UV owners can be charged to access titles after 1 year!

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by steve_dave

As for that provisio, it is a fail safe in case a retailer decides they hate customers and want to charge them for access. Its not going to happen because no retailer is that dense,

Exactly

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Exactly

Glad you guys can predict the future so well.

Charging for service = hates customers ... yeah... ok. Never heard of a business that charged customers for service.

They are only required to provide service for a year but naturally they just added that into the contract because they plan to ignore it. They wouldn't want to end up on the naughty list or something.

[Chiefy]

Studios are in the business of making money by reselling their movies over and over again, be it by repackaging, remastering, moving onto newer formats to replace the previous generation of delivery, etc., making previous ones obsolete. They obviously work hand-in-hand with technology companies so they both continue to be profitable. Do people honestly believe they will own their UV movies indefinitely? If history is any indication of how the home movie industry operates, UV will move onto something else once it no longer makes money for them. If you believe studios will be fine with this as the last time they get your money, then I got news for you. It's just not going to happen, so enjoy it while it lasts.

I obviously cannot see the future, but I strongly believe that history continues to repeat itself.

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Glad you guys can predict the future so well.

Charging for service = hates customers ... yeah... ok. Never heard of a business that charged customers for service.

They are only required to provide service for a year but naturally they just added that into the contract because they plan to ignore it. They wouldn't want to end up on the naughty list or something.

Look what happened to Divx, the "self destructing" physical optical format. You had to be connected to the internet and pay for 48 hours access to a film.

It was so anti-consumer that it failed to attract a healthy subset of users despite offering the choice on selected titles for unlimited use. This was backed by Circuit City who managed to survive the blow out by reversing course.

Businesses want money but not at the expense of losing customers. Nintendo provides an AC adapter with the 3DS XL in the US because of consumer backlash. Yeah, sure they can make more money selling the adapter seperately in places like Japan where that kind of practice is expected. But in the US, that's ridiculous and will hurt sales so yeah, we get an AC adapter.

Honestly, bhampton, you do have an issue with non physical media and you'll keep arguing that its a sucker choice but c'mon even physical media is not forever. Quite a few people have had to get new BD players or bite the big one for a PS3 because a disc won't play due to incompatible firmware.

Oh wait, the PS3 doesn't play everything... mine has issues with a lot of Lionsgate and discs 2 & 3 of How I Met Your Mother S4 BDs.

And even if the discs/tapes will be around for awhile (not forever), what of the machines to play them? I can't find a VCR under $30 anymore in a store just the DVD/VCR combos.

[bhampton]

Well,

This thing about service for only 1 year is something I learned today... And I think it's outrageous.

Blu is for certain my favored format... I still redeem UV ... but I think it may not be the golden goose people think it's going to be.

Anyways,... people will do what they want to do ... If the service providers only have to provide access to your movies for 1 year though, I think it's fair to let people know.

[basketb]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Well,

This thing about service for only 1 year is something I learned today... And I think it's outrageous.

Blu is for certain my favored format... I still redeem UV ... but I think it may not be the golden goose people think it's going to be.

Anyways,... people will do what they want to do ... If the service providers only have to provide access to your movies for 1 year though, I think it's fair to let people know.

The thing is you will soon forget this again and start a new thread with the same topic in a year from now. Or why else did you post in a thread with the same topic a year ago: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...ge+access+year

Originally Posted by bhampton

Maybe not the appropriate thread, but...


I always think that in the future Vudu may start putting ads before the streams. Maybe like youtube where you have to watch 4 seconds before skip.

That's all it would take for me to never open vudu again.

(And,... yes,... I suppose I could back up my vudu stuff before such thing happens for offline access but I can't be bothered with that... I like that stuff to stay in the cloud.)

[bhampton]

Well that's interesting... I guess I forgot ..

[dr. wai]

Originally Posted by Zu Nim

I'm 100% sure HBO didn't encourage anyone to share their login info with non-subscribers. But they have a more nuanced take on piracy than some other content outlets.

And yes, if UV and iTunes swapped market positions, some UV retailers might feel their oats and try to charge. But UV is still very small, and I'm sure that the hope is that with enough UV retailers most (if not all) would not charge for competitive reasons. If retailers want to charge, I think we'll start seeing that after CFF is released. In the meantime...

