iLounge

Movies rented from the iTunes Store using the iPhone 4 cannot be transferred back to users’ iTunes libraries, iLounge has discovered, and must be viewed solely on the iPhone 4. Although this is similar to a restriction found on the iPad and Apple TV, this marks the first time that this limitation has appeared on an iPhone. The iTunes Store Terms and Conditions and iTunes Store Movie/Film Rental FAQ (iTunes link) indicate that movies rented “using the Apple TV or iPad may not be moved” however they exclude any mention of the iPhone 4 in this regard, as do any of Apple’s current support documents. The only reference to this restriction is found buried on page 99 in the iPhone iOS 4 User Guide (PDF link) which states:

“On iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, you can transfer rented movies between iPhone and your computer. On iPhone 4, you can transfer rented movies between iPhone and your computer only if they were rented in iTunes on your computer. Movies rented on iPhone 4 cannot be transferred to a computer.”

It is also worth noting that the iPhone 4 has the same restriction on video output as the iPad, prohibiting the iPad Dock to VGA Connector from being used to display HD content purchased or rented from the iTunes Store. This brings into question the practicality of renting HD movies directly on the iPhone 4 since the 960 x 640 Retina Display still falls short of full 720p resolution while standard-definition content at 854 x 480 comes reasonably close to the capabilities of the new display.