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Ultraviolet: What do you like and not like about it? (1 Viewer)

Adam Gregorich

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I was talking to someone who will be representing their company on Ultraviolet. He asked me to send him what I like and don't like about it so I thought I would look for more opinions about what works and doesn't before I send it on.



Here is my dislike list:
Too many inconsistencies:

  • Different user name and password requirements on different sites

  • Different ways to download/stream different films

  • Linking to a movie in my collection on my UV page, just takes me to the studio page where I have to login again.

Its not clear how long I can stream a title for. One year? Forever? TBD?

Its too hard to manage my content. If I want to download a movie to watch on the plane, there is no one point to do it and there is no easy way to manage the title as it doesn't show up in the video folder, its in a separate application. If I need to move it off to make room for something else, I have to re-download it. I can't just move the file off to my iTunes library or PC until I want to reload it next time.

I should be able to move a downloaded file between all the devices on my account.

My like list:
While I am squarely in the "give me a disc on my shelf" camp, I like the concept of being able to have a portable copy to take on the go.
 

TheBat

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Adam Gregorich said:
I was talking to someone who will be representing their company on Ultraviolet.  He asked me to send him what I like and don't like about it so I thought I would look for more opinions about what works and doesn't before I send it on. 
Here is my dislike list:
Too many inconsistencies:
  • Different user name and password requirements on different sites
  • Different ways to download/stream different films
  • Linking to a movie in my collection on my UV page, just takes me to the studio page where I have to login again.
Its not clear how long I can stream a title for.  One year? Forever? TBD?
Its too hard to manage my content.  If I want to download a movie to watch on the plane, there is no one point to do it and there is no easy way to manage the title as it doesn't show up in the video folder, its in a separate application.  If I need to move it off to make room for something else, I have to re-download it.  I can't just move the file off to my iTunes library or PC until I want to reload it next time.
I should be able to move a downloaded file between all the devices on my account.
My like list:
While I am squarely in the "give me a disc on my shelf" camp, I like the concept of being able to have a portable copy to take on the go.
I also agree about the membership to the other sites to get it to work. I had trouble getting the flixster to work right. I did like how sony did it. I also like the idea of being able to play it on vudu. that is a big plus. I hope the other studios make that avaible. It would be cool if we could do older titles of digital copies to be on vudu as well.
Jacob
 

moviepas

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For me in Australia they are useless and we don't seem to have the service here locally anyway. I have to get discs from outside Australia for availability and content. Rarely go to shops and use onlines. Thus I don't need the extra discs. The extra discs are used in publicity by on-lines and others but really they are not an incentive to buy because of that as there is an expiry date for people who can use them if they wish in USA. There is a tendency to put the ultraviolet program on the same disc as the DVD version in Combo Blu/DVD sets.

For me the physical disc in my collection is the go but I may be in the minority. Certainly streaming but being able to save the movie as well is ideal in the sense that one gets the movie as soon as the job is done but what of the quality compared to Blu Ray? It does cut out those delays and possible loss in the post but... Then there is the bandwidth one has per month and the unsatisfactory slowing of download speeds when download limits are exceeded in a cycle and the wait until the next cycle starts. I, for one, have been there twice with a couple of suspected hijackings and having almost a whole month at slow speed drove me up the wall and there was nothing I could do about it. I have 25gb per month and trying to get better but my ISP will not, currently, meet the pricing of an opposition company that has better phone usage and 500gb per month. I can't leave them because I have shares in the company and tend to be loyal. The other company cheated my late Dad on a mobile phone service about a decade or so ago and I hd to sort them out. My ISP came to the party and we always have used their landline anyway.

My 2c worth.
 

mattCR

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I tend to agree with the above.. just make it a single login; the method that Walmart/Vudu is using is really straightforward and just works. I'd prefer that to all this other garbage.
 

FanboyZ

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Streaming anything that is not a TV show is stupid, unless it's porn. It good to stream porn.
Movies however should be encoded on a disc, with massive bit rates from high quality sources.
 

