What can UltraViolet do to compete with iTunes and DMA? (1 Viewer)

[Joshua Clinard]

The common file format is expected to be widely deployed and they say many apps will support it. PowerDVD is one. You should also be able to play them nativly in Windows Media Player as well. It also supports DLNA, so you could play it on any DLNA capable device, including blu-ray players and the roku. I plan to get a network attached storage device to host all my .uvu files and I'll play them through my roku. many TV seasons that have been released on disc since the launch of ultraviolet have come with UV rights, but not many catalog seasons have. I wish they would apply the UV rights to more seasons already available digitally.

Here is a list of UV shows and seasons. Some of the titles from HBO are UV but not on vudu, only on flixster.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuIUHFw4pwFMdGU2VDdGY3RsZ08wMW9qa2p6RHEwbGc&usp=drive_web#gid=0

 

[Sam Posten]

Don't get too excited about the Vudu library sharing announcement? because:

So the Vudu UV sharing is only good for your friends who don't already have UV libraries...? http://t.co/nJwV38NGaM

I -think- Zatz is wrong, it should be easy to unlink and reset, but will have to see

 

[Joshua Clinard]

This is kinda cool, but I think it's intended to share movies with people who don't already have UV accounts, or people who only have a few movies in their accounts. So now it's easy for me to share with a friend who doesn't have a vudu account, it's not for sharing with my buddy who has his own UV library with 125 movies.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

I used to think that iTunes was great when it came to being able to download your purchased films and copy them between devices. Add to that there is always talk about how Apple does things better. Well after using iTunes to try watching movies, it makes me sick. Apple's so-called movies in the cloud service sucks compared to UV. I have managed to find some really cheap digital copy codes for Disney films, and I now have about 25 Disney movies in my DMA and iTunes account. But when I install iTunes on a second computer, and try to download my iCloud movies, I cannot download them from the cloud like I can with my music. I have read topics on Apple's support forum, and I found out that I have to transfer them through my iPad. But my iPad is not large enough to transfer more than 3 at a time, and that's if I delete everything else off my iPad. They really need to fix that. It's ridiculous. On my iPad, I can download them, but half of the movies are missing the cover art.

 

[Sam Posten]

iTunes is not a streaming service. You should be able to stream those films through your AppleTV tho, not sure on iPad.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

But I should at least be able to download the movies to my computer, if it's called Movies in the Cloud.

 

[Sam Posten]

Yes but there is no web player, not sure what you are saying. You need to download it to iTunes. iTunes is the movie's DRM manager and player on a PC. You can download it on up to 5 different computers and unlimited iPods iPhones and iPads. You do NOT use those devices to move files from one machine to another. Anyone who has told you so is dead wrong.

If you already have 5 machines authorized you need to deauthorize one.

If you don't know which one to deauthorize or dont have it any more, deauthorize ALL PCs in the itunes menus then start fresh and reauthorize starting with the machine you are on. It only takes a minute or two.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

I'd love to be able to download them to iTunes, but it won't let me. Maybe you don't know how iTunes work. With music, you can download it from the cloud to iTunes on up to 5 computers. With movies, you can only download it on the PC you purchased it from. You have to sync them to your iPad and then sync them to another computer to get them there, and that totally defeats the purpose of what iCloud is supposed to be.

 

[Sam Posten]

That's categorically not true.
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/authorization/

 

[Joshua Clinard]

It's what I was told on an Apple iTunes support thread. I was finally able to get it working, but it really was way more trouble than it was worth. That's why I don't use iTunes very much. UV just works!

 

[Joshua Clinard]

I reworked my OP into an article entitled The Pros and Cons of UltraViolet. Let me know what you think

http://widescreenadvocate.org/news.php

 

[Sam Posten]

Again another pretty fair accounting of what is still wrong with the system Josh and I give ya kudos for that. I don't share your enthusiasm for the system so I can't join in on celebrating what makes it great in your eyes but I will say that those who are gleefully collecting and trading the codes seem to be the ones who have the most invested in it, both from a financial and emotional standpoint. I wonder if that's the only thing keeping it going at this point... I don't know if the system can be fixed or saved, but the 'it's coming real soon now' stuff has been coming for a looooong time.

