Renting movies on your iPad vs. other renting options
by J.J. on Jul.10, 2010, under iPad News, iPad Unboxed
Statler: I like the movie fine so far.
Waldorf: It hasn’t started yet.
Statler: That’s what I like about it. – The Muppet Show
Have you seen a Hollywood video store lately? Me neither. Blockbuster video stores are dwindling in number but barely hanging on thanks to the DVD delivery service they copied from Netflix. And have you been inside a Blockbuster video store lately? It feels like walking into a swap meet.
What about renting your movies from iTunes? Have you tried that yet? As a happy Netflix user I hadn’t either but I used a recent flight as a great excuse to give it a try. So while sitting in the airport before my flight I perused my options. And finally settled on Book of Eli for $3.99. At this point iTunes reminds me that i must be on a wi-fi connection to download a movie. Doh! I had completely overlooked that minor detail and was expecting to download my rental on my 3G connection. Never fear the airport has free wi-fi! So I started the download and waited for it to finish. And waited. And waited. This was not going well. As you can see from the screen shot below it had an expected download time of almost two hours!
I checked the Apple website for their estimated times for downloads:
Hm. That’s quite a bit longer than I expected. So, note to self, if I want to rent movies in the future I’ll need to plan ahead. I’ll need a wi-fi connection and anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours of time to download the movie before I can watch it. Much longer it it’s an HD movie. Another thing to note is that since the iPad doesn’t multitask once you begin the download you can’t do anything else on your iPad without interrupting the download. Ultimately I did not end up watching the movie on my flight but several days later.
Here are my personal comparisons for all the options available to us for renting movies these days. Note: I didn’t discuss the Blockbuster DVD delivery service because I’ve never used it.
Convenience:
1. Netflix Instant Watch – I don’t have to leave my house and I can take as long as I want to watch the movie
2. Netflix delivery – I don’t have to leave my house and I can take as long as I want to watch the movie
3. iTunes Rentals – I don’t have to leave my house
4. Redbox – I have to actually put on clothes and go outdoors
5. Blockbuster – I have to actually put on clothes and go outdoors
I want to watch it NOW!
1. Netflix Instant Watch – instant
2. iTunes – 20 mins to 2 hours
3. Redbox – drive to grocery store/ 7-11/random street corner
4. Blockbuster – involves a drive
5. Netflix – 2-3 day wait for delivery
Price:
1. Netflix (tie) – depends on how many you watch per month and which plan you’re on
1. Redbox (tie) – depends on how many you watch per month and whether you return them on time
1. Blockbuster - depends on how many you watch per month and whether or not you’re on a monthly program
2. iTunes – freaking expensive compared to the other options
Selection:
1. Netflix – pretty much any DVD you could ever want
2. iTunes – huge selection
3. Blockbuster – new releases and popular older films
4. Redbox (tie) – best for new releases
4. Netflix Instant Watch (tie) – variety of new releases and older films
There are times that having iTunes movie rentals available will come in handy and I can see myself renting from iTunes occasionally. Overall though, the price is probably the biggest detractor. For now, I’m sticking with Netflix.
19 Comments for this entry
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July 10th, 2010 on 8:04 pm
I don’t think I would like the DX a bigger screen is nice but part of the reason I love my Kindle is its portability. Check out the other reasons to get a Kindle here http://amzn.to/9qQGee
July 16th, 2010 on 4:41 am
This article was extremely interesting, especially since I was searching for thoughts on this subject last Thursday.
July 16th, 2010 on 10:14 am
Have a fantastic day!
July 17th, 2010 on 1:55 am
The article is fantastic!
July 17th, 2010 on 12:53 pm
Hey this is the great article . Can I use a lot of it on my blog ? I would obviously link back to your article so people could view the complete article if they wanted to. Thanks either way.
July 17th, 2010 on 6:04 pm
Very interesting post. Your site is fairly quickly turning out to be one of my favorite features.
July 18th, 2010 on 7:30 am
I have always loved watching my movies online and it is so easy these days.
July 18th, 2010 on 9:43 pm
Absolutely.
July 19th, 2010 on 2:23 am
hey, great post. Dvds will always be around in some kind of format.
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July 24th, 2010 on 8:42 am
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September 11th, 2010 on 4:55 pm
With iTunes getting $3.99/4.99 for a movie rental this is a huge business opportunity for someone because we all like to save a buck. Netflix doesn’t work since all my movie watching is on the plane and you can’t stream in airplane mode.
May 11th, 2011 on 3:12 pm
I read your interesting article regarding renting movies on the iPad. What I am trying to find is a service that is legal, and have either a monthly or yearly fee for unlimited movie rentals. I have Netflix and I love it, but I cannot download the movies and watch them later when I do not have a wi-fi connection, like you tried, on a plane.
I have searched the net and the sites look kind of not so legal to me. Just my take. How about an article about additional renting places (beyond Itunes), and where the prices are more affordable.
Have you looked at these sites? What do you think of them?
Thank you.
http://www.downloadipadmovies.com/
http://www.cinemanow.com/
http://themovie-downloading.com/