Filed under: Macworld, Analysis / Opinion, Video, iTunes, Apple
iTunes now supports movie rentals
There is good news for HD viewers-- HD rentals will be available, but they'll cost an extra buck (so $3.99 and $4.99 for library titles and new releases. There'll be 100 HD titles starting today, and more all the time. And of course, movie rentals will be sync-able with the iPhone and iPod, or have the ability to be downloaded straight on to the revamped Apple TV. Unfortunately, we haven't heard an official resolution on the HD (720p is one of the numbers being tossed around, and that's not great for serious HD viewers), but if we get to see one of these flicks, we'll let you know.
Get out the popcorn-- it's time to rent some movies from iTunes!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dawntreader said 2:34PM on 1-15-2008
I've downloaded and installed itunes 7.6 but there are no movie rentals available. Anyone else have rentals available?
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James said 3:19PM on 1-15-2008
Rentals unavailable for me, as well. Hmm.
TMP said 7:14PM on 1-15-2008
I'm not seeing rental options neither.
Any one have any clues why not?
-fQ-
matt said 2:36PM on 1-15-2008
The iTunes update is available through Software Update, and it says that the HD resolution is 720p. It also strongly implies that you will need an Apple TV to watch HD iTunes rentals -- is this true? Anybody know? I'd much prefer to skip the ATV and just plug my MBP in when I want to watch HD rentals...
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badtzmaru said 2:36PM on 1-15-2008
Yes the software is out. But I have yet to come across a link/button to actually rent a movie! I guess it will be ready by the end of today?
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badtzmaru said 2:36PM on 1-15-2008
Same issue here dawntreader, there are no "live" rental links yet.
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codeman38 said 2:42PM on 1-15-2008
I'm curious whether these rentals are closed captioned using the captioning features built into iTunes. I have a bit of a hearing problem, and I really don't want to pay $3 to rent something and then find out I can't actually make out half of the dialogue.
Anyone downloaded a rental yet who could determine whether or not they're captioned?
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MattH said 2:51PM on 1-15-2008
My wife is deaf and her and I had a similar conversation. I buy shows and movies from itunes, but for her I buy the dvd's and then rip them, burning with the captions on so she can play them on her iPod.
I can't complain too much about Apple, iPod, iTunes or apple TV with the exception they really need to support captioning/subtitles.
codeman38 said 2:58PM on 1-15-2008
What saddens me the most is that iTunes and newer iPods already have the capability to handle closed captioning, but almost nobody's actually offering it in their videos! I can understand independent podcasters not bothering with it, but surely million-dollar Hollywood studios can afford it...
badweasel said 2:44PM on 1-15-2008
From the apple tv tech specs page:
iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels, 640 by 480 pixels, 720 by 480 pixels (anamorphic), or high-definition 720p
Doesn't sound like an HD DVD/BluRay killer to me.
Oh, and don't forget to read the footnotes:
1. Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound is not available with all HD rentals.
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AJB said 2:54PM on 1-15-2008
Apple's site says that the HD rentals come in 1280x720 resolution. This may not be BluRay resolution, but it should be good enough for most people with HDTVs. Besides, Americans are all about convenience; I'd wager that most people would rather download a 720p movie that may or may not have Dolby 5.1 sound, and play it on their TVs, than make a trip down to the local video rental shop, or watch something from Netflix on their computer monitors.
All in all, it seems like a great upgrade.
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christapher said 3:18PM on 1-15-2008
finally, a legal use for my fios service!
my question is this, can i buy rentals from the frontrow screen on my mbp? that way i can set it up with my dvi-hdmi cable and control the whole process from the couch with my remote?
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Ian said 3:37PM on 1-15-2008
My roommate was on the team that coded these updates... He just texted me that the HD rentals are 720p.
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Andrew Dick said 3:33AM on 1-29-2008
$2.99 is a buck less than TW charges for a PPV.
Subscription models don't make sense for most consumers.
I like this movie store:
http://www.buymoviesonline.biz .
No rentals, you own what you download!
koz said 3:41PM on 1-15-2008
If you read the iTunes help page, it recommends that if you plan to watch the rental on an appleTV, order it *from* the appleTV so the quality can be matched up.
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DarleenMB said 4:09PM on 1-15-2008
Well I can "rent" a movie from DishTV for the same price and it's available for instant viewing PLUS I can record it to my dvr for later viewing. I don't see the plus for this.
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koz said 6:11PM on 1-15-2008
Um, how about no need for a Dish and the $40/month (minimum) subscription?
NeilS said 5:09PM on 1-15-2008
Any news on if/when this will be available at international iTunes stores? I notice the tagline is "iTunes Movie Rentals: Now Playing Everywhere", but I don't see the same ad on the UK and Ireland iTunes pages. So I'm somewhat sceptical on the "everywhere" ... ;-)
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mr. Obsession said 5:18PM on 1-15-2008
Neil: If it makes you fell any better, read the comments above. It ain't even available in the US yet. ;-)
Blake Sobiloff said 5:25PM on 1-15-2008
I don't get Mike's parenthetical comment that "720p is one of the numbers being tossed around, and that's not great for serious HD viewers." 720p has just as much visual information as 1080i, it's just in a different format. While it's true that it's not 1080p, it's pretty challenging to visually discriminate 720p/10180i from 1080p in a double-blind test.
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