The often criticized Apple TV has been a device which I have loved since day one. Recently Apple rolled out a feature to Canadian owners of the device, (something which has been available in the US for some time) the ability to rent movies (some are even available in High Definition) or buy movies right from your TV.
Now this is not just a service which is available on the Apple TV, you can also do use it from within iTunes if you want to watch a movie on your computer, iPod Touch or iPhone (which at this point has to be unlocked to function in Canada for another month!).
Tonight I rented my first movie on the Apple TV. My daughter Emily had an idea that we should watch a movie tonight. As she headed off to her room to grab a DVD that one or all of us had seen many times before I thought perhaps tonight would be a good night to test some technology. So I fired up the Shaw Digital Cable Box and the Apple TV and set out in search of a Video on Demand movie.
The thing that struck me at first was the speed and simplicity with which one could browse through a group of movie posters on the Apple TV, and see all of the movies that are available in a genre, in this case the Kids section. It was so much simpler and more enjoyable to view a big grid of movie posters, than the text based movie list on Shaw Video on Demand.
The Apple TV provides previews of all of their movies, and when you have made your decision, some are available for rent, some for purchase, and some have both options.
The movie we chose was Game Plan. The standard definition rental was $4.99 and the High Definition rental was $5.99. It was also available for purchase for $19.99. You have 30 days to begin watching the movie you have rented, but once you start you can watch the movie for only 48 hours. Plenty of time to finish up, should you get distracted or have to leave!
After you choose the movie, and the format you want, you are taken to a license agreement screen which I didn't bother to read, but gather it had something to do with Steve Jobs asking you not to record to the movie. Your iTunes account is then loaded up, and the purchase or rental transparently occurs in the background.
Within 15 seconds, a notice popped up on screen saying that the download of our movie had started. My 6 year old daughter, said "hey Dad lets start the movie" as I grabbed my beverage from the kitchen, and my wife replied "we have to wait while it downloads honey", but as I glanced at the screen I noticed that the movie was ready to play. Far less than 1 minute after I selected the movie. Not bad.
Because the movie wasn't a special effects loaded film, I chose to save a buck and rent the standard def version, and I have to say that the quality was top notch! The sound was supeerb through our TV speakers, and there was nary a sign of pixelation or artifacting. I was impressed as well that the movie never once hiccuped after it began, and the difference between the quality of the Apple TV rental and a DVD was non-existent.
All in all Apple is not going to make a ton of money off me, as I have rented a movie once in the last 5 years, and go to the theatres once or twice a year. But I can say that the quality of the movie, and the overall experience was top notch, and I know that on a rainy or snowy evening, our family will suggest renting a movie on the Apple TV once in a while, because of the experience we had tonight.
I would highly reccomend the Apple TV to everyone, and the iTunes movie rental experience is a great complement to this device!
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