MarkitZero

^^^

This for me as well.

Streaming is my new way of watching TV and movies.

WeeBey

FYI: Flixster isn't shutting down in Canada.

orangerunner

The site is still up but it looks like the only options are links to "Google Play", "Fandango" and "The App Store".

There's no "Access your UV Codes? Click here..." anywhere on the page.

I don't think they're still hosting the UV codes but if you have any info that can help recover them, please post it.

bruceames

Gizmo

This is from a Wal-Mart:


I doubt they plan on dumping VUDU anytime soon. They do in-store Disc to Digital. They offer free digital copies as soon as you purchase the disc (for some titles - you still get the code inside the case as well). Seems like they are all in - especially when they continue to reduce the presence of DVD/BD/CD and Games

Alan Smithee

Why pay nearly the same amount for the digital copy though, when you can get it WITH the discs for about the same price? I would NEVER pay $20 or even $15 for a digital copy of anything, not even a TV series. If that ever becomes the only way to buy things, I'll either just rent online for less and watch one time, or do without.

Reminds me of when I saw a digital gift card in the music section at Target that said "The Beatles Box Set" and it was about $100. The box sets on LP and CD of all their albums has always been a prestige item, one you'd be proud to have in your collection. WTF am I going to do with a silly CARD, and I still don't see that being easier to listen to either- I'll never get in the habit of pulling out my phone to play music, even if it "casts" to my receiver. I laughed when I saw that in the store because my reaction to getting that as a present would be a sarcastic "um, thanks?"

fumanstan

Some people don't need/want the physical copy anymore. Just like when digital copies were included and people just sold or gave away those codes.

Multiple reasons. For one, people listen to music in different places where it makes no sense to carry around physical media; in the car (lots of new cars don't have CD players anymore), on the go, at the gym, on the computer. And two, with the right set up it sure is a lot easier to bring up your phone or even use voice commands to play the song or playlist you want then to get up and change discs.

I know you hate digital and prefer physical to the point of a sickness, but it's always funny how you constantly seem oblivious to the appeal. You don't have to like it yourself, but the reasons aren't that far fetched.

MarkitZero

+100

rw2516

The point is: If physical copy with digital is same price as digital only, why not buy the physical copy and get both? Just toss the physical copy in junk drawer or something. But at least you have it as back up.

big e

Same here. It's not that I don't care about the stuff, it's just that a lot of what I watch nowadays I don't feel I need to re-watch, let alone own. For example, last night I watch the movie Hell in the Pacific. Now, this was a movie I had known of for awhile but was unable to track down until recently. It was decent, but not something I feel I would watch again.

Even older sci-fi and horror movies, which I used to be a lot looser with buying, now I'm just shrugging my shoulders at. The only exception really is anime, although that might be because it's traditionally been a little harder for me to come by than the other stuff. And anime, for whatever reason, seems to have more replay value for me then other live-action movies.

fumanstan

I literally just answered the question you posed in the response you quoted; some people have moved away from physical and have no need for the disc. I imagine some people don't see the need to keep a junk drawer full of loose discs taking up space.

Another use case would simply be not leaving the house and deciding to buy something right away rather then having to get up and go to a store. With some digital copies coming out 2 weeks before physical, it also makes sense to see a movie earlier.

That said, as Alan wrote originally digital is "nearly" the same amount so that's going by the assumption that you're buying digital a bit cheaper. For instance for new releases, Justice League is $19.99 on Vudu for the UHD but $29.99 everywhere on disc. Coco and Thor: Ragnarok is $24.99 versus $29.99.

Trevor

Same price and i don’t want the physical, I’d give the extra to a friend or family member who did. But mainly hope they’d do the same for me.

Gizmo

Its 2018 - people want this.

Buy the card, enter the code, boom, I'm watching. Sure, they could buy the disc, but I imagine they don't want it hanging around their house or some people might not even know you get a digital copy. Cards are also good for gifts.

Why So Blu?

I buy digital copies on release day. They're convenient and I usually have the film 3-4 weeks before everyone else that is waiting for the actual hardcopy of it. If I want the BD then I'll get it once the price goes way down for it and either sell or give away the digital copy that comes with the disc.

DJariya

With Amazon Prime video, HBO Go, Showtime Anytime, Starz, Netflix, Hulu and many many more, there's just no need to own all of your favorites on disc anymore. There is more content available via those legal streaming options than I can even realistically watch in 1 year and more keeps coming.

At one point I was thinking about getting the new Shout Factory disc of Mr. Mom. But, I discovered I could stream it on the Cinemax app, which I already pay for. I watched it the other day and honestly I would have felt like I threw $16 away. It was fine and had some cute moments, but it's nothing I want to own forever. I would have watched the disc once and threw it on the shelf to collect dust.

Gizmo

Alan owns that title in 5 physical formats....just in case.

BuckNaked2k

I'm with you on this. There should be a reasonable discount if you just want to buy the digital copy and forgo the physical. To me, the physical is a premium product. I enjoy the experience of having well-made boxes, cases and booklets that accompany such items as Beatles Mono Box. It's an overall, tactile, satisfying experience.

