iTunes UK gets rentals
Apple fans across the pond have long complained about their inability to purchase or rent movies from within iTunes. Those users now have reason to celebrate (and maybe give that Apple TV some use), as movies are now available in the UK iTunes Store!According to the press release, 700 titles are available to purchase or rent, with over 100 titles available in high-definition. Some films will be available to purchase the same day as the DVD release.
When it comes to rentals, the policy seems to be pretty much the same as the US store, with one notable exception: the rental period is 48 hours. That should make LOTS of UK users happy.
Pricing is as follows:
- £6.99 for library titles
- £10.99 for new releases
- £2.49 for library rentals
- £3.49 for new release rentals
- High definition rentals will be £1 more
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Matias Singers said 8:03AM on 6-04-2008
Here is the press release:
http://www.apple.com/uk/pr/2008/06/04062008_movies.html
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Lee said 8:13AM on 6-04-2008
A lot has already been covered in other forums about the costs of the movies over DVD rentals from play.com etc etc and the face that to get HD you MUST have an Apple TV..
This is a pi$$ pore limp into the UK market. Come on guys look at the "Comedy" titles for instance
Naked Gun 33 1/3rd
Golden Child
School of Rock
Crocodile Dundee II
and it's "Top Movies" are
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Jackass Two
Zoolander
OK just like the selection of movies available I'm already bored.
Of late I have been buying music for the sheer ease of use when I want a tune and can't be bothered to search for it but with a selection like this i'll stick to getting my movies "elsewhere" .
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Chris Thomson said 8:19AM on 6-04-2008
Canada also got iTunes Movies and iTunes Movie Rentals today, too!
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Dom said 8:25AM on 6-04-2008
Those prices are simply scandalous. What a total rip-off.
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TomWBrowning said 8:34AM on 6-04-2008
For SD, yes. But £11.99 for a new release HD film (that according to Gizmodo's testing looks better than most on demand HD stuff you'd get on Sky or whatever, but admittedly not as good as Blu Ray) is actually very good.
Now if only the selection was more consistent and larger.
TomWBrowning said 8:37AM on 6-04-2008
This pricing is in fact in line more or less with the average price of DVDs these days (given the constant 3-for-£20 deals at HMV and the like).
It's the TV show pricing that needs sorting out. I am not paying 9 or so quid for a series of I'm Alan Partridge when I could pick up the DVD for 3 or 4 elsewhere.
Sam said 9:44AM on 6-04-2008
Remember that (as I understand it) in the US tax is added at the checkout, while here in Europe we're used to seeing prices with VAT (tax) already added. Apparently in the US even physical stores add on tax at the till, which I'd find terribly confusing!
So, although a $14.99 iTunes US movie works out to about £7.50 in Sterling, adding 17.5% UK VAT to that makes it £8.82. Still a far cry from the £10.99 the studios think they can get away with making Apple charge us.
Sam
aygee said 1:31PM on 6-04-2008
I looked at the Manchurian Candidate. Purchase for £6.99. Joke!
I can get a new DVD on eBay for £0.99 and only pay £1.50 to have it posted to me.
Why buy from a download service when you can get it cheaper, in a physical format, elsewhere!
Camperton said 8:27AM on 6-04-2008
Like Chris said, Canada too. No press release. Nothing on apple.ca
I guess they are trying to play to our modesty. Ahem.
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Neil said 8:30AM on 6-04-2008
Microsoft did this earlier and much better on Xbox 360. I can rent The Matrix on my Xbox 360 right now for £2.13 in SD or £3.23. You get to keep the film for up to two weeks and it expires 24 hours after you begin watching. Much cheaper, much more flexible.
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Hawkman said 1:34PM on 6-04-2008
That's actually much less flexible. But the prices are more in line with what a rental is worth to me. These are priced just about the level I'd consider, even with the convenience factored in.
Tony said 8:36AM on 6-04-2008
Rental period appears to be 30 days, not 48 hours, but even given that.. £3.49 for the simpsons movie? I did it once as an experiment.. quality is crap, and I could buy the DVD for little more than that (£4.99).
I presume the reason they're charging £10.99 for a movie is they don't actually want anyone to buy any. There's no way in hell anyone is going to pay that for a low quality download when few DVDs - even new releases - come near that price.
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TomWBrowning said 8:39AM on 6-04-2008
Two time limits in the rental period:
-Time you have to START watching the rental (30 days)
-Time you have to FINISH watching the rental once started (48 Hours)
I'm interested in seeing the quality on the HD variants. SD not so much.
As for pricing, you really think Apple decides this stuff? Four letters friend: MPAA. Even here in the UK.
martynsread said 8:51AM on 6-04-2008
Do I have to reset my Apple TV or something to see the rental titles? Or do I have to rent in iTunes then sync to the Apple TV? There's no options on Apple TV right now - I've checked for a software update but it says I'm up to date.
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martynsread said 9:54AM on 6-04-2008
Did a reset and it's there now. The question now is: is the extra £1.50 it costs me to rent I Am Legend from iTunes rather than Easycinema.com worth the reduction in waiting time for the DVD to arrive in the post and having to post it back etc...
Justin Stevens said 10:10AM on 6-04-2008
I too could not see the new menu items until I did the following:
Using your Apple Remote press and hold down the ‘Menu’ button and the menu scroll down button ‘ - ‘.
Wait for the service menu to appear, then select ‘Restart’ to reboot your Apple TV.
Once your Apple TV has restarted go back to Movies where you should find the new menu options.
Hope this helps.
PS You can probably achieve the same result by simply switching your Apple TV off and back on at the wall, however I prefer restarting hardware using built in menu options wherever possible.
EC said 8:52AM on 6-04-2008
Yay, movies on Canada iTunes as well! Finally!
$5 dollars for a rental is pretty good. Especially considering I can watch it anywhere like my iPod Touch or MacBook.
As far as buying...20 dollars is pretty ridiculous. That's near the cost of a DVD, without the extra features.
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Kelmon said 9:35AM on 6-04-2008
Drat - now I need to buy an AppleTV. Oh, and I'll also need to buy a new TV. Time to start thinking about what I can do to get the wife to agree to this...
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Barry Ward said 10:12AM on 6-04-2008
I personally don't mind the price of the rentals- not much different to popping down to Blockbusters, only without the walking. I don't think I'll be buying any films though- if I want a film to keep, I'd rather buy it on Blu-ray.
The only problem I can see with rentals is they do NOT show up on Front Row, which is a slight pain when I normally use FR when I connect my Macbook to my plasma. Strange how you can watch your bought films on it, but not the rentals. This has already been mentioned in the Apple forums with nothing resolved.
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luke said 10:50AM on 6-04-2008
We want movies in Ireland too, Apple don't forget about the other country in Europe that also speaks English and wants to watch US shows.
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