[angelmb]

source: NY Times,


A Coming Attraction: Movies on iTunes.

By LAURA M. HOLSON and EDUARDO PORTER
Published: June 20, 2006

Consumers have been willing to spend 99 cents to buy Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" or $1.99 for an episode of "Desperate Housewives" from iTunes.

Now Steven P. Jobs is betting they will also pay $9.99 to download "The Godfather" to play on their iPods.

For weeks, Apple Computer has been talking with executives at all the major studios — including the Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers and Universal Studios — about adding movies to its popular iTunes music store, several people involved in the negotiations said.

Mr. Jobs, who is Apple's chief executive, has been participating in the negotiations and telling studio executives in Los Angeles that he wants to have a deal in place by the fall, people involved in the negotiations said.

Disney, which was the first studio to put some TV shows (like "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives") on iTunes, is also expected to be the first to put some movies on Apple's online service, the people involved in the talks said.

Moreover, Mr. Jobs will attend his first Disney board meeting later this month. He became a director when the company acquired Pixar Animation Studios, where he had been a founder and chief executive.

An Apple spokeswoman said that the company would not comment on what she called rumors. The individuals asked not to be identified because the negotiations were confidential. News of a possible deal was reported yesterday in Daily Variety.

It is not the first time the studios and Mr. Jobs have discussed selling movies online. But the recent talks are more serious.

While Mr. Jobs is getting resistance from some studios, they are more open to the idea since most now offer their television shows on iTunes. "Steve wants to get this done, and the studios want to reach an agreement, too," said one person apprised of the negotiations.

But people involved in the negotiations said there were several potential snags, including fears about piracy and Mr. Jobs's proposal to charge a flat price of $9.99 for movies already sold on DVD.

Studios are concerned about preserving relationships with traditional partners, including theaters and retailers. In particular, one person involved said, a price of $9.99 for a movie would undercut the price Wal-Mart charges for DVD's.

Under Mr. Jobs's proposed plan, there will be several prices for movies, depending on when they have their debut on iTunes. The prices have not yet been determined, but some studios are worried about releasing movies too close to their theatrical release dates. The current window for a DVD release is four months after a movie hits theaters.

"Everyone is pushing back on this," said another person apprised of the talks.

The reports of Apple's discussions with movie studios have renewed speculation that Apple is preparing to offer a living room-oriented entertainment device later this year, in time for the Christmas season.

The TV programs and music videos sold on iTunes are low-resolution videos appropriate for viewing on the iPod. But they offer inadequate display quality when viewed on a Macintosh computer.

Apple has also introduced several hardware and software features over the past year, like an Apple hand-held remote control and a television-oriented on-screen control system called Front Row.

The current Apple video system, which competes with Microsoft's Media Center PC software, is now oriented toward Apple's computers.

There has been extensive industry speculation during the last year that Mr. Jobs is planning to use the Internet to deliver high-definition video directly to consumers on flat-screen televisions.


Discuss

[Landos Mustache]

Hell no.

Most DVD's can be found for LESS than that.

[mdc]

I'm leaning towards "I'll pass."

I am never buying DVDs the day they came out and normally buy them for around $15 or less. It doesn't bother me if I only get the DVD a few months after they come out. Even if this is $5 cheaper I'm still stuck with them on my iPod or my Powerbook. Unless the downloaded movie is widescreen and comparable to DVD quality there is no way it is going to look nice on my 55" widscreen HDTV, and that is not worth saving $5 to me.

Another thing. I bought the DVD of the Avengers animated movie last week and I had watched a little before (trailers). Just the 5.1 sound is worth the extra $5 I'd spend to get the DVD.

Unless Apple released a new iPod with a very nice screen to watch movies on, I think I'll be skipping the downloaded movies. If they bring out an iPod that compares to that rumored wide-touch-screen iPod, I might actually buy movies on DVD and download them just for the iPod. That would sway me. It all depends on the iPod, in my opinion, the current one isn't the one to watch movies on.

