Instead of selling full-length movies in iTunes, why not rent them?

As Macworld approaches many (including myself) are wondering what is Steve Jobs going to pull out of his sleeve this year? Some “experts” speculate that Apple will start selling full length movies through iTunes.

Personally, I would like to see iTunes add a movie rental store. This has much more appeal than a movie store, where you have to purchase a movie.

Think about it. Millions of people already pay about $4.00/rental from Blockbuster or another video store. Why not pay the same amount, or preferably less, to rent a movie from iTunes? You can download a full length movie and watch it on your iPod, laptop, or desktop computer. After a week, the file “times out,” and is unplayable or deletes itself from your computer. Apple could even add a “Keep It” feature to the movies. If you want to keep the movie, for an added fee the movie is yours forever. It would be really nice if you could burn the movie to DVD after choosing to keep it.

Of course, a full length movie would take a while to download, even on a high speed connection. To solve that problem, plan ahead. If you know you want to watch a certain movie over the weekend, download it the night before.

This seems like a much more profitable model than strictly a movie store. If I had an iPod with video, I would rarely use the video feature. It would primarily be an audio device, as my iPod mini is now. I would mainly use the video feature on long trips in the car, or on a plane, etc. I rarely buy DVD’s now, but I may rent several a month. With that in mind, I would gladly pay to rent a movie or two for a trip. If you want to watch the movie on a TV, use the video cables for the iPod. Also, no worrying about late fees, since the video would “return itself.”

They could even have a Netflix type of model, and have a monthly membership.

If you rent movies, why not rent music? Not the same, in my opinion. Music should not be rented. I want to own the music I pay for. I’m not going to pay for a song, listen to it, and never listen to it again. For most movies, one viewing is enough. If I want to keep it, I’ll go to the store and buy the DVD.

Will this or any other movie store become a reality at Macworld? or any other time in the near future? We shall see….