Briefly: iTunes movies confirmed for Europe by year's end

[AppleInsider]

Apple plans to start selling movies through its European iTunes Store before the end of the year, a senior Apple executive said this week.

Apple's vice president for Europe, Pascal Cagni, revealed the plans during an intervew with French language business daily Les Echos, reports Macworld UK.

Cagni also confirmed company plans to open an official Apple retail store in Paris, France "at some point."

He added Apple Europe aims to have around 70 sales outlets within larger retail stores open across the continent by the end of the year.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[monkeyastronaut]

still waiting for the LATAM iTunes Store...

[Clive At Five]

This makes sense with the iPhone release in Europe at about the same time. In fact, it makes the iPhone release actually relevant. What good is an iPhone without video content? You might as well just buy an LG Chocolate Phone.

-Clive

[lanky_nathan]

cough * CANADA * cough

[Ireland]

Finally Apple pays Europe some attention. They still need to make a push for TV Shows too though. Paris? About time. They should really start getting aggressive on the European store front though. There's no reasson why they couldn't add a store in Barcelona and Munich, and other places too (hint hint).

[waytogobuddy]

scream! cry! plead!
"canada"

[JeffDM]

I thought the Paris one was a known project.

Story dated July 2004:
http://www.ifoapplestore.com/stores/paris/index.htm

Supposedly quotes Jobs as saying Paris on 2007:
http://www.macobserver.com/article/2005/05/25.5.shtml

[caribbean_mac]

hay apple whats with the canadian apples up here

[jonharris]

iTunes films, yay!

By the way, there are lots of European iTunes Stores - plural, not singular. We're not a United States of Europe.

[SpamSandwich]

You do know there are DVDs available in Europe until then...

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Ireland

Finally Apple pays Europe some attention. They still need to make a push for TV Shows too though. Paris? About time. They should really start getting aggressive on the European store front though. There's no reasson why they couldn't add a store in Barcelona and Munich, and other places too (hint hint).

Sheesh! You don't stop.

I'm sure, as you should be, that there are good reasons why Apple isn't in these places yet.

I don't pretend to know what they are, but I'm sure that Apple does.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by jonharris

iTunes films, yay!

By the way, there are lots of European iTunes Stores - plural, not singular. We're not a United States of Europe.

That's the problem with Europe. The EEC commission seems to think that you are a United States of Europe.

You aren't even a Commonwealth, much less a Federal system, as we are here.

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by melgross

Sheesh! You don't stop.

No. I'll stop when I get my way

Originally Posted by melgross

I'm sure, as you should be, that there are good reasons why Apple isn't in these places yet. I don't pretend to know what they are, but I'm sure that Apple does.

Licensing. Kind of like drivers, it's not Apple's fault, but it still pisses people off.

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by Clive At Five

This makes sense with the iPhone release in Europe at about the same time. In fact, it makes the iPhone release actually relevant. What good is an iPhone without video content? You might as well just buy an LG Chocolate Phone.

Huh? Well I suppose it's one way of looking at it although I'd imagine the lack of 3G and a camera on the front is a much bigger kick in the bollocks for people wanting to use it for video. Perhaps they'll just buy it to use as a phone though, like most people who buy high end phones and never use the other features.

LG Chocolate Phone? You do know they're as much use as something else brown and nasty? I used one a while back. It can't even manage to save video in a standard format, it's woefully slow and short on memory.

Originally Posted by melgross

Sheesh! You don't stop.

I'm sure, as you should be, that there are good reasons why Apple isn't in these places yet.

I don't pretend to know what they are, but I'm sure that Apple does.

Neither do I but it's kind of depressing that it takes them a year or so more than the USA to sort out whatever issues they have. One might suspect they don't even start until they've sorted the USA's issues first rather than working both sides of the Atlantic in parallel. Meanwhile we've got free and pay on-demand TV from most of the TV stations now but it's ALL Windows Media only. It took some effort for the BBC to relent on their plan to use Windows Media DRM too.

Originally Posted by melgross

That's the problem with Europe. The EEC commission seems to think that you are a United States of Europe.

You mean the 'European Commission' perhaps. The EEC ended in 1992.

I wish it was more integrated though and had more clout. Then we'd perhaps not have the stupid single country distribution and artists rights agreements that have seemingly made it hard for Apple to offer one EU wide store.

Originally Posted by melgross

You aren't even a Commonwealth, much less a Federal system, as we are here.

