UK iTunes far behind US.....and rip-off

[ipad987]

with many popular shows. We only have the first three seasons available of The Simpsons whereas in the US, as far as I know, they pretty much have all completed seasons available. I would love to download some of the best episodes across the entire run.

We also don't have Columbo available. It would have been good to have these episodes in HD.

Finally, iTunes is very expensive for UK customers with regards to film titles. We have 20 to over 30 years old films priced at £7.99 to £9.99. You're better off getting films on Amazon since most titles can be bought new or perfectly working used for £3 or £4, including postage. Why not price old films at £4.99 and you get lot more people buying them as it then becomes more of an impulsive buy, and not leave people with buyer's remorse. I am sure Apple would still get a reasonable cut pricing old titles at £4.99. Last week I spent £30 on 4 films that I could have watched on DVD (often upscaled to HD quality) for just over £10.

 

[twerppoet]

The price of music and movies on iTunes are set by the labels, not by Apple. Amazon often undercuts market price, even to the point of losing money, especially on physical books and media. They are on the edge of getting in trouble, skirting the edge of anti-competitive laws; at least in my opinion.

At any rate, iTunes is only the most convenient option, not the only choice. If you think Amazon or other services are a better deal, use them.

BTW, unless you are talking about a different Columbo than I think you are, I doubt it will ever be available in HD. It was filmed as TV series, before HD existed. Unless there are some high quality masters laying around, making HD versions would accomplish little to nothing; except make the files bigger.

 

[ipad987]

Columbo is regularly shown on UK television on one of the main terrestrial channels called ITV and they operate a digital channel in HD which mirrors their main channel, and to be honest, the picture quality in clarity and definition of Columbo is so much greater on the HD channel. I am not necessarily saying its true HD but it is upscaled one way or other to look HD anyway.

What I do find with iTunes is that they often price films they know not many people will download at a higher price. Their logic is probably that they might as well make as much as possible from that download since demand for it isn't really going to increase if they were to reduce the price by £2.

 

[twerppoet]

And I reiterate; Apple/iTunes does not set the price. The movie and media companies do. The varying and complex laws (or lack of them) governing copyright licensing in various countries makes for some 'very' unequal prices internationally.

There's also the 'what the market will bear' thing going on. If people buy the movies at the high price, the media companies aren't likely to lower them.

I've heard the upscaling to HD can improve video. I've no experience with it myself. Still, it seams odd from a U.S. perspective that Columbo is an overseas hit. I liked the show on the few occasions I watched it, but not enough to make a habit of watching it.

Then again, I've always preferred science fiction and the occasional western series far more than detective/mystery shows.