iTunes Offers HD Movies for Purchase and Rental
iTunes movies in high-definition. That’s the word from Apple, which announced Thursday that customers of the popular online iTunes Store can now rent or buy movies in HD for a Mac, a PC, or a TV set with Apple TV.
The HD movies include such new releases as Quantum of Solace and Twilight. Prices are $19.99 for a download purchase and $4.99 as a rental within 30 days from release.
HD Evolution on iTunes
Each HD movie also comes in a standard-definition version for watching on an iPhone or an iPod with video. iTunes 8.1 or later is needed for downloading.
Eddy Cue, Apple vice president of Internet services, said iTunes customers have already made HD content on the service “a hit, with over 50 percent of TV programming being purchased in HD when available.”
Other new movie titles available in HD include Transporter 3, Punisher: War Zone, Bangkok Dangerous, Saw V, Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys, Religulous and, beginning April 14, the action/comedy The Spirit.
The availability of HD movies is part of a high-definition evolution on iTunes. In January 2008, Apple introduced its movie rentals, which included HD versions that were only available through Apple TV. Last fall, with the release of iTunes 8, the company said customers would be able to download HDTV programs.
Some observers have speculated whether HD movies on iTunes and other online stores could be a problem for the Blu-ray format. iTunes can have an enormous impact on the entertainment industry, given its catalog of more than 10 million songs, 40,000 TV episodes, and 5,000 movies.
‘Minimal Impact’ on Blu-ray
But Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for consumer technology at the NPD Group, said HD on iTunes will “likely have minimal impact on Blu-ray.” He added, “We’ve seen HD offerings via online before,” such as with the Xbox, but…
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