 

[Dave Moritz]

This may be one thing I never want to bother with. The video quality has gotten better and better and while I have rented a movie once in a great while I just do not see any value in purchasing a movie with no physical disc. While very few people look at the art work on the cases why spend top dollar on something you do not own or can not own vs owning the physical disc. At least with a physical disc you do not have to have an internet connection and you for the time being get superior picture and superior lossless sound. Heck I can not even get myself to watch a movie on my home pc that has a 27" Samsung 1080p flat panel display and a Lite On Blu-ray rom, Some might think it is a issue with internet speed but I actually get about 157mb/sec download and up to 74mb/sec upload so the internet can do 4K all day long. Why is it that streaming keeps using Dolby Digital and there is no option for lossless audio? Is it that the studios are looking to go backwards to only offering Dolby Digital? I have downloaded a small amount of music from iTunes but am not happy with the quality! This to is another matter of not owning the music and at least with my vinyl and cd's I can leave those to a family member or friend that is interested. With digital downloads you can not leave them to anyone and your investment is gone once you are gone, kinda wipes out the collector part of building music and movie libraries. Now this is not meant to start problems I just do not get buying content you have to stream from a corporate server and that you do not own. Would love to hear from anyone what value they see in the new streaming model beyond simple convenience and not having content taking up physical space in there home. If physical media was to go away and the only way you could see movies was to stream or download the content I think I would no longer purchase movies!

 

[Sam Posten]

I don't mind streaming media as a backup or bonus, but I'll never pay for it. You say you're against even that?

 

[Towergrove]

This may be one thing I never want to bother with. The video quality has gotten better and better and while I have rented a movie once in a great while I just do not see any value in purchasing a movie with no physical disc. While very few people look at the art work on the cases why spend top dollar on something you do not own or can not own vs owning the physical disc. At least with a physical disc you do not have to have an internet connection and you for the time being get superior picture and superior lossless sound. Heck I can not even get myself to watch a movie on my home pc that has a 27" Samsung 1080p flat panel display and a Lite On Blu-ray rom, Some might think it is a issue with internet speed but I actually get about 157mb/sec download and up to 74mb/sec upload so the internet can do 4K all day long. Why is it that streaming keeps using Dolby Digital and there is no option for lossless audio? Is it that the studios are looking to go backwards to only offering Dolby Digital? I have downloaded a small amount of music from iTunes but am not happy with the quality! This to is another matter of not owning the music and at least with my vinyl and cd's I can leave those to a family member or friend that is interested. With digital downloads you can not leave them to anyone and your investment is gone once you are gone, kinda wipes out the collector part of building music and movie libraries. Now this is not meant to start problems I just do not get buying content you have to stream from a corporate server and that you do not own. Would love to hear from anyone what value they see in the new streaming model beyond simple convenience and not having content taking up physical space in there home. If physical media was to go away and the only way you could see movies was to stream or download the content I think I would no longer purchase movies!

This may be one thing I never want to bother with. The video quality has gotten better and better and while I have rented a movie once in a great while I just do not see any value in purchasing a movie with no physical disc. While very few people look at the art work on the cases why spend top dollar on something you do not own or can not own vs owning the physical disc. At least with a physical disc you do not have to have an internet connection and you for the time being get superior picture and superior lossless sound. Heck I can not even get myself to watch a movie on my home pc that has a 27" Samsung 1080p flat panel display and a Lite On Blu-ray rom, Some might think it is a issue with internet speed but I actually get about 157mb/sec download and up to 74mb/sec upload so the internet can do 4K all day long. Why is it that streaming keeps using Dolby Digital and there is no option for lossless audio? Is it that the studios are looking to go backwards to only offering Dolby Digital? I have downloaded a small amount of music from iTunes but am not happy with the quality! This to is another matter of not owning the music and at least with my vinyl and cd's I can leave those to a family member or friend that is interested. With digital downloads you can not leave them to anyone and your investment is gone once you are gone, kinda wipes out the collector part of building music and movie libraries. Now this is not meant to start problems I just do not get buying content you have to stream from a corporate server and that you do not own. Would love to hear from anyone what value they see in the new streaming model beyond simple convenience and not having content taking up physical space in there home. If physical media was to go away and the only way you could see movies was to stream or download the content I think I would no longer purchase movies!

