Apple shooting for autumn launch of film rental service - report

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider


Individual films would fetch $2.99 for a 30-day rental, the financial paper said.



I don't normally agree with cursing to get your point across, but that would be fucking amazing! I would imagine at €2.99 here in Europe, there would be alot more people wanting an AppleTV. That and geting TV shows here too. There'll come a day when iPTV will be a reality, Apple could very well be the victors in this area.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 54
    AppleInsiderAppleInsider Posts: 63,192administrator
    Apple is in advanced talks with Hollywood’s largest movie studios about launching an online film rental service to challenge cable and satellite TV operators, according to a published report.



    The Financial Times on Sunday said that the service, due to launch sometime this fall, could be significant for the Cupertino-based electronics maker if it manages to sign up enough studios. The more studios, the more premium film content the company could offer shoppers at its ubiquitous iTunes Store.



    Individual films on the iTunes service would fetch $2.99 for a 30-day rental, the financial paper said. Each film download would be governed by digital rights-management software that would allow users to transfer the movie "from a computer to at least one other device such as the video iPod or iPhone."



    The software also would prevent movies being copied, the Times said.



    One studio executive was quoted as saying the Apple download service would "compete against cable companies and anyone else offering VOD into the home."



    For its part, Apple and its chief executive Steve Jobs have long maintained that consumers would rather own than rent their digital content. However, a recent AppleInsider survey suggests that notion may apply more strongly to digital music files (which most users will listen to repeatedly) rather than films (which they may watch only a few times).



    Of the approximately 1500 respondents to the survey, only 16.5 percent said they were interested in purchasing digital film copies from iTunes outright. Another 35 percent said they'd prefer to rent their flicks, while the remaining 48 percent said they wouldn't entertain either option until Apple improved the resolution of its iTunes movie downloads.



    Experts and analysts believe it's only a matter of time before Apple begins offering its film catalog in high-definition format. The company recently launched Apple TV, which acts as a wireless gateway to deliver a user's iTunes content to their widescreen high-definition television sets.



    If recent hints dropped by the company's leadership are of any indication, a film rental model could hit iTunes around the same time. During a recent meeting with analysts from PiperJaffray, members of Apple's management team implied that a film download service was in the works.



    "Timing of this is difficult to determine, but we would expect [iTunes video rentals] sometime in 2008," analyst Gene Munster told his clients following get-together.



    While speaking this year's Apple shareholder meeting, Jobs also appeared to have been swayed on the matter. When asked about the potential for movie rentals from the iTunes Store, he responded by saying, "one never knows."*
  • Reply 2 of 54
    josa92josa92 Posts: 193member
    i do believe my "first post" ever.

    but this sounds reasonable. 3 dollars for 30 days? sounds good to me.
  • Reply 3 of 54
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Someone will crack the DRM and take the time limit out. It's only a question of whether it will be weeks or months.
  • Reply 4 of 54
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    Someone will crack the DRM and take the time limit out. It's only a question of whether it will be weeks or months.



    I have been thanking about this would be a great move by Apple for some time now...



    Sure people might crack the DRM but that is true for other digital rental services as well.
  • Reply 5 of 54
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    Someone will crack the DRM and take the time limit out. It's only a question of whether it will be weeks or months.



    Is there a crack for current FairPlay video?



    One thing I've read is that iPods supposedly don't have a tamper-resistant clock. I have no idea how to verify that, but that might be a problem.
  • Reply 6 of 54
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    Someone will crack the DRM and take the time limit out. It's only a question of whether it will be weeks or months.



    People can already rent a DVD from a store and burn (illegally) a copy, this is no different than that. The studios shouldn't kid themselves of that.
  • Reply 7 of 54
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    I have to say, this looks good to me!

    I figured that $3 was about my sweet spot, but I didn't expect 30 days. I am assuming that is unlimited viewing within 30 days. That would be fantastic for me. I reckon I would drop Netflicks ASAP if the selection was comparable.



    Not that I am unhappy with Netflicks, but the delay kills me. I am in the mood for Babel when I set the top of my queue but it doesn't arrive until after a few tough days at work and now all I want to see is Borat...



    Yeah, If Apple can get video quality up and handle bandwidth issues this could be tremendous for me, and I would hope for Apple too!
  • Reply 8 of 54
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by josa92 View Post


    i do believe my "first post" ever.



    I dont know why but AI is showing Ireland at the top even though the post was two hours after...



    We might need a ruling from the arbiters to see if yours still qualifies as a "first post."





    ( )
  • Reply 9 of 54
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    I dont know why but AI is showing Ireland at the top even though the post was two hours after...



