According to a tip of information by Steve Beeks, President of Lions Gate, iTunes will be opening an iTunes Movie store and allow users to download full length films. In a recent press conference, Gate stated, “In terms of iTunes movie downloads, I think most likely some time before the end of the year. We know when they are planning on launching, but since they have not announced it publicly, I do not think it is our place to say anything more about that. Calendar year.”
The big question left to consider is whether or not Apple will be focusing it’s movie store for usage on the iPod or toward computers. The main difference would be the quality of the video available for download. No doubt Apple will encode the video using the H.264 codec and the MPEG4 container but at what resolution? I hope they will allow users multiple options for download.
In reality it makes sense for Apple to setup the service primarily for iPod usage. The iPod has been the biggest help to the company in many years and offering a service that didn’t work with the iPod doesn’t make sense. For my preferences, I would love to download a movie in HD at least 720p anyway (if I could I would cancel my Netflix). The only problem with that is the massive file sizes and bandwidth demand charges Apple would need to handle. But you would then have a beautiful, high resolution movie that you could convert to fit on the iPod.
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