Press Release Announcing the launch of MOVIES ANYWHERE (1 Viewer)

[Chip_HT]

Technically, Disc to Digital is where you take a DVD or Blu-ray you purchased some time ago that did not come with a digital copy code, scan it using the Disc to Digital option in the Vudu app (or inserted the disc into your PC's DVD or Blu-ray drive while running Vudu's app for Windows), and for a few bucks would add a digital copy of that movie (if it was eligible) to your Vudu library. To add a digital copy in the same definition was $2 (DVD to SD or Blu-ray to HDX), and $5 to upgrade (DVD to HDX).

I'm aware of all that. I should have said that the program basically purchased the UV license to a movie. So, if there's no UV license available anymore, how would D2D work for Fox movies, if at all?

 

[Sam Posten]

I'm aware of all that. I should have said that the program basically purchased the UV license to a movie. So, if there's no UV license available anymore, how would D2D work for Fox movies, if at all?

The announcement isn't 100% clear but what they are trying to say is disk to digital redeems the code into MA now and your movies transfer where available. This is BETTER for you than it used to was.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Actually, it looks like MA may support Disc to Digital now:

Can I get a digital copy of my Blu-ray or DVD if it didn't come with one?

 

[Sam Posten]

Yup, that's what I said =)

 

[Scott Merryfield]

This is the first I've heard of Disc to Digital in relation to Movies Anywhere. That was something that was always part of Vudu's partnership with UV, and never a part of Movies Anywhere.

I have several movies that I purchase via Vudu's disc to digital program which populated to iTunes when I initially setup a Movies Anywhere account and linked both my Vudu and iTunes accounts.

 

[Cranston37+]

This is the first I've heard of Disc to Digital in relation to Movies Anywhere. That was something that was always part of Vudu's partnership with UV, and never a part of Movies Anywhere.

Actually, it looks like MA may support Disc to Digital now:

Can I get a digital copy of my Blu-ray or DVD if it didn't come with one?

Using a little Google trickery you can see that page was last updated Dec 23, 2017. It’s been there from the beginning.

The announcement isn't 100% clear but what they are trying to say is disk to digital redeems the code into MA now and your movies transfer where available. This is BETTER for you than it used to was.

It has always been the case that movies you transferred via D2D in Vudu would transfer to MA if that title was MA enabled. Half of my 1,900 title MA library came about that way, many of them after MA launched. There is nothing new here in regards to MA and D2D...

 

[Todd Erwin]

@Cranston37 ,that is exactly what I had stated a few posts later:

What I am seeing now, with relation to Fox, is that any titles not redeemed prior to July 11, 2018 will be MA only, while titles redeemed prior to the cutoff will remain in both libraries.

If I log in to Vudu, my older Fox titles show both UV and MA logos. When I logout, those same titles show as MA only.

I see this as another nail in the coffin for UV.

 

[Chip_HT]

Reading deeper into the FAQ, I think I figured out why Fox movies are still Disc to Digital, even without UV.

Why aren't all of my movies available for Disc to Digital conversion?

The studios that support UltraViolet legally clear the titles available for Disc to Digital conversion. Currently there are around 8,000 titles available for conversion, and we expect that number to continually grow over time.

All UV titles were cleared for conversion, but those two things weren't necessarily tied together. So I guess even though the Fox titles aren't UV anymore, the clearance is still there for D2D. (And I checked by scanning X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and it was still showing as available. I didn't complete the transaction, but it would have given me an error message instead of the option to buy.)

A little while back, I learned that I could link my UV account to my Fios account and some of the movies would be available through the Fios interface. At that point, I started redeeming any movie that wasn't Disney through VUDU instead of directly through MA. Now it looks like I should just redeem Fox movies through MA as well. (Interestingly enough, the only movie that was available through my Fios service that wasn't due to a D2D conversion was Veronica Mars, which I had only redeemed through VUDU because MA kept giving me error messages.)

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The one thing I really hate about Movies Anywhere is that it's Movies Anywhere.

The latest season of "The Magicians" on Blu-Ray just came in the mail. When Universal was a UV studio, every season came with a digital copy. Now that they're a MA studio, it's disc only.

I find the digital copies of TV shows even more useful than the digital copies of movies, so this is a big step back with MA versus what we had with UV.

 

[Todd Erwin]

I've been tired of my Movies Anywhere codes not redeeming on Amazon properly (supposed to get the UHD version, but Amazon only gives HD despite the UHD being available), so I fired the following e-mail off to the infamous Jeff Bezos email address:

Hi Jeff,

I just spent an hour on the phone with your Video Support team in Costa Rica, and am shocked that no one knew what Movies Anywhere was. Hasn't Amazon been a retail partner of this service for many years (back when it was Disney Movies Anywhere)?

