You can now rent movies from YouTube in the UK. The service has been available in the USA but it has now rolled out into the UK. With over 1000 films at your disposal spanning multiple generations, there is plenty of choice to keep you going including new releases such as Fast Five.

Newer films tend to be going for £3.49 and older films for £2.49. The price is for a 48 hour pass to access the movie. People have already taken to the blog to complain about the high pricing. Some comments put it plain and simple saying they can buy the same film on DVD to keep permanently for the same price or cheaper elsewhere. Others wouldn’t mind paying the price if there were high quality 720p versions of movies to rent as most of the films are being streamed at 480p.

Another update to YouTube which I didn’t get an opportunity to comment on was the new editing features for video uploaders. They allow uploaders to add effects and make subtle corrections to the video before it is made public. This addition comes after the earlier addition of increasing upload file limits from 10 to 15 minutes.

Streaming is going to become a significant way in which the public access their media content in the near future and it will be interesting to see how the competition in the market defines itself here in the UK after the success they have had in the USA. To check out the movies click on the Films tab at the top of the YouTube home page. Alternatively go to: http://www.youtube.com/movies

YouTube Blog: http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2011/10/youtube-now-has-movies-in-uk.html