Apple's Next iTunes Plan: Movie Rentals?
from the iDivx dept
Since the launch of the iPod video and the addition of downloadable TV shows to the iTunes Music Store, there's been a lot of speculation about when and movies would get added to the mix. According to one Apple rumors site -- which has been sued by Apple for revealing secrets in the past -- at Apple's developer conference later this month, the company will announce that it will rent movies through iTunes (via Broadband Reports), using some sort of DRM to limit their playback to a certain time frame or number of playbacks. Without more details or pricing information, it's hard to feel that this will be all that successful. One major problem with other, struggling, movie-download sites is that they tie movies to a user's PC, and don't let them burn films to DVD so they can watch them on their TV. While one site, Movielink, says it's licensed some technology to allow users to burn movies to DVD, it still has to get studios to sign off on the idea -- something it doesn't sound like they're particularly interested in doing. The bigger issue with renting films through iTunes is that, apart from sounding like the digital equivalent of the oft-repeated self-destructing DVD ploy, just like with record labels, the studios' insistence on playback restrictions make Steve Jobs and Apple the main beneficiaries here. Assuming the movies will be delivered in the same format as the TV episodes iTunes sells, they're essentially limiting playback to iPod video owners -- a pretty narrow market. The service will be basically useless to anybody else, making this just another halfhearted attempt to embrace digital distribution, rather than something that stands much chance of widespread success.
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Lock-It
Hope for big market share and with your
propritary DRM and put a lock on the market.
No imagination.
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Battery Life
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Not gonna get off the ground
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Sorry, Apple will bomb on this one
I am happy to see that Apple realizes they cannot create a market for selling movies through iTunes, and instead opt for a rental model. Still, I would find it ridiculous to spend 30 minutes downloading a poor quality movie file when I could just take a drive or walk to my local DVD rental store in the same amount of time. Of, I just walk to my mailbox and receive new movies through online DVD rental services.
I personally prefer watching a movie in high quality video and sound. While I can tolerate watching television shows or music videos in low quality, I cannot tolerate compromising on quality when it comes to movies, and I think most people will find that to be the case. Movies on EVERY mobile format typically bomb, like UMD and the PSP.
I cannot see Apple offering HD movie files for playback on an iPod or TV through an ipod either. The file formats will be too large for quick downloads and you will use up too much disk space on the iPod to make it practical. I could only hope that perhaps Apple offers low iPod quality movies, and offers high definition movies playable through iTunes on any PC or Mac with TV out.
I think the entire model of selling or renting online digital movie files is a flawed concept, at least for portable players, and I don't even think Apple can make this a successful market. It will be a novelty for a short while, and Apple may even flaunt a "1 million movies watched" announcement, but ultimately I think their "iMovie" download service will fail miserably. Unless the iPod offers WiFi connectivity and can stream HD content, this market will never take off.
Ultimately, I find this endeavour laughable as Apple hasn't even positioned themselves to make a Mac work well with home theater systems. Few offer digital surround capabilities and the pitiful 6 button remote is a joke compared to full fledged Media Center PC's which can actually be used to navigate and control a computer, rather then advance to the next song/video or control the volume. Unless Apple is planning to offer a dedicated HTPC box, I can't understand their drive to offer movies online, if all they intend to do is force people to compromise on quality in order to play on or through an iPod.
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Re: Sorry, Apple will bomb on this one
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Re: Sorry, Apple will bomb on this one
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Re: Sorry, Apple will bomb on this one
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Think for a minute before dismissing
If the video store is closed and you want to watch a movie, this would be a great alternative, especially if the price is comparable.
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Re: Think for a minute before dismissing
iTunes movie rental:
- Turn on computer
- Check out rottentomatoes.com for good reviews of movies, and watch trailers of movies
- Launch iTunes, order movie... 15 minutes later (who knows they might even improve this) it's done. Sit in your arss and live it up!
Blockbuster/Hollywood video rentals:
- Get out of your house
- Get in your car
- Decide where you want to go, blockbuster/Hollywood/or local video store.
- drive to rental place
- park in rental place
- decide what movie to watch by looking at a DVD case and reading senseless "quotes" from 1-2 movie reviewers.
- Get in line (oh yeah, that's right... in line)
- Take out your ID/or rental card
- Listen to them try to con you into subscribing to their other rental "solutions"
- find your car (by this time, you've forgotten where you parked)
- Get in your car, drive home
- Get home, into your hut... oh SNAP!.. the DVD is scratched!!! unplayable!
- Go back to your rental store (repeat first 6 steps), but before getting there, put some gas..by this time it might be a good idea to do so.
- Get to rental place and they will HAPPILY "EXCHANGE" your movie with a different movie (they will not return your money, or pay for your trouble and spent gas ;)
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Sounds unlikely that Apple will do this...
They will be releasing a new and improved version of iTunes for sure, a new iPod, Leopard OS, about the movie rental?... that's still speculation.
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Before we talk about how bad this will be...
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The make or break factor
With Netflix I get the complete catalog of all 60,000 titles ever released on DVD (cept for porn). I can get most any title within 24-48 hours of when I decide I want it, though for the most part I'm happy to just get the next movie in my queue as I watch them. It's DVD quality, and with the right software and a little know-how they're easy enouh to encode for an iPod. They come right to my door and I can return them across the street at the mailbox. All for $18 a month.
Apple needs to beat them in several ways to have a compelling service.
1) Be cheaper (it'd have to be less than $3 a title to match the 6 titles a month I usually get from Netflix)
2) Play on more devices (Not holding my breath).
3) Be better quality (Not happening).
4) Have a bigger catalog (Impossible, unless Apple sells porn too).
5) Be more convenient (downloading vs my mailbox, not much different so they're about equal there).
So yeah - Apple does realize that there's competition right?
(Oh, and that's not even bringing up the fact that they're also competing with The Pirate Bay too).
It's seriously a sad state of affairs when the best way to get digital media over the internet is by buying or renting physical media through Netflix or Amazon.com
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Might work
I regularly watch iTunes video (TV shows) on a 27" screen. The picture quality is adequate. For movies to be adequate Apple would need about double the current resolution.
Download times is not an issue. Ever heard of streaming?
Apple has a pretty good track-record of delivering a compelling consumer media experience. That is why all their competitors are currently playing catch-up. And let's not forget that their CEO is also the largest share-holder in Disney(owner of ABC, ESPN, and lots of other content and broadcast companies).
I am curious to see if they can pull this off.
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MovieLink and CinemaNow have already broken most of the ground here. Their major failings are being Windows-only and having limited selection. But the user experience is almost adequate (MovieLink only allows 24 hours to watch a movie).
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this will never work!
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ipod video
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I'd use it
I find the claim that it only benefits Jobs et. al. bemusing. Why would Apple (or Microsoft, or any other business) do something that *didn't* benefit the company? If what they offer benefits consumers, they will make money. If consumers don't buy it, they'll lose money and stop offering the service.
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