No need to use the F Word.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

You mean the 'European Commission' perhaps. The EEC ended in 1992.

Yes, sorry. The names of much over there has changed over the years. It's hard to keep it all straight from here, even though I try.

I wish it was more integrated though and had more clout. Then we'd perhaps not have the stupid single country distribution and artists rights agreements that have seemingly made it hard for Apple to offer one EU wide store.

Yup. That was my point.

No need to use the F Word.

That's the problem then, isn't it? They have to decide what they are. Either they are some sort of economic union, or they are a regional grouping of independent states that have various treaties,and a body to oversee them, or they are one political, economic, and military union.

If they are one union, then they have to decide what type. They seem to want to be some sort of commonwealth.

But commonwealths don't work. We tried that here at first, but gave it up quickly (thank heavens!). Nothing can get done in a commonwealth because of the political centrifugal force of the member states.

It may be the "F" word, but it's the only thing that will work.

Good thing you are mostly still out of it.

[Sopranino]

And one more voice from that Great White North, you know, the area above the 49th parallel that always appears as a big white mass on U.S. TV station weather maps.

Hello Steve Jobs...........

What about Canada????

Sopranino

[Sunbow]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

Neither do I but it's kind of depressing that it takes them a year or so more than the USA to sort out whatever issues they have. One might suspect they don't even start until they've sorted the USA's issues first rather than working both sides of the Atlantic in parallel. Meanwhile we've got free and pay on-demand TV from most of the TV stations now but it's ALL Windows Media only. It took some effort for the BBC to relent on their plan to use Windows Media DRM too.

Yes, what ever the difficulties Apple are facing on this, they need to find a way before people get too absorbed into the various TV channels own online offerings! Perhaps Apple could get a great win-win arrangement by acting as a focus or central point for accessing some of these TV channel offerings (once they are in Quicktime H.264 that is!) by allowing them to be downloaded on the iTunes Store as well as offering movies etc for sale. That is, some TV shows could be downloaded for free and be playable for a limited time (as some of the TV channels are doing if you missed the show) but sales could be for a wider selection and (of course) for permanent ownership.

I must say though, as others have been saying on other threads, the option of renting TV shows rather than buying would be highly attractive as I suspect many of us really only want to see some shows (or series) once (or at least with a large gap in between) and buying and clogging up hard drives for years is just not ideal --- whereas I agree that rental for music is just annoying; particularly if you have to keep paying every month just to be able to play your own collection!

[Walter Slocombe]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Apple plans to start selling movies through its European iTunes Store before the end of the year, a senior Apple executive said this week.

About time too!

[bryand]

Canada's always late to the game, but I'm not sure that its Apple's fault. Its Canada's third world style regulations governing TV content and movie distribution. It makes it very difficult to negotiate rights to sell in Canada. As well, for TV content, there is a problem that the Canadian TV networks own the exclusive distribution rights for many of the shows that iTunes sells.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Sunbow

Yes, what ever the difficulties Apple are facing on this, they need to find a way before people get too absorbed into the various TV channels own online offerings! Perhaps Apple could get a great win-win arrangement by acting as a focus or central point for accessing some of these TV channel offerings (once they are in Quicktime H.264 that is!) by allowing them to be downloaded on the iTunes Store as well as offering movies etc for sale. That is, some TV shows could be downloaded for free and be playable for a limited time (as some of the TV channels are doing if you missed the show) but sales could be for a wider selection and (of course) for permanent ownership.

I must say though, as others have been saying on other threads, the option of renting TV shows rather than buying would be highly attractive as I suspect many of us really only want to see some shows (or series) once (or at least with a large gap in between) and buying and clogging up hard drives for years is just not ideal --- whereas I agree that rental for music is just annoying; particularly if you have to keep paying every month just to be able to play your own collection!

Well, why don't you call the European Commission and tell them to force the licensing companies in all of the different countries to grant Apple one license for all of Europe? That would speed things up.

Until then, despite the investigation the Commission is undergoing, Apple will be forced to work this out, country by country, and that take lots of time.

Apple can't "find a way". There is only ONE way.

Even here, in the US, Apple can't simply get what they want. to keep pricing down, they lose some features. Can't have it both ways.

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by melgross

Well, why don't you call the European Commission and tell them to force the licensing companies in all of the different countries to grant Apple one license for all of Europe? That would speed things up.

Until then, despite the investigation the Commission is undergoing, Apple will be forced to work this out, country by country, and that take lots of time.

