Why iTunes movie rentals won't play on most video iPods
Sometimes you have to listen very closely when Steve Jobs promises something.
When Apple's (AAPL) CEO introduced movie rentals at Macworld two weeks ago, he demonstrated how films downloaded through iTunes could be sent with one click to an iPod, iPhone or iPod touch.
Then, according to my notes, he said something about "current generation iPods."
Those three words have got a lot of people on Apple's discussion boards hopping mad today. It turns out that fifth-generation video iPods purchased as recently as five months ago won't play those iTunes movie rentals — and not because of any hardware deficiency. Current generation iPods, per the footnote in Apple's press release here, include only the "iPod classic, iPod nano with video and iPod touch."
"This is bogus!!!!!" writes user ninzan on one of at least a half-dozen threads devoted to the topic. "I was all up on apple rental now that I find out that I have been locked out i feel like a moronic apple groupie. My 5g Ipod video is apparently too old and my new itouch did not come with video output. i'm screwed"
The only recourse, it seems, is to ask for your rental fee back. According to reader reports, Apple has started to issue refunds.
What's going on?
Bryan Gardiner at Wired called around and by yesterday had come up with several theories.
Forrester's James McQuivey thinks it may be a strategy of planned obsolescence — a ploy by Apple to get users to buy new iPods.
Yankee Group's Carl Howe thinks it might have something to do with the clock-resetting trick some users have discovered for extending the life of a 30-day, 24-hour rental.
The most plausible explanation, to my ear, comes from The Unofficial Apple Weblog's Christina Warren. She points out here that fifth-generation iPods had a simple analog video output feature (replaced with authentication chip-equipped composite and component AV on the classic, touch and nano with video) that would have allowed rented content to be easily copied. Closing this so-called video hole may have been a requirement imposed on Apple by the movie studios.
Of course, nobody bought a video iPod before September in order to play movies rented on iTunes — an option that didn't exist at the time. Still, for millions of video iPod owners (disclaimer: I'm one of them), it's annoying to be so close and yet so far. Clearer disclosure would have been nice. And a refund of a few bucks to users who rented before they discovered the fine print seems like the least Apple could do.
dont worry Jim T pretty soon a hacker like me will find a way to circumvent the time restriction and sell you i-pod compatible video. If you cant wait try videora. I love apple itards.
Jim T,
It's called "Handbrake", and if it takes you three days to set it up, you have bigger problems than watching video on your iPod. Also, the movies you own are considered those bought from iTunes.
It's amazing how all of these Apple fanboys will just eat up anything Steve Jobs throws at them. iPods could give you cancer, and these people will say that it's part of Jobs' master plan and keep on buying.
(For the record, I own an iPod. … and a Zune too.)
New day, same ole…Elmer, Elmer, Elmer…if they don't get the studios on board, you bash 'em…when they do get the studios on board, you bash 'em. Why don't you just call your column "I hate Apple for not giving me payola, like Microsoft does"? It's really getting tired and anyone who is ranting has clearly "just" entered the "world" of technology…all companies release too early, build in obsolescence, bow to partnership pressures…it's called Capitalism, with a "cap"-ital "C"…so, are you saying Elmer, that you want socialist, government regulation of Apple's egregious attempt to make a profit…so you won't bash 'em for "guidance"???? Give us all a fricken break from the FUD, FUD, FUD, FUD mantra….oye!
There's a problem with the logic of those of you who keep saying "Apple didn't offer RENTALs when you bought your iPod, so there's no reason to expect your iPod to be capable of this new feature at a later date." 5G/5.5G iPods CAN play these files, without any problem at all, using the firmware they have right now! It's called the PURCHASED version of the movie!
This is a sleazy MBAnus "business" decision that has absolutely nothing to do with the technological capabilities of the hardware.
P.S. I love my 5G iPod (would love a iPod Touch with an 80GB HD, by the way), but would never rent a download version of a movie for more than a buck (DVD rentals are cheaper, better quality, and far more convenient where I live); so, whether or not my iPod can play $4 rentals in irrelevant to me.
