iLounge

1

It gets kinda confusing… but… at least if you rent on your PC/Mac, you can transfer to your iPhone-4 for viewing, you just can’t transfer something rented on the phone over to your PC—not sure why. Personally, I do all my initial renting on the PC anyway…

Posted by Tamarai on September 2, 2010 at 2:12 PM (PDT)

2

I agree it is very confusing. I find it a bit irritating that Steve would emphasize in the keynote yesterday that you could start watching something on your iOS device and then walk in the living room and resume watching it on your TV (he actually said just that) if that’s not going to work with rentals.

Surely this convoluted list of will-work-to-and-not-from business will get straightened out before 4.2 and full Airplay hits. It would seem that by not having rentals ‘just work’ would be contrary to the point of touting the convenience of Airplay.

Posted by ~ruindpzzle in san diego, CA on September 2, 2010 at 3:26 PM (PDT)

3

I just requested my .99 cents back from apple since I can’t play it on my iPad. And they spelled MINIMUM wrong on their faqs page…I am pretty annoyed.

Posted by Iainrmacmillan on September 2, 2010 at 3:58 PM (PDT)

4

Huh. I already had little interest in renting TV shows, and now my iOS 4-less iPad makes it even less likely.

Strangely, I still want a new Apple TV, though. More for the Netflix and streaming my ripped-into-iPad-format videos to my TV than anything the iTunes store could provide. Ah, well.

Posted by Daniel S. on September 2, 2010 at 5:41 PM (PDT)

5

So what is going to happen with the current model of apple TV? No software update no new features? Should I just get atv flash then?

Posted by estudioG design + interiors on September 3, 2010 at 3:11 AM (PDT)

6

The existing Apple TV will keep working the way it already does for playing purchased content and rented movies, and apparently you’ll still be able to purchase content directly on the device, unlike the second-generation Apple TV which will be rental-only.

There will actually still be benefits to having the first-generation model such as local storage and the ability to purchase and download content right on the device, including podcasts.

Posted by Jesse Hollington in Toronto on September 3, 2010 at 6:43 AM (PDT)

7

TV rentals are not available in Canada (yet?)

Posted by Gary in Ottawa on September 4, 2010 at 5:52 AM (PDT)

8

Sadly, no—U.S. only for now and probably for the foreseeable future.  Apple has only signed up ABC and Fox so far, which are U.S. networks.

Oddly, TV show distribution for rental or purchase seems to be negotiated in the same manner as network broadcast rights, with Apple and iTunes being just another TV network as far as the studios are concerned.

Separate deals with have to be negotiated in other markets like Canada, taking into consideration the broadcast rights that are already in place with Canadian TV providers—consider how many of the U.S. shows on the Canadian iTunes Store are listed under the CityTV, CTV or CBC networks, as those are the networks that carry those shows in Canada and in many cases the U.S. studios have granted exclusive distribution rights to them for those particular shows.

Posted by Jesse Hollington in Toronto on September 4, 2010 at 6:43 AM (PDT)

9

That’s what I realized after installing os4.1 last night. It’s only possible to buy tv episodes for $2.49, which is ok when you only want a few of them but the price for a complete season is not competitive with DVDs.

Posted by Jeff on September 9, 2010 at 5:50 AM (PDT)