[demograph68]

Originally Posted by mdc

I'm leaning towards "I'll pass."

Same here.

[::maroma::]

I think it all depends on the quality of the movie files, as well as any extras you might get. For $9.99, you would have to have the quality of the movie file high enough to be viewed full screen on a desktop Mac, or on your TV without any (or very very little) loss of image quality. No one will pay that much for an iPod style video file. And they'd have to throw in extras, sort of like the things you get when you buy a DVD.

But I still don't think people will switch from DVD's to iTunes downloads for movies. People buy DVD's for the quality, the extras and the collectability.

[greenamp]

ZOMG Apple's talks with the executives of the major studios only lasted four weeks!

[Mastrap]

Originally Posted by podcrazy

I found a site where you can download full dvd movies for $3.99 each. No membership or monthly fees. Download ala cart. Good quality too. www.buyimovies.com Took me about 15 minutes a movie to download.

Yeah, that looks legal....

[moonmonkey]

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

Hell no.

Most DVD's can be found for LESS than that.

Where?

[powerbook867]

no. not worth it at all..unless the quality is at least to DVD levels whhich Iit probably will not be.

[Dark Helmet]

Originally Posted by moonmonkey

Where?

Best but, wal-mart, etc.

Heck I just say Batman begins for $8.99 Canadian brand friggin new.

[Eug]

At US$9.99, no thanx. And If it's still that 320x240 shyte, then no thanx even if it's $4.99.

Originally Posted by podcrazy

I found a site where you can download full dvd movies for $3.99 each. No membership or monthly fees. Download ala cart. Good quality too. www.buyimovies.com Took me about 15 minutes a movie to download.

podcrazy
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 2

Domain Name: BUYIMOVIES.COM
Registrar: GO DADDY SOFTWARE, INC.
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Updated Date: 15-jul-2006
Creation Date: 12-jul-2006
Expiration Date: 12-jul-2007

Our fees are for our services of converting formats so that you may utilize a program in conjunction with you IPOD. We are not selling you the product itself. By downloading anything from this site you certify that you own an original copy of said downloaded title and that you are paying us only for our services of converting formats.

[Kerrigan]

You couldn't pay me $10 to watch a whole movie on an iPod.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

You couldn't pay me $10 to watch a whole movie on an iPod.

You own a 60-inch Sony plasma HDTV, don't you?

[Kerrigan]

I've got an HDTV but the gist of this news story is that people will be paying $10 to watch something on their iPod, and that maybe it will fit in with Front Row somehow.

I'll stick with DVDs, thanks.

[starman]

I converted a few of my DVDs to watch on my iPod. It's a pain in the ass to watch them on a tiny screen. The PSP is better.

[Jawbone54]

I would only store maybe 2 or 3 of my absolute favorite movies on my iPod, just to have something familiar to watch on a plane without busting out the PBook. There are very few situations which I'd be "on the go" and have about, oh, 2 hours to spare.

[Kerrigan]

Even on an airplane I would rather watch a movie on those crumby 7" screens than on a tiny iPod.

[Jawbone54]

What if the widescreen/touch screen iPod became a reality, and the screen was about 4 inches?

[Kerrigan]

I still wouldn't be that excited about it. It's not like my opinion is anything new though, Jobs has been saying for years that people don't want to watch movies on small screens.

[Jawbone54]

So, basically what has been established here is that Kerrigan thinks that it is a very bad idea to watch movies on a small screen. Most people would probably agree. I guess we have to wait to see if Apple tries to change people's minds.

[Kerrigan]

I think it would be cool if Apple had something like AirTunes which could stream purchased movies to my TV through WiFi. I realize that something similar can be done w/ a mini and FrontRow, but this is a tad expensive.

But like I said earlier, downloading a movie to watch it on your iPod? meh.

[Salty]

I watched all of Serenity on my iPod

[Dark Helmet]

Originally Posted by Salty

I watched all of Serenity on my iPod

Did that make it suck less?