How can I buy a movie on my Apple iPad?

I can already tell that the iPad is an awesome movie viewer, but if I'm on the road and that's all I have, can I buy a movie directly on the iPad and have it downloaded for later viewing? I only have the wifi version, btw.

Dave's Answer:

I'm with you. From the moment I saw the advertising for the Apple iPad, I thought "man, that's going to be a sweet, sweet device for my next airplane flight!" Then I realized that you have to get the content onto the iPad. You can do that with iTunes, of course, but if you aren't near your computer and want to get a new movie, are you out of luck?

Of course you aren't. You think Apple doesn't want to enable you to spend money any time, anywhere? :-)

More seriously, you need to launch the 'iTunes' app and then the steps are straightforward if you've already set up an iTunes account with payment information. If you haven't, that's a step you'll probably need to do on your main computer, though if you enjoy the data entry system on the iPad you can definitely use that too.

Start by tapping on 'iTunes':

You've now entered a fascinating new world of the iTunes Store. Tons to check out, and a fair amount of free stuff if you can find it. Tap on "Movies" along the bottom and you'll see something like this:

You are welcome to spend hours browsing, but I'm going to move quickly by typing in the name of a great Pixar animated short Mike's New Car in the top right search box. Tap "Search" on the virtual keyboard and you'll see the film in question:

Tap on the movie graphic and you'll get a larger summary of the film:

Lots to notice here, but you can do that on your own time. Instead, tap on "Preview" and you can watch a snippet of the film:

Looks great! Let's jump back to the movie info page again (tap "Done" in the top left corner or wait until the preview ends), then tap on "Buy $1.99". That button changes to:

Tap on it one more time to actually buy the movie and it'll pop up a request for your iTunes password, a nice hurdle if you are otherwise afraid friends-- or kids!! -- might grab a bunch of films on your behalf:

Once you've entered it correctly, you'll see the film start to download:

That's it. Now, to actually watch the movie, you'll want to go back to the home page and tap on the "Videos" icon:

and...

There ya go. You can see the other films I have on my iPad too. An eclectic mix! :-)

Enjoy your movies. Let us know what you find the most enjoyable on your new Apple iPad too.

If you're here, odds are very good you're looking for iPad Help, and that's just what we aim to offer, so if you have a question about your iPad that you haven't seen answered here, please do submit it!

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Comments

Thanks, Dave. Could you tell me "How to organize movies on IPad?" Is there anything like "iBooks", I can display movies?

Posted by: Paul Peng at July 27, 2010 9:10 AM

Paul, I wish there was, but I haven't found anything similar. I just use the Get Info capability in iTunes to copy and paste movie posters as the icons for movies before I sync them on my iPad (which isn't an issue if the only movies you have are bought in the iTunes Store, btw)

Posted by: Dave Taylor at July 27, 2010 9:17 AM

Thanks Dave. Are movies rented from Netflix to IPad be able to watch on airplane flight, specific International flight,?

Posted by: Paul Peng at July 27, 2010 9:48 AM

Pretty sure that won't work, Paul, as Netflix is a streaming service...

Posted by: Dave Taylor at July 27, 2010 9:50 AM

I'm glad to ask you about Netflix. Will rent or buy movies from iTunes Store for watching it on iPad when I travel. It will work on airplane flight, right?

Posted by: Paul Peng at July 27, 2010 10:16 AM

Hi, Dave. Is it worth to get a "Movies HD" ?

Posted by: Paul Peng at July 29, 2010 8:44 AM

Hi,i'm writing f rom italy. I did what you said about movies for iPad but here iTunes doesn't work as you said !!! Is it possibile?? How can i buy movie s for my iPad so??

Posted by: Orsetta at September 23, 2010 4:15 AM

In iTunes I don't have the "movies" button. Any ideas ?

Posted by: Arshad at September 23, 2010 1:28 PM

Itunes sucks !
It works only for the US.
All over Asia, you can't buy either music or movies, or books.
Basically, all you can do with an Ipad is surfing the web.
Thank you very much Apple!

Posted by: Bruno at October 20, 2010 6:37 AM

Dear Dave,
I normally want to watch movies on my iPad when streaming/Netflix isn't available (airplane, airport with poor wi-fi, etc.). I am frustrated because most of the movies I would like to watch are not available for purchase on iTunes (e.g. The Motorcycle Diaries)!! Is there another way to purchase movies? If I purchased the The Motorcycle Diaries on Amazon could I watch it on my ipad?
Help!
Jen

Posted by: Jen at November 29, 2010 8:26 PM

Thanks! I have the movie on my ipad now, can I also put it on my iphone?

Posted by: carla at December 20, 2010 2:52 PM

Jen, I don't think that the films purchased on Amazon can be played on an iPad that's offline, though if you rent a film in iTunes, it *should* work if it's downloaded. I'm with you: this is all darn confusing.

Carla, yes, most assuredly. When you plug your iPhone into your computer, go to "movies" within the iPhone config area, check the box adjacent to the new movie, then "Sync" it up again.

Posted by: Dave Taylor at December 20, 2010 11:07 PM

Hi Taylor

I have an Norwegians iPad because i live in norway. But i don't got that movies icon in my iTunes. Any ideas?

Thx

Posted by: Robin at December 28, 2010 8:52 PM

I have tried to download iTunes movies several times on my iPad and I always get an error message after several minutes. I was charged for the movies but they do not show in my download cache.

Posted by: Linda at January 25, 2011 12:32 PM

I recently purchased a movie from itunes on my ipad and I wanted to start playing the movie before it completed the download. However, I couldn't find a way to do this. I didn't appear in "movies" Any advice?

Posted by: John at March 4, 2011 7:25 PM

Hi,
We are a French Canadian family with 2 young children (2 and 4). My children don't understand English yet and I am looking to get French children movies on my iPad. Is there a way I can change the language of movies I would like to download (just like I do with a DVD)? I tried finding French movies on iTunes, but can't find any.
Thank you, Annik

Posted by: Annik at March 5, 2011 5:52 PM

Hi, Please help me. I have a new ipad and have rented a few movies for the kids using the iTunes store on my computer. I have then synced the ipad but I canot find the rented movies on the ipad. Are they supposed to be in 'videos'with bought movies? If so they have not been put on the device.

Posted by: Tarina at April 10, 2011 12:42 AM

But if it takes 2 minutes to download a short film that is 3-1/2 minutes-how long does it take to download a feature length film? Might seriously reduce your battery life and increase your boredom if you're in flight.

Posted by: zma at July 17, 2011 12:26 PM

I am have a problem. Please help!! I cant buy movies from itune in itune hong kong. what can I do?
Thank you.

Posted by: Kathy at November 21, 2011 7:44 AM

I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!