The future of iTunes and Digital Copies

[Blu-News]

I was just curious what everyone thinks about the future of iTunes and digital movies. With Vudu gaining more and more support from studios, we are seeing far less iTunes Digital Copy support.

Vudu's Disc 2 Digital program is full of flaws, but when it works, it's a really amazing option for those with DVDs wanting to upgrade to HD, or those with Blu-ray movies that want an HD digital copy for streaming. It makes it very affordable to own your film's digitally.

Do you think iTunes is pretty much left in the dust at this point? Truthfully I prefer iTunes as I find the streaming to be of better quality, and I never encounter any issues. I also like the format of the iTunes store and purchased page when using an AppleTV over the Vudu website and apps. But there's no denying that iTunes really is becoming the more expensive way to own your content digitally, with no ability to upgrade your content and very little Digital Copy support.

I'm sort of surprised that Apple hasn't taken steps to compete even more with Vudu, perhaps we'll hear something at a future time, but I don't see them suddenly getting the same Digital Copy support they used to have again.

[Walter-S_NC]

I think the trend in the digital copy market is unambiguously clear.

The vast DECE has become the defacto standard.

[squatting hen]

Yes, Vudu is gaining support, and I believe it is because it is available on just about every “smart” device. The Disc 2 Digital at home program does currently have a few bugs, but that is why it is called Beta. It is still in the testing phase. I am not sure what bugs you have encountered with it. You can always take discs into a Wal-Mart, but you will not get the current 50% off promotion.

For me, Vudu offers amazing quality. I can stream my movies on my TV in HDX (1080p) with Dolby Digital + surround sound. I personally never have issues with Vudu. They also offer deals on rentals and digital purchases. It can also be linked to your Ultraviolet account so you can view all of your Ultraviolet Digital Copy movies right through Vudu.

I do have quite a few movies on iTunes from digital copy redemptions. I just don’t have any way to view except on the PC.

I thought about buying the Apple TV, but it is just very limited compared to other streaming devices, like the Roku.

[Blu-News]

Originally Posted by squatting hen

Yes, Vudu is gaining support, and I believe it is because it is available on just about every “smart” device. The Disc 2 Digital at home program does currently have a few bugs, but that is why it is called Beta. It is still in the testing phase. I am not sure what bugs you have encountered with it. You can always take discs into a Wal-Mart, but you will not get the current 50% off promotion.

For me, Vudu offers amazing quality. I can stream my movies on my TV in HDX (1080p) with Dolby Digital + surround sound. I personally never have issues with Vudu. They also offer deals on rentals and digital purchases. It can also be linked to your Ultraviolet account so you can view all of your Ultraviolet Digital Copy movies right through Vudu.

I do have quite a few movies on iTunes from digital copy redemptions. I just don’t have any way to view except on the PC.

I thought about buying the Apple TV, but it is just very limited compared to other streaming devices, like the Roku.

It failed to recognize a lot of my discs, but it's still a great service. Another movie (I believe a Scooby-Doo! film) came up as Project X Blu-ray haha. I started my Vudu collection this past week, and I now have about 400 movies on it, I just think I need to get used to it. I'm such an Apple user, the change is just something I'm getting used to.

[Walter-S_NC]

Originally Posted by squatting hen

Yes, Vudu is gaining support, and I believe it is because it is available on just about every “smart” device. The Disc 2 Digital at home program does currently have a few bugs, but that is why it is called Beta. It is still in the testing phase. I am not sure what bugs you have encountered with it. You can always take discs into a Wal-Mart, but you will not get the current 50% off promotion.

For me, Vudu offers amazing quality. I can stream my movies on my TV in HDX (1080p) with Dolby Digital + surround sound. I personally never have issues with Vudu. They also offer deals on rentals and digital purchases. It can also be linked to your Ultraviolet account so you can view all of your Ultraviolet Digital Copy movies right through Vudu.

I do have quite a few movies on iTunes from digital copy redemptions. I just don’t have any way to view except on the PC.

I thought about buying the Apple TV, but it is just very limited compared to other streaming devices, like the Roku.

I like the in-store D2D program much better. It never fails.

Plus, I have made friends with my local WalMart photo counter staff. I enjoy the visits.

On a side note, I have an AppleTV. It is a slick interface.

[Blu-News]

Originally Posted by Walter-S_NC

I like the in-store D2D program much better. It never fails.

Plus, I have made friends with my local WalMart photo counter staff. I enjoy the visits.

On a side note, I have an AppleTV. It is a slick interface.

Does every Wal-Mart participate? I'll have to check it out.

[Walter-S_NC]

Originally Posted by Blu-News

Does every Wal-Mart participate? I'll have to check it out.

Yes.

At the photo counter.

Works 100% of the time.

The in-home D2D is still in beta testing.

No thx.

[squatting hen]

Originally Posted by Blu-News

It failed to recognize a lot of my discs, but it's still a great service. Another movie (I believe a Scooby-Doo! film) came up as Project X Blu-ray haha. I started my Vudu collection this past week, and I now have about 400 movies on it, I just think I need to get used to it. I'm such an Apple user, the change is just something I'm getting used to.

