tonyc3742

So I haven't gotten into the 'digital copies' thing. But I'm realizing that I have a lot of disks with digital copies, so maybe it's worth pursuing a little bit.
Can I get a 101 class on digital copies?
I've seen some where it's a code, others where it requires an actual disk and a code.
Is it basically (legally) downloading a digital image of the film? Do I then store the file on my own storage? Can I download it at any time? Is it streaming?
How big is the average movie file? How many different 'digital copy' providers are there?
I'm mainly trying to see if utilizing this feature is worth my time.

E Unit

Disc and code was the old school way of doing it. You had to plop the disc into a drive then go to a site to enter in the code. That's pretty much all but disappeared now. Now there's Ultraviolet (UV) and Movies Anywhere (MA). Movie studios participate in one or the other, or both. UV was the big thing but now MA has taken over. MA is run by Disney and is taking over since they have better encryption. Both UV and MA are what is called "digital lockers". Enter in a code that comes with a movie and you can stream from your computer, tablet, or app on Roku or Apple TV.

Once you enter in a code, you use a service like Vudu or Fandango Now to stream the movie to your TV. If you have a smart phone, you can use the app and "download" it so you don't have to be online when viewing the movie. The downloading won't allow you to do anything with it, only to stream it offline. Files per movie can be big (2-5 gigs depending on picture quality), so it's not like you can "download" all your movies onto a phone and play it anywhere. For the most part, UV and MA want to have full control of their movies. We have the ability to stream only.

UV used to be the big thing, but now MA is taking over due to more studios participating in it because it has better encryption. So be aware when you have a digital code, it'll more than likely say it's an Ultraviolet code, or Movies Anywhere code. They are not interchangeable.

And there are very few providers right now you can stream from - Vudu (the best so far), FandangoNow (okay but clunky interface), Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and iTunes. Some others can chime in as well.

One last note, UV does have TV shows as well. Several season and series sets have a UV code, but there are currently no TV shows available on MA. Strictly movies only at this point.

DJariya

Digital codes were intended as a supplement to BD discs for portability. Like being able to stream the movie you bought on your phone and tablet while away from your BD player.

However, it seems like people have really gotten into owning a movie without having to have a disc sitting on their shelf, so it's taken a life of it's own now.

Now Movies Anywhere, iTunes and Vudu are adding the extra features from the discs into the digital versions of these movies, so now more and more people are seeing purchasing a digital copy as a better alternative than owning a disc and swapping them out on your BD player.

As long as you're in a place with a very good cell reception or wifi connection, you can stream the digital version of your movie. But, if you do it on a cell reception, keep it mind, you could be eating up massive amount of data on your cell plan.

IDrinkMolson

For the movies you have codes for -
Sign up at Movies Anywhere, VUDU, FandangoNow, Google Play, Amazon, and iTunes.
Even if you don't want to use them, you can always buy Movies Anywhere (MA) movies at the cheapest price, and they will port to all of your connected vendors.
https://moviesanywhere.com/
https://play.google.com/movies (if you have a gmail account you have a Play account, if you don't have a gmail acct it is best to use a gmail acct, create one for free if you don't have one)
www.vudu.com
www.fandangonow.com
Itunes
Amazon

Studios that participate in MA:
Disney
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
Universal
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

The easiest way to tell if a movie is MA, is to search for it on movies anywhere.

Once you have accts at all of these places, link them at https://moviesanywhere.com/settings/connect

Consult this sheet to learn where to redeem them, and which have multiple redeems:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...ggw/edit#gid=0 Most of the times you redeem directly in iTunes or Vudu to use the multiple redeems. If you follow the directions on the code sheet it will most times burn the other portion and only allow one redeem.

Ultraviolet (UV) (TV & Movies) is a dying platform, but you might want to create an account at myuv.com. UV movies will port between UV providers (mostly only vudu & FandangoNow are the only ones left).

Some purchases at these providers are neither MA or UV and can only be played on those providers where it was redeemed/purchased.

IDrinkMolson

Movies with a code and digital copy disc, currently only redeem in SD at iTunes now.

Vudu also offers a "disc to digital" (D2D) or Mobile "disc to digital" (MD2D, etc). For your movies that do not have a code and are eligible for (m)D2D you can get a digital copy at Vudu (it will port if MA, or UV) by downloading their program and inserting the disc in your drive. Or for mobile you can scan the UPC.
Fees are generally HD digital for $2 from blu, $5 from dvd. Some are only available from DVD, so the fee is $5.

IDrinkMolson

As for downloading it, I think most people only download it if they are going to be in a location with limited or no internet/cellular connection.
Most people just stream them.

I know Vudu & iTunes allow you to download, I'm not sure of the other providers.

Defiant

Smart phone or other tablet and Vudu also supports downloading to a computer.

MoviesAnywhere movies supports downloading on up to eight different devices.

Although in SD it can be a few hundred megs.

Which you prefer could depend on what devices you use. Also, sometimes a movie might have a better/worse quality print or incorrect aspect ratio in one service but not on another, so this allows you to pick and choose which service you can stream from.

