Itunes VS UltraViolet

[wozman]

I have a vast BD collection, and in turn it carries some Digital Copies which includes an iTunes library from the earlier releases......Recently noticing that UltraViolet is sticking its ugly head into the equation and was wondering, are they taking over the department of Digital Media from this day forward?

For example I own all 3 Hangover movies, the first 2 are in iTunes format and in my itunes library, the 3rd one is in UltraViolet and puts a dent into my iTunes format.

Is there anyway of getting a redemption "Code" for all my UltraViolet movies going forward to flip them to iTunes or is UltraViolet taking over in this department and it is what it is.....

Is my only option to rip the media myself and convert it to mp4 or m4v files and install it in my iTunes library myself?

Can anyone shed some light on this, greatly appreciated.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by wozman

I have a vast BD collection, and in turn it carries some Digital Copies which includes an iTunes library from the earlier releases......Recently noticing that UltraViolet is sticking its ugly head into the equation and was wondering, are they taking over the department of Digital Media from this day forward?

For example I own all 3 Hangover movies, the first 2 are in iTunes format and in my itunes library, the 3rd one is in UltraViolet and puts a dent into my iTunes format.

Is there anyway of getting a redemption "Code" for all my UltraViolet movies going forward to flip them to iTunes or is UltraViolet taking over in this department and it is what it is.....

Is my only option to rip the media myself and convert it to mp4 or m4v files and install it in my iTunes library myself?

Can anyone shed some light on this, greatly appreciated.

Itunes is being fazed out by a lot of studios, Warner, Sony, and Lionsgate are all UV, while Fox and Disney still use Itunes.

[jgiovanni]

Some recent Fox releases are UV only now as well.

[squatting hen]

The iTunes digital copies always irritated me because the only option I had to watch them was on my PC. I still have 35 or so iTunes Digial copies in my locker/cloud/account. Although I was very interested in digital copies, the iTunes ones were basically unusable to me. I do not have an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, I do however have a PS3, Xbox 360, and Roku’s. Ultraviolet allows providers to access your collection and you can watch them on just about any device, including iPhones and iPads. Apple will not allow this on Apple TV.

Now, thanks to Ultraviolet, I have over 400 movies and 20 TV shows that I am able to watch right on my TV. I can also share my entire collection with my parents, and inlaws. Thanks to Ultraviolet, digital codes are actually worth something to me because I can finally use them. I am extremely happy Ultraviolet decided to rear its head, as it took something millions of people were already buying, and made it more universal.

I wish I could get all of my iTunes digital copies converted to Ultraviolet.

[Tok]

Apple's problem with the iTunes store for movies is that they want to lock you into their ecosystem.

Unless Apple becomes a UV partner I don't see them being a major player in video.

Personally I really don't want either Apple' iTunes or VUDU to succeed. Sure I have redeemed a bunch of codes but than a handful of family films I rarely use my iTunes or UV digital copies.

Now Disney has given the user the option to use iTunes, Amazon or Vudu on some recent titles, but they are not UV copies since if you choose Amazon or Vudu you are locked into that system for that title.

The big issue is that the retailers and service providers want to get paid, but UV scares the service providers because you could use their systems to stream/download content without the user ever giving a red cent to the service provider.

[Adam_ME]

Originally Posted by Tok

Personally I really don't want either Apple' iTunes or VUDU to succeed. Sure I have redeemed a bunch of codes but than a handful of family films I rarely use my iTunes or UV digital copies.

Now Disney has given the user the option to use iTunes, Amazon or Vudu on some recent titles, but they are not UV copies since if you choose Amazon or Vudu you are locked into that system for that title.

But there's an upside. If Disney ever decides to go UV down the road with their titles, then that VUDU copy will become UV-compatible and get linked to any other UV streaming service like Flixster or Cinemanow. So for that reason alone, I'm glad they've expanded their options past only iTunes.

BTW, I like that they also offer Amazon Instant Video copies(in HD to boot). Right now, hardly any other studios do that. Universal does, but most of the time it's SD quality.

[Andysol]

Originally Posted by Tok

Apple's problem with the iTunes store for movies is that they want to lock you into their ecosystem.
Unless Apple becomes a UV partner I don't see them being a major player in video.

Apple is the largest streaming video supplier for both rentals and purchases by a significant margin. There isn't a close second and in all surveys vudu is classified In "other". Outside of us Blu ray folk- UV isn't used at all. iTunes and amazon are the leaders. iTunes doesn't need UV to be successful. Quite the contrary. UV would be a success with iTunes.

Unfortunately, I think UV will die in the next few years and all collections are gone. Or it'll be successful. Who knows. What we do know is physical media is ours and a studio going under isn't going to make my Blu ray disappear.

[jbloggs]

I only recently 'discovered' UV digital movies and I'm now building my online library of my favorite movies. Both my TVs have native apps for Vudu and, of coarse, there are my mobile devices and PC/Laptops. Being 'open' is what I like about it. On the other hand I detest iTunes for being so 'closed' environment. You can't even purchase/redeem anything unless you have iTunes installed and in my experience the software is such resource hog that at times the PC just comes to a stand-still.I'd rather support 'open' environments rather than closed ones.

