Hey Apple: about those iTunes Rentals...

No, Apple gets it. As a matter of fact, they get everything everyone ever complains about. The driving factor is though: How will this make us money? The simple solution for them is not to have more money in YOUR pockets...duh!

No you are not unique I found myself wanting the same thing the other day after renting a couple of shows that i really liked...

I love the idea of paying a bit more after watching a rental
to keep it. I like the quality of the rentals enough to own it for maybe 10 bux total cost.

bottom line though is that the quality just isn't quite blu-ray, and since I have a PS3 and can watch em on blu..... I've been buyin movies on disc and they're way WAY better.

I do love the sheer impulse buy/ wide selection of the movie rental store that apple TV has offered us. if they gave me a way to own after renting I'd love it even more.

"Would an iTunes rent-to-own option help push you over the edge into renting?"

No. Simply put, Netflix charging one monthly rate for unlimited rentals with no proprietary hardware is still > all -- at least for me, right now.

If Apple could match the selection and cost, I would buy an AppleTV. Until then, it's just not cost efficient for me.

Bonus: I like things that are tangible and work on my schedule.

Erica,

I like the idea of some kind of discount if you rent it and decide you like it and would like to buy it. Oh and btw, Cooking Mama is an awesome game. I remember when my nieces bought it, I heard the title and thought "yeah, that sounds like a great game". Then I played it and it was actually really fun.

Hmmm... am I the only one who sees AppleTV as a future REPLACEMENT for all those DVD's on my shelves?

By my calculations, you'd have to watch a typical $20 DVD movie more than 5 times over the course of your life to make it more cost effective than simply renting it when you want to watch it. (five $4.00 rentals=$20)

So right now the ONLY reason I'm conditioned to "Have to Own" that DVD is because I want to watch it WHEN I want to watch it, and not have to drive to a video store and hope that someone else hasn't already rented it for the evening, then return it... etc. But I have to admit that MANY of the DVDs I own will NOT be watched even close to 5 times over the course of my life. I just have them because I liked them and knew I would want to watch it again... someday... and didn't want the rental store hassles.

But... AppleTV is poised to make that argument irrelevant! Past "on demand" solutions just didn't satisfy my needs, as they only offered fairly current flicks for a limited time to watch.

If AppleTV & iTunes treat movies like they do music - we are looking at a future with an always-available, complete library of every movie ever made!!! (exaggeration, but you get the idea)

The "need" to own DVD's goes out the window if I know that at ANY TIME I can watch ANY MOVIE I could ever want with a simple rental download. Then only those most "precious" of films would I bother to actually buy.

AppleTV movie selection is still just a baby (like iTunes used to be for music... anyone remember?) but if you imagine out a few years - and suddenly you have that "virtual" library of every movie you could want whenever you want it. (and can even take those 'on the road' if you like... thanks iPod!)

Personally, I'm fine letting Apple and the Studios fund the hard-drives and storage for my personal virtual library of everything. Yes, you pay a few bucks to watch a movie... but you save all that DVD $$ and storage space in your own home! :)

Think about it. Win... win!

ISn't this like getting the rental for free though? Apple and the content distributers would lose money by only selling the full movie and not the rental + movie. Remember that renting isn't technically a trial version - and you have to pay the premium.

I think this idea has legs, the problem becomes that studios release movies for rental long before they choose to sell them so you would have to purchase your rental with the knowledge that you would not have a perminent version until the studio release day. That said I think it's a fantastic idea.

I also would echo the need for an extended rental cost. I travel quite a bit for work and sometimes don't get to watch a movie I have rented (I bring my ATV on the road) - If you offered me another 30 days for an extra $1 I would gladly pay it.

Keep up the great work.

I used to think of Netflix as a sort of "free" rental. A couple years ago, I Netflixed the entire Babylon 5 series. (Best. Series. Ever.) Afterwards, I added it up, and even with me turning them around as fast as they came in (ahem, Handbrake "time-shifting").. it still cost me about 2/3 of the regular Amazon price for the entire series. A total loss since I went out and bought the disks anyway. Just saying, Netflix ain't free.

One word: Torrent