Digital copies, why?

[Lasertrout]

There seem to be more Blu Rays released with digital copies enclosed, but why do we need them? Does anyone actually watch them?
Just Look at Drag Me To Hell, no special features but at least we get a digital copy, i think they're a waste of time and money, what do you guys think?

[sokrman14]

I use them everytime I am on a plane. I bring either my laptop or my Ipod with them loaded on there.

[ShelbyGT500]

I use my digital copies all the time. They are great for putting on my iPhone and laptop so when I travel I have something to watch out of my new collection. But I think the digital copy should not make them skimp on the extras.

[jasonrw]

i am on the same page as you, digital copies are a complete waste. i never use them. i would rather pay less for the blu ray release than have to pay more for a digital copy to be included

[masc360]

i love digital copies me and my wife take lots of road trips so its nice being able to load them on our iphones and watching them on our way.

[jboy0322]

I actually use them when I go on trips too. I watch some of the movies at night at the hotel and on the way to wherever I'm going via my laptop. Other than that though, they just sit on my external HD.

[Kynch]

I hate them. Simple as. If I want a blocky, pixelated, bad sounding copy of the movie I'll just either make my own rip or download it.
Same goes for a DVD copy of the movie, however practical it is, it's still useless. I pay for a Blu-ray because that's how I want to watch the movie in HD.

You never saw DVDs come with a "Bonus VHS Copy of the Movie!".

I know some people'll bring out the "What about a DVD copy for the children to watch?" argument. But since I don't have any yet, I still think that you shouldn't be charged extra for useless extras such as Digital Copies and DVD copies of movies. Or if it's simply unavoidable, put the digital copy on the DVD or put a flyer in the case to download the movie online.

[/vent]

[banned user105]

I don't mind digital copies one bit. I never use them, but as long as they don't affect the price of Blu-Rays, why should anybody care? It seems like such a silly thing to get riled up about, like the guy above me.

What does bother me though is when movies with digital copies are marketed as 2 disc sets (when the second disc is just a digital copy), or some kind of super awesome bonus special edition. Take the GI Joe cover for instance:



Digital Copy Edition? Bahahaha. Give me a break.

[roach_rch]

Another absurd edition is the upcoming Disney's Up - 2x BD + 1x DVD + 1x Digital Copy. I regret that they couldn't fit also the Laserdisc, HD DVD and the USB flash drive with second digital copy into that box. I absolutely HATE Digital Copies.

[zedd_117]

yep, or how about the "4 disc" editions of both "Up" and "Monsters Inc."
Not only do you get a digital copy, but a crappy DVD as well. They could at least make it in separate packaging so you could ebay it.

[banned user105]

Originally Posted by zedd_117

yep, or how about the "4 disc" editions of both "Up" and "Monsters Inc."
Not only do you get a digital copy, but a crappy DVD as well. They could at least make it in separate packaging so you could ebay it.

That "crappy DVD" is a brilliant marketing move and you're the first person who I've ever seen badmouth it. It's an awesome bonus, and infinitely better than a digital copy.

[Brad1963]

To me, they are a waste.

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by doctorthodt

I don't mind digital copies one bit. I never use them, but as long as they don't affect the price of Blu-Rays, why should anybody care? It seems like such a silly thing to get riled up about, like the guy above me.

What does bother me though is when movies with digital copies are marketed as 2 disc sets (when the second disc is just a digital copy), or some kind of super awesome bonus special edition. Take the GI Joe cover for instance:



Digital Copy Edition? Bahahaha. Give me a break.

That is truly overdoing it.

[Sonny]

I love digital copys, & having a MacBook and iPhone make them worth their weight in gold. I wish every BD came with a digi copy!!!

[papaholmz]

The great thing about opinions is that everyone's got one and there is no law that says we all have to have the same opinion.

I, for one, have never used and probably will never use a digital copy disc. But I think it's cool that they are included for people who want to use them.

I also will probably never play the DVD disc that comes with "Up" and "Monsters, Inc" but I still think it is awesome of Disney to include the DVD version at no extra charge. Think about it, a lot of parents will buy those movies for their kids, and to have a DVD copy for the kids room AND a BD copy for mom and dad... I just think it was great of Disney to do that.

If you don't like them, then awesome for you. The OP was upset that a digital copy was included instead of special features. But, in my opinion, the special features are just as useless as a digital copy disc. I can honestly say that out of the 1000 plus DVDs I've had over the years, and 100 plus BDs, I've only ever watched the special features of one movie. In fact, I have movies that I haven't had time to watch, so why am I going to spend 4 hours watching special features for one movie when I have plenty of 2 hour movies I've never watched.

To me, special features are the same as digital copy discs or DVD copies. I don't care about any of them, but I think its great that they are included for those that do care.

-papaholmz

[Yankees0222]

I don't know why everyone is complaining about digital copies. You are NOT paying more for them. The prices of BDs with or without digital copies are the same so why not get more bang for your buck? I don't get....

