These movies will be available for view on iTunes and through the network on the AppleTV. This will hopefully be the killer App of the AppleTV which has been lackluster in performance as well as sales up until this point. Most likely it was the studos who have been dragging their feet up until this point. “The Apple-Fox deal, likely to be announced at the Macworld show on January 14, has the potential to transform film distribution. Apart from letting people rent online, Apple will also for the first time extend its FairPlay digital rights management system beyond its own products,” Garrahan and Allison report. “A digital file protected by FairPlay will be included in new Fox DVD releases, enabling film content to be transferred or ‘ripped’ from the disc to a computer and video iPod.” “Apple, whose shares hit $200 for the first time yesterday in intra-day trade, is understood to have been in talks with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount and Warner Bros about making their new releases available on iTunes to buy and rent,” Garrahan and Allison report." Also, according to Paidcontent.org: To review: Apple WILL announce movie rentals at Macworld. Prices will start at about two bucks each. Expect movies to be viewable for 24-72 hours but perhaps up to a week. The data will still take a considerable time to download – up to a few hours o the slower broadbands. But it is what it is. It is about time.
