Apple to offer HD movie rentals

[greekjgg]

Originally Posted by mystiksuicide

I am as a big Blu-ray supporter as anyone here but he said RENTAL not replacing the disc. There are movies I want to see but don't want to spend $20 for so I love it.

Exactly!!

Plus, even the Fox CEO in the speech said that they realize not everyone wants to own every movie they see. Rental's is a BIG piece of the pie!!

[tilallr1]

Yeh I don't think this will come to any fruitation within the next 5 years in fact. Blu is hear to stay for some time. At least the same life span that DVD's have had. 10 years.

Until the bottleneck bandwidth issues are resolved across north america and hard drives are enormous (100's of trilobytes), I can't see this replacing Blu for a decade.

May be a good option for renters. But us purchasers need something tangible. Plus, if they try to sell their movies for the same price as Blu you can forget about it.

[UltimateFighter]

I guess the fact that the main portion of the conference was that they pushed phsyical media aside in a big way. Look at their new laptop...doesn't even have an optical drive. They didn't announce any BD stuff at all. They pushed downloads as hard as I've ever seen them, especially movies. I'm just disappointed in apple...I was looking forward to doing some BD burning on a new mac. Looks like I'll be sticking with PCs.

[RC-Bruin]

The price for the apple rentals seem pretty high to me. I can get Netflix or Blockbuster for much cheaper.

Here are some questions for someone in the know. Is the picture Blu-Ray quality? or Satellite TV quality? What kind of internet connection do I need for something like this? Is the picture going to fill up my 60in TV?

[cartier]

Originally Posted by Blubaru

Digital downloads are digital downloads. Apple has sold movies that you can keep for some time now.

Yes, but Digital downloads are not HD downloads. The only way to offer HD downloads to own is if studios agree. Apple has only sold movies at "near DVD quality".

After reading these posts it seems that many are only looking at one aspect of Apples' offerings when in reality several factors have to be considered.

1) There is a difference between owning and renting a movie
2) There is a difference between digital and HD
3) There is a difference between 720p and 1080p
4) There is a difference between compressed and uncompressed video & audio
5) There is a difference between consumer preference for physical media and downloads

Quite simply this is not in direct competition with Blu-ray and many will not be using it because it still requires another set-top box.

If you only think two dimensionally you won't stand up in a three dimensional world.

[greekjgg]

Originally Posted by RC-Bruin

The price for the apple rentals seem pretty high to me. I can get Netflix or Blockbuster for much cheaper.

Here are some questions for someone in the know. Is the picture Blu-Ray quality? or Satellite TV quality? What kind of internet connection do I need for something like this? Is the picture going to fill up my 60in TV?

Yea, maybe if Netflix ever gets anything back in stock. This issue has gotten so bad that even engadgetHD covered it yesterday.

$4.99 for a movie that you can watch NOW is not bad at all.

[CptGreedle]

Here is the fact of the industry.

Apple spearheaded the digital download music industry with iTunes and iPods. They are the #1 leader in this and do not want to be left behind when it comes to video downloads.
Apple has had videos for years on iTunes and ipods.
If they do not want to be left behind, and want to grow the technology into something worth while, they will HAVE to work on it now.

I do not expect this to make nearly as much as the music does, or DVD or BD. It can live happily side by side with BD for many years, as an alternate format for specific purposes.

Don't let it get to you. They have a lot more than just BD and digital downloads to deal with.

[mystiksuicide]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

Exactly!!

Plus, even the Fox CEO in the speech said that they realize not everyone wants to own every movie they see. Rental's is a BIG piece of the pie!!

I mean seriously folks do we want Microcrap to own that industry? Let get real here all Apple is doing is telling Microcrap "Not so fast there buddy, we have a say in the digital download world as well"

[Kairav]

Well they have AppleTV out there. They want people to buy that shi**Ahem** thing.

[RC-Bruin]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

Yea, maybe if Netflix ever gets anything back in stock. This issue has gotten so bad that even engadgetHD covered it yesterday.

$4.99 for a movie that you can watch NOW is not bad at all.

Good point. I have Blockbuster and it's pretty bad as well. You'd think with the demand so high for Blu-Ray, they'd get extra copies...

$4.99/movie is still a bit pricy to me.

[tylen01]

Come on Apple! Give us a blu-ray drive!!!!

[What'sHD]

One way to look at it is that if Apple sells 1-2M ATVs in next 2 years to people who want to use iTunes for their movie needs, it is still minor compared to 35-40M PS3s and few million BD players that will be out there by then.

Apple's intent is to sell h/w (primarily mobile devices) and to drive that, they need the content.

The home-experience is safe for physical discs for now. When downloads are the easy choice for 1080p and 7.1, I would rather apple is the one who owns the platform rather than MS. At least we know their devices will work...

[WickyWoo]

Have they become the enemy?

Were they ever not?

Seriously. Apple and MS are one and the same. Their giant corporations with proprietary boxes they want other people's content to go into becuase they own none of their own, and they want to be the gatekeeper skimming a quarter, 50 cents or more off that transaction.

[AllanUSC]

engadgetHD (and others) is reporting that Apple will be updating the Apple TV device to offer HD downloads. Once you've downloaded the movie you'll have 30 days to start watching it and once you press "play" you can keep the movie for 24 hours.

I think this MIGHT work for rentals but not for those that want to OWN their movies. What do you think?

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/15...e-living-room/

After waiting for what seems like ages, Apple has finally admitted that the Apple TV wasn't exactly a hit. Better yet, it's hitting back with the Apple TV, take 2 (same box, new firmware), which enables users to rent movies directly on their HDTVs in high-definition with full 5.1-channel Dolby surround sound. Announced today at Macworld, owners will be able to rent HD movies for $3.99 and $4.99, and there are reportedly 100 HD titles to choose from starting today. So, what's the admission price? $229 and shipping in two weeks, but best of all, existing Apple TV owners will be entitled to all the fancy extras as well courtesy of a free update that'll also ship (gratis, mind you) in a fortnight.

[spam.curitiba]

the search tool is a nifty thing.

[ground chuck]

i bet their server crashes a lot...

[Mote]

Originally Posted by ground chuck

i bet their server crashes a lot...

I bet you it doesn't.

[bda4life]

Nice annoucement from Apple, but I seriously doubt that the movies will be 1080P and inlcude a lossless audio track. The announcement does not state what sort of video quality is associated with the HD titles, but it does state DD 5.1.

I for one will stick with Blu-Ray for the 1080P and unmatched audio quality.

[miokti]

How is it different from HD on-demand?

[reiella]

Originally Posted by Mote

I bet you it doesn't.

Christmas and the day after are usually such fun days for iTunes.

I remember setting up an iPod and iTunes account on Christmas a few years back [the old 2Gs admittantly].

That was a fun exercise in cursing at apple.