Netflix announced unlimited movie streaming starting monday, the day before Macworld according the to the alternative press. Prior to this announcement, Netflix subscribers were only allowed to watch a fixed amount of “Watch Instantly” movies based on their subscription plan. Video Streaming sill sucks, until streaming devices come available for the TV (mid 2008). I personally would hate to watch movies on the computer, but that’s just me.

Apple TV was voted the Top 10 worst products of 2007 from popular mechanics, but does it have any hope in 2008? Could Apple TV be in the top products of 2008?

My Apple TV is a great solution for having parties, playing music and showing photos in my living room, but thats about it. I’ve had my Apple TV Since the end of march and I only have two movies from iTunes on it. I was happy with the quality and the speed of the downloads (unlike Amazon Unbox), but the truth is I don’t like buying movies. I seldom like to watch movies more than once.

Now that it’s confirmed Fox, Disney, Pixar and other companies will be renting movies through iTunes, could this revive this product from the worst to the best in 2008? If anyone can do movie rentals right, I believe apple can, look what they did with music. There are a few factors for iTunes rentals to be successful.

The Key factor, Will Rentals Be Available the Same Day as Their Local Video Store?

Having rentals available the same day as local video stores could make apple TV an instant hit. If rentals are available at a delayed rate such as on demand cable box movie rentals or Amazon Unbox then there’s little hope for success. (more…)