Vudu bonus features question? (1 Viewer)

I wanted to buy the Hunger Games Mockingjay pt 1 today on Vudu but, the one with bonus features doesn't have all the ones that iTunes and CinemaNow have. Both of those stores have the 2 hour documentary, deleted scenes and a few other featurettes, basiclly all the standard BD features.


In some of your experiences with Vudu, do they add bonus features later and, if so, if you buy the +bonus feature version today, would you get them when added?

Chris Will said:

In some of your experiences with Vudu, do they add bonus features later and, if so, if you buy the +bonus feature version today, would you get them when added?

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I've never seen them add anything. But sometimes they removed things.

Chris Will said:

I wanted to buy the Hunger Games Mockingjay pt 1 today on Vudu but, the one with bonus features doesn't have all the ones that iTunes and CinemaNow have.

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Remember that it's a moot point if you buy from CinemaNow or Vudu because it will show up on both anyway since it's UV...

I don't think bonus content transfers though.


Anyway, Best Buy was offering the CinemaNow version for free if you pre-ordered the steelbook BD so, I did that. The CinemaNow code even included the bonus features and, of course, the movie is UV and shows up on Vudu.

Well, after watching a little bit of Mockingjay on Vudu and CinemaNow last night I'm glad I went the route of pre-ording the BD. This is the second Vudu stream that has disappointed me, the other being the to dark to watch Thor stream.


I know it will match BD quality and I don't expect it to but, for the most part Vudu HDX has looked pretty good on my 55" TV. Good enough where I was considering going more digital only in the future. The Mockingjay encode throws that plan into doubt. Very bad blocking and banding on background walls and dark areas like hair, even in the black bars on Vudu. I normally don't notice the blocking on Vudu unless I really look for it but, it was very obvious in Mockingjay. Checked CinemaNow as well and it was slightly worse the Vudu. No, my internet connection was fine, CinemaNow reported 20Mbps down. I guess it is just the encode the studio provided. I've mostly been completely satisfied with teh quality from Vudu, this is the first stream where I remember noticing a lot of blocking from my couch.


Oh well, might continue to get BD as long as they offer a UV code and are the same price as the digital version, which most are if you get them when they are released.

20mbps down is pretty slow for streaming regardless of whatever the minimum recommended is. I have 100mbps down and there are times when streaming I could use more. The other thing you need to do is graph your connection and see how steady that 20mbps is. Just because CinemaNow says you are getting 20mbps doesn't mean it is steady.

Stability is more important than speed. I used to have what was supposed to be a 30mbps connection through cable that would frequently stutter and buffer. After switching to a consistent 15mbps DSL connection, I haven't had any of those problems.

Guess I didn't explain, my connection has never been a problem. We vary rarely experience buffering or quality issue due to the network in any of the apps we are using, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Amazon or Vudu.

HDX from Vudu has always looked great on our TV, except for Mockingjay. I switched over to Godzill and Grand Budapest last night as well, both looked great. I just don't think the Mockingjay encode is as good as others, that's all I'm saying.

I've noticed that when I buy a movie from Vudu with bonus features, sometimes each individual bonus feature shows up as a separate movie in my Ultraviolet account. This is very annoying.

LOL at the comparisons between 20mbs and 100mbs down. It all depends on the provider, I guarantee you arent getting more than a fraction from any provider regardless of how fat your pipes are.

Stephen Brooks said:

I've noticed that when I buy a movie from Vudu with bonus features, sometimes each individual bonus feature shows up as a separate movie in my Ultraviolet account. This is very annoying.

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What movies do you have that come with UltraViolet special features?

satam55 said:

What movies do you have that come with UltraViolet special features?

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It appears to be mostly Warner titles purchased through Vudu...the bonus features bundled in are Ultraviolet enabled, but my UV account sees each bonus feature as a separate movie. For example, if you buy The Lego Movie with 10 bonus features bundled in, you'll check your UV account and discover that 11 new movies have been added. My OCD does not like this and I end up deleting them from UV. They still play in Vudu just fine, and honestly it's rare that I will ever watch a bonus feature more than once.