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Apple Makes Sweetest Anouncement Ever (Stock Plummets)

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by boulder_bum, Jan 15, 2008.

  1. boulder_bum

    boulder_bum Senior Member

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    Did anyone catch the news from Mac World today? Along with a lot of other stuff I don't care about, they mentioned that Apple TV/iTunes will offer rentals from every major studio, and will support HD rentals too!

    Wowee!

    There doesn't seem to be a lot of excitement about that in the news, but that's like the holy grail of online video! I have been holding off on getting an Apple TV because the iTunes movie selection sucked and was kind of expensive, but this completely changes the game! iTunes, with its full selection of rentals, just transformed itself into the online video service every other company (Vongo, CinemaNow, etc) wishes they were. I just hope that they get all the studios to offer downloadable permanent movies, too!

    It's enough to make me by an Apple TV and the new HDTV to view it with!

    PS - They also dropped Apple TV's price by $70. Woo!
     
    #1 boulder_bum, Jan 15, 2008
  2. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    any idear wy the stock whent down? (Stock Plummets)

    i think the new airbook is nice but maybe to limited for users.
    when i buy a small notebook without dvd drive i get a smaller one than apples airbook

    so apple combines the bigger screen on a smalle design...
    not sure if its going to be a succes

    apple tv take 2 i like!
     
    #2 Flying White Dutchman, Jan 16, 2008
  3. Alric

    Alric New Member

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    The stock always goes down after the keynote based on the previous "buy on the rumor" thinking.

    The laptop is wonderful. I am also excited about the movie rentals and HD rentals from the iTunes store. The latter makes the Bluray/HD-DVD war moot!

    Cheers!
     
    #3 Alric, Jan 16, 2008
  4. madler

    madler Member

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    The usual. Stock runs up in advance of announcements, anticipating the possibility of something amazing and unrumored. This time, what was announced was what was rumored, and there wasn't "one more thing". So the expectation, however unrealistic, exceeded the reality. So the stock drops some. Later when sales of the MacBook Air exceed expectations, the stock will go up again.

    It's all about expectation.
     
    #4 madler, Jan 16, 2008
  5. Betelgeuse

    Betelgeuse Active Member

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    Honestly, I'm somewhat underwhelmed by the movie rental announcement. The time restrictions (especially the watch-within-24-hours one) seem like they minimize the goodness of the service. For example, say I want to watch a movie at 8pm on a Friday and fall asleep. If I then want to finish watching it at 8pm on Saturday, I'm out of luck. I understand the reasons for those restrictions (which are likely from the movie companies and not from Apple), but it seems like it might get in the way of the popularity.

    What excited me more about this had nothing to do with Apple (at least directly). In what I can only assume was a reaction to Apple's announcement, Netflix started to allow people to stream unlimited movies from their web page (for most Netflix subscription plans).
     
    #5 Betelgeuse, Jan 16, 2008
  6. Alric

    Alric New Member

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    I don't think that movie would be worthwhile finishing.. :)
     
    #6 Alric, Jan 16, 2008
  7. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    I would tend to agree with you... When you rent a movie at Blockbuster, you get it for a full week, and can watch it as many times as you want during that week, start it one day and finish it 2 days later, whatever...

    Apple does need to put some sort of restriction on it, but 24 hours might be a little too tight.
     
    #7 eagle33199, Jan 16, 2008
  8. boulder_bum

    boulder_bum Senior Member

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    See I don't mind it. I'll watch most movies once, then never watch it again for years. If I really like the movie, then I'll buy it. I don't think I've ever watched a rental twice in one rental period.

    Don't get me wrong, I do think that the restrictions are lame (and almost certainly imposed by the movie industry), but I really do think this service is viable.

    My main complaint about the current setup is that the movie industry doesn't really "get" digital distribution yet. The reason why iTunes is fast becoming the world's largest music distributor is that they figured out a formula that works. People felt ripped off buying a $15 album for one song, and they like the convenience of shopping online. iTunes cuts distribution costs to next to nothing (no packaging, no shipping, no warehouses, no physical inventory management, no cashiers to pay) and they pass the savings on to consumers and offer .99¢ songs.

    People realize that it's cheaper to deliver media in digital format, and they expect that the savings are going to be passed on.

    The movie industry's view is backwards. They think that people want to pay a PREMIUM for digital downloads vs. boxed copies, so the movie you can get in the $4.99 bargain bin at Best Buy will cost $19.99 on iTunes.

    Now, there are folks like me who would be willing to pay rentals fees of $4.99/$5.99 for HD instead of paying $1 a night at RedBox or $5.99/month for Netflix just because it's been my hope to move to a completely digital setup for all my entertainment, but I think the main obstacle to get people completely sold on iTunes as the new video king is now price and selection of movies for permanent download.

