wuaki withdraws from being an ultraviolet provider

[stargazeruk]

https://ukwuakitv.zendesk.com/hc/en-...to-our-service

Well 1 less ultraviolet That leaves talktalk in the UK. Flixster is only on my phone and not really worth mentioning. Sony I got to have their TV and not an option, Need to see if I can get a kaleidescape device but the way its been going how long till ultraviolet is no longer in the UK.

[jbloggs]

Well that certainly isn't good news for those in UK

[billygreen23]

Always sad to see a UV provider leave.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by stargazeruk

https://ukwuakitv.zendesk.com/hc/en-...to-our-service

Well 1 less ultraviolet That leaves talktalk in the UK. Flixster is only on my phone and not really worth mentioning. Sony I got to have their TV and not an option, Need to see if I can get a kaleidescape device but the way its been going how long till ultraviolet is no longer in the UK.

It's actually a better bet going with ITunes or Amazon in the U.K. I think they are starting to wind down UV now. It's been a huge failure in the U.K IMO.

I just buy Blurays as usual and if the day comes when discs are no more, I will go with Now TV (subscription) and or Netflix, Amazon, ITunes, or even Sattelite with Sky movies to own. Sky's service is the most popular Digital HD service in the U.K by far. If Sky wants to, it could easilly become the leader in next gen subscription services. They need to have a reality check and lower their prices first though.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by jbloggs

Well that certainly isn't good news for those in UK

It's not good news for anyone? How can UV grow if it can't provide a service in major countries like U.K, Germany, Australia etc?

[jbloggs]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

It's not good news for anyone? How can UV grow if it can't provide a service in major countries like U.K, Germany, Australia etc?

Yes, you're right it's not good for anyone. Even in US, UV is inconsistent with UV titles not being available at all the different providers, titles disappearing from UV locker and support passing the buck to providers when issues arise. If they can't get their game straight in US then they have no chance in other countries.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

It's not good news for anyone? How can UV grow if it can't provide a service in major countries like U.K, Germany, Australia etc?

Originally Posted by jbloggs

Yes, you're right it's not good for anyone. Even in US, UV is inconsistent with UV titles not being available at all the different providers, titles disappearing from UV locker and support passing the buck to providers when issues arise. If they can't get their game straight in US then they have no chance in other countries.

To me UV is like a Back-up, the only Provider I care about is Vudu. As long as the UV Code Ports over to Vudu I'm happy. Otherwise I don't worry too much about the UV Locker, I just keep track of all my Digital Movies on Vudu and they are doing a great job.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

To me UV is like a Back-up, the only Provider I care about is Vudu. As long as the UV Code Ports over to Vudu I'm happy. Otherwise I don't worry too much about the UV Locker, I just keep track of all my Digital Movies on Vudu and they are doing a great job.

But without UV, how can you invest your trust in Vudu. If I am correct, Vudu is owned by Walmart, yes? Super stores are volatile and they aren't going to back a format that fails to show growth.

We had several mega super markets in the UK that have just folded and closed up their Digital HD locker/store.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by alchav21

To me UV is like a Back-up, the only Provider I care about is Vudu. As long as the UV Code Ports over to Vudu I'm happy. Otherwise I don't worry too much about the UV Locker, I just keep track of all my Digital Movies on Vudu and they are doing a great job.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

But without UV, how can you invest your trust in Vudu. If I am correct, Vudu is owned by Walmart, yes? Super stores are volatile and they aren't going to back a format that fails to show growth.

We had several mega super markets in the UK that have just folded and closed up their Digital HD locker/store.

Like I said UV is a Back-up, not the main System. Vudu is owned by WalMart, and I guess no store is immune to failure but I'm sure it will be around a long time. As for UV not showing growth, here in The States it's going strong much more than iTunes. UV Stores keep growing in numbers, and their sales outmatch their growth.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Like I said UV is a Back-up, not the main System. Vudu is owned by WalMart, and I guess no store is immune to failure but I'm sure it will be around a long time. As for UV not showing growth, here in The States it's going strong much more than iTunes. UV Stores keep growing in numbers, and their sales outmatch their growth.

