How to rent a movie from the iTunes Store on Apple TV
Summary
With Apple TV software version 2.0 or later, you can now rent many of your favorite Hollywood movies from the iTunes Store on your widescreen TV.
- From the main Apple TV menu, choose Settings > Update Software.
- Follow the onscreen prompts to download and apply the Update.
- When the Update has downloaded and finished installing, your Apple TV will restart.
Refer to "Apple TV: How to upgrade Apple TV software to version 2.0" for additional instructions.
Products Affected
iTunes Store, AppleTV
To sign in to the iTunes Store
- From the main Apple TV menu, choose Settings > General > iTunes Store.
If your location and iTunes account already appear here, skip to the next section. - Select Set your location.
- Scroll to highlight your location and select it.
- Press the Menu button on the remote once to return to the previous screen.
- Select Sign in.
- Enter your Apple ID and password. If you don't have an Apple ID, create one using iTunes on your computer. (The password is case-sensitive). Note: If your Apple ID is an AOL account, you'll need to convert it to work with Apple TV. If you need help converting your AOL account, please contact iTunes Store Customer Service.
- Apple TV will give you the option to remember your password. Select Yes if you want to save the password.
- Press and hold the Menu button to return to the main Apple TV menu.
To rent movies on your Apple TV
- Select Movies from the main Apple TV menu.
- Choose one of the following categories to begin finding movies:
- Top Movies
- Genres
- All HD
- Search
- Find a movie you would like to rent and press Play/Pause for more details.
- Select Rent or Rent HD. (Rent HD may not be available for all movies and movie rentals may not be available in all regions.)
- A confirmation message will appear. Click OK to continue.
Your movie will begin to download immediately. Download speeds will vary depending on your Internet connection (a broadband Internet connection is required). Click here for more information on when a movie can start playing.
A message will appear when the movie is ready watch. At this point, you can press Play to begin watching the movie, or press the Menu button to make other selections.
To see all the movies that you have rented, select Movies > Rented Movies from the main Apple TV menu. The Rented Movies menu also shows when your rented movie is due to expire.
If your download is interrupted, go to Setting > Downloads and select Check for Downloads. Apple TV will connect with the iTunes Store and will resume downloading.
Additional Information
- Movies rented on your Apple TV are not transferable to any other device and can only be viewed on your Apple TV.
- For information about movie rental expiration and viewing limits and for more information about iTunes Store movie rentals, read the "iTunes Store Movie Rentals FAQ."
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An Internet connection to the iTunes Store is required to authorize playback.
Want to rent movies on your computer and watch them on a supported iPod* or iPhone? Read "How to rent a movie from the iTunes Store on your computer."
* Supported video-enabled iPod models are:
iPod touch, iPod nano (3rd generation), and iPod classic. See this document if you're unsure which iPod model you have.