Steve Jobs has just announced during the Macworld keynote that downloaded HD rentals will be available for $4.99. No information yet on quality or how big the files will be. It may even require that you buy an Apple TV "Take 2" to watch them. Presumably this can be seen as a first test of the feasability of HD downloads.

More information here (link will probably die when the keynote is over).

Yep there it is . . . I'm sure it won't be anywhere near the quality we want, but its another option. Should also note that it sounds like the Apple TV take 2 doesn't require use of your computer.

So it begins. The price of TV drops to $229 (from $299). And, no, it no longer requires a computer, although you can still sync with one.

I was about to regret choosing TiVo HD, but even 2.0 Apple TV still seems a downer. Glad to be able to record OTA HD broadcasts and download stuff to my TiVo which was only $299 and does a heck of a lot more than Apple TV ever promised to do.

Apple is shooting itself in the foot if it only intends to allow HD rentals to Apple TV owners or for watching on your video iPod, iPhone or computer.

The worst part about these movie downloads, is that you only have 24 hours to watch them once you start them.

Until that policy changes(which Comcast and Xbox360 marketplace also have the policy), I won't even think about investing in it.

I love Macs/Apple products - But this service wont take off for awhile.

Damn, Apple is trying to kill HDM also. I thought it was only MS who is doing this.

Well, they're rentals. What else are they going to do? Maybe it should be 48 hours; I don't know.

I have a feeling the reason they're doing rentals first is because they don't want you filling up the limited hard drive space, then being unwilling to download more movies (spending more money).

In any case, I don't have any interest in this at the moment. Welcome to the new format war.

Why they still haven't added DVR capabilities to the Apple TV is a mystery.

Also, from the Apple TV tech specs page, HD content is in 720p (no real surprise) with DD 5.1 sound.

How often do you rent a DVD, put it in your player, and then not watch it for more than 24 hours?

Some people have busy work schedules and things pop up. So, I might not be able to finish a movie until a few days later or wait til the weekend.
I just like options. Why not just give us the rental for 2 weeks? What's the harm once you download it to your harddrive, it's not like it's gonna take up their bandwidth once it's downloaded. Just give us more options, don't but a short restriction on it like the others have(comcast).

The AppleTV is the "iPod for your TV". You can't record with an iPod either, because what they want you to do is buy the content from them. Music for the iPod, movies and TV for the AppleTV. I realize there is some cross compatibility there, but you get the point.

So I wouldn't hold my breath.

You have 24 hours to watch it, once you start watching the movie... You have 30 days to start it.

I dont know, for me I like it... I dont like blockbuster online or netflix and this way I can rent HD media. I do wish they had a dvr, hopefully in the future.

Rentals will not kill HDM. Anyway, this is a cool idea. 360 is already doing it and the PS3 will have this service soon.

720p heavily compressed HD is not going to kill Blu-ray though.

So it's basically the same as Xbox Live. Of course Apple TV is cheaper, if you are only interested in movies.

Uh, because they don't want to cannibalize their iTunes sales. Not sure why everyone seems to miss this.

Unless Apple makes a lot more selling TV shows and movies than they reportedly do selling music, one would think they'd still be interested in moving as much hardware as possible. Haven't they said that the iTunes Music Store is essentially a way to sell more iPods, where there is big profit to be made?

Well... the AppleTV was never intended to be a settop replacement for every box attached to a TV. Nor was it was never marketed as such.

While I am a Mac user since 1986 and I see this new version is a definite improvement, AppleTV has very little interest for me. I don't rent movies.

Nothing for me. I have a lot of PPV channels in HD and I haven't used them once. I'd rather buy than rent at 1/4 the price.

Redbox at McDonals needs to start using BD and HD-DVDs for $1. That would be sweet.

Apple just wants to get their foot in the door for movie downloads. I am sure in the future they will make this package a lot more attractive once the infrastructure is there and plausible for the average home to stream movies in high quality. I think we are a far way from there personally. I have Fios and the quality is pure junk for most VOD.

on a side note, where is that blu-ray drive everyone was speculating would be added to all the new macs?

I don't see how this refutes my point. Apple views the iTunes Store as a way to sell hardware, whether that be iPods or Apple TVs. I don't see why people would suddenly start buying Apple TVs if they had DVR functionality.

I don't think either is trying to kill HDM (or DVD). It's just a natural progression. There are always some who will want physical media. The downloads will have a greater public appeal.

incidentally, the biggest product announcement in the keynote was the MacBook Air, which has no optical drive at all. external optical drives will be made available for those that want one, but i haven't heard all the details yet. presumably, an external blu-ray drive will be one of the options.

Sorry if this is too off-topic for this but Netflix now lets you watch as many on demand movies as you want. They used to have a cap on how many hours you could do this a month depending on your account but now it is unlimited.

I got the Netflix service to work on my Windows laptop but never on my Mac. I personally liked using that service for watching some cartoons and documentaries.