Well that's not what the stats are showing. Christmas should have had a considerable bump but we just aren't seeing that.

I have even read articles from media folk stating they must act quickly to save UV.

As for Walmart, they may stick around for decades but they won't support a stuttering format indefinitely. Stores in the U.K have already dropped their UV options due to lack of growth I believe. Maybe if Netflix, Amazon hadn't existed, Digital HD would be thriving, let's not bury our heads in the sand and claim it's a success though. All the figures are for The U.S. I can only imagine how bad things are for U.K, Germany and Australia to name a few.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Like I said UV is a Back-up, not the main System. Vudu is owned by WalMart, and I guess no store is immune to failure but I'm sure it will be around a long time. As for UV not showing growth, here in The States it's going strong much more than iTunes. UV Stores keep growing in numbers, and their sales outmatch their growth.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Well that's not what the stats are showing. Christmas should have had a considerable bump but we just aren't seeing that.

I have even read articles from media folk stating they must act quickly to save UV.

As for Walmart, they may stick around for decades but they won't support a stuttering format indefinitely. Stores in the U.K have already dropped their UV options due to lack of growth I believe. Maybe if Netflix, Amazon hadn't existed, Digital HD would be thriving, let's not bury our heads in the sand and claim it's a success though. All the figures are for The U.S. I can only imagine how bad things are for U.K, Germany and Australia to name a few.

Well I looked high and low for recent information on UV, and could not find anything. Everything is years old, and they just talk about the Format competing with iTunes. This is why UV was created to stop the Strangle Hold of Apple, that alone puts me on the side of UV. What I have noticed with UV is the increased pricing, more UV Stores, and lower iTunes Code prices. To me this means UV is not going anywhere, and I'm sure stats will come out soon showing this.

[Greyman]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Well I looked high and low for recent information on UV, and could not find anything. Everything is years old, and they just talk about the Format competing with iTunes. This is why UV was created to stop the Strangle Hold of Apple, that alone puts me on the side of UV. What I have noticed with UV is the increased pricing, more UV Stores, and lower iTunes Code prices. To me this means UV is not going anywhere, and I'm sure stats will come out soon showing this.

Those "UV stores" are just people selling codes from Blurays/DVDs. That has no effect on whether UV stays or goes. If anything it undermines legitimate sales.

[TheDean]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Well I looked high and low for recent information on UV, and could not find anything. Everything is years old, and they just talk about the Format competing with iTunes. This is why UV was created to stop the Strangle Hold of Apple, that alone puts me on the side of UV. What I have noticed with UV is the increased pricing, more UV Stores, and lower iTunes Code prices. To me this means UV is not going anywhere, and I'm sure stats will come out soon showing this.

Yeah, like you said. That UV news is years old. If news were good. Someone would keep updating it. UV providers are closing in the US much more than being added. UV accounts may still be growing, but its probably for reasons like Greyman said, People selling codes because they don't want them. Which hurts sales for all formats. And is illegal. Only two and half studios off UV exclusively. Warner, Sony, and Anchor Bay. You can say 3 if you count the other half of Lionsgate that only does UV.

Cheaper iTunes codes are probably because on here, most people use UV users, because they can get more UV codes. so that drives up the prices. You can't get any Warner of Sony codes. iTunes is so old most people probably just buy directly from them anyway. So iTunes sales would probably be better then UV since they give most everything away for free.

Vudu is safe because they are part of UV and Keychest. I have heard that Keychest may be the future. It has Vudu, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and a few other providers. While so far only Disney movies are involved. It does seem to work better than UV. The first few seasons of Falling Skies still don't port to Vudu with UV. If UV was doing so good. Warner still wouldn't put "DOES NOT INCLUDE iTUNES FILE" on the code sheet.

In the end, UV will probably fail because it was first. Due to 100% of major studios and retailers not participating. Something will replace it. It may be Keychest. It may be something else. Whatever it is, hopefully they will transfer collections to the new system for free and not make us re-buy everything.

