Question about Digital Copies.

[OneJD]

Hi all,

Apologies if this isn't in the right board.

I've never taken advantage of the "bonus" digital copies that come with many of the BDs. In fact, after reading the fine print to discover that the "bonus" is available only for a limited time, I've learned that many of them have expired.

So I've decided to take the first step in downloading the digital copies that I still can, but I've run into a snag. Namely, which PC/laptop should I download it to? I've got a PC and two laptops, and I want to ensure that I'll be able to watch it on any of them, including my cell phones.

I recall some discussion in the past that digital copies are "locked" to whichever PC, or laptop, or phone, you download them too. Thus, you won't be able to watch your digital copy if you've copied it from the original computer you downloaded it to onto another computer.

So someone help me out, how do these digital copies work? If I download it on this PC, am I forever bound to watch it on this PC without the option of legally transferring it to another one of my computers or media devices?

Thanks,
OneJD

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by OneJD

Hi all,

Apologies if this isn't in the right board.

I've never taken advantage of the "bonus" digital copies that come with many of the BDs. In fact, after reading the fine print to discover that the "bonus" is available only for a limited time, I've learned that many of them have expired.

So I've decided to take the first step in downloading the digital copies that I still can, but I've run into a snag. Namely, which PC/laptop should I download it to? I've got a PC and two laptops, and I want to ensure that I'll be able to watch it on any of them, including my cell phones.

I recall some discussion in the past that digital copies are "locked" to whichever PC, or laptop, or phone, you download them too. Thus, you won't be able to watch your digital copy if you've copied it from the original computer you downloaded it to onto another computer.

So someone help me out, how do these digital copies work? If I download it on this PC, am I forever bound to watch it on this PC without the option of legally transferring it to another one of my computers or media devices?

Thanks,
OneJD

If you want supreme portability then I suggest putting your digital copies on a flash drive. They are only about 1.5 GBs a piece so you could easily fit about 40 digital copies on a 64 GB flash drive.

[OneJD]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

If you want supreme portability then I suggest putting your digital copies on a flash drive. They are only about 1.5 GBs a piece so you could easily fit about 40 digital copies on a 64 GB flash drive.

If I put the digital copies onto a flash drive, can I then watch them on any computer I've plugged the flash drive into? So, I can plug it into my PC and watch it from there, switch it to my laptop, and watch it from there, etc.?

Thanks for your response, btw.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by OneJD

If I put the digital copies onto a flash drive, can I then watch them on any computer I've plugged the flash drive into? So, I can plug it into my PC and watch it from there, switch it to my laptop, and watch it from there, etc.?

Thanks for your response, btw.

You got it. Just make sure you have a way to watch them. I prefer PowerDVD 10, but they work fine with the generic Windows Media Player.

[tommyboy81]

just make sure you do it before the expiration date. Never knew there was one.

[OneJD]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

just make sure you do it before the expiration date. Never knew there was one.

The fine print, my friend, it must be read.

[OneJD]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

You got it. Just make sure you have a way to watch them. I prefer PowerDVD 10, but they work fine with the generic Windows Media Player.

thanks again, mate. When yo say "a way to watch them," is there something in particular you're referring to? Or do you just mean any software that'll play video? So, PowerDVD 10, WMP, VLC player, Droid RockPlayer, etc.?

And, taking this one step further, could I transfer the file on my flash drive to my laptop's hard drive, and still watch it? Or must it be read off the flash drive?

Thanks.

[DaveYNWA]

Thanks for that flash-drive tip, had been meaning to ask the same question. Must get on downloading these - hope my Inglourious Basterds one hasn't run out yet. Though that is not a regular watcher for me, so probably not a huge deal.

[YodasFootPowder]

There must be some kind of program out there to crack digital copies, whether expired or not. I'm not into digital copies, but I know you can burn DVDs, Blu-Rays, HD-DVDs, XBox games, PC games, blah, blah, blah... There must be some program that can circumvent lowly digital copy discs. No?

I'm not a digital copy watcher and thus, don't care. But, the topic of expiration always comes up and always has me wondering about a cracking program. I find it hard to believe there's nothing out there.

[JediFonger]

i wish there was a 'cloud' where you can redeem your digital copy somewhere and once it has been redeemed it's "permanent", so it never expires.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by OneJD

thanks again, mate. When yo say "a way to watch them," is there something in particular you're referring to? Or do you just mean any software that'll play video? So, PowerDVD 10, WMP, VLC player, Droid RockPlayer, etc.?

And, taking this one step further, could I transfer the file on my flash drive to my laptop's hard drive, and still watch it? Or must it be read off the flash drive?

Thanks.

Yeah, any of those. I have tried them all and PowerDVD 10 trumps them all IMHO.

No, once you try to move the file around it will ask you for the code, which would already have been used. That's why putting them on a flash drive is about the smartest option.

[seregloth]

Also, even if one of yours says it's expired, it can be worth checking anyway. And sometimes periodically thereafter. There are reports of copies reactivating after months of "expiration".

[E55 KEV]

I want to start putting them on a flash drive but when I load them I don't see an option to transfer or load them to another drive. They are always defaulted to my C: Drive My Documents folder.

[raven_32]

if i put my DC's on a flash drive could they then be watched on a xbox or ps3?

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by raven_32

if i put my DC's on a flash drive could they then be watched on a xbox or ps3?

Try it and see.

[slymer]

I watch mine with itunes. It allows you to put the movie on up to 5 different computers.

[E55 KEV]

Originally Posted by raven_32

if i put my DC's on a flash drive could they then be watched on a xbox or ps3?

How? When I do it I can not change the directory. Or do you just copy the entire C drive directory to a flash?

[ArmyOfDarknessAW]

Originally Posted by E55 KEV

How? When I do it I can not change the directory. Or do you just copy the entire C drive directory to a flash?

You can't watch an iTunes digital copy on anything but iTunes or an Apple device.

[bhampton]

Seems there is lots of mis-information in this thread.

Putting a windows media digital copy on a flash drive does not make it viewable on more devices. It's still only viewable on the PC it was downloaded on.

If you Dl the itunes copy you can put it on any 5 computers (PC or Mac) and put it on any number of ipods, ipads, iphones and so on.

I only Dl the itunes versions though I'm really not interested in digital copies and mine basically go unused.

=Brian

[E55 KEV]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Seems there is lots of mis-information in this thread.

Putting a windows media digital copy on a flash drive does not make it viewable on more devices. It's still only viewable on the PC it was downloaded on.

If you Dl the itunes copy you can put it on any 5 computers (PC or Mac) and put it on any number of ipods, ipads, iphones and so on.

I only Dl the itunes versions though I'm really not interested in digital copies and mine basically go unused.

=Brian

Thanks, I will only be downloading to iTunes from now on.