Written by Liz Gannes
Posted Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 9:44 AM PT

 

Breaking: iTunes Movie Rentals, Apple TV Take 2

MACWORLD KEYNOTE, SAN FRANCISCO: Steve Jobs is getting into the video stuff now. Here are the details:

iTunes movie rentals

  • Launches today in U.S., as software update to iTunes, iPods, and iPhones; international later this year
  • Every major studio participating
  • Library title will cost $2.99, new release $3.99
  • Launching with over 1000 movies by the end of February, will have films 30 days after DVD release

  • Can watch anywhere — Macs, PCs, all current iPods and iPhone
  • You can watch instantly, in less than 30 seconds on broadband
  • 30 day rental, 24 hours to finish — as many times as you want within 24 hours
  • Can transfer films to another device in the middle of watching — e.g. if you have flight to catch, want to finish on iPod
  • Participants: Touchstone, MGM, Miramax, Lionsgate, New Line Cinema, Twentieth Century Fox, WB, Walt Disney, Paramount Universal, Sony Pictures
  • update on prior offerings: 125 million TV shows, 7 million movies sold to date (Jobs: “That’s way more than everyone put together but it did not meet our expectations. We think there’s a better way”.

Updated Apple TV

  • No computer is required
  • New price: $229
  • Free software upgrade to existing owners
  • Shipping in two weeks
  • HD movies w/ dolby 5.1: 100 titles in HD, “and this is going to build very very fast”
  • Podcasts — audio and video
  • Photos from Flickr and .mac, can go right over the Internet; can play your videos uploaded to .mac too; Flickr doesn’t work while Jobs is demoing this
  • Can buy and rent TV and movies, play iTunes content
  • recommendations (others who rented this also rented)
  • over 50 million video streams from YouTube
  • Jim Gianopulos, president and CEO of Twentieth Century Fox, just came on stage and fawned about Apple, talked about “choice, access, convenience, control, portability.” Digital copy of movie included with DVDs starting today.

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Comments & Trackbacks

  1. [...] Apple TV Take 2 and other product news. NewTeeVee editor Liz Gannes is at the conference and is liveblogging all the details. Share/Send Sphere Print Previous [...]

    Apple Unveils iTunes Movie Rentals, more - GigaOM on January 15th, 2008 at 9:52 am - Permalink
  2. [...] Gannes, Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 10:48 AM PT Comments (0) In addition to unveiling a movie rental service for iTunes and an updated version of Apple TV (with a lower price), Steve Jobs in his Macworld keytnote today announced the MacBook Air, which at [...]

    MacBook Comes Up for Air - GigaOM on January 15th, 2008 at 10:48 am - Permalink
  3. All these download to rent services have failed for one reason or another .

    Apple might have better luck because they also sell hardware that Supports the service .

    My take is that someone needs to take on Netflix with a online model based on Subscriptions with new release movies that expire after a month this would be more convenient than DVDs in the Mail .

    A certain amount of movies (like 8) per month would be a good start .

    Matt Hendry on January 15th, 2008 at 11:47 am - Permalink
  4. @Matt,

    It’s not a matter of someone writing the code/website to do a subscription site, one has to get licenses from the major studios to do so. To date, studios are not interested in doing this. Maybe one could with some limited Indie content, but that wouldn’t get too far in the marketplace.

    CD on January 15th, 2008 at 4:28 pm - Permalink
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    frmad on January 15th, 2008 at 5:19 pm - Permalink
  6. It will be very interesting to see how soon it goes international and how much it’ll cost. I also hope that you’ll be able to choose ANY language that you want for the subtitles. I live in Sweden but would love Chinese subtitles for my Taiwanese girlfriend.

    Eddie G on January 16th, 2008 at 2:36 am - Permalink
  7. [...] a full feature list of the new intunes and Apple Tv on Newteevee. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own [...]

    Movingweb - observing moving content on the Internet! » Blog Archiv » Itunes Movie Rentals on January 16th, 2008 at 4:03 am - Permalink
  8. We have a choice

    a) continue to use scaffolding like Apple is to prop up the existing media value system to try to reverse the obvious decay of TV, decay of Film (in theatre, on DVD), and decay of Music.

    b) innovate and reinvent the media value system – redesign the way TV / Film / Music is produced and experienced.

    The interests of the viewers/listeners, networks and creative talent are not aligned.

    We can sit on the sidelines and come up with new products and services to support the incremental and frankly insipid evolution of media. Or we can challenge the fundamental economic principles and architect new foundations.

    What would you rather be doing?

    gordonmattey on January 16th, 2008 at 4:38 am - Permalink
  9. [...] optimistic stat: On the heels of Apple’s video rental announcement ABI Research said today it expected paid video downloads to grow to 2.4 billion in 2012 from 215 [...]

    Need-to-Know Web Video Stats: Traffic, Rentals, Revenues, UGC « NewTeeVee on January 31st, 2008 at 10:55 am - Permalink
  10. Hi there Expert, I fell blessed that I found your post while searching for movie stills. I agree with you on the subject g: iTunes Movie Rentals, Apple TV Take 2 « NewTeeVee. I was just thinking about this matter last Sunday.

    Movie Stills on May 25th, 2008 at 8:47 am - Permalink
  11. I agree with Matt on many levels. It’s sort of like us film composers trying to make a living doing small to medium independent films not being able to break through the mainstream. I understand from Danny Elfman that the major writers are like a pack of dogs when a new feature is announced.

    Bobby Mack on July 3rd, 2008 at 3:46 pm - Permalink
  12. I didn’t proof the syntax to my site. Sorry.

    BTW if you want to see a clever way to demonstrate film music, check it out.

    Bobby Mack on July 3rd, 2008 at 3:49 pm - Permalink
  13. thank you

    film izle on July 4th, 2008 at 7:52 am - Permalink
  14. [...] your set-top foray from red-headed stepchild to full-fledged member of the family. Aren’t two attempts with the product enough to make it more than a passing [...]

    Apple TV Still a “Hobby” « NewTeeVee on July 21st, 2008 at 4:52 pm - Permalink
  15. that was crazy when netflix went down for a couple of days people were mad

    Brockerzz on September 10th, 2008 at 7:49 am - Permalink
  16. [...] and consumer electronics side of the equation is placing bets on digital downloads as well. Apple, Amazon and Netflix are all pushing digital delivery of films, while Sony and Panasonic are [...]

    Data on Movie Downloads Not Worrisome « NewTeeVee on September 17th, 2008 at 7:26 am - Permalink
  17. I agree with you on the subject “Breaking: iTunes Movie Rentals, Apple TV Take 2″

    movie downloads on January 26th, 2009 at 9:39 am - Permalink
  18. Wow domination is the right word. Although I still don’t get how this could be better than focusing all your effort on a single website.

    Ipod TOuch 8Gb on June 24th, 2009 at 5:25 pm - Permalink

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