I believe with Ultraviolet you will be able to download the files you purchase via Common file format. These files can be played on many DNLA devices. There is no streaming from someone else's server as suggested. I believe in iTunes you also have a choice of downloading.Also I never buy into a video format as an investment..never. Many more things in life with better power for your dollar. I buy films because I enjoy them.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

The fact is that you can't download UltraViolet files yet, so people believe that buying an digital movie means they won't always have access to it if something happens to the streaming site. Maybe a lot of people don't think the Common File Fomat will ever be released. When it is released, I think it will change a lot of minds about owning digital films. When you can store it on your own hard drive, and watch it with any number of software programs that will support it, without an internet connection, much like iTunes, then more people will start to use it.

 

[Sam Posten]

Maybe a lot of people don't think the Common File Fomat will ever be released. When it is released, I think it will change a lot of minds about owning digital films.

I believe it will be released but not change anything. UV will still be a mess. The CFF isn't going to be rocket fuel for UV. We'll see.

 

[Towergrove]

The fact is that you can't download UltraViolet files yet, so people believe that buying an digital movie means they won't always have access to it if something happens to the streaming site. Maybe a lot of people don't think the Common File Fomat will ever be released. When it is released, I think it will change a lot of minds about owning digital films. When you can store it on your own hard drive, and watch it with any number of software programs that will support it, without an internet connection, much like iTunes, then more people will start to use it.

Joshua when do you think CFF will be released. I don't understand the delays....

 

[Joshua Clinard]

There was a recent interview with Mark Tietell that said the common file format has a firm release date in the second half of this year, although he didn't say publicly when it is.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I do not buy them for investment purposes as I watch anything that I purchase. The are many people that like collecting and streaming kills that if the physical media side was to go away. I know many people say physical media will never go away but less and less retailer are offering music on physical media. Like I mentioned in the above post I do occasionally rent a on demand movie that is basically streamed on Verizon Fios but now I would be Direct TV instead of Verizon. But I have rented a on demand movie here and there but I would not spend money on a movie that I would have to use a cable service or streaming service to watch because there is no physical copy. Then what happens to the money you where to spend on paying to be able to watch a movie via cable, satellite or streaming service if they go under? Basically money is spent and no movies to show for it so personally I will not go that route! And even if you can download the movies I have no interest in buying more and more storage just to have a huge media server while the media chews up hard drive space like crazy. And personally if I am going to pay for HD video and get the best picture then putting up with raunchy dolby digital is not an option for me. This is why when I have the money to spend I get Blu-ray movies for the DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby True HD and or Lossless PCM. I do not buy movies on Blu-ray anymore with Dolby Digital only audio tracks as I have very few of those in my collection.

Renting to watch one time is something I do sparingly but not to buy flat out.

And for music I hate iTunes and for movies or tv shows I am not crazy about going back to Dolby Digital for audio and chewing up hard drive space to store content. Also when your hard drive dies there goes all that content then you have to download it all over again, no thanks. People are trading movies being locked to a format for movies being tied to a service provider. And at least with physical media not only do I get the best lossless audio but I can leave my music and movies to a family member or a friend. Not something that you can do if you buy the digital version online or with a cable service. It just doesn't seem like an attractive option to me. I am waiting to see when and if 4K content becomes available.