Doh! Apple seems to be getting most of the new releases I expect them to, but this is discouraging news!
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No Sign of Apple's Promised 1,000 iTunes Movie Rentals
- Thread starter BoulderBum
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im kinda bummed out about this too, I love itunes movie rentals, and find it awesome to be able to watch a movie when im bored, or nothing interesting on broadcast tv.. but, i've already watched everything in the store that suites my tastes, and nothing new is really trickling in, granted; a new movie here, there, maybe a few at a time.. but not much of a selection is really there yet.. im disappointed to say the least..
I agree. They really need to keep expanding as much as possible. One of the reasons why I got the ATV was so I have an alternative source of movies in case nothing in my own collection appeals to me at any given time. I have even been thinking about reducing my NetFlix subscription to a lower level (1 or 2 movies out at a time).
Come on Apple. Let's get this thing going!
Come on Apple. Let's get this thing going!
This really does blow. They aren't even at 50% of what they promised (more like 41%).
I hate using Unbox, but there's about 10x the selection right now...
I hate using Unbox, but there's about 10x the selection right now...
Yeah... I touched on this in another thread
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/443247/
It's quite disappointing - especially given the fact that they missed the original deadline for the update as well. Makes you wonder how much Apple is really behind the whole AppleTV thing. They sure seem to be taking a "we'll get around to it" attitude with it.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/443247/
It's quite disappointing - especially given the fact that they missed the original deadline for the update as well. Makes you wonder how much Apple is really behind the whole AppleTV thing. They sure seem to be taking a "we'll get around to it" attitude with it.
Seriously, Netflix is probably the best thing right now.
Apple does not have the best selection of movies.
I can't tell you how many times I've gone into iTunes ready to rent a movie. What happens? I look at all of them and say to myself, "that's lame, there's nothing good."
Apple does not have the best selection of movies.
I can't tell you how many times I've gone into iTunes ready to rent a movie. What happens? I look at all of them and say to myself, "that's lame, there's nothing good."
Is this really an Apple issue, or one with the movie studios? I think Apple puts up movies as soon as they can get them. I bet it is the movie studios who are holding back.
With the success Apple has in the Music store (#2 in the US), I think they are concerned with them duplicating that success with movies.
We have already seen this with DRM free music @ Amazon and with and TV shows from NBC/Universal.
I think the Studio's are the issue, not Apple...
With the success Apple has in the Music store (#2 in the US), I think they are concerned with them duplicating that success with movies.
We have already seen this with DRM free music @ Amazon and with and TV shows from NBC/Universal.
I think the Studio's are the issue, not Apple...
I agree. However, it seems like they would have had some time of contract in place that must have indicated to Apple it would have 1000 by now. or Jobs said things that he HOPED.
Apple needs to go head first in this before others beat them to it. Apple may be asking too much or the studios are.
Come on Corps. just give the consumers what they want and you will get paid!
Especially for Hi Def New releases thou Netflix says they are tripling the amount they stock, I still think getting new Blu Ray releases will be hard
Wouldn't you think this would make them line up to have their media distributed via iTunes? No, only the idiots running the record companies/movie studios would see this as bad news...
I agree. However, I'm of the opinion that one of the reasons the music industry lost so much revenue to illegal downloads is because they were slow to embrace the internet and give people a legal alternative.
The movie industry has some of the same fears of lost revenue and digital distribution, but if they're smart, I think they need to try to find a way to embrace the internet and still make money instead of trying to find a way to delay the inevitable shift to movie downloads. So far, the movie industry has been pretty clueless in this regard, introducing annoying restrictions, limiting selection and not working hard enough to deliver HD content through downloads.
That said, I don't rest on any dismissal that if Apple TV doesn't have good enough selection it's all the movie industry's fault. As far as I'm concerned, if Apple wants to be successful, they have to succeed at influencing the movie industry and if they fail to do so, Apple needs to take part of the blame.
Netflix is getting too slow. I've had Blu-ray titles that have been at the top of my queue for five weeks now.
I think BoulderRun said it perfectly. The movie industry needs to realize this is a repeat of the music industry evolution. It amazes me that they think they can stop it.
I also agree that Apple has to take part of the blame, don't announce this new amazing updated box with all the studios (and imply it will be better than existing offerings), and promise 1000+ rentals if you cannot deliver. People bought the box based on his pitch (though I already had one so can't make that argument myself).
Peter
I also agree that Apple has to take part of the blame, don't announce this new amazing updated box with all the studios (and imply it will be better than existing offerings), and promise 1000+ rentals if you cannot deliver. People bought the box based on his pitch (though I already had one so can't make that argument myself).