One nice feature about Amazon video is the X-ray feature available on a lot of movies, which allows you, while watching a movie, to see what actors are in the scene, trivia about the movie or the scene, etc. It's all stuff available on IMDB, but convenient if it interests you.

Defiant

Amazon and Google Play allow downloading. Although sometimes (it may depend on the device or the licensing or the service) a movie that you can stream in HD can only be downloaded in SD.

For examples, for vudu, on one device I can download in HD while another I can only download in SD.

TheBigDave

Years ago I had no interest in digital copies. But I noticed they had expiration dates, and I figured I might as well redeem the codes in case I changed my mind later.

Today, I'm glad I redeemed those codes. It took almost no effort. And I've got a great digital collection.

So even if you don't want the digital copies now, go ahead and redeem the codes. In the future, you might regret throwing all those movies away.

Meathead

This was me until the start of this year. Kicked myself for not redeeming them earlier as the majority had "expired". Fortunately most still redeemed even a year or three after expiration.

tonyc3742

OK - this made things slightly less confusing
Thanks for the all the info!
I had some of those accounts (iTunes and Google), and created the others. I did activate something that said it expired but gave it to me anyway. Of course it was a Lionsgate UV which doesn't work with Moviesanywhere, but whatever.
I guess I'm still not totally clear on the relationship between MA, Vudu, and the others; and where the 'ideal' place to redeem is.

So Vudu is a "portal" (and sales channel) through which I can view some of this digital content? (ie, Vudu is the program I will run on my TV or Xbox?)

On MoviesAnywhere, I currently have 3 movies, all of which were free from Google Play.
On my linked Vudu, I have 4 movies; the three from above, and the one old UV I activated through Ultraviolet (which actually says "may not be valid after 1/8/14.") I also activated it through iTunes - and now I see that all 4 are visible in iTunes as well.

I may or may not ever watch these, but I guess it's better to have and not need than need (want) and not have.

Jay G.

Note that those expiration dates on codes are often bogus; I've added codes that had long since "expired." So even if you have an expired code, it doesn't hurt to try it.

TheBigDave

I've heard from people that emailed a studio's customer service and told them they bought a disc and the code was expired. And the studio gave them a new working code. I don't know how often that happens, but it's worth a shot.

PhantomStranger

I don't have a list handy but this all depends on which studio is contacted. Some studios won't even reply to the request, others will provide a replacement.

Cusm

I had this happen with Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows part2 3D Bluray. I emailed them with the expired code and they wanted a pic of the disc, code and receipt. I did not have my receipt for a movie I bought several years previously on a Black Friday.

davidh777

That's too bad, considering I'd heard that WB is one of the more amenable studios.

Meathead

HBO just gave me codes for GoT S1 and Boardwalk Empire S1. I wrote them explaining I had all seasons of both but those two came out before digital codes were included. I only had to send in pics of the front/back/discs and received the codes. They didn't want proof of the other seasons/codes.

Cardsfan111

Better late than never, I suppose. I've been going through a bunch of old codes. I've utilized the spreadsheet above frequently to determine which codes can be redeemed multiple times.

So if it says that MA will automatically port to the other services, I'd be better off entering the particular code at VUDU directly for example which means someone else could use the code in iTunes (since I don't have that connected)? I believe the answer is yes, but want to make sure.

IDrinkMolson

Generally, yes if it's multiple redeem. There are a few that might say redeem "here" before "here" or it will burn the other redemption and will only be one redeem. And also, make sure you are on the Digital Redeem 2018 tab on the link I posted, I think it directs you to another tab first.

Now another caveat of this is iTunes 4k/UHD. I know you said you don't have iTunes connected, but many Movies Anywhere HD iTunes codes will give you 4k/UHD (because they give free 4k upgrades if available) assuming it is 4k in iTunes, it will port UHD to your MA linked retailers (if other retailers offer it in UHD, otherwise it will port HD for now, and upgrade if they ever add UHD, it shows iTunes 4k in your MA transactions).

Consult the 4ksheet.com for more info. Always double check it is still 4k in iTunes as they do occasionally change them to HD while they are making changes (audio, etc) then normally it will change back to 4k eventually. If it's not 4k in iTunes when you redeem it will only port to MA in HD. Even if iTunes later upgrades it to 4k again, you would get 4k in iTunes but it will stay HD if it already ported as HD.

Metalmyth

kahuna

Not sure about iTunes but as far as Vudu it's HDX. Also before you could redeem HBO shows in iTunes, Vudu, & Google Play. But from what I have been reading on other Forums. That is not the case anymore. If you redeem the Vudu or iTunes code you will not be able to redeem the Google Play code over at HBO Digital HD.com. See link below.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=316052

darkdaze73

Question for some of you. I have a few movies on iTunes that won't transfer over to MA or Vudu due to them being Paramount or some other studio not being involved with the two previously mentioned digital movie providers. Is there an app that can be used to allow viewing on an Android phone? I don't stream movies at home due to my crappy internet service but enjoy watching on my phone on the go occasionally.

E Unit

darkdaze73

That's what I figured, but I didn't know if there were any workarounds. Thanks for the response.