What's with the 30 day download expiry?

[EuroChilli]

I've only just found this out, after I went to my local watering hole to use their uncapped wifi to download 60GB of movies & shows. I still only have capped internet at home, for now.

I guess I'm just curious to know their reasoning behind this, and when stuff expires, will I be able to download it again? If I want to clog up my drive with stuff, that's my problem, and as long as I'm within the free trial, or paying, why would Apple care how long I keep movies/shows?

 

[Apple_Robert]

If you are talking about rented movies / t.v. shows, I believe that that limit is set by the creators of said products. If you have purchased movie or t.v. titles you can download all of your purchases and keep them on your drive as long as you want.

 

[EuroChilli]

I'm talking about the streaming stuff on Apple TV+, like the Long Way Up, etc.

Just to re-confirm, I still don't have uncapped internet at home, although Apple seems to assume every one does. So, excessive streaming or downloading HD doesn't work for me right now.

 

[almostinsane]

The limit is there in case you cancel your subscription you can’t still access the files forever. You need to reauthenticate and prove you have a current subscription to continue to access the files. Its the same with music, you can download music in Youtube music or Spotify, but it does a license check to make sure you are still paying.

You never own the content to music or movies, just a license to play them.

 

[EuroChilli]

The limit is there in case you cancel your subscription you can’t still access the files forever. You need to reauthenticate and prove you have a current subscription to continue to access the files. Its the same with music, you can download music in Youtube music or Spotify, but it does a license check to make sure you are still paying.

You never own the content to music or movies, just a license to play them.

Thanks, I found the renewal download option under the 3 dots. I would have thought however that Apple would automatically detect if you cancel your subscription at which point anything you have downloaded would self destruct. Kinda difficult to have to re-authenticate if you have 100's or 1000's of songs and TV shows downloaded. Anyway, I now know how it works.

 

[Tsubame]

The problem doing it that way (detect a cancellation and remove the files) is you could theoretically "steal" the whole library. Download a bunch of stuff to a device, and then take the device offline before cancelling. If the device never handshook with the apple servers, they'd never know if you had an active sub or not.

By requiring the periodical reauthentication, they can guarantee they would be able to check in on your sub. I assume they figure that for most use cases, 30 days is enough to download and finish something while away from the internet. It isn't perfect in some situations, but it probably works for the majority.

 

[nickdalzell1]

This is why I buy everything instead of 'streaming' or 'the cloud'. I prefer to own my content and be able to watch it even in the apocalypse. No internet? no problem!

 

[almostinsane]

That’s only economic if you rewatch what you purchase. If you don’t then its just a waste of money.

 

[pmiles]

This is why I buy everything instead of 'streaming' or 'the cloud'. I prefer to own my content and be able to watch it even in the apocalypse. No internet? no problem!

Heh, they're making that hard to do these days. Almost everything is going streaming only.

In a nutshell, they got you to pay for the ticket at the theater, then buy the VHS tape, then buy the DVD, then buy the Blu-Ray... now they're getting you to buy into tiers of streaming... 1080p... 4K... 8K. We've *owned* that damn movie 10 times over and yet we are still paying for it. If you were super geeky, you also got it on Laser Disc and Beta along the way!

 

[nickdalzell1]

That’s only economic if you rewatch what you purchase. If you don’t then its just a waste of money.

That's just it--what I used to watch online via streaming (or audibly via music) has been roughly the same--classic TV shows, movies, (basically my DVD collection that got burned in the fire ~ 2009) and mostly 80s music. I've had the music for ages, basically what was cassette I've bought over time since the Napster era to the modern age with Amazon MP3. I got over 1,000 songs on an SD card, and possibly hundreds of movies, and a few dozen complete series available either via Plex, or iTunes (downloaded locally) or via Google Play (also backed up locally.).

 

[nickdalzell1]

Heh, they're making that hard to do these days. Almost everything is going streaming only.

In a nutshell, they got you to pay for the ticket at the theater, then buy the VHS tape, then buy the DVD, then buy the Blu-Ray... now they're getting you to buy into tiers of streaming... 1080p... 4K... 8K. We've *owned* that damn movie 10 times over and yet we are still paying for it. If you were super geeky, you also got it on Laser Disc and Beta along the way!

