iTunes 8.1.1 adds support for renting HD movies on computers

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Apple on Monday afternoon released a small update to iTunes that enables HD movie rentals on a Mac or PC while also delivering improvements for syncing media to its multi-touch devices.



Prior to the iTunes 8.1.1 (66MB download), HD movie rentals were only accessible to owners of the company's Apple TV wireless set-top-box.



The new update also "provides a number of bug fixes, including addressing issues with VoiceOver and syncing with iPhone or iPod touch," according to a brief set of release notes.



A similar release is available for 32-bit versions of Windows XP and Vista (70.86MB) in addition to a distribution for the 64-bit version of Windows Vista (71.35MB).



Meanwhile, ArsTechnica reports on Apple's ongoing expansion of its standard definition movie catalog. According to the tech site, almost 300 titles have been added to the iTunes store for rent over the last week, with more than half of those added this weekend alone.



The majority of the new additions are said to be "library" titles, which fetch$2.99 per rental.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    I hope this somehow fixes Apple TV as well.
  • Reply 2 of 23
    cory bauercory bauer Posts: 1,286member
    Can you transfer HD rentals to/from Apple TV and your Mac now?
  • Reply 3 of 23
    libertyforalllibertyforall Posts: 1,418member
    I will rent from iTunes when it gets down to the $1/night/movie that Redbox offers just 5 minutes from me.
  • Reply 4 of 23
    What's the file size and resolution of iTunes' HD movies?
  • Reply 5 of 23
    prismprism Posts: 75member
    Hopefully it will fix the stuttering too.
  • Reply 6 of 23
    johnnykrzjohnnykrz Posts: 152member
    I don't see any movies that I am allowed to rent in HD now that I've updated. Anybody find one? I can buy them in HD, but that's been there for a while.
  • Reply 7 of 23
    cg0defcg0def Posts: 8member
    now if apple makes it so you can watch the same movie across many devices ( i.e. download it from say up to 3 devices ) i'd be really happy.
  • Reply 8 of 23
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by libertyforall View Post


    I will rent from iTunes when it gets down to the $1/night/movie that Redbox offers just 5 minutes from me.



    Redbox is not worth it. Every time I go there are 3 or 4 people in line and they each have to browse the entire selection before picking a movie. You're lucky to be out of there within an hour. Then returning the movie takes the same amount of time because the machines aren't smart enough to handle returns while someone is browsing for a movie.
  • Reply 9 of 23
    rnp1rnp1 Posts: 175member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by astrosmash View Post


    What's the file size and resolution of iTunes' HD movies?



    HD movies (3.5 gig 1250x1000) are locked, if you don't have a laptop or iMac. I still can't play HD Quantum of Solace thru my MacPro w/ 23" Cinema Display!!!!! I just tried the update. Many people have complained about this. One would assume Apple would fix this conflict.

    (It will play in Windows in my Parallels/W7 iTunes -same MacPro/23"???)
  • Reply 10 of 23
    canadancanadan Posts: 21member
    Great, now my iTunes crashes when I surf the store, it's happened twice in 5 minutes, what is the bullsh*t Apple? My iTunes has NEVER crashed ever before, arrghhhh
  • Reply 11 of 23
    enzosenzos Posts: 344member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by canadan View Post


    Great, now my iTunes crashes when I surf the store, it's happened twice in 5 minutes, what is the bullsh*t Apple? My iTunes has NEVER crashed ever before, arrghhhh



    On the other hand, Canadan, I'm finding the new iTunes both crashless and snappier than the earlier iteration... and my iPod nano phatty, which was fritzed by 8.1, has been resurrected by restoring and syncing with 8.1.1 (oh what joy!... listening to the Triffids "The best part of breakin' up is when you're makin' up" etc. at this very moment ;o).



    Cheers
  • Reply 12 of 23
    FYI - This updated has fixed an annoying bug I reported - namely that two-finger scrolling left or right on the multitouch trackpad in coverflow was uncontrollable. A small movement would do nothing and a large one would sometimes do a long scroll and sometimes nothing at all. Scrolling up and down was fine and smooth.



    This is good they have fixed this now. Although I am surprised that iTunes does not have more multi-touch support (apart from three finger 'back' gesture in iTS), like pinching to increase the size of cover flow or album art etc.



    Also, slightly off topic, I reported a similar bug to above (same kind of control issue) when pinching to zoom pages in Safari 4 Beta. They have noted it, so I expect a fix.
  • Reply 13 of 23
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JohnnyKrz View Post


    I don't see any movies that I am allowed to rent in HD now that I've updated. Anybody find one? I can buy them in HD, but that's been there for a while.



    I can't find any either. There are ones that say "Also available in HD on Apple TV" but there is no "Rent HD" or "Buy HD" button (or anything similar) on the Mac.
  • Reply 14 of 23
    7aces7aces Posts: 11member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    I can't find any either. There are ones that say "Also available in HD on Apple TV" but there is no "Rent HD" or "Buy HD" button (or anything similar) on the Mac.



    Nope, I can't seem to find it either. This pretty much messed up most of the update, unless they plan to activate HD renting later and this was just to rig iTunes for it.
  • Reply 15 of 23
    hdasmithhdasmith Posts: 145member
    Does anyone know the specs for watching an HD movie on a computer are? I can't find the information anywhere. I have a feeling that although my iMac G5 plays 720p QT movies perfectly well, Apple will have arteficially only allowed Intel Macs to play HD movies on iTunes.
  • Reply 16 of 23
    m2002brianm2002brian Posts: 258member
    Considering the iTunes store isn't very intuitive we'll probably never actually be able to find an HD rental.
  • Reply 17 of 23
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by m2002brian View Post


    Considering the iTunes store isn't very intuitive we'll probably never actually be able to find an HD rental.



    You can say that again. It feels so un-Apple with so much crap all over the place. I only go there if I know exactly what I'm looking for.
  • Reply 18 of 23
    hillstoneshillstones Posts: 1,490member
    According to the Read Me File for iTunes 8.1.1:



    "HD movies from the iTunes Store are designed exclusively for Apple TV and may not be transferred to iTunes"
  • Reply 19 of 23
    hillstoneshillstones Posts: 1,490member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hdasmith View Post


    Does anyone know the specs for watching an HD movie on a computer are? I can't find the information anywhere. I have a feeling that although my iMac G5 plays 720p QT movies perfectly well, Apple will have arteficially only allowed Intel Macs to play HD movies on iTunes.



    System requirements are posted, and in the Read Me File:



    Hardware:

    ? Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, G4, or G3 processor

    ?*Screen resolution of 1024x768 or greater.

    ?*Playing videos from the iTunes Store requires a Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5 or 1.0GHz PowerPC G4 or faster processor

    ?*Playing HD-quality videos from the iTunes Store requires a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor

    ? 512MB of RAM; 1GB is required to play HD-quality videos

    ? Playing videos also requires at least 16MB of video RAM

    ?*A broadband Internet connection to use the iTunes Store

    ? An Apple combo drive or SuperDrive to create audio, MP3, or back-up CDs; some non-Apple CD-RW recorders may also work.

    ?*An Apple SuperDrive to back up your library to DVDs; some non-Apple DVD-RW drives may also work.



    Software:

    ?*Mac*OS*X version 10.4.10 or later

    ?*QuickTime 7.5.5 or later is required

    ?*200MB of available disk space
  • Reply 20 of 23
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    I updated last night and could have sworn that the update notes included something about iTunes being way faster, especially with large libraries. But yet nobody is commenting on that...



    Did I imagine this?
Sign In or Register to comment.