Recently, I was browsing the iTunes TV catalog and decided to take in a one-minute video for HBO's True Detective series. So I click on the play button in iTunes to watch the trailer. Then, a gripping 30 seconds later, it stops. Why? Because iTunes is only showing me a preview of the trailer.
Here's an illustration of the problem:
This is stupid.
There are bright folks over at Apple, but I guess they haven't figured this out. So here's a simple algorithm for iTunes to implement:
- Is the video free?
- Is it less than 5 minutes?
If both conditions are met, just allow the video to be shown in it's entirety without requiring the user to download it to their iTunes library.
Apple, please fix that.
