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Apple's new movie rentals: Mostly awesome
At Macworld Tuesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced a new movie rental model, iTunes Movie Rentals, that's designed to work with iTunes, Apple TV, iPhones and iPods. While it's not yet fully operational, the basics are available now.
So I took it for a spin last night, and let me tell you, Apple is onto something. I'm not ready to ditch my Netflix account, but it's clear that Apple is going to be serving me a lot more movies in the near future.
First, here's the deal: Apple will continue to sell movies via its iTunes online store, starting at US$9.99 for older titles, with higher prices going to newer releases. Customers will have the option to rent movies for $2.99 for older titles, $3.99 for new releases, and a dollar more for their high-definition versions. You have 30 days to start watching a movie, but after you start, you've got to complete the movie within 24 hours. Within that 24-hour window, you can watch the movie as often as you like.
A handful of movies are available to rent now, and by the end of February, Apple plans to offer more than 1,000 titles, including 100 in HD, which will also support 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. All of the major Hollywood studios are involved - 20th Century Fox, Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Sony, MGM, Lionsgate and New Line - so the library of titles should continue to grow well beyond 1,000.
Read the full article here.