No one I spoke with was aware how Movies Anywhere worked, and one person was even surprised when I did explain it to her and wished there was such a service in her country.

To get to the point of why I had called your Video Support team, I am finding that many movie codes I redeem on Movies Anywhere are not providing me with the UHD versions on Amazon, only the HD version, even though your competition, also retail partners of Movies Anywhere, have granted me immediate access to the UHD version upon redemption of the code thru Movies Anywhere. Amazon Video Support tried to explain to me that it must be a slow internet connection or the firmware on my device is not current, or my Prime Video app is not up to date. If that is the case, why am I able to watch Black Panther or Peter Rabbit in UHD on my 4K Roku on the Prime Video app?

Here are some prime examples (no pun intended) of where Movies Anywhere informed me upon redemption that I should receive the 4K or highest resolution available of that movie on its retail partners such as Amazon, Vudu, FandangoNow, Google Play Movies, and iTunes, but Amazon has only provided the HD version despite a UHD version being available. I have included both the HD and UHD ASIN numbers with each title:

The Equalizer (HD: B00RL9WRAE / UHD: B07FB54F8B)
The Patriot (HD: B003HV1VDE / UHD: B01G0RI760)
Fury (HD: B00ST1OAUI / UHD: B01A7IJXYS)
The Dark Crystal (HD: B005U9QIXY / UHD: B07DFD5THS)
Jumanji (HD: B00BZBQ4GW / UHD: B079GKKSXX)
Bridge on the River Kwai (HD: B009NXD90I/ UHD: B01A7IJQA4)

When speaking with the support team at Movies Anywhere, they are very much aware of these issues, both the lack of knowledge of the Movies Anywhere service by Amazon Video Support and the redemption of only HD versions on Amazon when members of Movies Anywhere redeem 4K codes on their service but Amazon is only giving them the HD version instead of the UHD version when available.

Add this to all of the other issues my wife and I have been having with Amazon orders lately, I often ask myself why I continue to purchase or use Amazon?

Sincerely,

Todd Erwin

A few hours later, I received the following response:

Hello Todd,

I'm Annette B. of Amazon's Tech Support Executive Customer Relations team. Jeff Bezos received your email and I'm responding on his behalf.

I'd like to extend my apologies for the experience you had when contacting Customer Service. I'm sending information along to the appropriate supervisory team for their review and will ensure additional training is provided where necessary.

I understand your inquiry about the fact that you can't access the UHD version of your Movies Anywhere titles on Amazon. And that this is something you don't experience on other Movies Anywhere retail partner websites.

Please know that I've forwarded the information you've provided to our technical team in order to investigate. We definitely want to make sure this matter is properly addressed. Rest assured, I'll email you with an update in the next 2-3 business days.

Thanks for making sure we're aware of your experience. I look forward to following up with you soon.

Thank you for your inquiry.

I noticed today that both The Equalizer and Jumanji are now UHD in my Amazon Video Library. I guess what bothers me the most is that (1) apparently no one at Amazon knows what Movies Anywhere is, and (2) most of the support reps I spoke with didn't want to know what Movies Anywhere was. I have yet to receive a further response from Annette at Amazon, but it's only been one business day.

 

[Robert Crawford]

A bunch of Warner, Paramount, Sony and Fox titles are on sale at iTunes.

 

[Mark-P]

A bunch of Warner, Paramount, Sony and Fox titles are on sale at iTunes.

Decisions, decisions. Should I buy Ordinary People for five bucks or hold out for a Blu-ray?

 

[Todd Erwin]

Decisions, decisions. Should I buy Ordinary People for five bucks or hold out for a Blu-ray?

It's a Paramount catalog title and not part of a franchise, so a Blu-ray is unlikely.

 

[Sam Posten]

A bunch of Warner, Paramount, Sony and Fox titles are on sale at iTunes.

Holy crap, the interface for finding all of them is TERRIBLE. Have seen that there might actually be hundreds in this sale but I can only see about 50 of em.

 

[Tino]

A bunch of Warner, Paramount, Sony and Fox titles are on sale at iTunes.

Spent close to $200 bucks on this sale. Lots of great titles for $4.99.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Spent close to $200 bucks on this sale. Lots of great titles for $4.99.

I wish I spent that little. Once I got started, I couldn't stop.

 

[holtge]

A bunch of Warner, Paramount, Sony and Fox titles are on sale at iTunes.

Thanks for the heads-up! I'm excited, but my wallet probably won't be.

 

[Sam Posten]

Anything in particular you recommend?

 

[holtge]

Received this email from Movies Anywhere today. Not sure which movies are considered "eligible," but if you have Amazon Prime Video, it might be worth checking out.

 

[Mike Frezon]

You better charge your phone, Gordon!