Thomas Hawk Has Message to iTunes Fans

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://thomashawk.com/2006/03/itunes-movies-are-for-suckers.html' target='_blank'>http://thomashawk.com/2006/03/itunes-movies-are-for-suckers.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Although an Apple movie service is not confirmed yet, MacRumors.com is reporting that iTunes has their first online movie up for sale. For $9.99 you can get a crappy DRM infested low res version of a 1 hour 39 minute Disney Channel original TV movie called High School Musical (ugh, boring)...So in keeping with the iTunes for Suckers theme, I'll once again say that anyone who pays $9.99 for a crappy low res version of a second rate made for TV movie is indeed an idiot, pardon my French. People don't want low res movies. They want HDTV. HDTV is cool. It looks all fancy like. Low res iTunes video looks like crap. And at $9.99 for a bad movie it's expensive crap."</i><br /><br />Thomas Hawk certainly isn't shy about his opinions, and this post is no exception. I'm a fan of video on mobile devices, so I like the idea of iTunes offering videos (even though I'll never be able to buy one from them), but the $9.99 price tag is laughable. I can only hope Apple will move from the "pricing experiment" phase to the "let's make it $3.99 and watch what happens" phase. How much would YOU pay for an iTunes feature-length movie? And let's say "A" list titles such as King Kong.

[Damion Chaplin]

For a low-res movie I can only watch on an iPod? $2.99
For a low-res movie I can watch on any PMP? $4.99
For a DVD-res movie I can watch on a TV from my PMP? $9.99

[Chris Gohlke]

While I can see why this is a crappy movie to much of the demographic that visits this site,, apparently the movie is a hit.

"The slippery legacy of Grease lives on. Disney Channel original movie High School Musical has seized the public's imagination like a bubble-gum aneurysm. Since its January debut, HSM has popped off record-shattering tracks, multiple reruns, and a tween/teen frenzy in Search. The movie has been bubbling in the top 500 searches for weeks, and should boil over with more airings, iTunes videos, a spring DVD, a sequel...OK, OK, we give."

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz_log/entry/2006/03/17/1700/?fr=fp-buzz-more

That said, $9.99 is insane. This is a product that aired on TV. If an hour-long episode of Lost is $1.99 this should maybe be $3.99 only since it would be longer. Maybe $4.99 if it is something that would have a lot of replay value for the owner.

[Phoenix]

$9.99 for any standard definition movie from iTunes that plays on an iPod is stupid.

Three bucks, max. Even for King Kong. For crying-out-loud, you can buy DVD's for $10!

[igreen]

It costs me $3.99 to rent a DVD at Blockbuster so I'd probably part with $2.99 to be able to hold on to the flick as long as I want. Even if it was only to be played on my iPod.