“Apple is set to break new ground with iTunes, offering movie rentals in a bid to rejuvenate that sluggish part of the otherwise boffo service,” Dade Hayes and Ben Fritz report for Variety.
“Fox and Disney will be announced as partners in a major unveiling by Apple chief Steve Jobs at the annual MacWorld confab on Jan. 14, according to studio sources,” Hayes and Fritz report.
“Apple’s two major studio partners could be joined by other distribs, perhaps Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM, which already make library titles available for purchase on iTunes. Rentals are expected to cost between $2 and $5 for a 24-hour period,” Hayes and Fritz report.
Full article here.
As expected. As we said on Wednesday, “This sounds very promising and bodes well for Apple TV, too. Assume this will include Disney, too.”
The jury’s out on the pricing and terms, however. Other reports have mentioned rental terms of 30 days for US$2.99. As usual, we’ll have to wait for Jobs’ keynote on January 15th for the full story.
24hr rentals? That’s really stupid. I give Apple more credit than that.
If they aren’t encoded in Microsoft’s WMV format and don’t play on a Zune what’s the point? Typical lock-in from the relentlessly evil copycats at Apple. This is what happens when you don’t focus on the customer or user experience and instead greedily follow the mighty dollar. Do you MAC sheep feel taken yet? You should.
I bet Microsoft will have a digital video rental system that will blow the doors off anything Apple comes up with. Like Vista trounced Leopard. See, Microsoft knows digital content rental systems like no one else. They have years of experience building a magnificent and successful music subscription service so a video-based system is a no brainer. Apple should shut the whole thing down or license WMA & WMV from Microsoft and merge I-Tunes with Zune Marketplace. It’s their only chance for survival.
Your potential. Our passion.™
I agree with “Register or Login” — I think that 24h is way too short of a time period, especially for $5. I think that $2.99 for 2 weeks would be reasonable.
OK, if this is true, I’m going to take a serious look at Apple TV (hopefully upgraded as well). This is what I’ve been waiting for.
The rental period should be AT LEAST seven days, and that’s the minimum. Fifteen to thirty days would be ideal. And the quality should be 720p. (1080p is pointless given today’s download speeds.)
hey zunie, you and Bill O’Reilly must be closely related ?
I think rentals should be $1 for my lifetime, Holographic(think Next Gen holo deck) and come with an open bar.
Anything less is just stupid.
We are talking about movie studios here-clueless idiots that are just now beginning to get a hint that digital distribution may be important for the future. $2.99 for a week seems to be in line with what movie vendors think is reasonable.
I would love to be able to purchase them also, as long as its 720P or higher and DD 5.1 sound for AppleTV and it better work with the current models.
Didn’t you just know they would?
My cable company has pay-per-view movies for $3.99 for 24 hours. So what’s the big deal. If you can’t watch it in 24 hours, don’t download it till you can.
This is a start. Things can change, so give it a chance.
You all know Apple’s rental terms will be better than 24 hours.
Come on, a little reality isn’t a bad thing.
720p at 24 fps in h264 would be the bomb. File size using h264 would be ok. Not for light but normal and high speed access. Those using the cheap (slow) light version of cable or dsl internet will have to spend more to get this going.
Knowing Apple, the initial offering may be closer to $5 for 24 h rental, but may eventually be cheaper over time.
It really depends what they are allowed to offer. Apple would probably prefer cheaper and longer terms to drive take up of their service, but the content holders would probably demand more restrictive ones for fear of hurting DVD and pay-per-view offerings.
I for one do not buy pay-per-view due to the cost. A longer term is just convenient.
FOX and Disney are not the only ones….
APPLE will announce more joining the Rental Plans for AppleTV come Jan 14th… you shall not be let down.
Its gonna be big!
OH yeah…
“SWF files, they are vulnerable to attacks in which malicious strings are injected into the legitimate code through a technique known as cross-site scripting, or XSS.”
bewarned
Apple Tv is looking better all the time.
@Zune Tang
Why does my Zune not play HD DVDs?
COS I don’t have a ZUNE!!!!! Hahahahahahahaah
Microsoft owns or partners heavily on development for HD DVD… YEAH the RED CASED DISCs (evil) like Darth Vadar’s light saber — poor Toshiba – you are working for the Dark Lord.
BluRay is a far better choice – just from that knowledge I prefer Apple choice by far. Not installing HD… and w8 to see if BluRay takes more of a LEAD.
For Apple’s service, the “rental” does not begin until the customer starts watching. The movie can even be pre-downloaded. It’s not from the point the customer walks out of Blockbusters with a DVD, and doesn’t watch it for a few days. So 24 hours is still too short, but it is reasonable to have a rental period that is shorter than one week.
It’s time to hang it up, Zune.
Doesn’t matter if you’re for real (which, if true, is really, really sad) or someone going for satire. The routine is just old.
Time for a new sctick.
ken1w is right. It won’t be a time period beginning when you download, it’ll begin when you watch. Pre-downloading is the best way, by far. Perhaps you even get a pre-download of the top five movies on your list so that you can have a choice when it comes to watching time.
Also, if you buy the movie within some period of time after renting you should get a discount.
Man, why didn’t my folks get into AAPL back in June when it was $119? They’ve just put $2 Mil into mutual funds trying to get to four in ten years. Damn. Damn damn damn.
@ Shogun
I know… When I started buying AAPL in 2000, I told my father he’d better get on board, but instead, he put his and my grandmother’s money into DELL, like his broke-r told him to. I’ve sadly watched my inheritance dwindle ever since.
I can get new releases from redbox at the grocery store up the street for $1 per night. Hard to beat that but I am sure I will on occasion rent from iTunes.
Speaking of Zune.
I have a friend whose son works at Toys R Us. He said they couldn’t sell a Zune to save their lives.
$5 for 24 hour time period? I don’t effing think so.
Hopefully, these Hanz and Franz dudes from Variety are full of shite.
Bahahaha I love you Zune Tang®!
@ChrissyOne
I just figured out why I like you so much. You pick up on complex thoughts and inferences, know how to make them and are strong in ways that are meaningful and just.
It may be TMI, but I’m on the edge of divorce with a very sweet, but very dense woman. You help me realize that my desire for intelligent and witty companionship in a woman actually is possible. (Though of course you bear no responsibility for my life decisions, just to be clear.)
BTW, 4 those of you considering, it’s a TERRIBLY painful thing. Especially when she’s sweet. Life’s tricky thing, no? Never quite what you planned. Then again, if it were just what you planned there’d be no reason to live it, I guess.
MW:analysis
@Logarithmic
What did you do?