Why itunes is shit

[karohemd]

I randomly followed a link from the Radio Times site which advertised Justified Season 1 for £1 (which I haven't been following but is apparently very good) and thought, "for a quid, I'll buy that without torrenting it first". Turns out the link lied and a single episode is 2.49(!).
I then checked other series and found out that most are more expensive as a freaking download from itunes you can't use anywhere else than the Blu-ray boxed set and not just on amazon or play.com but even the RRP.
For example, House Season 6 HD is £48.99 on itunes, the RRP Blu-ray boxed set is 44.99 (DVD 34.99), on amazon 30 and 24 quid respectively.

Add to that all the DRM and non-compatibility issues, why would anyone buy anything from itunes? Or at least TV series?

Fuck you, Apple, you're not getting my money.

Comments

[christhegoth.livejournal.com]

Oh, and they want your card details before you even get to see the free content.

Wouldn't go near it with a bargepole.

[djonma.livejournal.com]

That' not entirely true.
I grabbed itune for the iTunesUniversity stuff which is all free, and I've never provided card details.

[christhegoth.livejournal.com]

Channel 4 free content wanted my card details. I'll stream it instead ;)

[fractalgeek.livejournal.com]

A characteristic of apple entering a market is the consumer prices go UP.

Apple early-adopters value hype and style above value...

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

I can understand somewhat that they are willing to pay for overpriced equipment but content?

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

if they want to watch it on their iPhone and iPad, then it's easier to just pay the extra and download it in a format that "just works" ... it's the same as buying expensive sandwiches in a box rather than making your own lunch ... they pay for convenience and not having to do it themselves.

I used to convert US TV shows to watch on my iPod (and later on the iPhone!) but it was just too much hassle, so I've stopped doing that and only watch them on my laptop or desktop computer now.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

I will never understand this attitude. I do get the convenience aspect but for me it wouldn't be worth twice the price of physical media.

I guess it's less like sandwiches, more like high-end cars where you pay huge amounts extra for simple things like floor mats.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

I can buy a cheese sandwich for between £2 and £3 around here ... I'm pretty sure I can make one at home for about 50p.

A baked potato from across the road costs £2.50 ... I bought four baking potatoes from Tescos for 50p FOR FOUR (12.5p each).

I can watch a movie in the cinema for around £15 in Leicester Square, or wait a year and buy it on DVD for half that, or wait two years and watch it on TV.

I can get a pint of diet coke for £2.50 in the pub across the road, or get two 2-litre bottles for the same price from my local corner shop.

I could change the oil and oil filter on my car myself, but I won't. I could no doubt put new brake pads on the car myself too ... and I'm not going to do that either.

Some people are always willing to pay for convenience.

If you can't understand that attitude, then it's probably something that's "wrong" with you rather than the many people who do that sort of thing. (just teasing! But I know that I've been very happy to spend far too much for lunch every day at work rather than bring in lunch I've made myself for a quarter of the price)

I don't understand people who will pay £3 for a ring tone of a popular song, when you can buy the whole MP3 for 79p/99p and make your own ringtone.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Hm, I don't see it as a case of buying something vs. making it yourself but getting the same content from the cheapest source.
Sandwiches are different. If I wanted to make the sandwiches I really want (and buy from the van) myself, I'd have to get variuos fresh ingredients I wouldn't be able to completely use (e.g. two slices of tomato, a handful of rocket) before they go off. If I wanted a cheese sandwich, anything I could make at home would be better and cheaper than what I could buy but I do want something more elaborate.

I guess people have different priorities.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

If I want to watch a TV show or movie on my iPad/iPod/iPhone then buying a boxed DVD set does me no good, unless I'm willing to spend the time/effort to convert it (and have the appropriate software to do so). I'm not willing to spend that money and so I either rip stuff, or don't watch it on the iPod/iPhone (and so I haven't watched anything of that sort on either for at least a year)

For the price of two van sandwiches, I could buy several tomatoes, a bag of rocket, a loaf of bread and a chunk of cheese. And make myself two sandwiches and have a pile of ingredients left over for doing other stuff with.
For the price of a pub lunch around here (my office in London SE1), I could easily buy all that stuff and still have change left over. But analogies are always going to have slippery points so don't take it to extremes :-)

People buy expensive bottled water. That, in itself, probably explains why people will pay more for downloads.

Plus I think you're adding up the price of individual episodes to get the price against a season on DVD? I believe there's a season pass option on iTunes. this link shows that Lost was $1.99 an episode, but that you could get the whole season for $20 (so under half price).
Nope, you're right, that is the current season price ... in standard definition download series 6 for £36.99 or buy it on DVD for RRP £34.99 though obviously places like Play.com can save you another £11.

[cabd.livejournal.com]

Style over substance. Its infuriating.

[matgb]

Are they still doing the fixed price per item balls they were trying with music initally? I kinda decided to ignore iTunes completely as a business and have never regretted it.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

I don't use it much (except for itunes exclusive stuff I really want) so I'm not sure. All the series I checked were similarly priced, though.

[professoryaffle.livejournal.com]

People go for it because they want an easy solution which givens them what they want instantly in the same framework they use for everything else

It is crazy that people are willing to pay more than it costs for a series on hard copy at the same time you can frequently buy these very soon after the the episode was show on TV which unfortunately doesn't happen with the DVDs I guess they just never drop the price of them

Apple's restrictive business model at some point might start to hurt them but at the moment they are doing fine and as such are unlikely to change, now that android phones are starting to be on a more level playing field with the iphone they might need to start reconsidering but I don't see it happening any time soon

[briggsy.livejournal.com]

I would not be surprised if the pricing levels of the digital content was high because that's the price the content producers are setting, rather than Apple.

It would be worth comparing with other online video sites, or the PS3 online store, to compare prices.

Personally, I like physical media, and wouldn't buy digital media (apart from games on Steam, or free/very cheap music tracks).

[pinkapplejam.livejournal.com]

Justified is well worth a watch :D

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

I watched the first ep last night, looks indeed promising, the right kind of people are getting it in the face. :) I like Timothy Olyphant anyway.