Filed under: iTS
D'Oh! The Simpsons TV makes it to iTunes
Back in 2005, TUAW conducted a poll of its readers to see what TV series they wanted to purchase through iTunes. Among the top five was The Simpsons.
The Simpsons Movie was previously available through iTunes, but it is one of the movies that has disappeared in the past few weeks. In the past couple of days, however, the main Simpsons TV series has finally made it into the iTunes lineup.
Only the eight episodes aired thus far in season 20 are uploaded in standard definition. Hopefully earlier seasons will arrive, along with high-definition once it starts. The Simpsons (link opens iTunes) can be purchased from the U.S. iTunes Store for $1.99 an episode with a season pass for $37.99.
Or, for those wanting a free alternative in the U.S., the episodes are also on Hulu and can be streamed onto Apple TV using boxee.
Thanks for the tip, Tyler!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Greenie said 9:25AM on 12-27-2008
Do they air the Simpsons in HD on tv? I haven't watched in a while but I don't remember the show even being produced in HD.
Glad to see it on iTunes regardless
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Megan Lavey said 12:16PM on 12-27-2008
I reworded the sentence to make the meaning a bit clearer. They tried with King of the Hill back in early 2007, but haven't made the full conversion as of yet (http://www.tvweek.com/news/2007/02/simpsons_hill_hd_upgrade_on_ho.php).
Simon Arch said 9:32AM on 12-27-2008
I'm not going to buy it myself (I stopped being able to enjoy the Simpsons years ago) but it's great to see more shows coming to the iTunes store.
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Tales said 9:34AM on 12-27-2008
HD? are you kidding! the show is still produced in a 4:3 aspect ratio, besides there is no point for it going HD..
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gib said 10:33AM on 12-27-2008
I am surprised Apple didn't just release a "HD" version and stretch the picture, like the way episodes look on a HDTV, and collect the extra buck for each one... No question, someone would be willing to pay that Apple Tax.
VanillaSpice said 5:39PM on 12-28-2008
*Apple* releasing a HD version? Apple does not own The Simpsons. The right to release in either SD or HD or both on iTunes, is wholly in the hands of the owners. So if they did release in HD with just scaling, then it would be the owner's tax, not Apple's.
People are just too quick to jump on meaningless and/or misleading buzzwords like "Apple Tax". If you want mindless and factless Apple-bashing then try the Engadget comments section.
mark said 10:00AM on 12-27-2008
And the insanity that is the season price continues at itunes.... I'll stick to netflix, far cheaper.
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aaron said 12:48PM on 12-27-2008
The Simpsons isn't produced in HD. It's not scheduled to be produced in HD until 2010 or so.
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Jaime O. said 12:05PM on 12-27-2008
I think the Simpsons Movie is out of iTunes because it recently came out on HBO and they tend to black out the movie on the store for a while...
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LD said 1:51PM on 12-27-2008
And with low, low prices like that the studios will virtually guarantee people seek their shows elsewhere, be it DVD or the Pirate Bay.
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mrsteveman1 said 2:48PM on 12-27-2008
Yea the Simpsons movie isn't there anymore. I'm not buying anything from iTunes store other than Apps until they stop playing games yanking movies and putting them back to placate the idiots at the TV networks.
I am not going to pay for stuff under these conditions.
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alex_dlc said 8:35PM on 12-27-2008
i think most people have seen almost every episode
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Scott said 5:51PM on 12-27-2008
Why is everyone so hooked on recommending HULU on the AppleTV using Boxee? It's a miserable viewing experience. Shouldn't we be encouraging better quality, not jittery, lo-res video from commercial television?
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Rylin said 8:11PM on 12-27-2008
It's called the me-too effect, where everyone the slightest bit unsure will blindly follow people who sound convincing (while not knowing what they're talking about).
I.e., "all" the people saying HULU is great are reinforcing the belief that mediocre (at best) quality is awesome.
Personally, I haven't tried it due to me being in Europe, but if it's anywhere near the quality (un-quality?) of Joost, then I'd say I'd LOVE to use Hulu for my everyday needs just about as much as I'd prefer listening to 64Kbps MP3s over a telephone line instead of my iPod.
For music when I'm somewhere with an internet connection, I've found my level of comfort: Spotify.
A very large catalogue (currently 2.16 million tracks), licensed through big labels and a few smaller, with more labels (including independents) being added constantly.
Streamable att (currently) Ogg Vorbis -q5 quality (very roughly comparable to a 160Kbps MP3), with higher quality most likely being somewhere on the horizon.
Cost?
Either free (listen to 30-60 seconds of ads every 20-30 minutes) or ~9 Euro per month.
For video/tv, I haven't found something that meets my needs, but I strongly doubt Hulu would be enough for me, even if it were available over here, given the low bitrates -- I mean come on, 700Kbps for video and audio combined?
Yuck!
DD said 10:07AM on 12-28-2008
I recommend people watch the "Mapple" episode this season. Particularly funny since it was their take on apple drones and "Steve Mobs"!!
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