

 

[mackeeper]

High School Musical hit the iTMS top 100 video downloads today, it's at 93. Apparently $9.99 is not an impediment to sales.

Uhhh, big sh*t...that's because there are only like 100 videos in the iTMS, and they all are lame.

 

[iMeowbot]

Third, it was selling for $1.99 for a while, I am sure the sales numbers reflect that somewhat.

Apple keep a running ranking, and over the course of today it has moved up from 93 to 35. And it's ranking that high among all the TV episodes and music videos selling at 1/5 the price. That's not just a few curious people, not at ten bucks. It's really selling.

Uhhh, big sh*t...that's because there are only like 100 videos in the iTMS, and they all are lame.

At last count they had over 3000 music videos, plus all the TV episodes.

 

[TrenchMouth]

I am going to refrain from complaining too much about this price/quality plan until it starts affecting something I actually want...

I think time will teach Apple a lesson here. I don't see $10 for a movie that is 320x240 as being a good deal. I also don't want to see people buying into a format that in all likelyhood isn't going to be the standard in a short period of time. If Apple is serious about a movie store they are going to have to offer an iPod with a bigger screen and higher resolution, so...I don't see full-length movies in the current format being too popular for very long. I'll sit this one out for a while, see what come next.

 

[1984]

Apple keep a running ranking, and over the course of today it has moved up from 93 to 35. And it's ranking that high among all the TV episodes and music videos selling at 1/5 the price. That's not just a few curious people, not at ten bucks. It's really selling.

What does ten bucks mean to a kid who got an iTunes Gift Card from mommy and daddy?

 

[iMeowbot]

What does ten bucks mean to a kid who got an iTunes Gift Card from mommy and daddy?

"You want me to gift you a video at a measly 320 x 240? Go to your room, and don't come out until it's on DVD! Hrmph!" Ain't happening. Apple and Disney know exactly what they're doing, the price is just right

 

[Tupring]

Doesn't anyone just download XviDs anymore?

 

[mackeeper]

"You want me to gift you a video at a measly 320 x 240? Go to your room, and don't come out until it's on DVD! Hrmph!" Ain't happening. Apple and Disney know exactly what they're doing, the price is just right

Uhhh...there are kids who will get slapped around. Your spoiled a s s doesn't get to determine Apple's success.

 

[InTheBand]

People outside of the forums are starting to think of Apple as we think of Microsoft. iPod is becoming a dirty word.

There is a big difference between Apple and miCrapsoft though. Apple didn't punk anybody with an inferior product. They punked everyone with a superior solution.

The combination of iPod + iTunes.

"iPod is becoming a dirty word".

Hardly. The iPod and the next "digital lifestyle devices" and their accompanying services that come out of Apple and it's "Pod Division" have wings that haven't even begun to flap.

apple users are what 2% of the market @ ~20 million users

Boy are you off. Mac users numbered 25+ million when OS X was launched in early '01 with a 14%[ish] installed base [Macs that were in current use at that time].

That was before [in chronological order]; the 150+ [and growing] domestic and international Apple Stores, the Apple Shops at CompUSA, the iPod, the iPod for windows, the initial switcher movement, iTunes, and now the "halo effect" and a much stronger switcher movement.

Did you want to take another guess as to what that unimportant market share number really is, or more importantly, what that installed base number is now since Macs average 2-3 times the lifespan of winBlows peecees?

The latest reports show Macs to be hovering in the 5% market share range. More than doubled it's market share in 5 years and Apple's just getting started?!

Yeah, that's not a snowball you want to be standing in front of... unless you think you can stop an avalanche.

 

[mackeeper]

There is a big difference between Apple and miCrapsoft though. Apple didn't punk anybody with an inferior product. They punked everyone with a superior solution.

The combination of iPod + iTunes.

"iPod is becoming a dirty word".

Hardly. The iPod and the next "digital lifestyle devices" and their accompanying services that come out of Apple and it's "Pod Division" have wings that haven't even begun to flap.



Boy are you off. Mac users numbered 25+ million when OS X was launched in early '01 with a 14%[ish] installed base [Macs that were in current use at that time].

That was before [in chronological order]; the 150+ [and growing] domestic and international Apple Stores, the Apple Shops at CompUSA, the iPod, the iPod for windows, the initial switcher movement, iTunes, and now the "halo effect" and a much stronger switcher movement.

