Apple iTunes TV
By an episode, or a complete season
Pros
- Ability to order a whole 'season' is handy, quality is okay
Cons
- There are free alternatives
Bottom Line
It works with Apple's customary ease of use, the quality is good and the selection of programmes extensive, but we're not convinced of the economics of paying nearly $2.99 an episode, when there are free alternatives.
-
Price
Free (AUD)
Leaving aside all the music you can buy from the iTunes Store, an increasing amount of TV content can be accessed from this entertainment portal.
Techworld: How to get free iTunes music
In order to start enjoying it, you need to set up an iTunes account and then log in.
You also need to download and install the latest version of QuickTime — currently that's version 7.0. We found the store had problems finding our iTunes setup, and we had to download it again before we started.
Once you're up and running, however, it's simple to navigate iTunes' TV library and acquire content. Your iTunes library syncs with the online store in the usual manner and imports your purchases directly.
You can get an idea of the content to be found on the iTunes TV player by consulting the top 10 charts at the lower right of the iTunes home page. When we tried it out, an episode of the sci-fi series 'Heroes' was the top pick, while instalments of 'Lost' and 'Grey's Anatomy' dominated the rest of the top 10.
This US bias surprised us, given the availability of British podcasts on iTunes, but the fact that Apple charges £1.89 per episode ($2.99 for Australian users) may simply mean that British consumers are finding episodes of homegrown television programs elsewhere — probably for free. After all, broadcasters such as Dave seem to run many of the most popular programmes on near constant repeat on Freeview.
There are certain things about the iTunes TV store that impressed us. The descriptions of the episodes that help you ensure you buy the one you want and the ability to order a whole 'season' (also known as a series) at once are very handy.
'Lost' Series 4 came in at £24 complete, which is competitive with what you'd pay for the DVD boxset. So if you want to buy in this fashion, there's a certain attraction to the setup. We just couldn't persuade ourselves to fork out nearly £2 a pop on an episode-by-episode basis.
Of course, one of the key functions of the iTunes TV library is hooking up with the AppleTV box and streaming programmes for playback on an actual television. But our initial tests with this scenario weren't good. Having retested the arrangement for this feature, we still aren't sold on it.
Brand Post
Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Dell U3223QE review: A winning debut for an IPS Black monitor
- 2 HP Spectre x360 16 review: The right 2-in-1 at the wrong time
- 3 Acer K242HYL review: An affordable monitor for any occasion
- 4 GeForce Now review: You bring the games, Nvidia streams the hardware
- 5 Asus ProArt PA279CV monitor review: The go-to for content creators on a budget
Latest News Articles
- Microsoft’s universal ‘One Outlook’ client just leaked out
- Microsoft reveals a new Windows Game Bar built for controllers
- Microsoft tests a limited VPN for Microsoft Edge
- Audacity developer puts the ‘proper’ version on the Microsoft Store
- How to pin an extension to Chrome’s toolbar
Resources
Macworld
What's new, plus best mac-related tips
and tricks
Business Centre
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers
Videos
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world
Guides
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles
PCW Evaluation Team
Pedro Peixoto
Aruba Instant On AP11D
Set up is effortless.
Cate Bacon
Aruba Instant On AP11D
The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.
Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti
Aruba Instant On AP11D
Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.
Tom Pope
Dynabook Portégé X30L-G
Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.
Tom Sellers
MSI P65
This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.
Lolita Wang
MSI GT76
It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.
Featured Content
- Which Lenovo Laptop Should I Buy?
- Every TV in Samsung's 2022 line-up: OLED, Neo QLED and more!
- Top 10 best Android and Apple phones for under $600
- Everything you need to know about Smart TVs
- What's the difference between an Intel Core i3, i5 and i7?
- Laser vs. inkjet printers: which is better?