    Apple is VERY close to getting everything right, though. I'm seriously thinking I'll buy an Apple TV and a new LCD TV soon just because of the rental announcement.

    Yeah, but Netflix is missing two key essentials for their system to work, and I say this being a paid subscriber who uses the service. First, their streaming rentals are all old and/or B-movies. There are a few gems like "Stand By Me" and the like from the 1980's but the selection is fairly poor.

    The second missing piece is they don't have a good way to get the stream to your TV yet. Most consumers don't want to watch movies on their 20" computer monitor from their office chair, they want to watch it on their 52" big-screen TV from their comfy couch.

    Products like the SlingCatcher and D-Link DPG-1200 will help fix the TV stream problem, but neither device is available yet and since iTunes/Apple TV already gives that capability with bigger selection, I think they dominate that arena.
     
    #8 boulder_bum, Jan 16, 2008
  9. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    I like the idea of the AirMac. (MacAir?) The concept of an all-in-one (computer, phone, camera, printer, microwave...) is getting ever closer. Now, if only I could roll it up and put it in my pocket. ;)
    How much closer are we to running all software from a website, instead of installing it on a 'local' drive? And paying rental every time we use it, no doubt...
     
    #9 hyo silver, Jan 16, 2008
  10. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    Actually Apple stock didn't "plummet". It went down a little.

    The stock that plummeted was Blockbuster and to a lesser extent Netflicks.
     
    #10 Godiva, Jan 16, 2008
  11. boulder_bum

    boulder_bum Senior Member

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    Apple is down, like 7% in two days. Blockbuster actually jumped a little bit today (after a previous selloff).

    I actually think Netflix will be okay. They have a different business model and MUCH better prices than iTunes, but I now have no more reason to ever use Blockbuster. I can get rentals for about the same price, but not have to mess with actually going to the store or returning the movies and stuff.

    **UPDATE FOR ME**

    I just ordered the $229 Apple TV and the HDTV to go along with it! All I have now is an old CRT TV which doesn't have the inputs Apple TV needs. I'm that excited about the announcement (though I've been eyeing the TV purchase for a long time).

    By the way, does anyone in the Denver are need a 36" Sony Trinitron CRT? I have one for sale, cheap!
     
    #11 boulder_bum, Jan 16, 2008
  12. TJandGENESIS

    TJandGENESIS Are We Having Fun Yet?

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    My gripe with the Air? The need for some sort of external optical drive. Not all of us are going to rent movies from iTunes any time soon. Some of us like to own the media we have. And frankly, with over 3000 movies that I have, in DVD/BLU-RAY/HD-DVD, I could use a internal drive that runs at least BLU-RAY/DVD. The idea of being on a plane with that computer is tempting, until you have to drag out your external optical drive to watch a movie. Not to mention, a 'regular' MacBook eats up battery when running a movie. What will it be like on this new light weight book? Even more so?

    The Air is sleek, sexy, and maybe someday, I will have one for my collection, but it's not terribly practical right now.

    And the idea of renting movies, again, from anyone is something I don't like, but this idea from Apple with iTunes, is really a downer for me. You can rent a movie for a month, but you get only 24 hours when you start the movie. Not too mention how the HD ones will be more expensive, and if you plan on watching it through your Apple TV, it won't be in 1080p anytime soon, so no real high def there.

    Apple needs to address things we need addressed first: Second party apps for the iPhone, real ones, and make the Apple take any DVD you buy and allow you to make legit copies onto your iTunes, just like CD'S. Just to name two things I need to see done first, and then the whole business with the Apple Air can be taken on.
     
    #12 TJandGENESIS, Jan 17, 2008
  13. boulder_bum

    boulder_bum Senior Member

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    See, I don't view what Apple is doing as the ultimate solution to online video, but they managed to get EVERY major movie studio on board for rentals AND they're now offering HD content with 5.1 channel surround sound. Come on, that's HUGE!

    I actually don't mind the 30 day/24 hour restriction too much because I never watch rentals more than once, though I'm with you on wanting to be able to purchase movies for permanent download. My suspicion and hope is that Apple will start with downloads, and slowly convince the movie studios to both remove the restrictions on rentals and offer a broader selection of movies for permanent download.

    That said, I rent far more often than I buy, so as far as I'm concerned Apple has knocked out the most important feature first.

    As far as ripping your DVD library to iTunes, there are tools out there to do that:
    HOWTO Rip DVD Movies To Your iPod Using Free Software

    The proprietary format issue is a problem, though, and I'm personally planning on buying a yet-to-be-release SlingCatcher or D-Link DPG-1200 in addition to the Apple TV so that I can stream any format of video or stream to my TV.
     
    #13 boulder_bum, Jan 17, 2008
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