News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

September 13, 2007

video

Apple may get all up into Blockbuster’s business

Posted Sep. 13, ’07, 8:22 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Video

BlockbusterOn Monday, we saw a slip-up that suggested that movie rentals may be on their way to the iTunes Store. The Financial Times says they’ve got more info on the subject, alleging that iTunes rentals will last 30 days and cost $2.99. DRM would, naturally, be included (at no extra charge!), allowing you to watch the movie on your iPod or iPhone, but not copy it elsewhere.

What say we? This could be the killer app for online video at the iTunes Store. While Jobs has long made a point of saying that people want to own their music, I think fewer people want to own their movies, and those that do are more content to go the now-traditional DVD route. Video rental is a long-established practice, and one that will put Apple in competition not only with existing vendors like Blockbuster and Netflix, but burgeoning markets like video on demand. The 30-day window may not be as long as Netflix’s “keep it however long you like” policy, but it definitely exceeds most brick-and-mortar stores, and 30 days should be long enough for pretty much anybody to watch a movie, though the question remains as to how many times you can watch said video.

The key integration, though, is really devices. The iPhone and iPod are the most popular media players around, and with the video ability now rolled out to an entire line of iPods (sorry, shuffle!), this could be the kick-in-the-pants to widespread adoption. And let’s not forget the Apple TV. Put rentals together with some version of the Wi-Fi store, so people can choose a movie and start watching it immediately from their Apple TV, and we have something that looks very much like the future.


5 Comments

Walt said:

I'd buy that for a dollar. Or three. Not so much for my iPhone but for my Apple TV.

September 13, 2007 9:10 AM
Jon said:

This single option (with a substantial library), at this price point, would sell me an Apple TV and an iPod touch. I've been waiting for this.

September 13, 2007 12:23 PM
Anonymous said:

I like musical comments! :-)

September 13, 2007 12:33 PM
Michael Long said:

Probably would help with one issue, and that's storage. Movies and TV shows are huge files, and the file management features and archival features built into iTunes suck... those that aren't non-existent, that is.

It's why I don't buy any TV shows series or season passes. I don't have 10GB or more of free space on my notebook for each one I want.

If Apple really wants to be "innovative" then let us buy movies... and store them on their server, where we can download them as needed, and as many times as needed.

September 13, 2007 1:55 PM
Kelmon said:

If they release the movies for download in the UK (fat chance, I know) then I'll actively consider buying an Apple TV.

September 13, 2007 11:48 PM

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