Filed under: Macworld, iTS, iTunes
As it was keynoted, so it is done. That's right, folks, the rental feature of iTunes has been turned on (as long as you update to iTunes 7.6 that is). Sound off in the comments with your first impressions. I am about to rent the 300 to get a taste of the whole process, and I have a feeling you'll be seeing a mini-review of iTunes renting in the not too distant future.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
PK said 2:10AM on 1-16-2008
@Toto - nice catch there, LOL. Ah, shades of 2004 (new iPod photo!), or whenever it was that 4.6 came out...
I just rented Ratatouille, but I had to agree to the new iTunes Store TOS before I could proceed with my transaction. It's downloading right now (1.27 GB over 20 minutes or so), and I'll check it out on my iPhone or iMac tomorrow evening after work. Pretty painless and simple - seems like a great way to pick up a new flick when I don't want to drive to Blockbuster and when I'm not interested in any Netflix disc currently in our living room.
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John said 2:12AM on 1-16-2008
too bad my 5G iPod video won't support video rentals....
:/
Which kind of sucks, whish they had support for all video-capable ipods.
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Chris said 7:17AM on 1-16-2008
I was wondering if they'd support my 5G, I haden't heard anything.....until now *tear* Knowing me I'll only use it here and there. I still prefer my 3 for $3.00 rental store, not to mention those i keep for a week :-p.
Galley said 9:37AM on 1-16-2008
I believe we are finally seeing the reason for the authentication chips in the Apple AV cables required for displaying content on all of the current generations iPods. The movie studios probably made this a requirement to prevent illegal copying. Along the same lines, Macs do not have HDMI outputs, but the Apple TV does, so that is most likely the reason why it allows HD movie rentals, but iTunes on your computer does not.
imatt said 2:22PM on 1-16-2008
@ Galley:
There is no "authentication chip" in the new cables. That has been debunked quite a while ago. The difference is the way(signal format) the A/V is outputted and where (ie which port) on the iPod it's coming from. They did away with the headphone jack with 4 contacts and all video now comes through the dock connector.
jhn said 2:15AM on 1-16-2008
Meh. Not a single movie I would want to see, that I haven't already seen on there.
Good old Netflix has what? 80,000 titles?
Depth of catalog matters more than anything else. I would buy a Windows PC and keep it permanently attached to a TV if their Watch Now was nearly as inclusive.
Online stores, for purchase and rental, need to have a statutory license so they don't each have to cut deals with the studios.
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Zak said 12:13PM on 1-16-2008
You honestly think iTunes should have had every single movie from every major studio in stock the day it was announced? Really? Apple has agreements for movie rentals with every studio. All of them. The catalog will expand to include everything. Expecting them all to be there on day one is unrealistic. You think Netflix had 80,000 titles the day they started?
jhn said 4:55PM on 1-16-2008
Yes, iTunes should match Netflix on the day of launch. Or at least not have such a pathetic selection.
(1) On the day Netflix launched, it already had a catalog deeper than even the best video rental stores. By contrast, you can find a better selection of movies at a supermarket, than you can at iTunes.
(2) When Netflix launched, it had no competition. Blockbuster online, when it launched, had a more compelling product than did Netflix on its day of launch, and a more compelling product, in terms of selection and price, than iTunes does.
(3) The *reasons* why a particular service might not be any good are totally irrelevant to me as a consumer. An investor might be interested in the fact that some day iTunes rentals won't suck. But for me, until that day arrives, it's not a service I have any interest in.
Ben M said 2:28AM on 1-16-2008
I'm surprised to see that some of the movies are fullscreen, such as 300 and Live Free, while others (Pirates 3) are widescreen. This is for both old and new movies. I would have just assumed they would all be widescreen. Wonder if the AppleTV movies will be all widescreen. If not, don't see the AppleTV take 2 doing much better.
