The iTunes store Wednesday began selling online movie titles from MGM, the Hollywood studio boasting the biggest catalog of modern movie titles. An Apple spokesman said a batch of 25 MGM movies became available at iTunes Wednesday, and that more titles will be added over the next few weeks.
MGM says its catalog comprises about 4,000 movie titles. These include such dandies as "The Thomas Crown Affair," "Ronin," and "Lilies of the Field."
The iTunes store now sells around 500 movies--well less than some of its online video rivals. For instance, CinemaNow sells about 4,000 video titles, 2,400 of which are full-length movies. iTunes' selection might improve rapidly as it gets permission to sell more movies from large catalogs like MGM's.
That process has proven to be slow going, however. The studios remain worried about the security of movies delivered over the public Internet. They've had a very bad time with DVD piracy, and don't want to repeat the problem with IP distribution, which many view as even more piracy-prone.
It's also a marketing issue. The studios are hesitant to make bigger titles available sooner at the expense of DVD, pay-per view and cable sales.
Also, Apple's deal with MGM is by no means exclusive. MGM movies are available at both Cinemanow and Movielink, among others. In fact, MGM owns a controlling interest in Movielink in a joint venture with four other studios.
And iTunes still offers no HD--the new MGM titles play at "near-DVD quality" or 640x480 screen resolution. You can watch the movies on your computer, on your (fifth generation) iPod, or on your TV (if you shelled out the $299 for an Apple TV box.)
Speaking of the Apple TV box, reports of creative hacks on the new video streaming device have begun showing up. Several outlets said Tuesday that the people who brought us the video "space shifting" Slingbox device are now working on a way to port iTunes video content from the Apple TV box to cell phones. Gizmodo reports on another hacker who has cooked up a small download that enables viewers to see RSS feeds on their TV via the Apple TV box.
Apple's new television ad for Apple TV makes a big deal of the portability of video between the PC, the TV and the iPod. It began airing Monday.
