Apple now offers HTML5-based movie showtimes, locations

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Apple has revamped its Movie Trailers page with movie showtimes and the ability to automatically find the nearest theater, all within HTML5, and compatible with iOS devices.



The new Showtimes page on the iTunes Movie Trailers website allows users to find their closest theaters manually, via zip code, or they can opt to have the site determine the closest theater for them. The interactive site is unsurprisingly free of Adobe Flash, built on the HTML5 standard that Apple supports.



By selecting a movie, users are given a list of nearby theaters with showtimes for that feature. Showtimes are given on a timeline, in which grayed out circles are past shows, green circles are bargain shows, and a blue dot represents an upcoming show.



The site also offers a "Get Tickets" option, which allows users to buy tickets through Fandango.com. If a theater does not allow ticketing through Fandango, the button is replaced with a "Ticket Info" option that forwards to the theater's website.



The new iTunes Movie Trailers Showtimes page also includes embedded Google Maps, allowing people on the site to quickly obtain directions to their theater.



Movie trailers first became a part of iTunes back in 2004, when Apple's music store was in just its second year of existence. Since then it has become the premier destination for collected trailers, particularly those streamed in high definition.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    Dig it - the site I used was broken for the iPhone.
  • Reply 2 of 26
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    awesome, it's so much easier to use than google or bing
  • Reply 3 of 26
    I like the site. I'm a big movie fan and have been using Flixter App on my iPhone and Yahoo for desktop. This site is like most things Apple - very well done. When I connect through my iPhone, it asks for an authentication name and passwork. My iTunes user name and password do not work, but whe I hit cancel, it goes right into the page without problems. It does seems to be an annoyance, even though the site is first rate.
  • Reply 4 of 26
    vinney57vinney57 Posts: 1,162member
    Very nice piece of work. Some of the films have hi-res poster downloads too.
  • Reply 5 of 26
    The next 3rd-party technology to be wiped off Apple's devices - Google Maps.
  • Reply 6 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cubert View Post


    The next 3rd-party technology to be wiped off Apple's devices - Google Maps.



    Yep. I'm actually surprised that they're still using Google Maps since they bought their own mapping company. I'm sure it'll be coming. As long as it's accurate, makes no difference to me.
  • Reply 7 of 26
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Wow, nicely done.
  • Reply 8 of 26
    joshajosha Posts: 901member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cinemagic View Post


    Yep. I'm actually surprised that they're still using Google Maps since they bought their own mapping company. I'm sure it'll be coming. As long as it's accurate, makes no difference to me.



    Google Maps has many errors, it would be nice it Apple's maps did better, but after all the problem is the mapping company.
  • Reply 9 of 26
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    Shame the mapping data seems to be US only - apparently there are no movies playing in the UK this weekend! :P
  • Reply 10 of 26
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cubert View Post


    The next 3rd-party technology to be wiped off Apple's devices - Google Maps.



    Except for the fact that this site uses Google Maps.
  • Reply 11 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cinemagic View Post


    This site is like most things Apple - very well done.



    Yes, it's incredible that they were able to make their site work with their own products.



  • Reply 12 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nkhm View Post


    Shame the mapping data seems to be US only - apparently there are no movies playing in the UK this weekend! :P



    It isn't the mapping data. Rather it is the movie theatre data. Looks like they only have listings for US movie theatres and have therefore built the site for US users only.
  • Reply 13 of 26
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Orlando View Post


    It isn't the mapping data. Rather it is the movie theatre data. Looks like they only have listings for US movie theatres and have therefore built the site for US users only.



    That's what I was getting at...
  • Reply 14 of 26
    eehdeehd Posts: 137member
    Wow! Very nice! The page loaded faster on my iphone 4 than on my 13" macbook pro.
  • Reply 15 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cinemagic View Post


    Yep. I'm actually surprised that they're still using Google Maps since they bought their own mapping company. I'm sure it'll be coming. As long as it's accurate, makes no difference to me.



    As long as we are given the choice of which mapping service to use, makes no difference to me.
  • Reply 16 of 26
    Why is it a news? Don't you have furniture in your room that fits your home?
  • Reply 17 of 26
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by smerch View Post


    Yes, it's incredible that they were able to make their site work with their own products.







    yup, that's the key and they should stick to it. Involving third parties always goes awry.
  • Reply 18 of 26
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JoshA View Post


    Google Maps has many errors, it would be nice it Apple's maps did better, but after all the problem is the mapping company.



    I'm assuming the mapping company Apple brought have done the maps used in iPhoto, and if they did, they have a long way to go. I actually find myself searching to see where something is on Google Maps, then copying where it is on the iPhoto map, because the iPhoto map fails to find a lot of things.



    That said, if they improve it, I don't particularly care which maps application I use, but I will always use the one most successful at finding what I'm looking for.



    As for this movies website, it looks good. I'm a fan of Fandango for the ease of buying tickets, but I find it a little clunky to find my way around.
  • Reply 19 of 26
    Works well, just tried it. They should make all of their services tie into a service partner and drive some profitability off these things.
  • Reply 20 of 26
    Looks pretty nice....



    It is a shame that the rest of the web does not seem all that interested in moving to HTML5 at this time....
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