San Francisco (CA) - Confirming rumors that popped up over the past week, Steve Jobs has announced that users will be able to download iTunes movies on a rental basis, effective today.

Over 1000 titles will be available by the end of February, 100 of which are accessible today. Jobs announced that first-run films as well as library titles will be part of the service.

Kind of straying away from its legacy of innovating the industry, Apple’s core model will be exactly the same as similar services already available. New releases will cost around $4 to rent, while older titles will be around $3. Paying $1 more will upgrade them to HD. According to Jobs, movie playback is possible beginning 30 seconds after the rental is initiated.

On the updated version of iTunes to include this feature, there will be a new "rent" button next to applicable titles. Once a user pays for a rental, he will have 30 days to access the content. Once the movie is opened, it is only valid for 24 hours. It can be transferred to a device during that time, but again only remains accessible for the set limit. Again, this is completely the same as other online digital rental services.

Additionally, the rental service goes hand in hand with a new version of the Apple TV also announced today. The Apple TV, which streams iTunes content to a television, kind of grew to a black hole in the company’s history, but Jobs said it can work with a new set of features. The new device will not require a connection to a computer, allowing limited Internet access right out of the box. Included in this is the ability to access the iTunes store, including the new rental service, and photo sharing site Flickr. In other words, users can pay $5 for a newly released HD movie directly from their TV.

The new Apple TV will also cut back on the price, down from $250 to around $220. Loyal customers who purchased the flopped Apple TV the first time around will also be able to access these new features through a firmware upgrade.

Although iTunes has the lead in digital movie downloads, Apple’s biggest rival Microsoft is leading in high-def digital rentals through the Xbox 360’s video marketplace. Many titles offered there are not available in HD any place else, although Apple’s new initiative will seek to change that.