I am a 5th generation iPod owner who rented a movie before I read the fine print. I emailed iTunes promptly and voiced my dissatisfaction. I said I never would have rented the movie had I known. I didn't ask for anything though. The next day I had an email from iTunes crediting me with two $1.99 video credits. I thought that was very customer oriented and I appreciated it. Wish I could rent movies but at least they gave me a credit.
The easiest way to avoid compatibility problems is to stop buying Apple products, get up off your butt and go socialize with your friends at the nearest pub.
Jeeeezzzzz, People! Who gives a rats behind! $3.99 so you can have a crummy compressed version on tape or CDR? A quick trip to doom9 will get you a lot more combined with $8/month using Netflix. I have no doubt the Studios prompted this, but Apple should have repected and represented their users. Wake up, the file sharing alternatives still exist so the people opting to use Itunes have said I don't want to steal from artists. It's about time they were given a little credit and not treated like criminals. Apple can go suck a lemon!
The bigger issue is that Apple does not support I-pod Video users converting their DvDs to a format that the I-pod will play.
Nice marketing -> it clearly says I can play all the movies I currently own. But the software doesn't allow for this to happen.
An Apple employee at an Apple store told me that he was not allowed to tell me how to do this, but if I went and googled it, I could find some free-ware that could get it to work. Of course, it takes 3 pieces of free-ware and several days to set it up and hope that the I-Pod video will play it (I am running about a 10% success rate).
Expect an FTC complaint before the end of next week.
I recently bought a bmw that came with bluetooth for my phone. It worked great on my last phone, but I just got a new one and it the software doesn't work with it. I would not expect bmw to change their software or to refund me for the phone i bought that doesn't work unless they had specifically told me it would. Technology becoming mildly obsolete is a risk that has and will always be inherent in its purchase. You can't be upset that something you bought in the past doesn't work with something unknown to be released at the time. If your that pissed about it you can always download it illegally in a format that works and show them who's boss 
The new iPods will do video out, but only with a cable that has a authentication chip — you can't use the older cables from pre-September 2007 iPods. Some reports say that you can playback video from an old cable if you connect it AFTER the video has started playing (and was first connected with a new cable), but unless I see that for myself or confirm that it can work with rented material, I'm dubious. As for the analog hole, what I meant in my post (http://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/17/itunes-rentals-on-5g-ipod-nope) was more about the lack of an authentication chip than the actual likelihood that people would choose to circumvent the DRM that way (I was actually sarcastically mocking Apple/the studios if that is in fact the rationale). Not having the cable or tools to properly investigate it, I cannot say for certain if the new iPod video out cable can be used for something like HDCP, but it seems not only plausible, but downright likely that it can. Knowing the MPAA's position on HDCP requirements, even if content isn't flagged, I find it very easy to believe that was part of the rental agreement between Apple and the studios. My guess is that this is so they can flag content for HDCP if necessary, which would be impossible to enforce on the older iPods, as they don't have require the special cables.
I was able to ascertain that at least in file size/quality, the rental/purchased files are the same. I guess it would be plausible to only flag rental content with the HDCP flag, if that is what the studio's wanted.
If that's the case, I mean, that is annoying for older iPod owners – but fine – I just wish that the reason for the incompatibility was more transparent. It doesn't make sense that it is an upgrading tactic, as the sales lost from the however many millions of 5 and 5.5G iPod owners would certainly outweigh the potential profits from an upgrade incentive.
ex ped: Thanks Christina for the clarification. Very helpful. –Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Hey Einstein, you can't play Blu-ray disks on a regular DVD player either. The iPod touch does have video out, as does the iPhone.
That's not the acid test. You reported that current generation iPods do not have analog video output. I just proved that completely false. The acid test has burned you.
ex ped: You are right. I stand corrected. Composite and component video cables do indeed carry analog signals. I'd still like to know whether you can use them to record a DRM-protected iTunes movie rental, but you are certainly under no obligation to run the test.
two things…
you do alot of you bash phillipE for supplying you what is accurate and correct info??
don't shoot the messenger…ever hear of that little concept?
also, the only thing i disagree with is about the comment, "…refund of a few bucks to users who rented before the discovered the fine print…"
why do so many people think they are owed something because they didn't read all the information provided, even fine print?
i say, if you didn't read the fine print, then you live with any consequences of that in-action.
i've learned along time ago when i was still in high school, ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT….
i read EVERYTHING AVAILABLE with anything i buy, especially technology.
who in their right mind, except a retard in disguise, would put out good money for something and NOT read every piece of information the manufacturer provided with the product??
that's just bad consumer sense….plain and simple!
