Apple: 15 Million Video Downloads

Apple is becoming a force in the video-on-demand business -- they sold 15 million video downloads, or about 750,000 per week (they also sold 1 billion songs, too).

The problem is that the "videos" they've been selling are movie shorts, music videos and tv shows, not full-length movies. Well, there is a special press announcement on Tuesday and there is speculation that Apple will announce full-length movie downloads. It makes sense since they have product called Front Row that will let you watch movies using a remote...

via PaidContent and MacSlash

Comments

[sych0]

The wave of the future my friends :)

[Francisca]

Wow! I totally didn't expect they'd be so successful selling videos... It'd be great if they start selling full-length movies.

[corey3rd]

well it makes sense that people would buy the videos since if they're willing to pay 99 cents for a 4 minute song, an hour long TV show for $1.99 is a dirt cheap.

But I don't see this as the future since I've had way too many friends have their iPods go bad and hard drives crash to see how this is a fun little fad. I like the fact that if my DVD player breaks, I don't have to kiss away my entire collection of Gilligan's Island episodes. Plus iTunes video isn't close to DVD quality.

[Super-Bat-Man]

if any of you guys download music off of itunes go to mp3search.ru instead. they've been around for years and since it's based out of russia the conversion rate is all screwy. it only cost $50 for $1,500 worth of music.

just check outthe prices I've been using it for a while now. they have a ton of rare stuff too which is cool.

it's well designed and easy to use too

there is another one called allofmp3.ru but I've never used it so I can't say much for it

[NetflixShill]

I would buy from 'em if they got rid of the DRM and had an unlimited subscription for the same price as Netflix or Blockbuster 3-out. Otherwise, it's a big waste of money paying their nickel-and-dime prices. People want unlimited. I left eMusic because all of their plans were limited and the top plan only gave 90 songs a month. I'm sorry, but that's not enough. $20 a month should get you unlimited downloads. I'd stop listening to music if I had to pay $90 a month to iTunes or go back to buying CDs. The greedy RIAA needs to stop raping us. Enough is enough.

[murphyslaw]

"But I don't see this as the future since I've had way too many friends have their iPods go bad and hard drives crash to see how this is a fun little fad. I like the fact that if my DVD player breaks, I don't have to kiss away my entire collection of Gilligan's Island episodes. Plus iTunes video isn't close to DVD quality."

Umm it is the way of the future.

Secondly you have made a lot of mistakes that make me wonder whether you have ever used an Ipod. You don't lose any of the works you bought if the ipod goes bad!
If you had your videos via Ipod they would be safer than the Gilligans Island episodes you have on DVD.

Thirdly they will be DVD quality by next year.

[NetflixShill]

I will never buy an iPod until they remove the DRM from the machine and files. Last time I checked, an iPod would NOT allow you to download the songs into your computer (to prevent sharing with friends). My devices should obey ME, not somebody else. The real purpose of DRM is to give someone else control over my data and my technology. Suppose that instead of your iPod failing, your computer hard drive fails. All the music on your system is lost. Apple doesn't let you download songs on your iPod back into your computer, despite legitimate reasons for doing so.

This was true last time I checked. I don't have any interest in buying crippled products that RESTRICT how I can use my own files and hardware. Screw you, Apple, and all other DRM-friendly technology firms. No intelligent person would buy your crap-ola.

[murphyslaw]

"Last time I checked, an iPod would NOT allow you to download the songs into your computer "

You obvious NEVER checked asnd don;t know a thing about iPod.

By the way Apple just took over the largest Data center in the US for its new iTunes service.

If you don't like DRM, I assume you don't rent DVDs from Netflix, all of which carry DRM.

"Suppose that instead of your iPod failing, your computer hard drive fails. All the music on your system is lost. Apple doesn't let you download songs on your iPod back into your computer, despite legitimate reasons for doing so."

Again, totally false. You don't seem to udnerstand any of the concepts. practices and technology yet are just ranting.

[NetflixShill]

"You obvious NEVER checked asnd don;t know a thing about iPod."

You obviously never checked and don't know how to spell OBVIOUSLY. I've read numerous sources that Apple doesn't allow you to download songs on YOUR iPod to computer. You can only upload music from computer to iPod. They arbitrarily deny you the functionality you'd get from any exterenal hard drive. They did it to prevent sharing songs with friends. Just point me to a link that refutes this.

