14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has just issued a report announcing that movies from major film studios are now available on the iTunes Store in Germany for purchase and rent. There are currently over 500 Hollywood and German films packing the venue, Apple says, among which the company mentions eye-catching titles like “Quantum Of Solace,” “The Dark Knight,” “Pineapple Express,” “High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” “Eagle Eye,” “Die Fälscher,” “Keinohrhasen” and “Aimee & Jaguar.”
Movies premiered in Germany's iTunes Store are being delivered on behalf of the world's biggest film studios, including Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), The Walt Disney Studios, Sony Pictures Television, and independents including Universum and Shorts International, Apple adds. Movies are available for purchase on the iTunes Store on the same day as their DVD release. Customers can download the film and view it on anything from a Mac or PC to an iPod with video.
Movies start at €7.99 for catalog title purchases, €9.99 for recent releases and €13.99 for new releases. Standard-definition rentals are €2.99 for library titles, and €3.99 for new releases. High-definition (HD) versions are priced at just one euro more.
As far as rentals are concerned, users with a fast Internet connection can start viewing a movie mere seconds after hitting the download button. An “untouched” film (after it has been downloaded) “waits” 30 days for the user to hit the play button on the Apple remote, or the iPhone's / iPod's touchscreen. As soon as the play button is hit, customers have 48 hours to watch the movie, and can watch it multiple times during this two-day trial period. Apple also mentions in the report issued today that 100+ HD films are also available on the iTunes Store in Germany.
Germany's movie fans are encouraged to download and install iTunes 8.1.for Mac or Windows to start making movie purchases and rentals. Apple will require a valid credit card with a billing address in Germany.