iTunes, Amazon Instant, or UltraViolet?

[echopulse]

This is just a poll to see how popular each service is. You can check more than one service if you use both.

[fassbenderfan]

Ultraviolet. Mostly because members here can buy codes for very low costs which don't require discs.

[PrznBluRayFan]

Very very tough but I have to give the edge between UV and Itunes to Itunes because:

1. Streaming HD and Downloadable HD copies on tablets/phones
2. I am an Ipad Air, Iphone 5 and Apple TV 3 owner, so I really get the most use out of them

That being said, I really do enjoy ultraviolet for its ease to stream from anywhere and accessibility. Also, the fact that more studios are going strictly UV leaves this as the option I might well depend on more. If UV enabled HD downloads and streaming on phones and tablets (on VUDU especially, I know Flixster does HD streaming now, but its hit or miss) then they would get the edge

[echopulse]

I agree with you about the HD for mobile, I have iPhone5 and iPad mini, and the Common File Format will allow HD playback on mobile.

[bsweetness]

Ultraviolet because it's available on nearly everything.

With iTunes digital copies, I'm limited to Apple products and PCs. With UV, I can use them on PCs, Android devices, game consoles, Roku, and Apple products (except Apple TV, but that's only because Apple has yet to allow any UV-supported apps on the platform). With UV, I know that no matter what device I end up with in the future, I'll still be able to access those digital copies. The same can't be said for iTunes.

iTunes digital copies do have some benefits, but those benefits are useless to me if I can't access them on the devices I have.

[squatting hen]

I use Vudu/UV, Amazon, Hulu and Netflix. All have their purpose in my household. Amazon rarely gets used though. If Amazon wasn't free with prime, I wouldn't subscribe to it. It is my least favorite of all of them.

If I had to put them in percentages of usage I would say:

Vudu = 45% (used to watch UV movies and shows)
Hulu Plus = 39% (used to watch current running shows)
Netflix = 15% (used to watch kids shows)
Amazon = 1% (never use)

[bsweetness]

Also, the inclusion of Netflix/Hulu in the poll is somewhat odd. They offer a very different service than the rest since they're not digital copy or rental based (although Amazon offers all of it).

A lot of people will use Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime Instant in addition to digital copy services, so including all of them in the poll isn't really a great way to see which is more popular since you can only vote for one. I use UV for digital copies, and I use Netflix/Amazon Prime Instant. While they all stream, those are two very different sets of services.

[huskerbear]

Originally Posted by bsweetness

also, the inclusion of netflix/hulu in the poll is somewhat odd. They offer a very different service than the rest since they're not digital copy or rental based (although amazon offers all of it).

A lot of people will use netflix/hulu/amazon prime instant in addition to digital copy services, so including all of them in the poll isn't really a great way to see which is more popular since you can only vote for one. I use uv for digital copies, and i use netflix/amazon prime instant. While they all stream, those are two very different sets of services.

+1

[Adam_ME]

I use VUDU and Amazon Instant Video, and on very rare occasions Best Buy Cinemanow(which is also UV).

VUDU almost exclusively at home on my Oppo 103 and PS4 since it has HDX and DD+ audio. Occasionally, I'll use Amazon Instant Video at home for TV shows that are available on Prime.

On my Kindle Fire HD, I use Amazon Instant Video and VUDU(I have it sideloaded). I prefer the Amazon app for now since it allows HD streaming. If/when VUDU gets their act together and starts to offer HD, I'll probably use that almost exclusively. Or if/when Amazon joins with UV, I'll drop VUDU in favor of them.

This information is very constructive for correct planning. I like your work for providing information to the other.

[Clark Kent]

VUDU and Flixster should have really been split up in the poll. I have to believe most of those UltraViolet votes are for VUDU.

[echopulse]

The purpose of the poll was to compare UltraViolet and iTunes and Amazon Instant and Subscription streaming services. I guess I should have clarified that I meant Amazon Instant Purchases and not Prime.

[basketb]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

VUDU and Flixster should have really been split up in the poll. I have to believe most of those UltraViolet votes are for VUDU.

