Friday, December 16, 2011

Apple : iTunes Match subscriptions halted in UK

Apple : iTunes Match subscriptions halted in UK

iTunes Match subscriptions halted in UK

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iTunes Match subscriptions halted in UK

Apple has temporarily ceased accepting new subscribers to its iTunes Match music subscriptions service less than 24 hours after its official UK launch.

The £21.99-a-year service opened its doors outside of the US on Thursday, following a week of false starts and 'accidental' launches across new territories in Europe, Canada, Brazil and Australia.

Users in the UK were able to sign-up for the yearly subscription, which makes high-quality iTunes versions of your music collection files available to stream through iCloud, last night.

However, new members attempting to register through iTunes are now greeted with the message: "iTunes Match is temporarily not accepting new subscribers. Check back later."

Teething problems

The decision to take down new sign-ups may be related to users in several territories experiencing problems with usernames and passwords.

Earlier this week Apple issued refunds to iTunes users who had signed-up following an accidental launch in the new territories.

Apple will be keen to get the problems sorted, with iTunes Match representing a pretty cool Christmas gift for those on the look-out for last minute gifts.

iTunes nabs exclusive Avatar special edition

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iTunes nabs exclusive Avatar special edition

A new digital edition of James Cameron's Avatar will arrive exclusively on iTunes next week.

The Avatar iTunes Extras Special Edition will bring never-seen-before special features, offering a behind the scenes insight into how the biggest movie of all time was made.

The new edition, which arrives on December 20, brings a Green Screen X-ray feature which allows viewers to movie around a scene viewing the original green screen footage, prior to the addition of CGI.

Avatar special edition for iTunes also allows lets fans "deconstruct scenes" from the movie with picture-in-picture views of how the special effects were applied.

Simultaneous views

The official press release says: "Fans can experience the global box office sensation like never before as they control scene deconstructions in simultaneous views.

"This new feature will also enable consumers to interact with the performance capture and visual effects levels in 17 of the film's scenes.

"For the first time ever, Green Screen X-ray gives users an interactive look through the visual effects levels to see the original green screen footage behind a pivotal scene."

iTunes Extras launched in 2009 aiming to compete with physical discs by offering the same range of special features, but this exclusive is the first real evidence that content providers are taking it seriously.

The iTunes special edition of Avatar is available to pre-order now from iTunes in HD and SD, but there's no 3D version as yet.

iTunes Match now official in the UK

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iTunes Match now official in the UK

Apple has now officially rolled-out its iTunes Match subscription service in the UK, following 24 hours of confusion surrounding the launch.

iTunes Match appeared briefly to users in the UK, France and Australia on Wednesday before it was quickly pulled, with Apple promising to refund those who'd signed-up.

However, iTunes users in multiple territories are reporting that the iTunes Match tab has returned offering a year's subscription for £21.99 a year.

Not only is the service live but, lo-and-behold, it's actually working, users have told the MacRumors and Macgasm blogs.

Your music on the go

iTunes Match went live in the US last month.

The service scans your hard-drive for music and replaces your tired old MP3s with high-quality 256kbps tracks from iTunes.

Members can then stream their collection from iOS devices, Apple TV and iTunes-enabled Macs and PCs.

Apple hopes the service will keep users in the iTunes ecosystem rather than switching to alternative cloud lockers from Amazon and Google.
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