2Chicks1Mac: iTunes Rentals -- Hot or Not?

I thought that Erica might be able to answer this since she develops for the iPhone, but do you think a program could ever be developed for bowling to keep stats and such? Something simple would even do.

What is missing from the iTunes rental equation? Renting TV series. As much as I like Family Guy, I am not so obsessed that I can see myself watching it more than once. Same with most TV shows. Why can't I rent a season and watch it over a month??

I've got to go with "Not", and this is as a former Apple TV owner. I defended the Apple TV pretty heavily until it became clear that Apple was sidelining it, and that many of the movies I wanted to watch (not own) were only available for purchase. I'm not going to purchase movies in that format for that price when a couple dollars more gets me a DVD, extra features, and the ability to play it anywhere.

I am now an EXTREMELY happy owner of the Roku Netflix Player. I was already a Netflix customer, and for $99 plus my regular subscription rate (nothing extra) I can watch movies from Netflix's ever-expanding "Watch Now" category on my big TV. It looks better than satellite did (for me), and it runs fast and stutter-free thanks to my 6mpbs DSL connection. I'm a fan of classics, so it has a lot of great movies for someone like me.

I rented only two movies from iTunes in the time I had my Apple TV, and both were slow to arrive, and of course they had that time-limit annoyance. My Roku box buffers faster, runs smoother, and doesn't have time limits.

If you're the type who can't wait to drop $10 on "Epic Movie" or "Meet the Spartans", then the Netflix Player probably isn't for you and you'll be better off with the Apple TV and movie purchases/rentals from iTunes, but for a film fan, Netflix continues to make their pricing structure a real bargain.

iTunes rentals is great, but: SUBTITLES! Damn you, Apple.. please allow us to turn on subtitles! Some of us have trouble hearing quiet parts of dialogue. Not having subtitles is a major bummer.

I really, really, really want to like iTunes rentals. The thing is, Netflix for me is only $9/month. I get 4-6 DVDs a month (Blu-Ray if I buy a player). I also have the Roku Netflix Player and it's pretty damn good actually after some initial hiccups when I first got it. The selection isn't great except for a lot of TV shows, which is nice.

For hit movies, I can't get them on iTunes. If I can, it's more expensive than RedBox, which is a 10 minute walk from my house. Or, if I'm lazy, I can rent from Comcast which offers HD for some things.

If Apple offered a subscription model I would be all over it. Even if it was a little more expensive than Netflix, provided it had better selection. I own an AppleTV and it mostly collects dust since there isn't much I can do with it except listen to my music. The video content is almost non-existent other than DVDs I rip myself.

I realize this is mostly the fault of the studios. They are preventing Apple from bringing hit movies to rental same-day with DVD release.

Oh well, some day they will wise up.

The naming concept for this post is so, so, so wrong on every level known to humankind.

http://digg.com/tech_news/Two_Chicks_One_Cup

And hilarious that we'd find it on an Apple blog. And the classic SNL reference rocks. My brain hurts.

What were they talking about, again?

Rentals are still not worth it for me. I can go to the local store (4 blocks away) and rent a new released for $2.99. I have an AppleTV but just use it to stream my current audio/video collection. I guess if I lived where movie rentals were $6.00 each then yes, I would get them via iTunes instead.

"2Chicks1Mac" isn't going to be a recurring feature, right?

As always, Erica rules the planet.

I just wish iTunes Rentals, or just movies and TV shows would find their way into more countries. Specifically the Netherlands which is where I live.

I rent movies regularly, and I watch them on my MacBook. But I haven't rented from iTunes yet, despite repeated attempts, because 1.) Half the time my internet is flakey, 2.) My local independent movie store has cheaper prices 2a) I can copy rented DVDs if I want ;) 3) My local independent movie store has a better selection.

I want to rent from iTunes at least *once*, but every time I try I find they don't have the movie I want to see, or they have it but it's not for rent. And either way, I can get it from my local rental shop for $2.99, and I certainly don't mind supporting local independent business.

I appreciate the convenience of iTunes and I want to start renting right from my computer, but the bottom line is that, at the very least, iTunes needs to take advantage of the long tail and acquire a much larger rental selection before I stop renting (and copying) locally. In other words, it's up to the MPAA to open up the faults.