Yes, I do have a small stack of discs it couldn't recognize too. I took a few of them to Wal-Mart and they were able to add them for me. That is a lot of movies on it already!

What is awesome though is you are actually trying it out.

For me, I don't care who the company is. If iTunes would have released an app for other devices (like Vudu did) I would have been fine with that. I actually would have been pretty happy since I had a lot of iTunes movies from DC.

On a side note, I am sure you created an Ultraviolet account. One added benefit of that is you are able to share your entire Ultraviolet collection with others. You never have to loan out a disc to the people you are sharing your account with. They can see and play your movies through Vudu or Flixster (on some devices).

[Walter-S_NC]

Originally Posted by squatting hen

Yes, I do have a small stack of discs it couldn't recognize too. I took a few of them to Wal-Mart and they were able to add them for me. That is a lot of movies on it already!

For me, I don't care who the company is. If iTunes would have released an app for other devices (like Vudu did) I would have been fine with that. I actually would have been pretty happy since I had a lot of iTunes movies from DC.

On a side note, I am sure you created an Ultraviolet account. One added benefit of that is you are able to share your entire Ultraviolet collection with others. You never have to loan out a disc to the people you are sharing your account with. They can see and play your movies through Vudu or Flixster (on some devices).

M-Go too.

Red Box Instant too is UV compliant. I think they will have a mobile app soon, if I understand correctly.

The folks lining up as UV venders is growing pretty quick as the entertainment industry continues to settle on DECE as the new digital standard.

[bsweetness]

Originally Posted by Blu-News

I was just curious what everyone thinks about the future of iTunes and digital movies. With Vudu gaining more and more support from studios, we are seeing far less iTunes Digital Copy support.

Vudu's Disc 2 Digital program is full of flaws, but when it works, it's a really amazing option for those with DVDs wanting to upgrade to HD, or those with Blu-ray movies that want an HD digital copy for streaming. It makes it very affordable to own your film's digitally.

Do you think iTunes is pretty much left in the dust at this point? Truthfully I prefer iTunes as I find the streaming to be of better quality, and I never encounter any issues. I also like the format of the iTunes store and purchased page when using an AppleTV over the Vudu website and apps. But there's no denying that iTunes really is becoming the more expensive way to own your content digitally, with no ability to upgrade your content and very little Digital Copy support.

I'm sort of surprised that Apple hasn't taken steps to compete even more with Vudu, perhaps we'll hear something at a future time, but I don't see them suddenly getting the same Digital Copy support they used to have again.

The only way they could really do that is to open up iTunes support to non-Apple devices, and that's likely to happen when we see an iPhone with a physical numeric keyboard.

I don't think iTunes is anywhere near to being "left in the dust." I just think studios are finally seeing the benefit of having content that can be accessed and used by more people. Personally, I'm very happy to see a shift happening. iTunes is restricted to a small number of devices, whereas Vudu (and UltraViolet) aren't. It's all about reaching the widest possible audience, and the model that Apple has in place for digital copies falls far short of doing that. Studios just need to start getting on board with iTunes Extras type supplements for Vudu and/or Ultraviolet.

As for quality, I've found Vudu's streaming quality to exceed that of iTunes, especially with HDX titles. We just need to start seeing more options for downloading HD/HDX copies to more devices.

Originally Posted by squatting hen

[Show spoiler]Yes, I do have a small stack of discs it couldn't recognize too. I took a few of them to Wal-Mart and they were able to add them for me. That is a lot of movies on it already!

What is awesome though is you are actually trying it out.

For me, I don't care who the company is. If iTunes would have released an app for other devices (like Vudu did) I would have been fine with that. I actually would have been pretty happy since I had a lot of iTunes movies from DC.

On a side note, I am sure you created an Ultraviolet account. One added benefit of that is you are able to share your entire Ultraviolet collection with others. You never have to loan out a disc to the people you are sharing your account with. They can see and play your movies through Vudu or Flixster (on some devices).

Originally Posted by Walter-S_NC

M-Go too.

Red Box Instant too is UV compliant. I think they will have a mobile app soon, if I understand correctly.

The folks lining up as UV venders is growing pretty quick as the entertainment industry continues to settle on DECE as the new digital standard.

And just adding to the list, after Vudu and Flixster, Best Buy's CinemaNow is probably the third largest UV-compliant service out there.

[Walter-S_NC]

...ahh yes. Best Buy. I forgot about them.

They just updated their CinemaNow interface and are starting to look pretty competitive.

Thx.

[Blu-News]

Originally Posted by squatting hen

Yes, I do have a small stack of discs it couldn't recognize too. I took a few of them to Wal-Mart and they were able to add them for me. That is a lot of movies on it already!

What is awesome though is you are actually trying it out.

For me, I don't care who the company is. If iTunes would have released an app for other devices (like Vudu did) I would have been fine with that. I actually would have been pretty happy since I had a lot of iTunes movies from DC.