That's all well and good until the streaming services delete the things you love (Cold Case **cough**) and don't allow it to be purchased. I can't even get SeaQuest DSV anywhere streaming either by paying for it or streaming via a subscription. Netflix got rid of it and that was that. Also kinda nice to have the ability to watch your stuff if your internet goes down for days (happened last fall!)

There's a few shows that I adore from my teen years or earlier that can't be streamed or purchased via iTunes, Amazon Prime, or Google Play:

1. Cold Case (starring Kathryn Morris, not to be confused with the Canadian show Cold Case Files)

2. SeaQuest DSV

3. Amazing Stories (the original, not the darned reboot!)

4. Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda (I got Season 2 on Google Play, Season 1 on DVD, but I can't purchase seasons 3 or 4 for some reason)

5. Pokemon 4-ever (great movie, can't be had!)

That's just five. Also, I archive my favorite YouTubers as well, since a lot have been 'purged' (such as Josh Jepson's Yoshi's Island playthrough from years ago)

 

[pmiles]

That's all well and good until the streaming services delete the things you love (Cold Case **cough**) and don't allow it to be purchased. I can't even get SeaQuest DSV anywhere streaming either by paying for it or streaming via a subscription. Netflix got rid of it and that was that. Also kinda nice to have the ability to watch your stuff if your internet goes down for days (happened last fall!)

There's a few shows that I adore from my teen years or earlier that can't be streamed or purchased via iTunes, Amazon Prime, or Google Play:

1. Cold Case (starring Kathryn Morris, not to be confused with the Canadian show Cold Case Files)

2. SeaQuest DSV

3. Amazing Stories (the original, not the darned reboot!)

4. Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda (I got Season 2 on Google Play, Season 1 on DVD, but I can't purchase seasons 3 or 4 for some reason)

5. Pokemon 4-ever (great movie, can't be had!)

That's just five. Also, I archive my favorite YouTubers as well, since a lot have been 'purged' (such as Josh Jepson's Yoshi's Island playthrough from years ago)

I hear you... I'm a Looney Tunes fan of the Golden Era. Warner Bros. was a lot like Disney... cleverly releasing their content in such a way as to basically make you buy it again and again to get the remastered version or that one cartoon that just so happens to only be on this new DVD along with repeats found on a host of others. Given the nature of the content (politically incorrect and overall age), the likelihood that the content will be around for much longer is diminishing. So if I want that piece of American History to watch tomorrow or the next day, I have to be the architect of it's archival because no one from this generation likely knows it even exists.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I would bank on the digital copy of Dumbo having been edited to heck and back given the stereotype of the crows being very obsolete and extremely politically incorrect today!

Heck, even my VHS copy of Bambi from the '80s was edited to remove this scene:



I definitely remember it growing up!

That said, there's tons of classic content that never gets old. Green Acres never gets old, neither does I Love Lucy, or Tom & Jerry. As a child, my great grandfather pretty much raised me with his values, and me and him were extremely close. I got so used to classic content at his house that I know a lot of actors that someone my age shouldn't even be aware of. People look at me like I had two heads when I thought the "Kardashians" were misspellings of "Cardassians" from Star Trek! He's also where I get my curmudgenony attitude, resistance to change, and respect for traditions!

 

[almostinsane]

That's all well and good until the streaming services delete the things you love (Cold Case **cough**) and don't allow it to be purchased. I can't even get SeaQuest DSV anywhere streaming either by paying for it or streaming via a subscription. Netflix got rid of it and that was that. Also kinda nice to have the ability to watch your stuff if your internet goes down for days (happened last fall!)

There's a few shows that I adore from my teen years or earlier that can't be streamed or purchased via iTunes, Amazon Prime, or Google Play:

1. Cold Case (starring Kathryn Morris, not to be confused with the Canadian show Cold Case Files)

2. SeaQuest DSV

3. Amazing Stories (the original, not the darned reboot!)

4. Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda (I got Season 2 on Google Play, Season 1 on DVD, but I can't purchase seasons 3 or 4 for some reason)

5. Pokemon 4-ever (great movie, can't be had!)

That's just five. Also, I archive my favorite YouTubers as well, since a lot have been 'purged' (such as Josh Jepson's Yoshi's Island playthrough from years ago)

I did a quick Google search and the first 3 are availble to purchase or stream Via Peacock, Roku, or something else. It may have been a few months or a year since you looked, and like u said, companies add and remove content all the time, but its there now. Stream and rip it if you want it perpetually.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Cold Case is available for streaming only via Roku, unfortunately that's if you enjoy ads all over the place, and no ability to purchase. Never heard of Peacock.