[Clark Kent]

The studios are cutting Apple out of the process, Apple got greedy trying to get a bigger cut. UltraViolet is all about preventing what happened to the music industry, as Apple runs that digital market.

[bsweetness]

Originally Posted by wormraper

Itunes is being fazed out by a lot of studios, Warner, Sony, and Lionsgate are all UV, while Fox and Disney still use Itunes.

Originally Posted by jgiovanni

Some recent Fox releases are UV only now as well.

And even Disney has been cutting back on iTunes digital copies. Some releases last year only had Vudu and Amazon as options (with Google Play being added later in the year).

[Jumpman]

I'm sticking with Apple because to me, the download option is vastly superior than what UV offers.

I'm never going to leave Apple's ecosystem. I just enjoy the UI far more than anything else I've experienced so far.

[punking]

Originally Posted by Jumpman

I'm sticking with Apple because to me, the download option is vastly superior than what UV offers..

Hopefully that will change when CFF is fully implemented, and UV films will be downloadable to anywhere.

[Tok]

Digital should be secondary reserved for portable devices. On a large screen and big sound system nothing beats a high quality BD.

[Andysol]

Originally Posted by squatting hen

I don't understand this comment. ^
Are you saying this thread shouldn't exist? I mean...it is in the Digital Movies section...

I watch blu's on my TV, and UV's on my TV. Not on my phone, portable, or PC.

Originally Posted by Tok

Digital should be secondary reserved for portable devices. On a large screen and big sound system nothing beats a high quality BD.

This explains my comment. ^

[Rob9874]

Originally Posted by Tok

Digital should be secondary reserved for portable devices. On a large screen and big sound system nothing beats a high quality BD.

I agree. But you can't beat a $2 code from the forums, for movies you don't mind watching in slightly lower quality 1080p.

[V40LLY]

People buy DVD's for the following reason's:

1. The title they want, is unavailable on Blu ray.

2. The individual doesn't care about HD.

3. The average DVD is cheaper than the average Blu ray.

[BlakkMajik3000]

If anyone is still wondering what happened to the CFF, here you go:
http://uvdemystified.com/uvfaq.html#1.3.1

Looks like DECE stripped away a lot of requirements that they had for retailers when it first got going. Unfortunately, looks like the CFF is dead and not ever coming back.

To be honest, I kind of gave up on downloading my movies once my collection got to about 500, and I'm currently at almost 800. When I think about the time, and most importantly bandwidth, it would take to download all my movies, I can't really see a lot of value in doing so.

But still, sucks for people that were still waiting for this feature.

[satam55]

Originally Posted by BlakkMajik3000

If anyone is still wondering what happened to the CFF, here you go:
http://uvdemystified.com/uvfaq.html#1.3.1

Looks like DECE stripped away a lot of requirements that they had for retailers when it first got going. Unfortunately, looks like the CFF is dead and not ever coming back.

To be honest, I kind of gave up on downloading my movies once my collection got to about 500, and I'm currently at almost 800. When I think about the time, and most importantly bandwidth, it would take to download all my movies, I can't really see a lot of value in doing so.

But still, sucks for people that were still waiting for this feature.

Sigh. I remember last year somebody on the Vudu forums was saying that CFF was available right now, but that it was now optional & up to the retailers if they want to use it. Looks like he was right.

Here's the link to that thread: https://forum.vudu.com/showthread.ph...75#post1275375

https://forum.vudu.com/showthread.ph...on-File-Format


I really hope iTunes joins UV. That would fix everybody's issues with lack of a digital download file that you can transfer to other devices.

[Smackos]

"iTunes vs UltraViolet". The fact the Studios have even let this be the situation is ridiculous. Clearly Disney have managed to pull all the main competitors to DMA, so it cannot just be "apple/Amazon doesn't want people taking their iTunes content and migrating to Vudu etc".

One thing I do like in iTunes favour is that I can download titles through iTunes, thus saving on any monthly usage allowances the ISP's have tried to enforce here and there. I know I technically CAN download titles on the Vudu app for PC, but being able to still use the Apple TV as the "thin client" and iTunes as a backend is a lot better than trying to look through what amounts to a folder on a PC using a mouse to start playback. Not exactly a "lean back" experience.

I like the disc to digital program Vudu have, but conversely I like that I can import my own Physical disc collection into iTunes and have all that alongside my digital files. The main difference of course is that you are at the mercy of whatever the studios allow up for disc to digital where as you don't have that same limitation with your own disc backups.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by BlakkMajik3000

If anyone is still wondering what happened to the CFF, here you go:
http://uvdemystified.com/uvfaq.html#1.3.1

Looks like DECE stripped away a lot of requirements that they had for retailers when it first got going. Unfortunately, looks like the CFF is dead and not ever coming back.

To be honest, I kind of gave up on downloading my movies once my collection got to about 500, and I'm currently at almost 800. When I think about the time, and most importantly bandwidth, it would take to download all my movies, I can't really see a lot of value in doing so.

But still, sucks for people that were still waiting for this feature.

Oh dear. It really doesn't look good for UV in general in my opinion. Maybe the digital bridge will be the one to use for you guys?