I see Flixster and Vudu as complementary to each other (with Cinema Now and Target Ticket a distant third playing only a minor role for UV). I can stream Vudu on the big screen (neither my TV nor BD player are Flixster enabled), whereas Flixster's advantages are that it runs better on the Kindle Fire and the PC (Vudu runs on those as well but Flixster chokes less than Vudu on those). Plus, with Flixster I can redeem UK UV codes (and watch the ones that are not available (yet) in the US).

[bsweetness]

Originally Posted by echopulse

The purpose of the poll was to compare UltraViolet and iTunes and Amazon Instant and Subscription streaming services. I guess I should have clarified that I meant Amazon Instant Purchases and not Prime.

Which is what doesn't make much sense. They're too completely different types of services. One is a subscription service that allows an "all you can eat" model for a fee, while the other allows you to rent or own individual titles (with Amazon being the only the provides everything). Those really aren't comparable, and in many ways they complement each other for a lot of people.

It's like apples and oranges, so you're going to get some inaccurate results from the poll. In a way, from a digital perspective, streaming subscription services such as Netflix are kind of like cable TV while digital copy services are like buying Blu-rays or DVDs. A far more accurate approach would be two polls. The first would ask what digital copy service people prefer (UV, iTunes, Amazon, etc.), and the second would ask which subscription streaming service people prefer (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Redbox, etc).

[Tcan21]

Originally Posted by fassbenderfan

Ultraviolet. Mostly because members here can buy codes for very low costs which don't require discs.

same here. Then I use netflix to watch my tv shows I need to get caught up on.

[bhampton]

All but Netflix.

I'll never forgive them for a time when they kept lowering the quality of service while keeping the price the same or higher.

Ex - Movies now come out a month late... fee - still the same
- Movies dissapear from the instant library - fee stays the same.
- Had the terrible Quickster idea ... was planning to raise fees with that one.

Netflix sux and I'll never be a customer again no matter what they do.

[bsweetness]

Originally Posted by bhampton

All but Netflix.

I'll never forgive them for a time when they kept lowering the quality of service while keeping the price the same or higher.

Ex - Movies now come out a month late... fee - still the same
- Movies dissapear from the instant library - fee stays the same.
- Had the terrible Quickster idea ... was planning to raise fees with that one.

Netflix sux and I'll never be a customer again no matter what they do.

Are you sure you're not thinking of renting from Redbox with that one? New movies have pretty much always come to Netflix a few months or more after they've been released on Blu-ray/DVD. There's never been a set date across the board for when movies make it Netflix. It's always varied depending on the title and the studio.

Redbox has the month delay (or longer) on titles from some studios.

[BJS92]

iTunes because some UV/Vudu's movie sound sometimes goes static which is annoying.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by bsweetness

Are you sure you're not thinking of renting from Redbox with that one? New movies have pretty much always come to Netflix a few months or more after they've been released on Blu-ray/DVD. There's never been a set date across the board for when movies make it Netflix. It's always varied depending on the title and the studio.

Redbox has the month delay (or longer) on titles from some studios.

Not true.... I had netflix since like 2002 (maybe earlier ... I can't remember) or something.... they used to get movies on street date... there wasn't always a 28 day wait.

Here's a quote ... seems like it was around 2010 that they started delay windows..."Starting January 6, 2010, Netflix reached an agreement with Warner Brothers Pictures to delay renting new releases for 28 days from their retail release in an attempt to help studios sell more physical media at retail outlets. A similar deal with Universal Studios and Twentieth Century Fox was reached on April 9, 2010.[75][76][77]"


I almost know nothing about Redbox because I've never used that service.

[bsweetness]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Not true.... I had netflix since like 2002 (maybe earlier ... I can't remember) or something.... they used to get movies on street date... there wasn't always a 28 day wait.

Here's a quote ... seems like it was around 2010 that they started delay windows..."Starting January 6, 2010, Netflix reached an agreement with Warner Brothers Pictures to delay renting new releases for 28 days from their retail release in an attempt to help studios sell more physical media at retail outlets. A similar deal with Universal Studios and Twentieth Century Fox was reached on April 9, 2010.[75][76][77]"


I almost know nothing about Redbox because I've never used that service.

Oh, you're talking about renting the physical discs from Netflix. This thread is talking about Netflix as a streaming service, not a disc rental service. That's what threw me off. That waiting period doesn't apply to the streaming service, which is a completely different ball game.