Rentals Evidence In iTunes 7.5?

[Porchland]

Well, they didn't put the strings in there just for fun.

I hope this is a feature they plan to add to the practically abandoned Apple TV.

Recall that when Apple decided to report its iPhone revenues over a 24-month period to allow it to comply with accounting rules (Sarbanes-Oxley) when adding new features to an already-sold product, it did the same for tv.

Apple will really have to beef up the library -- a lot -- for a rental service to amount to much more than a research project. Apple is going to have to get significantly more legitimacy from the studios to have any sort of movie future. So far, the iTS movie selection has consisted mostly of year-old-or-older movies the studios have tossed out to see what would happen. The answer so far is not much.

 

[Galaxius]

At the moment, Netflix has a stranglehold on the rental market (Blockbuster recently ditched they're Total Access plan) with their way of renting, get a movie the next day without going anywhere or even downloading a movie offline. If Apple could match what Netflix does but somehow can make it cheaper than $10/month for unlimited movies then they could possibly knock Netflix out, or at least grab some profit.



Also, I'm not sure how difficult it would be, but if there was HD movies of some sort people wouldn't have to pick a side and still get HD quality movies on Apple TV.

 

[BenRoethig]

A Subscription rental service similar to vongo would be nice. So would be adding the other major movie studios

 

[IzzyJG99]

If apple does a rental service I think it's just a matter of time before it implodes in on itself. All file formats that are "locked" can be unlocked and duplicated quite easily.

 

[ATimson]

Would the rentals also be region locked or finally worldwide? I don't know if it makes any difference with normal sales but i hope so.

The rentals will almost certainly be region locked as the normal sales are, due to different distributors having difference licenses in different regions of the world (as with music).

 

[GeekLawyer]

If apple does a rental service I think it's just a matter of time before it implodes in on itself. All file formats that are "locked" can be unlocked and duplicated quite easily.

Yes, and I have a friend who rips a copy of everything he rents from Netflix. We're past the point where DRM is meaningful, useful, or effective. I know the studios are the hangup, but Apple would be better off with a deal where they license the content, pay the distributor, and allow us the option of renting or buying it, depending on our needs.

 

[John Musbach]

One user has discovered that iTunes 7.5 carries resources indicative of forthcoming movie rental and video on demand functionality.



While MacRumors can certify that the strings specified are indeed new as of iTunes 7.5, the jury is still out as to whether they mean anything significant. Previous resource string discoveries have indicated native iPhone and AppleTV games, neither of which have come true (yet?).

Perhaps the most promising sign that resource strings may hold value is when iTunes 7.0.1 resources indicated increased mobile phone functionality within a couple months of the release of the iPhone (though the strings did not specifically mention the iPhone).

Nonetheless, an incident occurred in September where Apple's iTunes problem reporting system revealed movie rental options. Apple has been rumored to have been in talks with Hollywood studios in regards to an online service that would launch this fall.

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Hmm, this is a good idea. It'll definitely be interesting to see how they decide to protect the rented content from pirating.