Did you want to take another guess as to what that unimportant market share number really is, or more importantly, what that installed base number is now since Macs average 2-3 times the lifespan of winBlows peecees?

The latest reports show Macs to be hovering in the 5% market share range. More than doubled it's market share in 5 years and Apple's just getting started?!

Yeah, that's not a snowball you want to be standing in front of... unless you think you can stop an avalanche.

I walk into my university library and I see at least 20% of the people using their Apple laptops in most places. It's beautiful. I am always tempted to use iChat's bonjour there to meet ladies but that's kind of creepy...

 

[ImAlwaysRight]

... When I have friends over, instead of going to my local video store i would just charge $2 to the old credit card and start watching.

My friends would laugh at me if I invited them over to see a 320 x 240 resolution movie.

 

[contoursvt]

9.99 for a low res movie is crap. $2 is more like it. I can go to bestbuy and pay the same for some older DVD's plus I dont have to use up my bandwidth to do it.

 

[PixelBoy]

Apple had it right the first time

I first saw the news about the movie at $1.99 and though "Hey, Apple got it right finally, that's the right price for 320x240 full-length movie."

Then I saw the $9.99 correction... and thought "Steve's been spending too much time smoking the opium bong he got in India me thinks!!"

$1.99 is appropriate for 320x240.
$2.99 would be right for 640x480 (with 5.1 audio)
$3.99 would be right for 1280x720p. (with 5.1 audio)

Anything more is rediculous. I can go rent a new release on DVD for around $3, and go see it in the theater for $7. Why would I pay $10 for something that looks like an animated postage stamp and has no surround audio or special features? I wouldn't! I won't!

Even TV shows are too much (music vids too, remember they used to be free). $1.99 would be ok if they were at least 640x480, ideally that $2 would buy me 720p. Otherwise I'll just go buy the season box set at Costco and when I'm done it'll get passed around the family and friends.

If Apple wants to do this right, they need to offer something I can't get any other way. Right now that would be HD movies. I'm not going to support BlueRay or HD-DVD because of the way it downrezzes video on non-HDCP outputs. With over 3 million HD sets that use non-HDCP inputs, this is a crime. But I still want to see movies in HD. Apple could do this. $10 bucks for 320x240... LOL... For the cost of 5 animated postage stamps I'd much rather sign up for city-league softball and play outside all Summer thank you very much.

 

[weldon]

$1.99 is appropriate for 320x240.
$2.99 would be right for 640x480 (with 5.1 audio)
$3.99 would be right for 1280x720p. (with 5.1 audio)

Anything more is rediculous. I can go rent a new release on DVD for around $3, and go see it in the theater for $7.

Your prices are too optimistic and your comparisons don't hold up because you need to compare the costs for purchasing content, not renting or seeing a single performance. You need to consider that you can buy the DVD for $10-20 depending on where it is in the release cycle. I would agree that $9.99 might still be too much for 320x240. I think a more reasonable scale would be...

$5.99 for 320x240
$9.99 for 640x480 (with 5.1 audio)
$19.99 for 1920x1080 (with 5.1 audio)

Since blu-ray and HD-DVD will likely be $25-$30 at first and will include extras, I think $20 for the download of the movie only is fair.

 

[weldon]

I'm not going to support BlueRay or HD-DVD because of the way it downrezzes video on non-HDCP outputs. With over 3 million HD sets that use non-HDCP inputs, this is a crime.

Sony has said that they won't use the ICP (image constraint token) to downrez in the early releases. They may require it eventually, but they have said they don't want to lose all the people that don't have analog-only sets. We'll see what happens. As an owner of an HD set with only component inputs and no digital inputs whatsoever, I'm hoping that this is true.

 

[mi5moav]

Well, it doesn't matter what any of you little girls say, because Highschool Musical is now in the top 10!!! and at 5x the price of most other videos... If I make 80k a year what is 10 bucks here and there... I might buy 5 or 6 movies a year from itunes... 80 bucks is like .1% of my salary big whoopdeedoooo. Plus, i would rather spend 20 bucks on a so so quality that my little girl could care less about than having to spend an hour of my time at walmart or best buy.

 

[MacQuest]

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.

High School High jumped from #93 to #5 in less than 1 1/2 days. The $1.99 price was only up for a shortwhile.

How many people will have had to have bought this movie at $9.99 to bring it within the Top 5 in such a short amount of time?

Alot.