How many of you have actually used Digital Copy? (1 Viewer)

[cafink]

I understand the appeal of having a convenient, portable copy of the film. However, I would never use a "digital copy" of the sort the studios currently offer, out of principle. A DVD or Blu-ray disc already includes a "digital copy" of the film! It should, in principle, be a trivial matter to rip it to any format I like and transfer it to another device. But the studios go out of their way to make this as difficult as possible. It takes nerve to then offer me a crippled, time-limited substitute, and advertise it as a "feature," like they're doing me some big favor by including it.


And that's aside from the fact that most digital copies don't work, anyway, if you don't have a Windows or OS X computer, which I don't.


Everything about digital copies, as they're presently implemented, is total BS.

 

[Mark Oates]

I've only ever put one movie on my iPod - purely as a proof-of-pudding exercise. Then I took it off again.


I like having the DVD copy as a backup, or if I just can't be bothered making a presentation job of it (powering up the amp, etc.) I just don't use the digital copy.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Pure filler. Digital copy discs are landfill/coasters/Christmas ornaments. All they do is overly inflate your impression of a "special edition" when you see it in the store: 3-DISK SPECIAL EDITION WOW!!! Then you look closer and it's 1 Blu-Ray, 1 DVD and 1 Digital Copy. Lame!

 

[LarryH]

I've never even tried to figure out what they are or how to use them. If even the physical copies included on a DVD or BD have expiration dates, I really see no reason to bother.

 

[robbbb1138]

I have a hard time watching DVDs, so I doubt I'd like what I see with a digital copy.

 

[JohnS]

I have over 100 BR titles and I have no intension of using digital copies.

I think it's a waste of a disc in the combos.

 

[Brisby]

The only thing I like about digital copies is that I get an extra 2-disc case when I throw the digital copy away.

 

[Charles Smith]

Where are the expiration dates? On the disc? On an insert? The back of the case? Or do you have to start the process to find out?


This whole thread is inspiring me to gather the few I have and either toss them in the garbage or send them to whoever wants them...if indeed I have any that are still good. I still absolutely do not get the rationale for having them expire in the first place.

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by Chas in CT

Where are the expiration dates? On the disc? On an insert? The back of the case?

I've never used it but I've seen the expiration dates printed on the insert and on the back of the case.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I've transfered a handful mainly to put on my kid's iPod Touch, which he promptly lost. So now, they just sit on my HDD doing nothing.


If I actually travel a lot, maybe I'd use them on the laptop or maybe eventually a tablet (whether iPad or an Android one). Actually, since 99% of family and friends still haven't gone Blu yet (and do borrow movies from me from time to time), I may end up transfering/giving away some to them. Not sure how the WMV versions tend to work, but the QT/iTunes versions allow usage on something like upto 4 portable devices plus limited home computer sharing (just like other media files), IIRC.


But yeah, generally speaking, like most others here, I'm not all that interested in watching them myself. I got into Blu (and pretty much stopped buying DVDs) so I can get great quality on a big screen. No real desire to go backwards w/ the digital copies. At this point, only things I can imagine wanting to watch at the lower quality on a tiny screen are some TV shows perhaps, but even then, it'd only be for stuff that wouldn't benefit much from a big screen presentation (and quality audio).


_Man_

 

[Carlo_M]

Originally Posted by Rick Thompson /forum/thread/307936/how-many-of-you-have-actually-used-digital-copy#post_3772186

 

[Rick Thompson]

Reflected light is what our eyes are designed for, not back-lit computer screens. Therefore, print absolutely print -- less eyestrain and no worries about malfunctions or dead batteries!

 

[Bryan X]

Originally Posted by Rick Thompson

Reflected light is what our eyes are designed for, not back-lit computer screens. Therefore, print absolutely print -- less eyestrain and no worries about malfunctions or dead batteries!

Then you would like the e-books like the Kindle which use e-ink. E-ink is not back lit but requires reflected light just like a printed page.

 

[SD_Brian]

Although I'm pretty sure I will never fully appreciate The Lord of the Rings trilogy until I've experienced it letterboxed on a 2-1/2 inch iPod screen, I still haven't taken the time to upload the three digital copy discs that made the 9-disc special limited edition Blu-Ray so limited and so special.

 

[Sonador]

I use it fairly often on my ipad, and the films look pretty reasonable there. Of course, even though I love bluray, I can still easily enjoy watching dvds. Once I get into the film, I tend to forget the picture quality. Sitting in my chair analyzing the video quality just makes me dissatisfied with what I have.


As far as I know, the only expiration date is the time limit for downloading the digital copy. After that, I'm not aware of any limit to watching the digital copy.

 

[DaveF]

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)][SIZE= 16px]I want Digital Copy for TV Shows! With no expiration date![/COLOR][/SIZE]





TV shows don't get digital copy, so I *can't* use it. So I continue to buy DVD TV shows to rip to my iPod. If they sold Blu-ray TV series with Digital Copy of all the episodes, I'd buy those solely for the Digital Copy! (but if they have an expiration date, that renders it useless, since I often buy TV shows years after their release.)



Also, I've got it in my brain that these "digital copy" systems aren't Mac compatible? Maybe that's not so.

 

[Brian L]

Originally Posted by DaveF

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)][SIZE= 16px]I want Digital Copy for TV Shows! With no expiration date![/COLOR][/SIZE]





TV shows don't get digital copy, so I *can't* use it. So I continue to buy DVD TV shows to rip to my iPod. If they sold Blu-ray TV series with Digital Copy of all the episodes, I'd buy those solely for the Digital Copy! (but if they have an expiration date, that renders it useless, since I often buy TV shows years after their release.)



Also, I've got it in my brain that these "digital copy" systems aren't Mac compatible? Maybe that's not so.

Mac compatibility via iTunes works just fine with every Digital Copy I have. Not sure why you would think otherwise, although perhaps there are some titles out there that do not include an iTunes version.


Brian

 

[DaveF]

Quote: Originally Posted by DaveF linkI want Digital Copy for TV Shows! With no expiration date! TV shows don't get digital copy, so I *can't* use it. So I continue to buy DVD TV shows to rip to my iPod. If they sold Blu-ray TV series with Digital Copy of all the episodes, I'd buy those solely for the Digital Copy! (but if they have an expiration date, that renders it useless, since I often buy TV shows years after their release.) Also, I've got it in my brain that these "digital copy" systems aren't Mac compatible? Maybe that's not so. Mac compatibility via iTunes works just fine with every Digital Copy I have. Not sure why you would think otherwise, although perhaps there are some titles out there that do not include an iTunes version. Brian

Perhaps one of the first digital copies were PC only? I don't know where I got the idea Since I don't use it for movies I've not tried on my Mac. but I'm glad to know it works. Now if it for tv shows, I'd use it regularly.

 

[PaulDA]

I tried it once to see if it worked (it did). Coincidentally, it was helpful for work as it is a film I plan to show my class near the end of the term. No Blu-ray player at school, nor on my laptop, so this digital copy saves me having to get an SD version. Knowing that it works, I will likely continue to use those which are pertinent to my work, but I doubt I'll make a habit of using them at home.

 

[Carlo_M]

Funny, during my DVD days (pre-2006) I used to rip portable copies of a few of my favorite DVDs. It would take over an hour per conversion. When Digital Copy came out I thought my prayers were answered, it would save so much wear and tear on my Mac from ripping movies.


Turns out I've maybe installed 3 or 4 Dig Copies (and probably own 100+ BDs with DC) on my iTunes. I just lost the desire to watch these movies on my portable devices over the last 3-4 years. Not sure why.