14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has announced the availability of movies from major labels on iTunes for two territories - Ireland, and France. U.S. Film studios mentioned in the report include 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment. European studios include E1 Entertainment, Lionsgate UK and Optimum Releasing.
Popular titles like “Avatar,” “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” “Up,” “The Hangover,” “Iron Man” and “Harry Brown” are now available for rent, or purchase, Apple says. “iTunes’ legendary ease of use makes discovering and enjoying movies as simple and easy as buying music on iTunes has always been,” the Mac maker asserts, informing customers that content can be watched on pretty much any Apple device. Also noteworthy, Apple claims, is that movies are available for purchase on iTunes on the same day as their DVD release.
“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,” Apple explains to those interested in picking up on the service. “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 9.1 is recommended, Apple suggests, whether you’re a Mac user, or a Windows PC kind of person. Customers are also required to have an Apple ID with a valid credit card and billing address, in order to purchase movies. Speaking of which, these cost the same in both Ireland and France. To rent, titles start at €2.99, but they also go for €3.99 if the movies are new releases. High-definition versions are priced at €4.99. Buying to keep starts at €7.99 for catalog-title purchases, at €9.99 for recent releases and at €13.99 for new releases, Apple informs.