Apple Officially Announces Their Movie Rental Plan
Filed under: Tech Stuff, Home Entertainment
As reported by Variety (and just about every tech site on the planet), Steve Jobs' keynote address at MacWorld 2008 on Tuesday morning included details on Apple's new movie rental plan. The gist of it is that Apple TV users will be able to rent and download movies from all the major Hollywood studios directly from iTunes. The details, though, are where things get squiggy.As our sister site Engadget promptly pointed out, while the firmware for Apple TV is changing, the hardware is not, so built-in limitations remain. Example: HD resolution is limited to 1,280 by 720. Also, DD 5.1 sound is not available with all HD rentals. In addition, HD movie rentals will only be available through and on the Apple TV, and the rental price only covers playing the movie on the Apple TV -- no moving it to your iPod for free.
The "new releases" rental price is $3.99 for standard-def and $4.99 for high-def; "library" titles are a dollar cheaper for each format. About 100 HD movies will be available for rental starting in February. You'll have 30 days to watch the rental, but once you start watching, you have to finish within 24 hours. New releases will not be available until 30 days after the DVD release date. Still, Apple promises "instant movie gratification" because downloading starts immediately and with standard-def movies you can start watching "in seconds."
To me, this is very much Apple's version of "On Demand" programming for cable and satellite systems. On my local system, I pay $3.99 for standard-def movies, $4.99 for high-def and $1.99 for "library" titles (older films in standard-def). The rental period of 24 hours starts immediately. In order to get that, I have to pay a monthly equipment rental fee for a cable box. With Apple TV, you pay your hardware fee up front: $229.00 (for a 40gb box) or $329.00 (for a 160gb box). If you rent a limited number of movies and don't have/want cable or satellite, this could be a good deal.
Is the idea of renting through downloading sounding any more appealing to you now? Or will you stick with an online rental service or the good old neighborhood video store?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-16-2008 @ 9:54AM
mike said...
I will stick to local rental stores or even friends or co-workers who also have Blu-Ray... 1,280 x 720 is not enough and the new menu enhancements and specials features are not available i would rather get the hard copy movie to either rent or i would just buy it
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1-16-2008 @ 5:58PM
Chris said...
Eh. Frankly I don't see the point if you already have a cable/satellite service with VOD. The 30-day hold period, IF you don't start watching it doesn't make much sense if you can essentially stream. You can buy cable boxes too instead of renting, but you still have to pay at least the basic cable charges.
Really kind of a non-starter I think.
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1-16-2008 @ 11:31AM
Adam said...
It's true, the resolution is rough. Having a screen that's 1080p capable, it bums me out to know that when I see "HD" on the lineup, it's really not going to be. I'll keep waiting...
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http://www.holytrailer.com
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1-17-2008 @ 4:24PM
Colin Correia said...
It's a great product that will do to Blockbuster what iTunes Music has done for CD sales.
For those who don't like that it's "only" 720p, first of all - LET'S GET REAL! Only a few years ago you'd kill for 720p, now you are complaining that you don't get 1080p??? Wow you're a tough bunch. Secondly, realize that most HD owners bought their sets in the last few years and while you and I may see the benefit in updating to 1080p systems (I love my 1080p projector and I'm upgrading from 720p), many people will not be using more than 720p and 1080i so the Apple TV is fine for now.
Secondly, realize that while Satellite VOD is nice, the iTunes library will eventually blow anything Satellite VOD services offer out of the water. Now you may only be into the new releases, but many film fans, myself included, love to watch the classics and the soon-to-be classics.
Finally, the studios will go 1080p on Apple TV (and Apple will have an upgrade) long before Satellite companies do because the bandwidth is easier to come by delivering via the internet. And if/when Satellite companies do offer 1080p, it will require a more expensive upgrade than will Apple TV (where I live it's over $500 for an HD Satellite Receive with a built in PVR).
I have always thought that "hard" digital copies, CD's, DVD's, Mini Disk, etc, are destined for obsolescence. While I still purchase vinyl records due to the tonal benefits of an analog recording, I have never thought CD's made any sense. You just knew that once the world went digital that everything will be delivered via digital transfer - no more material hard goods. Well CD's are really where tape was in the 80's, soon to be completely replaced by online delivery. Did Apple just kill BlueRay? Not likely, but when the Apple TV goes 1080p and the studios offer 1080p for instant rental, why would I want to shell out more money for a 1080p player that makes me drive to get my movies? If the Play Station 3 did not come with a BlueRay player, the new Apple TV would have guaranteed I never own one, because you know that soon, and for less money, Apple will announce a 1080p model.
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