That said, I can often recoup a significant portion of my cost on Blu-ray title by selling the digital copy, DVD, 3D, etc.

Also, why would anyone want to drive to a store to buy a card? Can't an interested party just download direct from home and avoid the traffic, parking, and People of Walmart?

Gizmo

Most of the big releases go on sale digitally for $9.99 about a month after their physical release on iTunes/VUDU etc.

Physical cards are likely meant for gifts and people who don't understand they can just go on an app and buy.

PhantomStranger

This is Walmart and Hollywood conditioning customers for the inevitable day in a few years when Hollywood won't offer physical copies anymore of most movies.

In five years, 90% of movies won't be made available in retail stores except monster hits and classics.

Hollywood has been plotting a digital-only future for a few years - they want complete control of distribution and the higher margins afforded by digital products.

It's going to be very interesting to see how Hollywood avoids the trap music content fell into as that industry went digital. Consumers are purchasing less music than ever before with the rise of streaming.

That is why companies like Disney are focusing all their efforts on building digital platforms. They want consumers paying monthly subscription fees forever to access a company's library. It's a different business model than the entertainment industry has used for the past century.

Hollywood wants to end private "ownership" of a film in the consumer's mind. This will become more and more manifest as the Baby Boomers age and Millennials begin taking over society.

bruceames

I don't buy that they want to end the ownership model in favor of streaming. On the contrary, they want people to feel like they "own" the movies so they keep buying and rebuying them. Why do they keep advertising "own it" on DVD or Blu-ray?

Sell through is where the biggest margins are and subscription streaming is the least attractive option. Sure they would prefer consumers buy digital rather than physical, but the margins are still a heck of a lot better than any form of rental, especially on-demand subscription streaming.

Certainly appears that this forum has seen quite a few converts to digital from physical. I would lean towards digital myself if it weren't for the difference in quality. As a videophile, I have this pet peeve about insisting on watching the best possible presentation of a movie that's available on HV. Sometimes that will be digital, as there are some catalog movies that are available in HDx while not coming out yet on BD. Or some movies in UHD digital that aren't yet on disc (although I'll just wait for those instead). But 98% of the time it will be disc that has the best video presentation. For audio you may as well make it 100%.

But I guess streaming has gotten to the point where it's "good enough" for just about everybody, even people on enthusiasts sites like this.

Digital certainly enables far more movies to be available, that aren't feasible to release on disc, and that's a good thing for movie buffs. So it's best to be a fan of both physical and digital AFAIC, although I rarely watch a digital movie myself (due I suppose to having such a huge glut of unwatched movies on disc).

Alan Smithee

Which of course is not the result of any technical advantage or disadvantage of any format, but a blatant move by the industry to push digital over physical- which I called and STILL call "The new DIVX". (Based on the hatred expressed online when a wanted title was available on DIVX, but not regular DVD. There were several of those. It is a bit disheartening now to see that many people have forgotten many of the issues that made us oppose DIVX when it was out- mainly that it gave the rightsholders the power to not only charge for every viewing but also to disable it entirely if they so chose- and there is now no known way to watch ANY DIVX disc because of that.) I get that digital works better for some people, but giving it that distinct advantage is an obvious move to discourage people from buying physical and I'm not buying into it- and again, most of the prices during that time are about the same as the eventual disc release that ALSO includes the digital copy anyways.

As for "Subscription" services, they are a good value (at least as long as you have a device that uses Netflix's older, non-annoying interface) but I honestly can't see how the studios could be making much money licensing their stuff for people to pay so little to watch. Eventually subscription prices for those will have to go up, and they already have a bit. And for the record, I ONLY have "Mr. Mom" on CED, not on any other format, though I'll rewatch that soon and figure out if I want to get the Blu-Ray.

rjh_54

Exactly. I don't like that everything is going digital, but the reality of it is, digital is the future. If I'm going to be spending around $15 - $20 for the movie anyway, I'd like to buy the film on disc (since nowadays pretty much everything has digital included). If it's a movie I've never seen before I'll redeem the code, watch it, and if I like it I'll keep it, but if not I know I can always sell the hard copy somewhere and make at least a few bucks back.

fumanstan

I like that you ignore everything else written and basically concentrate on the one thing you can complain about. However, like I posted with examples earlier, new releases certainly seem a bit cheaper on digital then they are their UHD counterparts.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not buying solely digital either and have yet to buy a movie only on digital. If I want something, i'll also buy the physical disc. I just don't think it's that hard to see why some people actually only want the digital copy. Your previous posts sure make it sound you don't in fact "get it."

Coral

Everything does seem to be going digital, but I don't think purchasing movies digitally will be a big thing.

People are moving away from owning movies, regardless if it's physical or digital... they'd just rather stream it and move onto the next movie.

JoeyOhhhh

Entertainment options are becoming so disposable that cultivating a collection of films and shows is slowly dying out