Movies rented from the iTunes Store using the iPad cannot be transferred back to users’ iTunes libraries, iLounge has discovered, and must be viewed solely on the iPad. When Apple introduced movie rentals as a new iTunes Store feature, it noted that movies rented using iTunes on a computer or on a portable device could be transferred to and from each other during the duration of the 30-day rental period. Movies rented from a computer version of iTunes can still be transferred to the iPad or any other Apple device, and of course, items purchased rather than rented using the iPad transfer back to iTunes in the same manner as with the iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV.
Unlike the Apple TV, however, the iTunes Store does not provide any notification of this restriction when renting a movie on the iPad; the information is hidden unless the user chooses the “Learn About Rentals” option, or looks within the iTunes Store Terms of Service—it is similarly buried in a just-published Apple KnowledgeBase Article on Viewing and downloading HD content on iPad. Although similar to restrictions for the Apple TV, this differs from renting movies directly on iPhone or iPod touch devices, which can still be transferred back to iTunes during the rental period.