[zedd_117]

Originally Posted by doctorthodt

That "crappy DVD" is a brilliant marketing move and you're the first person who I've ever seen badmouth it. It's an awesome bonus, and infinitely better than a digital copy.

Oh I understand why they do it (Disney is the master of marketing), but, not having kids, nor a mini-van or vehicle with a DVD player, I guess I just can not appreciate it.
I just think they should have 2 options available, Just the 2 disc Blu edition, for like $5-$10 less, or the 4-disc (call it a Family Edition, or something) for the $30 retail price.
Just a thought.

[Trace17]

I hate the digital copy so much, but studios should meet us halfway and for those releases that have a dvd with it (I'm looking at you disney) they should just put the digital copy and dvd on the same disc. If they did that and never, ever, ever marketed a Blu-ray as a "digital copy special edition" I would be okay with it. I've used them once or twice but only to say I used them, not because I actually like them.

Edit: A good example might be Coraline. Digital copy and dvd on same disc, plus both BD and DVD retain special features. Win/win.

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by Lasertrout

Just Look at Drag Me To Hell, no special features but at least we get a digital copy, i think they're a waste of time and money, what do you guys think?

Did you buy a screener copy of Drag Me To Hell?

The Blu-ray Disc has Production Video Diaries as an extra along with BD-Live connectivity. The video diaries run 35mins in length so its not an insificant extra either.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by jasonrw

i am on the same page as you, digital copies are a complete waste. i never use them. i would rather pay less for the blu ray release than have to pay more for a digital copy to be included

But is there any hard data that shows that a Blu-Ray that comes with a digital copy costs the end user more money than one that doesn't?

For the most part, I have little use for Digital Copies myself... mostly due to me not traveling enough to need them, but also due to inconsistent format options and DRM making them difficult to use (not enough give you a PSP option, which is what's best for me).

Having said that, I haven't really noticed any general trend where the cost of a movie with a digital copy is vastly greater than one without one. While I agree that it is wasteful to even make a disc that has a limited time use, the cost of making the disc is a very small drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things.

Originally Posted by Kynch

I hate them. Simple as. If I want a blocky, pixelated, bad sounding copy of the movie I'll just either make my own rip or download it.
Same goes for a DVD copy of the movie, however practical it is, it's still useless. I pay for a Blu-ray because that's how I want to watch the movie in HD.

I personally find a DVD copy to be much more desirable and practical than a Digital Copy. I understand that some people may not have much use for it. However, it does stand to reason that a lot of people probably already have TVs in several rooms of their house with DVD players hooked up to them. So even when they finally go HD, they likely will have an HDTV and Blu-Ray player in only one room to start with (and possibly for a good long time to come in many cases). If the Blu-Ray comes with a DVD copy of the movie, it's nice for those people who want to watch it in Hi-Def in the room with the HD set up, but maybe also want to watch movies from time to time in the bedroom or whatever.

As it is, my wife and I are kicking around the idea of getting another BD player when/if we find a decent one cheap (preferably one that doesn't have many disc compatibility issues) to hook up to an older analog standard def TV that we have in the bedroom (I'll probably be keeping on eye on black Friday sales for this). This is mainly because we have a collection of well over 100 Blu-Rays now, most of which don't have a DVD copy option (except for some Disney titles and the X-men Origins Blu-Ray from Wal-Mart), so we have quiet a few that we can't watch elsewhere in the house.

Additionally, DVD copies are great for ripping and making a non-DRM digital copy in whatever format you want. Blu-Rays aren't easy to rip (if it's even possible at all).

You never saw DVDs come with a "Bonus VHS Copy of the Movie!".

That's because it was never practical to do so. The sheer size of a VHS tape would make it difficult to include with a DVD, plus VHS tapes (with all of their moving parts, etc) were actually more expensive to make, even well into the format's life, than a pressed disc like a CD or DVD. The cost of pressing a DVD is super-cheap these days, and it's size makes it easy to fit into a regular sized Blu-Ray case with the Blu-Ray disc(s).

I know some people'll bring out the "What about a DVD copy for the children to watch?" argument. But since I don't have any yet, I still think that you shouldn't be charged extra for useless extras such as Digital Copies and DVD copies of movies. Or if it's simply unavoidable, put the digital copy on the DVD or put a flyer in the case to download the movie online.

Again, we really aren't paying "extra" for digital copies. There isn't some drastic different in price between Blu-Rays that come with digital copies and those that don't.

Having said that, I very much do agree that it is pointless and wasteful to include a digital copy on it's own, separate disc... especially when it will expire eventually and only can be used once. It should either be included on the DVD copy of the movie or simply be made to download via a code. Regardless of it not really adding anything to the cost, a digital copy disc that can't even be used more than once (and can't be used at all past a certain date) is just flat out pure waste to the environment. The discs that they are being burned on could be put to much better use.