March 19, 2012
Movies now available on iCloud.
Movies have joined music, TV shows, books, and apps in iCloud, which means that iTunes movies are as easily re-watchable as your DVDs, even if you need to remove a movie from a device for awhile for space reasons. iTunes stores your movies in iCloud, and they can be downloaded again to your various devices at any time. For owners of Apple TV (2nd generation and later), it also means your movie selection has just substantially increased: you can now browse movies for purchase as well as rental. Movies are stored in iCloud, no hard drive required.
To see the movies you've already purchased that qualify: on your computer click the Purchased link in the Quick Links section on the main iTunes Store page or main Movie page; on your iPhone and iPod touch, tap the Purchased tab on the lower right, then Movies; on iPad tap the Purchased tab on the lower right and then use the View button on the upper left to select among Music, TV Shows, and Movies; on Apple TV select Movies and then Purchased on the upper left.
The iTunes store now includes HD movies at 1080p resolution. As you browse individual movies on your devices, the accompanying text describes what HD resolutions are available and what will be downloaded or streamed when you purchase. iTunes on your computer provides a convenient way to see all the HD movies currently available via the All HD Movies link in Movies Quick Links on the main Movies page.
iTunes 6 is required to download 1080p content to computers, and the default is set to 720P. If you always want to download to your computer at 1080p, select Preferences in the iTunes menu and then the Store tab in the panel that will appear and use the popup menu to set the the default to 1080p. If you've previously purchased 720p content, check the Purchased button for 1080p availability and if it's there you can download it to replace the 720p version. The new iPad and third generation Apple TV will play the movies with the stunning clarity of 1080p video by default.
