RSS Feeds
Entertainment
Movies On Australian iTunes
Posted by Nick Broughall at 11:43 AM on August 14, 2008
We counted 364 films on offer, ranging from classics like Terminator and Robocop to relatively new releases, like Jumper and Cloverfield, although the press release claims over 700. Prices to purchase the films look to vary between $9.99 and $24.99, which seems a little bit steep - there's no physical disc, so it should be much cheaper than buying a DVD.
Movie rentals are also available, with library items costing $3.99 and new releases $5.99, which is a much more appealing cost. At this stage, it doesn't look like there's anything in HD, but that could be a choice on Apple's part - at least until our broadband pipes expand enough to be able to handle the extra bandwidth.
If you are going to be jumping into this service, make sure you know your download limits - unless you're with iiNet, you'll be paying for the download twice, and as movies are all about 1GB in size, you can chew through your monthly allowance pretty quick.
[Apple - Thanks Ryan!]
Apple Premieres Movies on the iTunes Store in Australia & New ZealandSYDNEY & AUCKLAND--August 14, 2008--Apple® today announced that movies from major film studios including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Sony Pictures Television International and Lionsgate are now available on the iTunes® Store in Australia (www.itunes.com/au) and in New Zealand (www.itunes.com/nz). Movie purchases and rentals feature iTunes' legendary ease of use, which makes discovering and enjoying movies as simple and easy as buying music on iTunes has always been. The iTunes Store in Australia and New Zealand feature over 700 films for rent or purchase, with new release titles available for purchase on the same day as their DVD release, including favourites such as "National Treasure 2," "Jumper," "27 Dresses," "Cloverfield," "Vantage Point" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."
"Movie fans in Australia and New Zealand can choose from a great selection of over 700 films for purchase and rent on the iTunes Store," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of Internet Services. "iTunes provides an incredibly easy and fun way for people to discover and enjoy movies, and has quickly become the world's most popular online movie store with customers renting and purchasing over 50,000 movies everyday."
With iTunes Movie Rentals, once a movie is rented, it starts downloading from the iTunes Store directly to iTunes or Apple TV®, and users with a fast Internet connection can start viewing the movie in seconds. Customers have up to 30 days to start watching it, and once a movie has been started customers have 48 hours to finish it--or watch it multiple times. iTunes Movie Rentals also feature over 100 titles available in stunning high definition, perfect for viewing on a widescreen TV with Apple TV.
Pricing & Availability
Movie purchases and rentals from the iTunes Store for Mac® or Windows require iTunes 7.7.1, available as a free download from www.itunes.com/au or www.itunes.com/nz. iTunes movie purchases and rentals require a valid credit card with a billing address in Australia or New Zealand as applicable. iTunes movies in Australia start at recommended retail price RRP A$9.99 inc GST for catalog title purchases, RRP A$17.99 inc GST for recent releases and RRP A$24.99 inc GST for new releases. iTunes Movie Rentals are RRP A$3.99 inc GST for library title rentals and RRP A$5.99 inc GST for new releases, and high definition versions are priced at just one dollar more.iTunes movies in New Zealand start at recommended retail price NZ$9.99 inc GST for catalog title purchases, RRP NZ$17.99 inc GST for recent releases and RRP NZ$24.99 inc GST for new releases. iTunes Movie Rentals are RRP NZ$4.99 inc GST for library title rentals and RRP NZ$6.99 inc GST for new releases, and high definition versions are priced at just one dollar more. Movie rentals can be previewed, purchased and watched on iPod® classic, iPod nano with video, iPod touch, iPhone™ and on a widescreen TV with Apple TV.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
Comments
Simon
Posted August 14, 2008 12:34 PM
ahh its great to be with iinet :D
Dave
Posted August 14, 2008 12:34 PM
Well thats kinda pretty lame. I can vouchers that are cheaper for my local movie rental place and JB Hifi, Big W etc sell physical DVDs cheaper that itunes most of the time. So in my opinion its pretty meh.
Anon
Posted August 14, 2008 1:10 PM
Well, I work at a Blockbuster, and the prices aren't that bad. I mean, for us it's $4.95 for a new release rental on a weekday, and $7 on weekends, so $5.99 stacks up pretty nicely (even more so when you consider you have it for two days. Juno is being sold for about $30, at least around these parts (Perth), so this doesn't seem too bad. It's the combo deals where videoshops shine, but iTunes seems pretty competitive.
Being on iiNet, I'm over the moon with this. Bought myself There Will Be Blood, and the whole experience (one touch buying, and being able to watch it from the get go) is just so simple.
John
Posted August 14, 2008 1:52 PM
At first I thought it must have been a joke. Apple needs to check out the current AU dollar. $10-30 for movies I can buy cheaper that have a phyical disc that I can rip to my iphone or ipod as well as safely store the oringal media. Comeon Apple take the digital age forward not backward. Sell the content at realistic pricing, no wonder movies companies are being rippped off by pirates with that pricing.
Ben
Posted August 15, 2008 6:19 PM
@John, except it's still illegal in Australia to rip DVDs, so this is pretty much the only legal way to rent or buy movies for your computer or ipod