“MacRumors reader mr echo received an early copy of a Family Guy DVD [Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation] intended for release January 15th and discovered an included iTunes/iPod compatible digital copy. Also reported on TUAW,” Jeff Longo reports for Mac Rumors.

“Including a digital copy on the DVD makes ripping the DVD for use with portable media players largely unnecessary, although the files are likely to contain digital rights management,” Longo reports.

“The H.264 copies reportedly require iTunes 7.6, which isn’t yet available,” Longo reports.

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Adam W." for the heads up.]

Matthew Garrahan and Kevin Allison reported for The Financial Times in late December that “Apple has signed News Corp’s 20th Century Fox studio to a new online video-on-demand service in a deal that could change the way people pay for online film content. The agreement will allow consumers to rent the latest Fox DVD releases by downloading a digital copy from Apple’s iTunes platform for a limited time, according to a person familiar with the situation.”

Expect iPod/iPhone/iTunes-compatible files on Fox DVDs, the release of iTunes 7.6, and probably iTunes video rentals and possibly a significant Apple TV software update (and/or Apple TV 2.0) at Macworld Expo. Less than week to go now…