Other seemingly bad sings for UV:
UV/Ultraviolet is not on the front cover anymore. Only Digital HD.
Universal for some reason puts a sticker on the front of movies saying "Includes Digital. Plays on mobile devices."
Fox has dropped the the UV colors in favor of grey Digital HD and frequently forget to include the UV logo on the back cover.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by TheDean

Yeah, like you said. That UV news is years old. If news were good. Someone would keep updating it. UV providers are closing in the US much more than being added. UV accounts may still be growing, but its probably for reasons like Greyman said, People selling codes because they don't want them. Which hurts sales for all formats. And is illegal. Only two and half studios off UV exclusively. Warner, Sony, and Anchor Bay. You can say 3 if you count the other half of Lionsgate that only does UV.

Cheaper iTunes codes are probably because on here, most people use UV users, because they can get more UV codes. so that drives up the prices. You can't get any Warner of Sony codes. iTunes is so old most people probably just buy directly from them anyway. So iTunes sales would probably be better then UV since they give most everything away for free.

Vudu is safe because they are part of UV and Keychest. I have heard that Keychest may be the future. It has Vudu, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and a few other providers. While so far only Disney movies are involved. It does seem to work better than UV. The first few seasons of Falling Skies still don't port to Vudu with UV. If UV was doing so good. Warner still wouldn't put "DOES NOT INCLUDE iTUNES FILE" on the code sheet.

In the end, UV will probably fail because it was first. Due to 100% of major studios and retailers not participating. Something will replace it. It may be Keychest. It may be something else. Whatever it is, hopefully they will transfer collections to the new system for free and not make us re-buy everything.

Other seemingly bad sings for UV:
UV/Ultraviolet is not on the front cover anymore. Only Digital HD.
Universal for some reason puts a sticker on the front of movies saying "Includes Digital. Plays on mobile devices."
Fox has dropped the the UV colors in favor of grey Digital HD and frequently forget to include the UV logo on the back cover.

I noticed this in the U.K when I buy my Blu-Rays. They have changed the wording to express the digital copy/mobile playback aspect. Mind you, UV is almost completely dead here in the U.K in my opinion. I speculate, but I'm sure it's the reason DMA have not released over here. Instead we have a Disney Subscription service similar to Netflix but minus Star Wars and Marvel titles. Kind of crap compared to the U.S option.
I am a devoted Bluray collector but I want to know there will be an alternative if/when my beloved discs go extinct.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Well I looked high and low for recent information on UV, and could not find anything. Everything is years old, and they just talk about the Format competing with iTunes. This is why UV was created to stop the Strangle Hold of Apple, that alone puts me on the side of UV. What I have noticed with UV is the increased pricing, more UV Stores, and lower iTunes Code prices. To me this means UV is not going anywhere, and I'm sure stats will come out soon showing this.

If you take the fact Digital HD growth has gone into the single digits,(remarkable considering Christmas is usually peak time for all formats) and that includes the big hitters who are not with UV also, I think it paints a pretty grim picture and it doesn't take a lot of guess work to see that UV is faltering big style.

[huskerbear]

Ultraviolet isn't going any where. Assuming digital is where we are headed, UV is exactly what was needed. Do we need more UV stores? I don't think so. The existing stores should get on board and I believe if we ever see new numbers we will find out we have a new major player in Vudu. UV sells for more not just here but everywhere, it's more desirable.
Could Ultraviolet evolve? sure. I could even see them change the name in an agreement to help Apple save face, since they boycotted the development of anything that would allow a digital copy to be redeemed anyplace except itunes. Can't really blame them for that back then, but much has changed since then. UV and Vudu are the most popular digital store imo. The pricing of UV vs itunes tells that story.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by huskerbear

Ultraviolet isn't going any where. Assuming digital is where we are headed, UV is exactly what was needed. Do we need more UV stores? I don't think so. The existing stores should get on board and I believe if we ever see new numbers we will find out we have a new major player in Vudu. UV sells for more not just here but everywhere, it's more desirable.
Could Ultraviolet evolve? sure. I could even see them change the name in an agreement to help Apple save face, since they boycotted the development of anything that would allow a digital copy to be redeemed anyplace except itunes. Can't really blame them for that back then, but much has changed since then. UV and Vudu are the most popular digital store imo. The pricing of UV vs itunes tells that story.

