Sorry Apple, Netflix Is Just Too Good

I like what Apple is trying to accomplish with their new movie rental service and applaud them for boldly moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, they are a long way from reaching the point at which I would actually pay for this service. So, kudos to you Apple for trying, but I think I will stick with Netflix for a while longer. But in the spirit of fairness, I must give them credit for doing a few things right. So, here are my thoughts on this newest venture and where I feel they should take it in the future.

The idea behind renting movies online is great. In fact, it is something I have been waiting for for quite a while. So I have to give them credit for taking something as potentially annoying as renting movies and applying the “Apple Touch.” They have made great strides in making things much simpler than just about anyone else out there.

Apple has managed to get all the major studios on board with this project and they have a starting library of around 1,000 titles. And while initially that number might look low (Netflix has over 90,000 titles for comparison), I wouldn’t be too worried because Apple will be furiously adding new films as the year goes on. So, if your favorite movie isn’t on there yet, wait till June and see what they’ve added then. Granted, this doesn’t help you much right now, but of all the problems with this service, this is one that will solve itself given enough time.

High Def fans will be happy to know that for just a dollar more they can rent titles in HD. I can’t imagine how big the files must be, but I’m impressed that this was an option. Better yet, Apple TV now behaves more like an appliance and less like a computer! This means that you can now access, buy, and rent media without syncing it to another computer. In fact, one of Apple’s big selling points was that you can hook up your Apple TV to your brand new HD TV and rent High Def movies instantly. Clearly, then, they are trying to improve the user experience as much as they can. In fact, much of what I liked most about this service directly relates to how Apple has streamlined the interface. They have done a nice job of retooling things to better fit this new model.

Sadly, what I like least about these new rentals is what was least in their control, the DRM rules. The notion that your purchases will be automatically deleted because you weren’t fast enough to watch them pisses me off quite a bit. Fruit goes bad. Milk expires. Digital media, on the other hand, shouldn’t have a time limit on it. And there really isn’t anything Apple can do to convince me otherwise. I just can’t bring myself to spend money to rent a movie when I know that if I accidentally play 1 second of it, then suddenly I have started the countdown toward its eventual deletion. Having used Netflix for over a year now, I have become quite satisfied with the concept of renting a movie and watching it whenever I like. Now, I suddenly have to start keeping track of deadlines again. The thought of adding that extra bit of stress back into my life doesn’t really appeal to me, shiny new interface notwithstanding.

And while we are on the subject of interfaces, I am going to have to get on my soapbox again and complain about iTunes. Simply put, it does too much. Lets total it all up, shall we? Here is what we currently use iTunes for: managing songs, movies, podcasts, iPod games, purchasing songs, purchasing TV shows, purchasing movies, renting movies, and, in case you forgot, playing music. Please Apple, bolt a few more features onto it. I can still almost use it.

Getting back to the matter at hand, I like the idea behind what Apple is trying to do, but I find the rules for it far too restrictive. There just isn’t a good enough reason for me to forsake Netflix in favor of this service. For instance, if you use Netflix’s cheapest service you could rent two DVDs a month for $4.99. That means unless you absolutely need to see that movie right this second, it is cheaper for you to wait for your movies to slug their way through the mail. Netflix becomes an even better deal when you upgrade to one of their Unlimited plans. Assume you rent two new releases on DVD at a time, with unlimited returns for $13.99 a month. Now, I realize the service is very much limited by the mail and how fast you can actually watch these movies, but let us assume a reasonable number for the sake of argument: two new movies each week for a month. That is about eight movies a month for $13.99. That works out to be about $1.75 a movie for Netflix compared with $3.99 a movie for Apple. And of course this number will vary depending on how the mail runs, but if anything I think I’m underestimating how fast the turnaround is for Netflix. Either way, you can see that it is two to three times more expensive to rent from Apple than it is from Netflix. And, Netflix offers you no penalties or restrictions on how you can watch your movies.

So, overall I appreciate what Apple is trying to accomplish. However, at these prices and with these restrictions, I can’t realistically see myself using this service anytime soon. Maybe if they adopt a Netflix-like model I will start using it then. But until something major changes, I won’t be using iTunes Movie Rentals.