Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iTunes rentals vs Cable

WhySoSerious

WhySoSerious

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 30, 2007
1,462
107
Dallas, TX
Currently I watch all my video content on a Verizon FIOS monthly subscription (middle package and internet comes out to be $120 each month). I was considering the pros and cons of cancelling the FIOS tv portion (keeping the $50 a month internet charge) and going strictly with iTunes rentals and Apple TV for my video content.

What are your thoughts?

-Seems the cost could be substantial in the savings department.
-I could carry shows over from iTunes to my iPhone 4
-I could get shows such as Dexter from Showtime that I normally wouldn't get on my FIOS plan (not signed up for Showtime)
-No commercials

However,

-I miss out on the sports programming if I get rid of FIOS
-I miss out on reality tv shows that are on pretty frequently (yes, some are fun to watch)
-I miss out on music television (MTV/VH1/Fuse)
-I miss out on news broadcasts
-I miss out on repeat viewings (if a show comes on TNT, I could DVR it and watch it over and over and over...where as in iTunes rental, I would have to re-rent it again to watch it)

Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts on this versus scenario and giving your pros/cons.
 
With all the reality shows on MTV/VH1, can you still call them Music Television?

anyways, iTune Rentals is not meant to be a replacement to cable, yet. All of your cons are exactly why cable isn't going anywhere anytime soon, not until the Apple TV does live streaming.

iTunes Rental (I feel) was designed for those people who don't care about owning a show, they just for some reason might have missed last weeks episode and want to catch up this week before the new episode airs (kind of like Hulu).

Also, currently only Fox and ABC have signed on, meaning if your a fan of NBC or CBS, your going to miss out on a lot of shows (for me, The Office and 30 Rock)

also consider how many shows you think you'll be renting, and do the math to see if you really save?
 
nothing beats cable/satellite

say you watch 2 shows a night, 7 nights a week...$2/day x 7 days = $14/week which is about $60/mth and then you still have no filler, couch surfing stuff. No sports, no news, no MTV like you said

keep cable and have apple TV as a filler/streamer/addition to your home theatre
 
Cynikal.Mindset said:
nothing beats cable/satellite

say you watch 2 shows a night, 7 nights a week...$2/day x 7 days = $14/week which is about $60/mth and then you still have no filler, couch surfing stuff. No sports, no news, no MTV like you said

keep cable and have apple TV as a filler/streamer/addition to your home theatre
Click to expand...

IMO, eliminate the damn filler, MTV and couch surfing stuff. It's a complete waste of time.
 
usually the more things you have in your package like telephone, internet and tv cable, then companies usually will give you a substantial discount for having 2+,3+ services w/ them, so eliminating one of them will probably increase the prices of your other services...
:apple:TV would be just a filler in my opinion as it looks right now...

Also, you will get more opinions in the appletv subforum for this question...
 
Salacion said:
IMO, eliminate the damn filler, MTV and couch surfing stuff. It's a complete waste of time.
Click to expand...

wake up on a sunday morning...turn on the telly and oh yea, I gotta find a show I wanna watch and then stream it? please, thats a waste of time when instead I can just turn on the telly, check my satellite menu and find a plethora of shows I can instantly watch and switch back and forth from if I like...oh, and then I can PVR other shows if I'm not home, I have movie channels too!!!

Apple TV is a supplement, not a replacment...unless you strictly only watch what apple tv has for you to watch at the moment
 
If you want to get rid of cable, get netflix instead of itunes rental. For $9 a month you get about 8 DVDs in the mail and unlimited streaming. Itunes is too expensive. I'd like to cut cable but I do like national news and sports. Thus I have basic cable and netflix for my movie needs. BTW why would you want to watch a movie on the tiny iphone screen? I can understand in certain situations its OK but I hope you did not plan to use it as primary watching platform.
 
I'm considering it too, but I'm well aware of the sacrafice. It's sure not a direct replacement.

But my family is contemplating a huge reduction of our TV watching time and really only focusing on 3 or 4 unique shows per season. We were talking about this before the AppleTV announcement, actually. In that case, either renting them on an Apple TV or outright buying them on iTunes on the Mac would both be cheaper than cable.

And when I say "cut back on TV" I mean that stuff that they broadcast day and night. We still love our actual, physical HDTV...we just think our time is better spent having family movie nights and having a shared family event we can all talk about afterwards instead of just mindlessly channel surfing like we do now.

So IF you're looking to:
1) Watch only a few TV shows a season
2) Watch lots of old movies from Netflix
and
3) Pay to rent a few newer movies that you want to see that aren't on Netflix yet

...then the AppleTV might be a GREAT replacement for cable. I'm thinking this is just the tool for my family.

But it's a big change and I doubt my situation applies to even 5% of the posters here. But hey, you asked, and if what I said also applies to you then you should think about it.
 
Are you forgetting that NBC and CBS are not available on the Apple TV in the first place?
 
Unless you are on the go all the time or don't watch much TV, I don't think iTunes rentals can replace Cable. The $0.99 rentals can get expensive. They are nickle and diming you to death. Let's remember, ABC and Fox shows can be free via Antenna. While it has commercials, it's still free. The $0.99 rentals are great if you are on the go (i.e. Catching a flight) but for a home solution, I think it's too expensive. You need to go with something like a Netflix model where you pay a subscription and get all you can watch.
 
