I truly recommend you to check out this ad. It’s stunningly beautiful.

Update 6-15-2007: Apple seems to have removed the ad from its website. Lucky for us, however, it has already been posted to YouTube. Enjoy.

Today, the Financial Times reports that Apple is currently discussing iTunes rental agreements with all major motion picture studios which would allow customers to rent movies from iTunes instead of purchasing them.

A film would cost $2.99 for a 30-day rental. Its digital rights-management software would allow films to be moved from a computer to at least one other device such as the video iPod or iPhone. The software would prevent movies being copied.

$2.99 for a 30 day rental? This sounds like an extremely intriguing deal for iTunes customers. According to the Financial Times the Studios are excited as well:

Other studios have shied from tie-ups with Apple because of concerns that digital downloading may hit DVD sales. But studios will be more enthusiastic about joining its video-on-demand service. Films downloaded to rent are unlikely to affect DVD sales.

I’ve been saying for a long time that Apple needs to offer movie rentals on iTunes. It’s a win for Apple, the consumer, and the studios. Offer them in HD and we might as well forgo the entire Blue-Ray/HD-DVD disaster.

Sign me up!

Apple and Universal Music are negotiating a deal to bring music from the label to the service, which offers higher-quality tracks that can be played on any computer or device. Citing “well-placed sources”, the report claims the label is now “actively discussing” such a deal.

Of course we can’t confirm who these allegedly “well-placed sources” are, however, if iTunes Plus is a success it’ll be only a matter of time until the other record companies follow EMI’s lead.

Update 6/8/2007: Universal Music Group Senior Vice President Peter LoFrumento contacted Macworld this evening to deny Digital Music News’ claims, saying: “The rumour is completely untrue.”

What a surprise…

First of, make sure that you’ve already downloaded iTunes 7.2, or get it here. Then enter the iTunes store and click on ‘iTunes Plus’ in the Quick Links section to the right of your screen.

Now iTunes might prompt you to default the store to show iTunes Plus music whenever available. You can always revert this choice in your Account settings later. After you’ve made the changes, iTunes will take you to it’s ‘Plus’ section where you can shop for exclusive ‘iTunes Plus’ tracks. Here you’ll also find a large round button in the top-right corner of the screen.

Click it, and iTunes will display all of your previously purchased songs that are available and ready for the upgrade. [And yes, I do like Robbie Williams, thank you very much - I AM European after all...]

This is a special offer to upgrade your entire music library of previously purchased songs, albums and music videos now available in Itunes Plus. You will be charged $0.30 a song, 30% of the current album price and $0.60 a music video to upgrade. Just click Buy and new versions of all your music below will be downloaded in iTunes Plus. This page updates automatically as we add more music in iTunes Plus. Please check back often!

Hit the “Buy” button and you’re all set.

UPDATE:

I truly wouldn’t call myself an audiophile, however, after upgrading Robbie William’s ‘Intensive Care’ Album, I must admit that 256kbp/s does sound a lot better than 128kbp/s. It’s much richer and the all the instruments seem to be more distinguishable to my ears. Then again… maybe Steve’s RDF has already snuck up all the way into my ear canals.

Also, I am happy to report that I was able to transfer one of the new iTunes Plus tracks to my Sony Ericsson W800i cell phone and sucesfully play it on there. I don’t know about you, but my $0.30 upgrade fee will continue to go into Steve’s large pockets…

Apple hasn’t exactly made it easy to start using iTunes Plus. To use the service, iTunes users are required to access their account settings (click on your store user ID) and enable iTunes plus.

After that’s been done, iTunes will show iTunes Plus tracks as the default choice when available. To find iTunes Plus tracks go to the power search (Store -> Search) and enter your criteria. After your initial search, iTunes will present you with a new option.

Select ‘Limit Your Search to iTunes Plus’ and you will finally be able to download the new 256 kbp/s, DRM-Free Tracks.

Enjoy!

To make all of this possible, Apple just released iTunes 7.2 which supposedly offers iTunes Plus, Apple’s DRM free $1.29 offerings.

With iTunes 7.2, preview and purchase iTunes Plus music—new higher-quality, DRM-free music downloads from participating music labels.

Even though I installed iTunes 7.2 I couldn’t find any noticeable differences or any hints of iTunes Plus. Nothing in the preference panel, and a quick search for some of EMI’s artists such as ‘Radiohead’ or ‘Foo Fighters’ did not reveal any of the new offerings either. Maybe Apple needs some more time to update its online store, or I was just too tired to see it.

Either way, it’s good to see when a company such as EMI takes a step forward and dares to be different. Let’s hope that the gamble will work out in EMI’s favor so that the laggards (Sony BMB, Universal, and Warner) will follow soon.

UPDATE:

The first time you buy an iTunes Plus song, you specify whether to make all future purchases iTunes Plus versions (when available). You can change this setting by accessing your account information on the iTunes Store,” Apple writes. “If you already have iTunes Store purchases that are now available as iTunes Plus downloads, you may upgrade your existing purchases. To do so, visit the iTunes Store and follow the onscreen instructions.

So it appears as if the company is waiting for some kind of event where Steve Jobs could publicly announce the availability of DRM free music. Hmmm… I wonder when such an event could occur…

The summer launch of the HD channel around July will be a test for a better lineup set to be released in September. Some of the shows that will be featured on ABC online during the summer in HD are Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, and Ugly Betty.

It is fair to assume, that ABC’s entrance into the HD streaming market will finally make way for iTunes HD content to follow. The Apple TV, which enables users to watch iTunes content on their living room TV sets already supports HD resolutions up to 720p, but has remained largely unused, due to the virtually nonexistent HD content on the iTunes Video Store. Steve Job’s Apple TV had to stomach some negative reviews due to this fact, and therefore, it would be a blessing for the company to finally offer a high quality HD lineup for their infant device.

ABC Television is owned by the Walt Disney Company, of which Steve Jobs is currently the largest shareholder. With ABC taking the first step to offer some of their shows in High Definition it shouldn’t be too long now until we see some of that goodness showing up on iTunes as well.

So, AppleTV users rejoice, and get ready for your fair share of Bree Vandecamp’s Close-Up in 720p.