    Actually, upon further inspection, it appears that Ireland started this thread before AI wrote the article. On May 10!! Now that is a scoop.
  • Reply 10 of 54
    11thindian11thindian Posts: 181member
    I hear this argument all the time, about people breaking the DRM. That will ALWAYS happen. My retort has always been that the people who are going to pay to download music, movies, and TV Shows generally aren't the ones who know how to do this kind of stuff. I think if you looked at the total download market, it would probably be less than 5% of people who knows (or know someone who knows) how to do that kind of thing. If you're going to pay, chances are you can't get it for free.
  • Reply 11 of 54
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    I dont know why but AI is showing Ireland at the top even though the post was two hours after...



    We might need a ruling from the arbiters to see if yours still qualifies as a "first post."





    ( )



    I thought I could only see that, LOL.
  • Reply 12 of 54
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    Actually, upon further inspection, it appears that Ireland started this thread before AI wrote the article. On May 10!! Now that is a scoop.



    Exactly.. who am I really?
  • Reply 13 of 54
    retiariusretiarius Posts: 142member
    > If Apple can get video quality up and handle bandwidth issues [....]



    Problem is, Apple doesn't do "bandwidth", only the DSL/cable ISP does.



    So, at existing state-of-the-art 640x480 H.264 this is 1.6 Mbps or so, with "widescreen"

    being a pitiful 640x360 vs. 720x480 anamorphic for DVD quality.



    If Apple goes to "near HD", this would be 1280x720 at 24 fps or 960x540 at 30 fps,

    which takes 3-5 Mbps using H.264.



    Instant gratification of movie rentals, but over 768-1.5Mbps DSL? Oops.



    Perhaps one would "rent" the movie by filling up an iPod at the Apple

    retail store at a much higher data rate, or otherwise pick from a selection

    invisibly downloaded to Apple TV in the dead of night.
  • Reply 14 of 54
    scotty321scotty321 Posts: 313member
    This would be amazing, and might be enough reason for me to purchase an AppleTV!
  • Reply 15 of 54
    RDF: after 30 days We return your movies for you, so you don't have to pay late fees.....



    Windoze: after 30 days Our DRM destroys your downloaded content.







    At anyrate, unless iPhone decrypts and decodes the .mov somehow, rent-to-own will have new meaning soon enough.
  • Reply 16 of 54
    aisiaisi Posts: 134member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    For its part, Apple and its chief executive Steve Jobs have long maintained that consumers would rather own than rent their digital content. However, a recent AppleInsider survey suggests that notion may apply more strongly to digital music files (which most users will listen to repeatedly) rather than films (which they may watch only a few times).



    Steve Jobs always said that consumers would rather own than rent their music. Jobs interviewed by Walt Mossberg, three years ago: "The interesting thing about movies though is that movies are in a very different place than music was. [?] And I don't want to watch my favorite movie a thousand times in my life; I want to watch it five times in my life. But I do want to listen to my favorite song a thousand times in my life."
  • Reply 17 of 54
    joeyyyjoeyyy Posts: 35member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by scotty321 View Post


    This would be amazing, and might be enough reason for me to purchase an AppleTV!



    Yes, with a 2.99$ rental option (lower than Netflix/Blockbuster) and HD content I would expect many to buy AppleTV not only to replace any subscription to Netflix/Blockbuster but also to premium/movie cannels on their cable/satellite plan.



    IMHO, this would move AppleTV from being just a "hobby"
  • Reply 18 of 54
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by retiarius View Post


    > If Apple can get video quality up and handle bandwidth issues [....]



    Problem is, Apple doesn't do "bandwidth", only the DSL/cable ISP does.




    Well, it would suck if on Tuesdays it works fine but on Friday nights movies took twice as long to download.



    There were widespread postings that downloading songs from iTunes slowed to a crawl when they introduced the upgrading option because of the traffic. I imagine people downloading entire movies on the weekends would stress their capacities in much the same ways.



    (*Yes, I know Apple doesn't intend to string cable/fiber to my house *)
  • Reply 19 of 54
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AISI View Post


    Steve Jobs always said that consumers would rather own than rent their music. Jobs interviewed by Walt Mossberg, three years ago: "The interesting thing about movies though is that movies are in a very different place than music was. [?] And I don't want to watch my favorite movie a thousand times in my life; I want to watch it five times in my life. But I do want to listen to my favorite song a thousand times in my life."



    I agree, it's clear that a strong precedent for movie renting exists there and there is a well-established cultural acceptance of movie rentals.
  • Reply 20 of 54
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Exactly.. who am I really?



    Ireland is Steve Jobs... Steve Jobs is Ireland...... Ireland is a MAN!
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