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John T said 2:56AM on 1-16-2008
Thoughts on what friends and family think about renting movies via iTunes that AREN'T Mac enthusiasts like ourselves?
I've mentioned it to some computer savvy friends that aren't huge Apple fans and none seem that impressed. With AppleTV it's probably worth it. But people seem to think renting for a computer or iPod/iPhone seems a bit silly.
David said 2:29AM on 1-16-2008
I rented Big Trouble in Little China (don't judge me), but it doesn't show up on my apple tv. I guess I have to wait for the update to that to.
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Adam said 6:19AM on 1-16-2008
are you kidding?! That is an AWESOME movie! I hope they put Rad up there...the best 80's bmx bike movie ever!
MILE said 5:59PM on 1-16-2008
Yeah, I also downloaded the Simpsons movie only to realize that it's not being synced to my AppleTV...! :(
Instead of placing it in the "Movies" directory, from where it would be synced, there's now a new dir called "Rented Movies" which the ATV doesn't recognize yet...
So we'll have to wait for the promised update, I'm afraid...!? Although I hate the fact that all my neat plugins will be gone after that until the gurus at awkwardTV come up with a new patch...
Andrew Sims said 2:30AM on 1-16-2008
I don't think the full store is online yet. Films like Harry Potter are still not in the store, and I don't see anywhere that lets you browse by film company. Also, Apple's website shows a picture of the store and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is one of the featured films up top.
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Brendan West said 9:23AM on 1-16-2008
Well, why advertise how few studios are on board? (Or are they all on board, I have not yet watched the keynote stream?)
D.J. said 2:31AM on 1-16-2008
Juuuuust want to point out that those of us, like myself, that skipped over AppleTV and shelled out more $$$ for a Mac mini as an entertainment center, have officially been given ye olde shaft by Apple in regards to renting HD flicks (with 5.1 support to boot).
Not happy about it. I realize the desire to want to push the AppleTV product line, but seriously... why no HD in iTunes? Whyyyyyy?
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AppleSauce said 3:08AM on 1-16-2008
The answer lies in HDCP (High Def Content Protection) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP .
AppleTV is an HDCP compliant device, so when it's paired with an HDCP compliant display (just about any HDMI enabled TV), the rental content will play at its full 720p. iTunes is not [currently] HDCP enabled [that we know of]. But after some software updates, and with the right videocard/display combo... iTunes will eventually play HDCP content too. Of course nobody but Apple Inc knows how soon that day may be.
bigphaty said 2:48PM on 1-16-2008
I'm in the same boat, and equally hacked off about it. I have my iMac hooked up to our new 46" LCD. With a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, that is now our home computer.
It's counterintuitive that by purchasing a higher end product I lose the functionality of the entry level product. People who are leading the curve on merging their computer with their home entertainment seem to prefer the "all-in" approach, as opposed to the Apple TV solution. Not just with Macs, but with the Windows Media Center too. I truly hope there is a fix for this, because I'm not interested in buying an Apple TV.
cswallow01 said 2:49AM on 1-16-2008
Because HD Video going straight into the Apple TV is most likley secure enough to passify the studios since they're higher quality encodes of the movie that cannot be manipulated (or hacked cracked and decoded) on the Apple TV, where as the iTunes versions are just DVD quality versions which could eventually be cracked hacked and decoded on the Mac desktop. So Apple TV harder to crack and MacMini easier to potentially crack. Also, I don't know if you were planning to use the Revamped Apple TV frontend on your MacMini for the same things... Front Row may not be updated for a while... Probably trying to sale Apple TV's first and formost, then they'll upgrade Front Row in Leopard. I downloaded Pirates (Rental) but it does not show up in Front Row, on my Mac... Under any menu. Even after today's update.
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codeman38 said 3:01AM on 1-16-2008
Anyone who's rented one of the movies, are they closed captioned? (iTunes - Preferences - Playback - Show closed captioning when available) I'm guessing probably not, but maybe Apple's done something surprising for once...
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