can the internet beat dvd rental

iTunes movie rental - Standard-definition movie rentals on the iTunes Store are $3.99 for new releases and $2.99 for library titles.
@lucgeta (924)
France
January 16, 2008 9:17am CST
The dvd rental market is growing and becoming more important than the movie theater. Many movies are released so the dvd can come out at the right time - summer movies in may and dvd in november, good isn't it? Now that a little war was settling in favor of Blu Ray, the internet is stepping up with Apple to the rescue in renting online thru iTunes now that broadband is hardly a concern. Some say Apple movie rental will do as well as iTunes did in music. Tell me about it guys. Do you rent movies on the net? Will use Apple service? Will your shining new BluRay go to the museum that fast?
2 people like this
5 responses
@ellie333 (21016)
17 Jan 08
I started a free trial for dvd rentals from an online company and tried to cancel, spoke to an adviser and they said as soon as my next dvds were returned i could cancel online so next day after posting back went to cancel online and they had already received back and already so they claimed sent out another two so far I have been charged £12.99 and they are due to take another £12.99 on the 21st. I cannot cancel my card details either unless i give them another valid one so i am caught in a bit of a loop. I have complained to them and it will be resolved but I will never rent online again it is cheaper to buy the dvd from hmv or amazon online which i think in the future i will do. I love to see movies but due to lack of child care usually need to wait until released on dvd, unless ofcourse it is a childrens film then i go to movies
1 person likes this
@lucgeta (924)
• France
18 Jan 08
No problem with the services I used. Good sites would accept the cancellation and then give you 10-15 days to return all dvd's in your possession. The delay depends on the site and coverage - for me it could take 3 days to receive.
@youless (112123)
• Guangzhou, China
17 Jan 08
I think it'll have a serious effect on the DVD rental. As it's easy to watch or download the movies via the net. So it is no need to go to rent it and then return it next day.
1 person likes this
@lucgeta (924)
• France
18 Jan 08
Blazing cable speeds are coming and wireless is getting faster too.
@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
16 Jan 08
Our technology is certainly growing fast. I think it will come down to what the general public is comfortable with. Most I don't think will want to watch the majority of their movies in front of their computer.I think dvd rentals will be fine for now. Sit on the couch. Popcorn in hand. Remote by your side, ready set , watch.
1 person likes this
@lucgeta (924)
• France
17 Jan 08
You can connect computers to most of the tv's on the market today. The computer is just a mean to start downloading the movie to a box like TiVo or Apple tv.
• United States
16 Jan 08
Online DVD Rentals - This is an image of the most popular growing online DVD Rental site - Netflix
Actually it already has - think of it! It saves gas just to go down to a movie rental space, plus it costs you an arm or a leg to pay like $5 or so to rent a movie and then take it back after 1 day or 2 and then waste more gas just to get there? Forget it! I prefer online DVD rentals - the number one growing company is Netflix - been using them for a while now - and it is only $10 a month - can't beat that with a bat!
@lucgeta (924)
• France
17 Jan 08
You mean the postal service of NetFlix which is wonderful and I myself used for many years. The new high-speed broadband connections with DSL services reaching 20Mb are allowing companies to offer download/streaming movies for your computer and tv-set.
• United States
16 Jan 08
The only problem with downloading movies online is that it takes up to 7 hours or more to download a 2 hour movie. I know Netflix is offering a downloadable movie rate where you can pay X amount of money per month and download movies on your PC. Problem there in is that it can take up to 7 hours on DSL/Cable internet and 2 hours on Satellite internet such as Hughes Net. If you have dial up, you're going to be there for more than a day. Not many people have fast Satellite internet, so it takes quite a while. I can walk to Blockbuster, select a movie, pay for it and walk home before my cable modemed computer finishes downloading a movie from Netflix. Until the computer's internet gets faster, I doubt that internet sales of movies will be a competition for DVD sales. I have watched more than one episode of a TV show I missed online. That was neat, but it took a minute or two for the show to buffer properly to air, and even then, it skipped or paused every little bit to buffer more to play it, but it's better than no episode at all.
1 person likes this
@lucgeta (924)
• France
17 Jan 08
It takes some time to download movies. In Apple iTunes the movie can be downloaded and stays available for 30 days for your convenience. So the latest release will be available for tomorrow and not on Monday. For library movies works even better, just download as you remember them and watch it later. I agree that compression technology has improved a lot and a new push wouldn't be bad at all.