TGM

If studios have the nerve to use them to raise the price of a disc, or if they are considered some sort of special feature, then the fucking code shouldn't have a god-damned expiration date.

That is all, carry on.

Spottedfeather

They shouldn't exist in the first place. Who really wants to watch a movie on a tiny little screen ?

MrSmearkase

I agree. Since the DCs are quietly built into the price, there should be no reason why they would no longer be available to the consumer after a certain timeframe. It is just a gimmick to advertise limited time only on their product, and create an urgency among the consumer to buy it sooner.

Josh-da-man

Why are they even on a separate disc? Why not just have the code printed on a slip of paper, and then download it from the studio site or itunes or whatever.

The way everyone is so obsessed with being "green" -- even to the point of having these shitty "eco cases" with big holes in them to save plastic -- why include all of these fucking extra DVDs in the first place?

ResIpsa

But that way the studios can sell you FOUR DISCS!!! It's like going all the way to 11...

Matthew Chmiel

Scott Pilgrim and Inception both have the "digital copies" available to download from a website rather than a disc (the DVDs included in the combo packs of the Blu-rays are the full retail versions).

I believe Disney's Step Up 3D will be the same practice.

The Cow

You don't have to watch them on 'tiny little screen' and they are convenient for travelers.

b2net

While I have never taken advantage of a single digital copy from any of my purchases.. I would agree they should not expire..as for the most part.. it was part of the purchase.. I do understand they "license" this copy for only a certain period of time, but then there should be accomodations for those that buy them after that time or like me have yet to use them... just sayin....

DarthVong

I fucking agree. Gosh darn iceholes!

Mr. Salty

It's weird that we've never had a thread bitching about Digital Copies before.

calhoun07

I currently have no use for them but in the back of my mind when I get a Blu-Ray with a digital copy there's part of me that realizes if I ever want to use that digital copy in the future I'd be screwed because of the arbitrary expiration date.

So I guess I concur with the OP!

Travis McClain

DCs were originally offered as a compromise to appease consumers who wished to be allowed to rip their DVDs but were prevented by copy protection and MPAA regulations. The problem with the way things are right now is that only consumers who buy the first batch of a release and redeem in a certain time frame get the DC; everyone else is right back at square one without a legitimate avenue for having a portable version of the titles in their library.

I blogged about all this here if anyone's interested.

P.S.: It is exhausting trying to explain to people that they are not restricted to watching a DC on a 3" screen.

Texan26

They should let you download them to your Blu-ray player's hard drive or Xbox 360 hard drive.

MEJHarrison

I lost all my digital copies in a hard drive crash a few months ago. Got them all back except one that had expired and another where I couldn't read the disk (even tried on multiple computers). The fact that I don't recall either title gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that I just don't care.

I don't use them. I've put them on my phone to check it out. But have never actually watched a movie on that screen. Still, someday I may want them and now I don't have to worry about them expiring.

And unlike some, I'm glad they're there as an option. You don't like them? Ignore them.

Class316

There are downloads in other forms that don't expire.

And they wonder why we turn to "alternate" means.

bse

I hate digital copies and they always remind me of this:

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wKiIroiCvZ0?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wKiIroiCvZ0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

Mr. Salty

Most Blu-ray players don't have hard drives.

Seantn

Often times, the expiration date isn't true. We installed some digital copies recently that were supposed to have expired quite a while ago, and out of about 5 that were expired, at least 3 of them still worked.

Pizza

I have never used my digital copies so I always thought the expiration date was for how long you have for downloading them. So the digital copies themselves expire? That sucks. Why do they charge an extra $5 to $10 then? What a rip.

John Galt

You still shouldn't need the DC. You bought the damn movie, you should be able to transfer it to your ipad, cell phone, laptop without the need for a separate disc and code.

Travis McClain

Unless Seantn has experienced something I've never heard of, he meant that the codes had expired, but he was still able to redeem three of the five. The files DO NOT EXPIRE.

Agreed. But this is the bone they've tossed those of us who have a desire to have a portable, digital version of our libraries.

Also, to whomever suggested that DCs should be able to be downloaded to our Blu-ray players: For what possible purpose? If I was going to have to take my Blu-ray player with me to watch DCs elsewhere, wouldn't I just take my Blu-rays with me, too? And the whole purpose of DCs is to not have to carry cumbersome equipment to watch movies on-the-go. A Blu-ray player requires access to a TV. The only way this makes sense is if you looked at Flavor Flav's clock and thought, "You know, maybe portable should be clunky."

DirkUSA

I never cared about the Digital Copies until I bought an iPad. Many of them still worked long after the expiration date on the cover. I put them all on my computer and then transfer them to my iPad as needed. It came in very handy on a trip to Germany a couple of months back. I agree that they shouldn't expire. Just got a Blu-ray with a Digital Copy disc from Amazon last week and it was expired and didn't work.

GenPion

Wow, I had never seen that before. Priceless!

Darth Maher

This is me too. I never had a need for DC but now that I have an Ipad and travel for work, the DC actually comes in handy. And, yes, while there are alternate methods, It is rather time consuming.

Travis McClain

You should be able to just stream them through your iCloud now and not have to continually transfer them to your iPad. At least, that's the way I understand it.