Yes it does. What I don't get is why they wait till they've got ALL the countries in the EU signed up before starting with one of them. Other online music retailers don't.

If they were sorting it out country by country then you'd see a UK store, then a French store, then a German store, but no, Apple seems to go for the all of Europe or nothing approach. That's up to Apple, not the EU, but it means ultimately that we're left waiting for all the countries to be signed up before just one of them can start..

Originally Posted by melgross

Apple can't "find a way". There is only ONE way.

Even here, in the US, Apple can't simply get what they want. to keep pricing down, they lose some features. Can't have it both ways.

The point is, from our point of view, we get treated as second class citizens despite the huge money Apple charge us over here. It's ALWAYS America first. It's somewhat understandable what with Apple being American but they don't give foreign markets enough respect IMHO, from the American English only dictionary to the weird UK keyboard layout we have to suffer, to the mis-spellings all through the OS even if you switch it to UK English.

Just why do we have a §± key anyway? and why can't they put double quote over the 2 where it should be? And can I have a a # key please!!!

Excuse the side rant!

[SpamSandwich]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

The point is, from our point of view, we get treated as second class citizens despite the huge money Apple charge us over here. It's ALWAYS America first.

...USA!...USA!...USA!...

[melgross]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

Just why do we have a §± key anyway? and why can't they put double quote over the 2 where it should be? And can I have a a # key please!!!

Excuse the side rant!

What is that first key you mentioned?

You don't have the # as a shift of the 3 key?

[aegisdesign]

Veering off topic for a while...

Originally Posted by melgross

What is that first key you mentioned?

The key next to 1 on the top row is § and with shift ±. Two characters that do not deserve their own key. Just what would we use them for that's so important? I don't even know what a § is for! ± I can get but § ???

See http://flickr.com/photos/brunogirin/134415596/

Every time I look at it I have a mental WTF!

Originally Posted by melgross

You don't have the # as a shift of the 3 key?

Nope. We have a sterling pound sign £ which is normal for a UK keyboard. To get # you have to use option-3 which makes life in Terminal a little tricky as that's the meta key in the default terminal setup. Try commenting out lines in config files without a # key!

Here's what Apple give us in the UK...



And here's what it should be if it was to match common PC keyboards....



I've highlighted the keys that are 'wrong' if you're used to PC keyboard layouts. The main one that gets people is that Apple doesn't reposition quote and @ to match a UK keyboard layout, instead sticking with a US layout for those keys. I actually prefer the US layout for that but I spent a lot of time using Japanese keyboards which are the same in that respect. The others I can't forgive. No # key is just idiotic.

At least our backspace keys don't have delete written on them though.

[Bishop of Southwark]

And before the PC bashing lobby get going, the UK layout posted above has been the case on every full size UK keyboard I can recall typing on - including ancient micro computer and even manual typewriters.

The inability (without manually text editing some system files) to make a USB keyboard with a standard UK layout have the correct mapping makes a complete mockery of the Mac Mini advertising BYOKM.

[Bring your own keyboard and mouse is actually stressed on the UK mini box "If you have a spare USB keyboard from a PC etc you can just connect that...." - well you could, but if you are new to macs you will be confused a heck of a lot while trying to do simple typing.]

[Charel]

At the express wishes of several non Anglophile countries cultural issues were expressly excluded from the single market agreements. That is the reason for the different iTunes stores in the different countries in Europe.
Don't expect this to change soon.

[Walter Slocombe]

§ from wikipedia

I don't see much point in having this symbol when a # would be more benificial, but I find the single ' and double " quotes on the same key VERY handy indeed.

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe

§ from wikipedia

Ah, it's the Apple Legal key.

[Walter Slocombe]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

Ah, it's the Apple Legal key.

Seen in that light it does make some sense

[Shaun, UK]

Originally Posted by melgross

Well, why don't you call the European Commission and tell them to force the licensing companies in all of the different countries to grant Apple one license for all of Europe? That would speed things up.

Can you name any significant group of countries that have a common licensing system anywhere in the world?

The reason Apple wants to do it this way is because it's more profitable to have a single European iTunes store selling from a tax hole like Luxembourg. It has nothing to do with the EU or common licensing.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Shaun, UK

Can you name any significant group of countries that have a common licensing system anywhere in the world?

The reason Apple wants to do it this way is because it's more profitable to have a single European iTunes store selling from a tax hole like Luxembourg. It has nothing to do with the EU or common licensing.

I can't, but I thought regulation harmonization was one of the reasons to form the EU.