Jesse Skeen

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I prefer my content on discs, including porn- porn in HD is good :)
However, I've set up an Ultraviolet account recently because I've found that UV copies are also added to my library on Vudu (which had porn before Wal-Mart took it over!) Since I have Vudu on my TV and Blu-Ray player and use it for rentals, I figured I might as well add these UV movies to it since it doesn't cost me extra. I've noticed my Paramount and Sony movies gave me the HDX versions (I can only stream up to HD quality due to my internet service), but apparently the people at Warner are cheap because their movies only give me the lowest-quality SD versions!
I still don't see the logical reason for having these movies on Vudu anyways when I have them on Blu-Ray. The quality even at its highest can't match Blu-Ray, and I don't like the idea of someone being able to take the movie offline whenever they see fit. I don't have an iPod or any portable device, and if I did I would not spend any money to watch movies on it.
 

TonyD

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Problem for me, I just bought Men in Black 2. I had to go to a site to add a code.
Went tried to login and my user name or login doesn't work. No way to tell which.
Sent a request to UV on that and they replied to me that I need to answer the THREE secret questions
and make sure I use case sensitive. I did that already and replied back to that.
My next email from them was that it would take a few days to figure out the problem.
I'm going on ten days and haven't received a reply. Now on my second email on Monday.
So my complaints. Wy do I need three secret questions to get my password reset?
Most sites will verify by email.
When will I get an answer from the support on this?
 

bigshot

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Aside from watching movies on bluray on my home theater, the only other place I watch them is on my ipad... And that is one movie out of a hundred. I don't want streaming because the times I watch movies on my ipad usually is when I don't have a wifi connection... out and about. Digital copies and uplicate DVDs are fine, but I don't want to pay a penny more for them. When I buy a bluray, all I really want is the bluray.
I would NEVER register on a site to be able to watch a movie I paid for a physical copy of. I would only do that for a service like Netflix.
 

MattAlbie60

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TonyD said:
Problem for me, I just bought Men in Black 2. I had to go to a site to add a code.
Went tried to login and my user name or login doesn't work. No way to tell which.
Sent a request to UV on that and they replied to me that I need to answer the THREE secret questions
and make sure I use case sensitive. I did that already and replied back to that.
My next email from them was that it would take a few days to figure out the problem.
I'm going on ten days and haven't received a reply. Now on my second email on Monday.
So my complaints. Wy do I need three secret questions to get my password reset?
Most sites will verify by email.
When will I get an answer from the support on this?
This exact same thing literally happened to me. If your situation works out anything like mine, expect them to randomly fix your problem in a month, and without telling you. The only reason I found out is because I got an automatically generated e-mail concerning something with my account.
 

Everett S.

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I had a very hard time with Ghost Protocol & then only got standard def. on Vudu? I have the Blu-ray! I really don't want s.d.!:confused:
 

Ted Van Duyn

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Here's why I don't like it.
I'm not in control.
When I buy a movie, I'm not buying it to have the privilege to watch only when I'm online. If I want to watch it on my iPhone, iPad or even on my laptop without the disc, I'm going to rip the son of a gun, convert it and put it on the device I choose. Sure, you may bring up the issue of space, but it's a very, VERY small price to pay if you want your purchased content with you at all times, especially when you have a tangible source to go back to should anything go wrong.
I will NEVER use Ultraviolet.
 

Doctorossi

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What I dislike about Ultraviolet:
* It costs distributors resources that could otherwise be spent improving things to do with the reason I buy physical media: to own content on physical media
* The name, which I suspect will cause confusion and/or increase "upgrade fatigue" among casual/uninformed consumers - "I just bought this damn Blu-ray thing... now they want me to buy Purple-ray?!"
* It's apparently given many of my friends headaches, as they've tried unsuccessfully to use it in a way that doesn't drive them up the wall
What I like about Ultraviolet:
* To date, it's been pretty easy and painless for me to ignore (Hey, whaddaya know? It's the same thing I like about BD Live!)
 
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What I dislike about Ultraviolet:
* On some sites you have to sign up with the studios sites with a different user names and you have to link your account a number of times.
* It's sometimes can be hard to use
* I rarely use Ultraviolet
What I like about Ultraviolet:
* The ability to watch movies online via streaming.
 

