Apple quietly extends iTunes rental limit

further testing will transpire to verify these claims...on yo' momma!

No news here. I rented a movie on the first available day and noticed as long as you started watching the rental before the 24 hours was over, that it would not expire until you were finished, even if you paused it. I started a rental that was over 2 hours long at the point were there was less than an hour left. It allowed me to play it to the end, even pausing it for a bathroom break.

Also was able to record it to DVD-R deck and EyeTV from an iPod using the Apple cable (analog hole). see here: http://www.reelsmart.com/2008/01/19/itunes-movie-rentals-and-the-analog-hole/

I think people do not understand that the rental is for 30 days. However, once you start to watch it, you have 24 hours to finish it.

E.G., You can wait 28 days to start the movie, but once it starts, you need to finish it within 24hours or you can no use itunes for other purposes until you either finish it, or click delete.

This would be good news to me. 24 hours is simply not enough, it may as well be 4 hours. For example, suppose you get home and start watching a movie at 7:00 PM. You watch half the movie and can't finish due to other things going on. The next night you sit down at 7:00, or 8:00, to finish and too bad, the movie is done. As far as I'm concerned, 24 hours means you need to finish the movie the same day you start it, so it may as well be 4 hours.

I'd be perfectly happy with 48 hours. That would give you the better part of a weekend. Or, as I interpret the article above, just let me finish (but not go back) any time I like.

Come on, don't be afraid, rent it to help the stock price go back up. Come on!

The cost is high and the limitations are high. I would rather stay with Netflix.

You can't get Netflix movies on your TV within 30 seconds of renting it, can you? We're talking about two entirely different rental models. You want to talk about high limitations, let's talk about having to get in your car to go to a Blockbuster, or having to wait a few days for a Netflix movie to show up in your mailbox.

netflix has a download option in little as 30 seconds, but only if you are running Windows Xp or higher.

the selection available from netflix on demand is even smaller and more retarded than what iTunes offers :(

The Amazon UnBox rental service downloaded directly to your TiVo box is the next best thing to Apple TV rentals. I've done this and it works pretty well. It definitly takes alot longer than Apple TV -- you can expect to wait an hour after ordering the download (the software isn't sophisticated enough to let you start watching before the entire movie is downloaded). Of course, the Apple TV interface is way better and I don't know how the video quality compares (I doubt UnBox has HD). I do like the $0.99 specials that Amazon runs.

For now, I'll keep using Netflix on the side. They have a huge selection and you get the special features with the DVD (how come nobody complains that online rentals come without special features???)