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I just had a look at iTunes again. Here in Germany the typical price of a HD (720p) movie (rental) is 4,99€. How much is it in USA?

I have also looked at video buster (www.videobuster.de). It is a rental service in Germany.
They send DVDs or Bluray Discs and you get to send them per post back. The prices there are also very expensive. On average they demand 3-4€/Disc.

I watch around 10 movies a month. If I wanted to rent them from iTunes I would need 50€. If I want to be total honest, I don't think this is a price I can pay and justify to myself.
 
I also want to add some things to complete the picture. I watch a couple of TV series that I cannot watch in Germany in their original english sound. Two and a half men and Californication are two of them. I can download both series on Usenet and watch them. I just checked on iTunes and the current season of Two and a half Men isn't even available.
If I wanted to continue watching the stuff I like and be completely legal, I wouldn't be able to do it!
No current TV series (or very expensive), no porn (that has to also be considered), no 1080p quality. It seems a very good deal trying to be completely legal.
I am really sorry to say that, and I would love to completely abandon the Usenet, but I don't see how I can do it and still keep watching the TV series I want. (among others).
 
I've just been burned on buying too many crappy movies to feel like I should keep purchasing them outright. $5 is way too much money to justify a rental. Hence the cassette and crossbones icon in my favorites tab. I watch good movies more than once, and if a movie I downloaded is actually good then I will buy it on bluray/dvd then rip a copy for my ATV2. There's not really any harm in that.

Besides, if a movie, tv show, or album sucks, then why would I want to support the artist? If they make crappy music or movies, they don't deserve to make money. If I do a bad job at work, I have to suffer the consequences.

If I don't like it, I delete it. Some say I should pay to try it out? No thanks. I know there's now 90 second previews on iTunes, but whoopdie do.
 
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I gave up owning physical media about 3 years ago. I ripped my entire DVD collection (400 titles) to my 2 TB external HD using RipIt. If I want to watch a movie I connect my MBP to my HDTV. Down the road I'll buy another Mac Mini to connect to the TV for convenience. I watch new releases and restored classics on BD via Netflix.

If I watch a BD and want to own the HD version of the film, I seek out the appropriate torrent. I feel like crap using torrents but I refuse to purchase DRM movies (iTunes). I would be open to purchasing HD digital films if they came DRM free, but that option does not currently exist.

Sometimes I rent DVDs from Netflix that are not available in Blu-ray. If I really like the movie and want to own it I rip it to my external before mailing it back.

Also this website that Hellhammer linked to previously in the thread nails it. There simply are not sufficient ways, IMO, of purchasing and owning digital copies of films.
 
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I only buy a few movies--I usually rent via Netflix, Apple TV, or Amazon VOD--if I like the movie I buy the Blu Ray from Amazon--I don't have a problem with DRM--or the cost of the Blu Rays I buy--I don't buy them if they are too expensive. I don't use torrents.
 
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