Peter
quite disappointing
just got my appleTV in the mail today and was hoping to make it my consistent choice for movie night. Now it looks like heading back to the video store...
just got my appleTV in the mail today and was hoping to make it my consistent choice for movie night. Now it looks like heading back to the video store...
The Movie Industries are ridiculous. They are controlled by a bunch of greedy and stubborn conservatives that don't want to embrace the future and Apple is controlled by people who realize the potential and want a lot of money in return for bringing a wonderful and innovative user experience to medium consumption.
where are these movies?
American Gangster
We Own the Night
Rendition
Beowulf
The Darjeeling Limited
Across the Universe
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
My biggest issue is not that all these movies (just a quick sampling of new releases) aren't there right now, but how about a "Coming Soon" section with real dates on when we can expect these movies. I mean at least run this thing like a real video store! Without knowing if and when Apple TV will get these movies, I am forced to just rent from the local video store. The irony is that I am more than willing to pay the $5 for HD rentals, but the movies seem to arrive too haphazardly. The current "Coming Soon" section on iTunes is an embarrassment (there is nothing there) - I really want this to work and I can't believe Apple would be so sloppy about this. It's almost like they want me to use Apple TV for handbraked movies from the video store... ridiculous.
American Gangster
We Own the Night
Rendition
Beowulf
The Darjeeling Limited
Across the Universe
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
My biggest issue is not that all these movies (just a quick sampling of new releases) aren't there right now, but how about a "Coming Soon" section with real dates on when we can expect these movies. I mean at least run this thing like a real video store! Without knowing if and when Apple TV will get these movies, I am forced to just rent from the local video store. The irony is that I am more than willing to pay the $5 for HD rentals, but the movies seem to arrive too haphazardly. The current "Coming Soon" section on iTunes is an embarrassment (there is nothing there) - I really want this to work and I can't believe Apple would be so sloppy about this. It's almost like they want me to use Apple TV for handbraked movies from the video store... ridiculous.
To be fair, Apple said that new releases would make their way to Apple TV up to 30 days after they hit the shelves, and these aren't passed the deadline.
That said, what I find a little unsettling is that you can buy Beowulf on Amazon.com Unbox right now! Jobs made it sound from his keynote that Apple was going to be the market leader in digital downloaded movies. Right now, I dare say they're behind the game.
Can Apple be sued for false advertising for what they claimed in the keynote? I bought the Apple TV hoping for the selection of 1000 movies by the end of February. I will still like the unit if it gets all the new releases 30 days after they hit the shelves, but I'm starting to wonder if that will be a broken promise the way things are going.
The thread title implies there are *no* movies for rent. Obviously they didn't meet their target (and when you make claims in a big keynote like that you should be held accountable IMO), but its not like there aren't *any* rental movies on iTunes or the
tv.but its not like there aren't *any* rental movies on iTunes or the
The problem for me is that there are plenty of devices out there that support rentals from the internet. Tivo with Amazon unbox, Media Center Extenders with Vongo, XBox 360 with the Live marketplace.
The problem with all the devices is that the process is inconvenient and, more importantly, the selection is crap.
I bought the Apple TV hoping that it would be the device to end that. Jobs proclaimed "we have every major studio" and "all the first run movies will be available" and "we'll have 1000 movies by the end of February". So far, the Apple TV falls into the category of crap selection.
I'm willing to give Apple the benefit of the doubt for now, but I admit that I'm a little uncomfortable with the way things have gone the past month. We'll see how things go in March.
Looks like the blame lay with the studios trying to get licensing permission before Apple can post movies.
That doesn't explain the huge gap between Apple and Unbox. It shouldn't affect just one vendor and not the other.
Apparently from the shareholders meeting:
"- Jobs stated he is "not happy about" the fact that they were unable to meet the 1000 movies on iTunes goal by the end of February. Jobs blamed the delay on movie studios getting the necessary approvals from various rights holders of each film."
I'm glad to see that Jobs is recognizing that there is a problem and that they did not meet a promised milestone. That being said, I think he needs to be more careful on promising things that he's not sure he can bring to fruition. Hopefully they'll get this sorted out soon, so ATV will be a real competitor in this area, and I can justify buying one when I get back from my deployment! Hopefully I'm not wasting time encoding movies with Handbrake during some of my downtime here.
"- Jobs stated he is "not happy about" the fact that they were unable to meet the 1000 movies on iTunes goal by the end of February. Jobs blamed the delay on movie studios getting the necessary approvals from various rights holders of each film."
I'm glad to see that Jobs is recognizing that there is a problem and that they did not meet a promised milestone. That being said, I think he needs to be more careful on promising things that he's not sure he can bring to fruition. Hopefully they'll get this sorted out soon, so ATV will be a real competitor in this area, and I can justify buying one when I get back from my deployment! Hopefully I'm not wasting time encoding movies with Handbrake during some of my downtime here.