Apple lets movies into iCloud

Apple said on Wednesday that clients can now save some movies on its iCloud remote storage service. That system lets devices just as the iPad and the iPhone retrieve content wirelessly. Previously, if you bought a movie on one device to play on another, you needed to connect both to a personal computer with a physical cord. ICloud does away with that.

The change as well means people will be able to watch purchased movies on an improved Apple TV set-top box going on sale straightway week.

That development should allay frustration consumers have had with digital purchases of movies, which could be bought on iPads and iPhones, nevertheless couldn't be stored on the Apple TV device because it has no hard drive. Apple TV owners had been limited to renting movies until now.

Apple's head of internet services, Eddy Cue, demonstrated how the movie system would work using a new Apple TV set-top box. The device will now be able to play movies in the "1080p" format, the highest-resolution video standard in common use. Earlier, Apple TV could only play back movies in "720p."

The upgraded version will go on sale at once week

The upgraded version will go on sale at once week. The box will continue to offer online movie streaming services that require monthly subscriptions just as Netflix. On Wednesday, Netflix Inc said clients will be able to sign up for its service directly from an Apple TV box and pay for it through an iTunes account.

Studios are trying boost digital purchases of movies as DVD sales continue to slip. Hollywood believes that digital sales will only increase rapidly if it gives consumers a way to access their purchases on multiple devices easily. For now, Apple's iCloud and the studios' UltraViolet will not be compatible with each other.

The movie announcement came at an Apple event where Cook as well revealed a new iPad that has higher screen resolution than the previous model and can work on faster 4G cellular networks.