[NetflixShill]

"Again, totally false."

Just point me to some reputable links that say so. It's common knowledge that Apple does not allow you to download songs on your iPod to your computer.

"You don't seem to udnerstand any of the concepts. practices and technology yet are just ranting."

You don't seem to UNDERSTAND any of the concepts, practices, and technologies of English language.

[NetflixShill]

You have to hack your iPod with third party tools (that probably void your warranty) if you want to download music FROM the iPod to a computer. That's why you see sites like "iPod Hacks" and tools like ephPod and xPod. MurphysLaw is obviously ignorant, probably a troll, and maybe an Apple shill trying to foist their shoddy goods on unsuspecting users.

I do not buy products that have to be hacked with third party software to perform in a useful manner. If I want to copy songs from a friend and download them to my computer, I should be able to - without permission from Apple. I'm not even talking about their DRM'd songs, but ordinary songs without any protection. They arbitrarily prevent people from getting music OFF the iPod and ONTO a computer.

Sure, there are ways to hack that. But they will disable those hacks with each udpate of the iTunes software and/or iPod firmware. It's an arms race, and I prefer not to get involved with a company in an arms race against the consumer.

Death to Copyright. Death to DRM. Death to Apple.

[NetflixShill]

"If you don't like DRM, I assume you don't rent DVDs from Netflix, all of which carry DRM."

I run AnyDVD (latest version), so as to remove all encryption, region codes, prohibited opserations, etc. I don't buy DVDs, I'm busy watching new ones. There are few discs that I want to own. If I had to deal with DRM, I would be even more selective. I'm not going to forego renting. I'll just stop BUYING movies. Afterall, dual layer Verbatims are $2 each right now. So I don't have to accept DRM at all.

[BeefJerky]

First you say:
"It's an arms race, and I prefer not to get involved with a company in an arms race against the consumer."

Then you say:
"I run AnyDVD (latest version), so as to remove all encryption, region codes, prohibited opserations, etc."

Well, I hate to tell you this, but by using AnyDVD you are doing just what you said you didn't want to do, which is getting involved in an arms race with the movie studios (companies). Just as fast as AnyDVD cracks one new DVD copy protection scheme, the studios come out with a new one. No better, worse in fact, than the lousy iPod example you gave. There's a number of third party programs that will bring the songs back to the computer from an iPod, and it doesn't "hack" or void your warranty. All the songs are easily readable via the ipod's drive letter in your OS. All the programs do is copy the files from the ipod to the computer's drive and rename them appropriately based on the files info tags. No hacks. In fact, it's much less of a hack than running AnyDVD to evade the DRM since the iPod's files aren't encrypted, unless the source files were already encrypted before putting them on the ipod. In fact, you don't even need special ipod software to do this, you can just drag and drop the files yourself from the ipod's drive and use a program to rename them based on the tags (i.e. Tag & Rename). This is just another series of posts from you with half-truths due to your lack of research.

[NetflixShill]

I am aware that it's possible to get the songs off the iPod and back onto your computer, but the point is that the iTunes software doesn't let you do that. So it's much more awkward and time-consuming than just dragging and dropping the files in iTunes. WHY does Apple deny you that basic functionality, of freely moving your songs between the iPod and your computer. Searching through folders on the iPod to find those files is a kludge solution. You should be able to upload and download from iTunes.

[NetflixShill]

My main use for AnyDVD is to get rid of prohibited operations (like fast forward, rewind, pause, stop, changing audio and subtitles, accessing menus...). I watch a lot of foreign region discs I have a DVD drive with RPC 1 firmware, plus AnyDVD, so regions never cause any problems. There are numerous free programs that would do the same thing - DVD43, DVD Decrypter, DVDFab Decrypter, DVD Shrink...

DVD isn't an arms race any more. The crackers won, because the only way the studios have to protect a DVD (or CD) is by violating standards. The rippers are now able to fix these broken discs in a fairly bullet-proof way, by simulating how a real machine would read the disc instead of attempting a direct 1:1 copy. Result: all of the new protections like RipGuard and ARccOS have fallen by the wayside and people laugh at them. I don't really need AnyDVD, but it saves time and hassle.