"Component" and "Composite" are both "Analog". My iPod Nano connects to my TV through my VCR (which has multiple video inputs and an RF output, my TV has only an RF input). I just recorded Steve's Keynote on the VCR, it works fine.
Now, about that veracity.
ex ped: But does it work with a DRM-protected movie that you rented from iTunes? That's the acid test.
The statement that "you can't buy an analog video out cable" is not correct.
"While previous video-enabled iPods offered composite video output from a video iPod Dock or via an "iPod AV Cable" that plugged into the headphone jack, the new Classic, Nano, and the Touch now use a new set of dock connector cables that support either composite video or new component video for use with a HDTV or modern standard definition TV. Component video delivers a higher quality picture."
BOTH the older iPods and the Touch have composite video outputs. The older iPods just required a cable plugged into the iPod. The newer ones require the dock and the cable.
"The most plausible explanation, to my ear,…"
Plausible, schmausible. Try actually investigating the claim rather than applying a "truthiness" test. The current iPod Nano has not had its video output discontinued.
ex ped: Is analog video output available for the current iPod nano? That was the issue.
Apple provided a refund for rentals after we found out it did not work on 5G Ipod. We did not read the instructions properly, but on reading again it was clear the rentals won't work on 5G. Not apple's faul, ours!
ex ped: Glad to hear it. I will change the item accordingly.
Fortune, are bears against APPLE. The only time I hear a report from Fortune it is all bad news. Forune needs to stop that. Or else I will drop them. Everyone else should do the same. Let Fortune know that they need to report the news not just cut down.
Josh here…
I'm from NY, but I have lived all my life abroad. Currently, I'm living in Panama since 1997. Here's the thing… iTunes Store for us living outside the US is totally irrelevant. We cannot pay for anything unless we have a US credit card, which makes it inaccesible to us. I mean, really, if I want to rent let's say "Blood Diamond" for $3.99, the total cost of that transaction would be almost $30, because I'd have to make an international transfer, which costs around $25, to an account in the US to pay for the credit card.
So my question is, out of the billion iPods already sold worldwide, how much impact does this news have on iTunes Store and the movie rentals business, considering this? Think about it.
Still, I think Apple makes some crazy stupid business decisions from time to time (like the phase out of the 4GB iPhone just 2 or 3 months after launch), so it's not surprising to find something like this. The difference is that in this case, I agree with you that it's possibly from pressure from the studios.
At the moment, I'm watching an iTunes video of Steve Job's Stanford commencement speech, on my TV, from my brand new iPod Nano. If video out doesn't exist on this device, how am I using it?
Forgot to check the veracity of your sources?
ex ped: You're using either component or composite AV cables. What you can't buy for your iPod nano is the analog video out cable that worked with the fifth-generation video iPods. As a test, try renting a movie, moving it to your nano, and then recording it on a VCR.
Apple usually listen to customers when it is a real issue
I am sure they will issue a credit of some sort
the video out in the older ipods is a very good reason
to not allowing them to play movies to a vcr or a CDR
I think Apple has blacklisted older MacMini's from watching movies on iTunes. My Apple ATV won't play movies anymore. Says I don't have enough 'video credits', even though I use a credit card to pay for movies and it comes back with an error code, 1008. Try to tell Apple about this; they either don't care or don't want my business. Haven't heard anything from them. Now, I'm stuck with a useless ATV and iTunes for movie downloads. Even the Apple store guy said it was an Apple problem, but couldn't refer it out, customer had to do that! By email!!!! I'm not impressed with Apple anymore. Don't know if they are a phone or computer company and who to serve. They release new 3G iPhone, that has half the talk time of the old iPhone and a plastic back, that won't block out RFI from wiping your iPhone clean and destroying data, in store check out line. No other physical upgrades. I think Apple is on the downhill side and customer service is a thing of the past.
roaeja2@mac.com
If anyone know what video credits are and why I keep getting an 1008 error for movie downloads, let me know.
thanks