On a side note, I am sure you created an Ultraviolet account. One added benefit of that is you are able to share your entire Ultraviolet collection with others. You never have to loan out a disc to the people you are sharing your account with. They can see and play your movies through Vudu or Flixster (on some devices).

Yeah, Apple isn't very nice to competition haha. I'm not against Vudu or UV at all, I like that it's cheaper to own my films digitally in HD, definitely a big advantage over iTunes.

Does anyone know if we can organize our movies a certain way? Aside from purchase date, release date, and alphabetical?

[Evil]

Compared to Vudu, I find iTunes to be bulky and outdated. If I want to watch a movie from my Vudu collection on a new computer, I simply log onto Vudu's site, find the movie, and start watching. If I want to watch a movie from my iTunes collection on a new computer, I have to download the iTunes software, authorize that computer, and then wait as much as 8+ hours for the movie to download. Without even mentioning the D2D program or the Vudu app on my TV, it's not even close.

[Clark Kent]

Hollywood studios saw what happened when iTunes became the de facto digital retailer for music. The studios won't completely abandon iTunes, but the establishment of UltraViolet was almost solely devised to damage iTunes' marketshare.

People are in outrage on Amazon, about Disney dropping iTunes in the latest wave of releases.

[bsweetness]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

Hollywood studios saw what happened when iTunes became the de facto digital retailer for music. The studios won't completely abandon iTunes, but the establishment of UltraViolet was almost solely devised to damage iTunes' marketshare.

People are in outrage on Amazon, about Disney dropping iTunes in the latest wave of releases.

But what people don't understand is that previously, these "lesser" titles wouldn't have received any type of digital copy, including iTunes. They would have just been Blu-ray/DVD combo packs. So in actuality, Disney is adding to the lesser titles, not taking away from them.

All indications are that the major Disney releases - the type of ones that have included iTunes digital copies in the past - still will have iTunes as an option.

My guess is that it's all a financial decision by Disney. iTunes copies probably cost more than Vudu/Amazon, so for the "lesser" titles that never came with any digital copy at all, it's more affordable to leave iTunes out.

[Jumpman]

I'm iTunes/Apple through and through, even with the options of UV that I have on a number of devices.

As it stands, I'll never not have an Apple device so my Apple TV and my iPad have become my defacto movie device more so than my PS3 as of late.

With my 3TB external hard drive, I'm a constant user of the iTunes movie store every Tuesday. I just love the UI.

[Walter-S_NC]

Originally Posted by Evil

Compared to Vudu, I find iTunes to be bulky and outdated. If I want to watch a movie from my Vudu collection on a new computer, I simply log onto Vudu's site, find the movie, and start watching. If I want to watch a movie from my iTunes collection on a new computer, I have to download the iTunes software, authorize that computer, and then wait as much as 8+ hours for the movie to download. Without even mentioning the D2D program or the Vudu app on my TV, it's not even close.

iTunes was a trendy way to sell MP3 files to Meteros.

Their attempt to bolt on a video service has been painful to witness.

The industry has moved on.

Digital Copy redemptions is now the domain of DECE.

If some die hards wish to keep spending money on videos in the iTunes store, that is to be expected due to inertia from their MP3 success.

I have an AppleTV. It is a slick interface. I have never spent money on the iTunes store though. To me that would be foolishness.

Instead I use it as a UI for my ripped collection off my laptop running iTunes.

Currently, this is just the packaged media which is waiting to become available for D2D conversion. Principally, Walt Disney Studio titles, as they are the last major studio who has not joined DECE.

[Jumpman]

Originally Posted by Evil

Compared to Vudu, I find iTunes to be bulky and outdated. If I want to watch a movie from my Vudu collection on a new computer, I simply log onto Vudu's site, find the movie, and start watching. If I want to watch a movie from my iTunes collection on a new computer, I have to download the iTunes software, authorize that computer, and then wait as much as 8+ hours for the movie to download. Without even mentioning the D2D program or the Vudu app on my TV, it's not even close.

How long does it take you to download a film from Vudu to your device you're watching it on? You can't be streaming all of your films all the time, can you?

[Walter-S_NC]

When I am lobotomizing my brain from the 1080p on my home flat screen, I am always streaming.

I only download on the Vudu-To-Go app on my iPhone 4 & iPad.

It goes quickly. The SD versions which are playback on the 2-go app are about 300-500MB per and the download goes pretty quick.

[Jumpman]

Originally Posted by Walter-S_NC

When I am lobotomizing my brain from the 1080p on my home flat screen, I am always streaming.

I only download on the Vudu-To-Go app on my iPhone 4 & iPad.

It goes quickly. The SD versions which are playback on the 2-go app are about 300-500MB per and the download goes pretty quick.

Fair enough. I honestly have nothing against Vudu. For a long while, I rented through them. But, between my Apple TV and my four other iDevices, sticking with Apple was just easier for me. I just like their ecosystem.

And honestly, if Vudu or Apple or Ultraviolet ever go away, I still have my absolute films on disc, no matter what. And to me, that's what's really important; the absolute favorites.