RickER

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Adam Gregorich said:
I was talking to someone who will be representing their company on Ultraviolet.  He asked me to send him what I like and don't like about it so I thought I would look for more opinions about what works and doesn't before I send it on. 
Here is my dislike list:
Too many inconsistencies:
  • Different user name and password requirements on different sites
  • Different ways to download/stream different films
  • Linking to a movie in my collection on my UV page, just takes me to the studio page where I have to login again.
Its not clear how long I can stream a title for.  One year? Forever? TBD?
Its too hard to manage my content.  If I want to download a movie to watch on the plane, there is no one point to do it and there is no easy way to manage the title as it doesn't show up in the video folder, its in a separate application.  If I need to move it off to make room for something else, I have to re-download it.  I can't just move the file off to my iTunes library or PC until I want to reload it next time.
I should be able to move a downloaded file between all the devices on my account.
My like list:
While I am squarely in the "give me a disc on my shelf" camp, I like the concept of being able to have a portable copy to take on the go.
Wow, i do not see anything that makes me want to even try it! Simple is better, and this is far from simple. Who do they want to target with UV?
 

bigshot

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The problem here is that the studios set up these fantastic technological advancements that only serve them... the consumer be damned. We're expected to enjoy jumping though hoops to get the product we payed for, and we're expected to cheer enthusiastically for formats that are hobbled to the point that we have a hard time using the product we paid for. We're expected to pay extra for duplicate DVDs we don't want and streaming services we have no intention of ever using.
If anyone from UltraViolet is reading this, there is no point asking us what we like and don't like about your service. We never asked for it or wanted it. The studios are the ones that want it, not us. Ask them.
We want a physical copy of a movie that we can easily change format to play on our home theaters, computers, ipads and phones. We don't want any "leashes"... no logging in, no streaming, no DRM. We just want the movie we paid for, and we want it to play on all of our viewing devices.
I don't think UltraViolet can help us with that.
 

Joshua Clinard

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I like UV a lot. Here are a few reasons why:
* The ability to watch any movie anytime, anyplace, on any device. I'm not tied down to my Blu-ray player at home, or iTunes.
* I can share my movie collection with family and friends
* I don't have to worry about discs getting damaged, lost or stolen. I have lost over 50 movies due to theft.
* I don't have to buy expensive shelving to store DVDs on.
* I don't have to buy Blu-ray discs for DVDs I already own. I can upgrade to HD for 5 bucks!!
*I can easily scroll through a picture libary of my films. Even in a store.
What I don't like:
* There aren't enough movies I want to watch
* That you have register at multiple sites to redeem films. There should be one site for all films.
* That Disney isn't offering UV.
* I can't play downloaded films on Windows Media Player
 

MattAlbie60

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Okay, look. I'm not trying to convince you that you shouldn't like something you do. That's not my place. If you want to love Ultraviolet, you can. However, there are a few things in your list that you're attributing to Ultraviolet that you probably shouldn't be, and I just want to provide a counter point:
Joshua Clinard said:
* I can share my movie collection with family and friends
You're right, you can. So long as you don't have more than five or so family members/friends at any given time :)
* I don't have to worry about discs getting damaged, lost or stolen.
But you do have to worry about suddenly and inexplicably getting locked out of your UV account, which happened to myself and one other person *in this thread*. I know the Home Theater Forum isn't a massively large group of people, but when at least two people in the same little corner of the Internet get hit by the same issue, I have a feeling it's at least a moderately prevalent one.
I have lost over 50 movies due to the above.
"They get stolen" isn't any more of a reason not to buy physical media than it is to not buy a car. Cars can get stolen, too. That doesn't make them bad, that makes them things that exist. :) Same for getting lost or damaged. I lost my car in a twelve story parking garage once for about an hour. It was annoying as hell. It didn't make me swear off cars and start taking the bus everywhere.
* I don't have to buy expensive shelving to store DVDs on.
Why do you have to do that at all? Go to Target and buy a $30 shelf every once and awhile. Problem solved.
* I don't have to buy Blu-ray discs for DVDs I already own. I can upgrade to HD for 5 bucks!!
You're buying something you already own - you're just doing it for $5.
*I can easily scroll through a picture libary of my films. Even in a store.
So can I: http://slilley3.dvdaf.com/
 

bigshot

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Joshua Clinard said:
* I don't have to buy expensive shelving to store DVDs on.
If I ride the bus, I don't have to pay expensive repair bills on a car...
But I think having a car is worth the added expense.
 

Joshua Clinard

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Why do you keep trying to convince me that I shouldn't like something I like? Why is so hard r you to understand that there are real benefits to ultra-violet. I'm not the only one. The people behind UV did lots of consumer research to figure out what consumers wanted and UV is what they came up with in response to their needs, so I do not think UV is a solution in search of a problem. I am very glad it came about. The OP asked a question about what I like/ don't like about UV and I answered it honestly. I then get attacked by people who refuse to use it. That is unfair, and if this keeps up, I may notify a moderator.
 

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