AppleTV HD movie rentals cost $16 each

Thank The Cheese · #1 January 29th, 2008, 08:07 PM

The AppleTV's rentals is a great step in digital downloads. In the long term I do think it is the future, however it is simply too expensive.

People always forget about the download limit when buying online content, I guess because until now most people have never run up against the limit. Apple and Microsoft are both rolling out HD movie download rental services, which is great, but if you break it down the price suddenly isn't very good, at least here in australia.

1 x movie rental from iTunes = $4 USD

If I'm on a $60 a month plan for 20GB downloads (pretty standard for Australia), that = $3 per gig

iTunes HD movies are 4GB, therefore the bandwidth cost for 4GB rental = $12

So therefore 1x24 hour movie rental would really cost $16

Even if movies were offered for free, it would still be too expensive. Until Apple can somehow fix this issue it simply can't work in much of the world. perhaps cutting a deal with ISPs so that movies don't count towards limit would work, though this strikes me as unfair to other similar services.

symphonix · #2 January 29th, 2008, 08:42 PM

Aussie Internet prices are still well out of step with the United States, which is one reason why I'd be very surprised to see these HD movie downloads take off here any time soon. I sincerely hope this situation changes.

I will point out a great site about Australian ISP's, plans, and the driving forces behind them:
http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/

There are some interesting topics covered there, such as PIPE (which allows downloads that aren't counted towards your limit). Its also worth working out if your ISP provides an off-peak or no-limits time - my ISP turns off all limits between 2 and 4 AM. A couple of Automator scripts can take care of the rest. :-)

**Giaguara** · #3 January 30th, 2008, 01:29 AM

At least they are cheaper than sending SMS

http://gthing.net/the-true-cost-of-sms-messages/

Jeffo · #4 January 30th, 2008, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thank The Cheese

Until Apple can somehow fix this issue it simply can't work in much of the world.

I think that your finger is pointing at the wrong "person" here. Just because you have a limit on your bandwidth has nothing at all to do with apple. If you want to point a finger you should be pointing it at your ISP.

Thank The Cheese · #5 January 31st, 2008, 04:51 AM

you're right Jeffo, I should be more specific. I just mean Apple shouldn't even bother releasing the service here unless they can work out deals with ISPs, because as it stands it is just not practical here and in many parts of the world.

wow Giaguara, that is bloody frightening, but you can't fault the maths! btw, the link seemed to be down when I tried it, but I got the google cache version

**fryke** · #6 January 31st, 2008, 05:33 AM

"in much of the world" is a bit too generalizing. It would work well in "much of the world" that I know of, because ADSL and cable providers here don't (yet?) have you pay per amount of data.

rubaiyat · #7 February 11th, 2008, 10:12 PM

Could you detail ""much of the world" that I know of", as most of the world, with some notable exceptions, charges for download or simply has poor speeds or the local population can't afford it in the first place.

My local ISP here in Australia has truly unlimited DL from midnight to 7am, so at the cost of self induced insomnia I get so much DL that I am running out of anything to actually DL.

Despite that I am disappointed at the quality of much that is available. The price of living in a PC world I guess.

I find as far as DVDs go I am much better serviced by ordering rentals via the Internet for effectively about $2.50 each.

That would be even more applicable if i move to the coast where Internet speed and costs are terrible, something which the new Rudd government, despite its promises is unlikely to really fix.

symphonix · #8 February 12th, 2008, 03:37 PM

Quote:

My local ISP here in Australia has truly unlimited DL from midnight to 7am, so at the cost of self induced insomnia I get so much DL that I am running out of anything to actually DL.

Spend a couple of hours trying to soak up a bit of AppleScript / Automator and then you can go get some sleep!

Quote:

That would be even more applicable if i move to the coast where Internet speed and costs are terrible, something which the new Rudd government, despite its promises is unlikely to really fix.

I think the blame here really lies with the two big providers, Telstra and Optus, who have fallen into the habit of taking public funds for 12 years now. They've managed to take over $2 billion dollars in public funds already to improve their networks, and simply haven't met their obligations, but have established very powerful and effective lobby groups who make sure that "better broadband" is always a government priority.

Now frankly, I don't like the idea of paying Telstra/Optus $2B of our own money to improve their networks, only to have them not actually carry out the improvements, but they've gotten away with it for several years. The current labor government has pledged $4.7B and have made special note to "...put in place regulatory reforms to ensure upfront certainty for investment." - Politics speak for "We know you guys are going to try to cheat us again, so we're going to make sure the agreement requires you to meet goals before you see a cent of funding."