iTunes Movie Rentals Beyond 24 Hours

With the introduction of the new iTunes rental system, the 24 hour time limit on rentals has raised concerns about the inability to rent a movie one night and finish at the same time the following night.

When you rent a movie on iTunes, you have 30 days to start watching the movie before it expires. Once you start watching it, however, you only have a 24 hour window before it expires. Tidbits' Mark Boszko explored the limits of this 24 hour rental window, and how Apple deals with this 24 hour expiration. Boszko tested various scenarios and found the following under iTunes:

- Watched a rental movie (to start the 24 hour clock), then started watching it again about 30 minutes prior to the end of the 24 hour window. The movie continued to play to the end beyond the 24 hour rental window.
- If you try to exit the movie once it has passed the 24 hour window, you will be greeted with a dialog that tells you if you don't finish watching the movie, it will be deleted.
- If you pause a movie before the 24 hour expiration arrives, you can still resume it after the window passes.*
- If you are watching past the 24 hour window, and try to pause the movie, you are told you must finish watching it or delete the movie.

While these tests were performed in iTunes, others have found the same behavior on iPods and Apple TVs. Based on these findings, it appears that a movie can be started one night and then finished the following night without concern about running into the 24hr expiration.

*The exact length of the "pause window" is not known, but it appears it may eventually timeout and expire the movie.

Related Forum: Mac Apps

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

dagamer34 Avatar
227 months ago
I think 48 hours is perfect. It's not like these rentals will be competing with Blockbuster of Netflix with the 30 day delay.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mark2288 Avatar
227 months ago
24 hours is not sufficient. 36 would make it much more comfortable.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)