How to Rent Movies at the iTunes Store
Introduction
The iTunes Video Rentals service works just about as smoothly as all the other services you’ve come to expect from the iTunes Store. Just visit the store, find the content you want, pay and download. But, because there are so many more options when it comes to iTunes movie rentals, and because the DRM attached to them is a little more complicated than with other iTunes Store offerings, there are a few more steps involved.
This step-by-step guide will walk you through the process of renting movies from the iTunes Store.
To begin with, of course, you’ll need to go to the iTunes Store to rent movies. You’ll also need to set up an iTunes Store account, if you don’t already have one.
Begin by going to the movies section of the Store by clicking on the menu item at the left.
Not every movie at the iTunes Store is available for rental yet. Once you’re in the movies section, there are three ways to find rentals.
Choose to Rent the Movie
Once you’ve found the iTunes video rental you’re interested in, you’ll see a screen like this where you can buy or rent the movie, or watch its trailer. Make your choice.
Accept the New Terms of Service
The first time you choose to rent a movie from iTunes, you’ll be prompted to accept the new terms of service for the store that govern rentals. That screen will look like what you see below. Agree to the terms and continue.
You’ll be returned to the movie page where you clicked "rent" to begin with. Click rent again. Luckily, you won’t have to go through this two-step process again.
iTunes Adds Rentals Menu Item
As the iTunes movie rental begins to download, you will see a new item added to the left-hand menu in iTunes: "Rentals."
Watch Movie or Wait For Full Download
You can either start watching the movie as it downloads or you can wait for the full download to complete. If you start watching it, though, remember that that begins your 24-hour watching period, so make sure you’ll have time to finish the movie.
You can start watching the movie immediately if you double click the download or right-click it and choose play.
If you don’t want to watch the movie now, just wait for it to download.
It should take anywhere from 40-60 minutes for the movie to fully download.
The Rentals Menu
When your movie has downloaded from iTunes, you can click the Rentals menu to view information about it. You’ll see the information below, as well as how many days remaining on your 30-day viewing window you have.
To start watching the movie, double click the movie poster on this screen.
Begin Watching iTunes Video Rental
When you begin watching your iTunes video rental, you’ll be warned about your 24-hour limit. Click the play button if you want to proceed.
When you do this, iTunes will check that the movie is authorized and then start playing.
Using the Onscreen Controls
When the movie begins to play, you can get the controls for it onscreen by moving your mouse over the window. With these controls (show here in an enlarged version. The actual interface is nicer than this picture), you can go forward or back in the movie, adjust the volume, pause it, or make it full-screen by clicking the arrows on the far right.
Once you’ve finished watching your movie, iTunes will occasionally warn you of the countdown on your rental period. You can watch the movie more than once in 24 hours.
When your 24-hour viewing period expires, the rental will be removed from iTunes and deleted from your hard drive automatically. You’ll get this notification.
The iTunes Video Rentals service works just about as smoothly as all the other services you’ve come to expect from the iTunes Store. Just visit the store, find the content you want, pay and download. But, because there are so many more options when it comes to iTunes movie rentals, and because the DRM attached to them is a little more complicated than with other iTunes Store offerings, there are a few more steps involved.
This step-by-step guide will walk you through the process of renting movies from the iTunes Store.
Using iTunes Video Rentals
To begin with, of course, you’ll need to go to the iTunes Store to rent movies. You’ll also need to set up an iTunes Store account, if you don’t already have one.
Begin by going to the movies section of the Store by clicking on the menu item at the left.
Not every movie at the iTunes Store is available for rental yet. Once you’re in the movies section, there are three ways to find rentals.
- Browse the content of the New Rentals box on the front page of the movie section.
- Search for rentals using the search feature in the right-hand menu.
- Just browse the iTunes Store movie selection and see if the movies you’re interested in can be rented yet. This is probably the slowest and least effective method, but hey, it’s your time!
Choose to Rent the Movie
Once you’ve found the iTunes video rental you’re interested in, you’ll see a screen like this where you can buy or rent the movie, or watch its trailer. Make your choice.
Accept the New Terms of Service
The first time you choose to rent a movie from iTunes, you’ll be prompted to accept the new terms of service for the store that govern rentals. That screen will look like what you see below. Agree to the terms and continue.
You’ll be returned to the movie page where you clicked "rent" to begin with. Click rent again. Luckily, you won’t have to go through this two-step process again.
iTunes Adds Rentals Menu Item
As the iTunes movie rental begins to download, you will see a new item added to the left-hand menu in iTunes: "Rentals."
Watch Movie or Wait For Full Download
You can either start watching the movie as it downloads or you can wait for the full download to complete. If you start watching it, though, remember that that begins your 24-hour watching period, so make sure you’ll have time to finish the movie.
You can start watching the movie immediately if you double click the download or right-click it and choose play.
If you don’t want to watch the movie now, just wait for it to download.
It should take anywhere from 40-60 minutes for the movie to fully download.
The Rentals Menu
When your movie has downloaded from iTunes, you can click the Rentals menu to view information about it. You’ll see the information below, as well as how many days remaining on your 30-day viewing window you have.
To start watching the movie, double click the movie poster on this screen.
Begin Watching iTunes Video Rental
When you begin watching your iTunes video rental, you’ll be warned about your 24-hour limit. Click the play button if you want to proceed.
When you do this, iTunes will check that the movie is authorized and then start playing.
Using the Onscreen Controls
When the movie begins to play, you can get the controls for it onscreen by moving your mouse over the window. With these controls (show here in an enlarged version. The actual interface is nicer than this picture), you can go forward or back in the movie, adjust the volume, pause it, or make it full-screen by clicking the arrows on the far right.
Once you’ve finished watching your movie, iTunes will occasionally warn you of the countdown on your rental period. You can watch the movie more than once in 24 hours.
When your 24-hour viewing period expires, the rental will be removed from iTunes and deleted from your hard drive automatically. You’ll get this notification.
Source...