Numbers don't lie. Digital HD could flatline either this year or next year. Let's see what happens when the studios start to panic. My personal feel is disc for collectors and Subscription video for everyone else.
They have tried the early release and it hasn't made significant differences to the situation.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by huskerbear

Ultraviolet isn't going any where. Assuming digital is where we are headed, UV is exactly what was needed. Do we need more UV stores? I don't think so. The existing stores should get on board and I believe if we ever see new numbers we will find out we have a new major player in Vudu. UV sells for more not just here but everywhere, it's more desirable.
Could Ultraviolet evolve? sure. I could even see them change the name in an agreement to help Apple save face, since they boycotted the development of anything that would allow a digital copy to be redeemed anyplace except itunes. Can't really blame them for that back then, but much has changed since then. UV and Vudu are the most popular digital store imo. The pricing of UV vs itunes tells that story.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Numbers don't lie. Digital HD could flatline either this year or next year. Let's see what happens when the studios start to panic. My personal feel is disc for collectors and Subscription video for everyone else.
They have tried the early release and it hasn't made significant differences to the situation.

I don't know what Numbers you are looking at, but Variety had some Articles last year that Movies like Deadpool and The Martian drove Digital HD Sales through the roof. They had record breaking sales, both Movies sold over a Million Copies the first week they were out. Then according to DEG in the 3Q of 2016, sales of Digital HD were up 5%. Also people continue to transition their Disc Collection to Digital HD. Like I said, UV here in The States is going strong and it will be around a long time.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I don't know what Numbers you are looking at, but Variety had some Articles last year that Movies like Deadpool and The Martian drove Digital HD Sales through the roof. They had record breaking sales, both Movies sold over a Million Copies the first week they were out. Then according to DEG in the 3Q of 2016, sales of Digital HD were up 5%. Also people continue to transition their Disc Collection to Digital HD. Like I said, UV here in The States is going strong and it will be around a long time.

Up 5%? You do realise that is from a very small starting point? it isn't going strong. You are kidding yourself. Sure, certain biased articles might claim Digital is a hit. You then read further down and realise they are throwing Amazon Instant, Hulu and Netflix into the mix lol. Take those guys away and you are in trouble. At this stage of its life Digital HD is showing worrying signs. That single digit growth is not enough to make up for the drop in DVD. Not even close.
Digital HD wamts to be the ITunes music download of this decade, the truth is, it's more like a Microsoft Zune. Just like the iTunes MP3 music files, Digital HD will go unused in a few short years as people move to subscription. I already know people who have thousands of bought ITunes songs but they pay for ITunes Streaming service anyway. They don't use the downloads anymore. I see the same happening here. Wasted money IMO. Now, of course, rumours have started that Apple wants to kill off the download option and go streaming/subscription across the board. I see the industry doing the same.
It will be disc for the serious collectors, with the majority paying for subscription or getting a free service with ads.

[TheDean]

Subscription probably is the future. Makes sense. Why not pay and get access to all movies. Just don't need to subscribe to every studio. Just your provider of choice. But studios won't like that.

Ultraviolet shouldn't ever have been publicly released. It should have been a behind this scenes system. Kind of like it is. But it was sold to people as a thing, like iTunes.
What should have happened was the studios should have said to iTunes. "We're going to this thing where where will wil offer a digital copy code that can be redeemed anywhere. Then you can watch that movie anywhere." If iTunes resisted, the studios should have stopped selling movies through iTunes. But at the time then needed iTunes.

But it should be a generic Digital HD code. Then leave it to the providers to promote themselves as the place to redeem. Kind of like how the UV providers did. Now Vudu is so much bigger the rest of them. Its on the same level as iTunes and Amazon. Kind of even better since you can redeem all major studio movies there.