HBO did tell subscribers to share their user ids. This happened around the time that Game of Thrones was premiering. They want people to see how the service works. The more people watch their programing, the more they will want to see it. Plain and simple.

[Zu Nim]

Originally Posted by dr. wai

HBO did tell subscribers to share their user ids. This happened around the time that Game of Thrones was premiering. They want people to see how the service works. The more people watch their programing, the more they will want to see it. Plain and simple.

Please find a quote where HBO suggests or directs subscribers to share accounts with non-subscribers. They know that it's happening, and they recognize that there are benefits. From this article:

HBO’s CEO knows you’re sharing your password for the company’s streaming service, HBO Go — and he doesn’t really care.

“It’s not that we’re unmindful of it, it just has no impact on the business,” HBO CEO Richard Plepler said.

If you watch the video, you'll see he says they're not ignoring it, they're just using different methods to handle (or not handle) account sharing.

And it's against the terms of use. They may overlook terms being broken, but advocating breaking them? Not anywhere I can find.

[bhampton]

I think the quote you just posted was what I was referring too.

[Dunk the Lunk]

Originally Posted by steve_dave

We don't own our iTunes music libraries either, they are licensed to a single user and can not be transferred. Bruce Willis found this out when he tried to include his library in his will. However, Apple doesn't stop you from providing the new user your user name and password.

Slightly off topic but Apple have announced that iCloud will soon support 'Family Sharing' (see here) and as this expands (its clearly not there yet) I think it will ultimately allow accounts to be 'willed on'.

[alexy25]

Originally Posted by Chiefy

Studios are in the business of making money by reselling their movies over and over again, be it by repackaging, remastering, moving onto newer formats to replace the previous generation of delivery, etc., making previous ones obsolete. They obviously work hand-in-hand with technology companies so they both continue to be profitable. Do people honestly believe they will own their UV movies indefinitely? If history is any indication of how the home movie industry operates, UV will move onto something else once it no longer makes money for them. If you believe studios will be fine with this as the last time they get your money, then I got news for you. It's just not going to happen, so enjoy it while it lasts.

I obviously cannot see the future, but I strongly believe that history continues to repeat itself.

I see your point but with re-releases comes new profit as now you can buy the remastered UV version i.e. Alexander has 3 different formats for viewing there is the extended cut, director's cut, and revisited versions all for sale and UV enabled. UV is new and is still in the beginning stages there is so much more they can be doing or will be doing in the future to say don't be fooled enjoy it while it lasts is comical.

[gueeds]

It is always something I worry about when I redeem a UV copy instead of selling it off. But then again, can't really expect them to offer free streaming/downloading of a movie you bought 10/15/20+ years down the line.

Then again, unless they offer some type of value-add like access to various cuts and special features, 4k versions, better audio, etc... with a subscription to have full access to all your films, I'd consider it.

[Dunk the Lunk]

Originally Posted by gueeds

It is always something I worry about when I redeem a UV copy instead of selling it off. But then again, can't really expect them to offer free streaming/downloading of a movie you bought 10/15/20+ years down the line.

I'd be pretty annoyed if I'd invested in UV and that becomes true in 10 years or so. iTunes lets you re-download almost everything (music, movies, tv shows etc) you've ever bought for free. It is well past the 10 year mark for music and it's also approaching this milestone for TV shows (launched 2005). It's almost eight years since they started doing films.

So I can't see it happening unless iTunes starts to charge for re-downloading. Which I also can't see happening!

[squatting hen]

I am pretty sure 15, 20 years down the road we would have moved on to something else besides UV. Technology will change, and I don't expect my UV copy of Twilight to be upgraded to whatever the newest and greatest quality is. (Maybe it will, and it would be great if it happens) With that, when the standard TV is 12K 4D (make up anything) would I really want to watch my old movies in crappy 1080P? Nope. Just like I didn't save my VCR and tapes. Something better came out and I upgraded.