FearNo1 said:
If you want to get rid of cable, get netflix instead of itunes rental. For $9 a month you get about 8 DVDs in the mail and unlimited streaming. Itunes is too expensive. I'd like to cut cable but I do like national news and sports. Thus I have basic cable and netflix for my movie needs. BTW why would you want to watch a movie on the tiny iphone screen? I can understand in certain situations its OK but I hope you did not plan to use it as primary watching platform.
Click to expand...

Now that's a great idea! Netflix and very basic cable. Good combo...I'll have to look into that. Anyone using that system currently who can comment on it?

As for the iPhone portion of your reply, I watch movies daily on my iPhone during lunch at work. I either bring a lunch or purchase a lunch and watch about 25 minutes of a movie. So, it will take me roughly 3 or 4 days to get thru an entire movie if I follow that pattern each day. Sometimes I supplement my viewing time by watching when i'm at the gym on a cardio machine as well. So, yes, my iPhone gets quite a bit of movie watching usage.
 
Small White Car said:
I'm considering it too, but I'm well aware of the sacrafice. It's sure not a direct replacement.

But my family is contemplating a huge reduction of our TV watching time and really only focusing on 3 or 4 unique shows per season. We were talking about this before the AppleTV announcement, actually. In that case, either renting them on an Apple TV or outright buying them on iTunes on the Mac would both be cheaper than cable.

And when I say "cut back on TV" I mean that stuff that they broadcast day and night. We still love our actual, physical HDTV...we just think our time is better spent having family movie nights and having a shared family event we can all talk about afterwards instead of just mindlessly channel surfing like we do now.

So IF you're looking to:
1) Watch only a few TV shows a season
2) Watch lots of old movies from Netflix
and
3) Pay to rent a few newer movies that you want to see that aren't on Netflix yet

...then the AppleTV might be a GREAT replacement for cable. I'm thinking this is just the tool for my family.

But it's a big change and I doubt my situation applies to even 5% of the posters here. But hey, you asked, and if what I said also applies to you then you should think about it.
Click to expand...

I appreciate your post! The reason for my inquiry to all the message board readers is because, like you, I feel that my time could be better spent doing other things than attached to a tv (or computer/phone for that matter). I'm not trying to cut electronic entertainment drastically out of my life, but a 15% reduction in it is sure to pay healthy dividends to me and my free time.
 
Cynikal.Mindset said:
wake up on a sunday morning...turn on the telly and oh yea, I gotta find a show I wanna watch and then stream it? please, thats a waste of time when instead I can just turn on the telly, check my satellite menu and find a plethora of shows I can instantly watch and switch back and forth from if I like...oh, and then I can PVR other shows if I'm not home, I have movie channels too!!!

Apple TV is a supplement, not a replacment...unless you strictly only watch what apple tv has for you to watch at the moment
Click to expand...

Huh, I usually spend my Sunday mornings surfing or socialization.

I'm just saying dude, less television, i.e. specified television, never hurt anyone. Sure, you have a plethora of available shows to watch, a DVR, and w/e else, but all this accessibility allows indolence to prevail. But see, I'm different than you. I only care to watch television if it's actually worth while. No MTV, No Sunday morning talk shows, no reality TV, no game shows, none of it. Just some sports and a few select shows. With television, you find yourself watching crap you really don't need to; with iTunes you're forced to watch only what you want. A little restriction is never a bad thing, as it could benefit what is now a chaotic US of A. Just sayin...
 
WhySoSerious said:
I appreciate your post! The reason for my inquiry to all the message board readers is because, like you, I feel that my time could be better spent doing other things than attached to a tv (or computer/phone for that matter). I'm not trying to cut electronic entertainment drastically out of my life, but a 15% reduction in it is sure to pay healthy dividends to me and my free time.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have no problem with watching TV itself, but I'm trying to cut down on the whole "gotta have new stuff now!" mentality. My daughter's only 3 so I think there's still time to save her!

We're trying to watch more movies and TV shows on DVD. There's a ton of entertainment out there that isn't constantly interupted by pleas to buy pizza. Cable just makes it so hard to avoid. I'd rather buy Futurama on iTunes (and own it!) than see it on cable. Even with a DVR I'm constantly stopping it to watch funny ads. (They're getting good at making things that catch your eye when fast-forwarding!) Yeah, I laugh and enjoy them, but it still means they're getting into my house. I'd rather pay a little more, just to avoid them.

I mean, I'm willing to buy ad-free apps on my iPhone. That costs more but I do it anyway. I'm kind of thinking I should take that approach with my television as well.

So I don't disagree with the people saying it will cost more. I guess I'm kind of saying...I think I'm ok with the trade-off.

But like I said...it's not for everyone. I'm willing to spend a little more, but if it ended up being $200 a month I'd have to say "forget it." I'm just lucky that I don't have all that many favorite shows. So it's easier for me. (Not caring about any live TV is also a huge plus!)
 
canceling your tv subscription and living with itunes rental, is going to cut back the available inventory of tv shows.

Personally, I like the idea of turning the tv on and seeing what's on, not having to scan through a menu select a show to rent, and then wait until it downloads.
 
maflynn said:
only if he watches shows on abc and fox. He's SOL if he wants to watch anything on cbs/nbc/pbs/etc
Click to expand...

Only if you consider renting the only way to get a show.

I'm gonna be buying the whole Futurama season on iTunes no matter what hardware I own. It'll stream to the new Apple TV just fine if I ever get one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back