I'd rather purchase if possible, since I hate to start a series and not be able to finish it because it's gone before I made it to the end.

I've checked Amazon Video, Vudu, Tubi, Walmart, iTunes, Google Play, but there ain't no sign of that last Pokemon movie, Cold Case, or SeaQuest DSV. Not even a DVD release or VHS of Cold Case. I'm still convinced that show is unobtainable which is a crying shame. It was a CBS show, you'd think it'd be on Paramount+ but it's not (I have a subscription to that) Although they do carry Cold Case Files which is not even the same show (and isn't even CBS produced!)

It was a few weeks ago I looked at every service I could purchase from, but I'm still either geo-restricted or it's not available. I am NOT going to use Pirate Bay. Been there, done that. I don't like doing illegal anything. I'm not that desperate.

 

[pmiles]

Cold Case is available for streaming only via Roku, unfortunately that's if you enjoy ads all over the place, and no ability to purchase. Never heard of Peacock.

I'd rather purchase if possible, since I hate to start a series and not be able to finish it because it's gone before I made it to the end.

I've checked Amazon Video, Vudu, Tubi, Walmart, iTunes, Google Play, but there ain't no sign of that last Pokemon movie, Cold Case, or SeaQuest DSV. Not even a DVD release or VHS of Cold Case. I'm still convinced that show is unobtainable which is a crying shame. It was a CBS show, you'd think it'd be on Paramount+ but it's not (I have a subscription to that) Although they do carry Cold Case Files which is not even the same show (and isn't even CBS produced!)

It was a few weeks ago I looked at every service I could purchase from, but I'm still either geo-restricted or it's not available. I am NOT going to use Pirate Bay. Been there, done that. I don't like doing illegal anything. I'm not that desperate.

Peacock is NBC's foray into streaming content. It's owned by Comcast. Not really a player in the game as of yet.

I found all the shows you are looking for on DVD quite easily. Are you not located in the U.S.? Try just doing a google search with the base title and DVD in the search field. If you are region locked, consider getting a DVD drive for your computer or a DVD player that is not region-locked. That would allow you to play DVDs from regions other than your own.

I would not recommend purchasing any movie or tv series from places like Apple and the like. Their content is DRM protected, which means you can't play the stuff you buy on any device other than what it was packaged for. On top of that, if the storefront no longer offers said title for whatever reason, it may outright disappear from your library or become unplayable. Apple is notorious for this.

Buy it on disc, rip it and then you have a master from which to convert it to a wide variety of formats. I recommend a lossless format such as MKV. Once you convert a title to a compressed format, you can never get back to the original version. This is only really a problem should you want to transcode it to yet another format.

 

[nickdalzell1]

There are no official DVDs of Cold Case (I am in the U.S.) They never made a DVD or VHS set. The reason the show is unobtainable has something to do with how the show has music in the beginning and the end; tons of unresolved licensing issues. There are bootlegs but you get the same crappy quality as attempting to pirate it online. Keep in mind the show is Cold Case, not Cold Case Files. The two are not even alike. One is available but not the other. I am strictly talking about the CBS show Cold Case, with Kathryn Morris. Each episode starts out in the past, showing a crime in progress, with period-correct music, even going to black and white if far enough in the past, then it cuts to the present, they finally solve the crime, find the one responsible, then you hear more period-accurate music with the victim's ghost appearing at the end. Unlike other crime dramas such as CSI or NCIS or Bones, it is a unique format and very addictive.

My 65" TV in the living room has an Apple TV connected to it, and if you purchase content and it somehow vanishes from say iTunes or the App Store, it remains in your 'purchased list' and can still be played. Same goes for Amazon purchases and Google Play purchases (can access all of 'em). I got apps on my (now retired) iPhone 6S that were pulled from the App Store back in 2012--only possible to install them via the 'purchased' tab, which is intriguing to look at, with games such as ForestVille (long dead, sadly, even on 'supported' hardware since Zynga killed the servers--another nail in the 'I refuse to use the cloud' coffin) among others.

I certainly won't be doing Apple Arcade or Google Stadia however. I always purchase my games as well. Never know if your internet might go out for days or weeks.