You are buying what it is now. Just like when you buy a blu ray disc. Magically, 20 years from now, it is not going to do anything different than it does today. The difference though, it might be difficult to find a player to play that disc, or a compatible TV.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by steve_dave

Look what happened to Divx, the "self destructing" physical optical format. You had to be connected to the internet and pay for 48 hours access to a film.

It was so anti-consumer that it failed to attract a healthy subset of users despite offering the choice on selected titles for unlimited use. This was backed by Circuit City who managed to survive the blow out by reversing course.

Businesses want money but not at the expense of losing customers. Nintendo provides an AC adapter with the 3DS XL in the US because of consumer backlash. Yeah, sure they can make more money selling the adapter seperately in places like Japan where that kind of practice is expected. But in the US, that's ridiculous and will hurt sales so yeah, we get an AC adapter.

Honestly, bhampton, you do have an issue with non physical media and you'll keep arguing that its a sucker choice but c'mon even physical media is not forever. Quite a few people have had to get new BD players or bite the big one for a PS3 because a disc won't play due to incompatible firmware.

Oh wait, the PS3 doesn't play everything... mine has issues with a lot of Lionsgate and discs 2 & 3 of How I Met Your Mother S4 BDs.

And even if the discs/tapes will be around for awhile (not forever), what of the machines to play them? I can't find a VCR under $30 anymore in a store just the DVD/VCR combos.

Sounds like a problem with your PS3. My ps3 copes with every single disc I throw at it. I have approaching 700 blurays.

By the way, so what if people have issues with streaming? We have every right to be concerned. We either own the movie or we don't. If we are going to be messed about, we wont collect. We will rent. If that's what the industry wants, fair enough. Something told me it isn't though.

[echopulse]

I think vudu would like to offer upgrades from SD to HDX to 4k for UV copies at some point. The President of vudu has said he sees that happening in the future. It may take a while for that to happen, but they have already started to offer upgrades for some TV seasons, and I am sure they will do the same for movies someday.

[Evil]

Originally Posted by squatting hen

I am pretty sure 15, 20 years down the road we would have moved on to something else besides UV. Technology will change, and I don't expect my UV copy of Twilight to be upgraded to whatever the newest and greatest quality is. (Maybe it will, and it would be great if it happens) With that, when the standard TV is 12K 4D (make up anything) would I really want to watch my old movies in crappy 1080P? Nope. Just like I didn't save my VCR and tapes. Something better came out and I upgraded.

You are buying what it is now. Just like when you buy a blu ray disc. Magically, 20 years from now, it is not going to do anything different than it does today. The difference though, it might be difficult to find a player to play that disc, or a compatible TV.

Originally Posted by echopulse

I think vudu would like to offer upgrades from SD to HDX to 4k for UV copies at some point. The President of vudu has said he sees that happening in the future. It may take a while for that to happen, but they have already started to offer upgrades for some TV seasons, and I am sure they will do the same for movies someday.

The digital systems (both UV and iTunes) seem pretty flexible when it comes to incorporating new technologies. As better video and audio options are developed, they can be offered along side existing ones in the way that SD, HD, and HDX options are currently offered on Vudu. Older options can be phased out (ie. no longer offered to purchase or automatically upgraded).

Technologies will change but if these systems become popular enough they may be around for some time.

[Dunk the Lunk]

Originally Posted by Evil

The digital systems (both UV and iTunes) seem pretty flexible when it comes to incorporating new technologies. As better video and audio options are developed, they can be offered along side existing ones in the way that SD, HD, and HDX options are currently offered on Vudu. Older options can be phased out (ie. no longer offered to purchase or automatically upgraded).

Technologies will change but if these systems become popular enough they may be around for some time.

I agree, and also think there would be a backlash if they started removing things, and the more established digital ecosystems (both UV and iTunes) become the larger the backlash will be. iTunes history has shown us minor improvements come for free and major ones require an upgrade fee - it'll be interesting how UV handles it. I really hope both ecosystems are able to provide a sensible upgrade path from SD to HD to UHD/4K like you suggest. I suspect the only thing holding this back is the studios, but once one of the majors bites I think the others will probably follow.

[stvn1974]

I just received an email stating that Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 Extended had been deleted from my UV library. I just checked and it is still there in my VUD acount though. The email says that I (even uses my first name) authorized it being deleted.