Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Effective July 31st:

https://variety.com/2019/digital/new...wn-1203123898/

Guess that means Paramount and Lionsgate will finally have to join Movies Anywhere. Hope none of my stuff gets crippled because of this; I 'bought' a couple cheap movies from Vudu that only have 2-channel sound on their service but have 5.1 on FandangoNow. Movies Anywhere's own app seems to get the sound format and aspect ratio right every time.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Will Ultraviolet codes still work on services like Vudu? Or do we have "x" number of days to cash those in? I have a lot of unopened titles with digital codes.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

My concerns are

loss of TV episodes or Movies...

loss of correct aspect ratio...

loss of correct sound format...

loss of special features...

loss of quality as in inferior renders...

loss of resolution as in I have higher resolution versions in UV than available at providers...

Target Ticket gone and content transferred to CinemaNOW....

CinemaNOW closed down and everything not somewhere else was lost including account credit...

Flixster shut down US operations and lost some versions that we're higher resolution or quality that are not on VUDU...

Paramount websitew redeems some titles in a higher resolution or with additional bonus footage not available on VUDU...

Sony Pictures Store (closing 1/31) was only place to redeem Sony 4K on some titles, many of which VUDU does not have in 4K...

So what about codes that only redeem higher resolution elsewhere than VUDU or only work elsewhere than VUDU post 7/31. This has the potential to invalidate many codes yet redeemed....

and so on and so on. Makes digital ownership scary at best right now.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Yep, digital ownership seems shaky with all the shut downs. I only use Vudu so we'll see how long that lasts.

That said, this wasn't unexpected considering how much Movies Anywhere has taken over.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Why do they have to? MGM never joined UV. They can all opt to not join MA.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

From UV:

We are writing to inform you that the UltraViolet service is planning to shut down on July 31, 2019. You are receiving this message because you signed up for an UltraViolet Library or for a service that created an UltraViolet Library for you.

What does this mean for you?

• Between January 31 and July 31, 2019
  • You can continue to access your UltraViolet movies and TV shows through the retailer(s) linked to your UltraViolet Library.
  • You can also continue to purchase new movies and TV shows and redeem digital codes by following the redemption instructions. Depending on the retailer, these new purchases and redemptions may or may not be added to your UltraViolet Library.
  • Linking your UltraViolet Library to additional retailers can maximize your access to your Library and help avoid potential disruption.
• After the shutdown date
  • Your UltraViolet Library will automatically close and, in the majority of cases, your movies and TV shows will remain accessible at previously-linked retailers.
  • You can continue to make online purchases and redeem codes, but these may only be available through that retailer, and will not be added to your UltraViolet Library.

What should you do now?

• As soon as possible, login at myuv.com and choose Retailer Services to verify the retailers linked to your UltraViolet Library. If your Library is not currently linked to a retailer or if you would like to link to additional participating retailers, select one or more retailers to link to your UltraViolet Library.
• Don't unlink or close your UltraViolet Library, as UltraViolet and retailers will be working together to maximize your continued access to movies and TV shows.

Look for further communications from UltraViolet and your retailers over the coming months, as some retailers may disconnect from UltraViolet before July 31.

Some details may be updated, so visit myuv.com/faq often for the most current information and answers to frequently asked questions.

Thank you for making UltraViolet part of how you enjoy digital entertainment. Please do not hesitate to contact customer support at [email protected] if you have additional questions.

Sincerely,

The UltraViolet Team

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

i really hope this is not the sign of bad things to come...

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Maybe I'll just stay on Physical Media then.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Folks should have always gravitated towards VUDU, iTunes, and MA. Granted, with UV shutting down, the text clearly states that you will not lose access to movies if your library is linked to one of the previously mentioned vendors. So link that shit.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

yeah, but what the future of Vudu has in store is questionable, no?

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

I wonder how this will affect folks who had their accounts shared via Vudu.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Why would it be? Unless Wal-Mart goes belly up then maybe. Do you see Wal-Mart going away anytime soon?

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

There was that glitch that unlinked many accounts 1-2 months ago. Mine became unlinked from a friend's, but all my own content is still there. I just lost access to his content. That may happen on a greater scale, but it's not the same since folks that are sharing didn't buy the titles on their friends/family accounts.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Although it is unlikely, if Target and Best Buy can eliminate their streaming services, there is nothing to stop Wal-Mart, Apple, or Amazon from deciding to get out of that space too.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

My question is why don't these companies allow us to download the digital copies on our computers? I know the excuse is going to be piracy, but that's the shitty excuse for everything. We paid for these digital copies and we have 0 control over them.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

I just went to the UV site and only had 171 UV titles of the 298 that I own on Vudu.

Only 1 of the titles appears to be dead. It was a 38 minute Batman documentary that used to work on CinemaNow before that site went belly up. That documentary from that I recall came from with some Batman animated movie I bought years ago. But other than that, it appears that everything on there is linked to retailers.

I did lose a digital title previously when Target Ticket went under. I had a digital copy of The Fault in our Stars and once that service ended, the title disappeared. So it's not impossible to lose titles should something happen.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

I hope this means the studios who are not on Movies Anywhere are planning to switch to that service in the next few months. That should alleviate some anxiety about the change.

From what I understand, when a new UV title was purchased on a shared account, the original owner of the account was the person who gained ownership of the UV title, regardless of who actually bought it. ... Please correct me if I'm wrong, though.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

All the money invested in UV collections now rests on the corporate whims of Walmart, VUDU's owner. This is why I haven't sold any of my Blu-rays or DVDs.

I knew Hollywood would deep-six UV once enough people got hooked on digital streaming and content. The sharing terms were far too generous for bigger studios like Disney to swallow in the long run.

Remember this when you put hard-earned money into Movies Anywhere content. The minute the studios see a more profitable solution, they will take it every single time with no thought as to the consumers.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

I can't comment since I never bought films directly through UV. Any digital film I bought was through Amazon/VUDU/Fandango/iTunes. I don't buy films on MA. I also only redeem via VUDU and iTunes.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

I like Bill Hunt's take on this whole digital vs. physical war:

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

From what I understand, that's how it's supposed to work, although the "in the majority of cases" is a little troubling (unless they just to cover themselves if there's a glitch). Edit: Or maybe those cases where a particular movie was never available at one of the retailers?

(Also, I'll point out that there are the odd case of movies from studios that have joined MA that are still UV-only, eg: Passage to Marseille, The Old Dark House. Although I would imagine that those will eventually be added to MA)

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

According to this article, Vudu's VP said:

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Thanks fo the info Defiant. I've spent thousands over the last 4+ years building my VUDU library...didn't want to see it disappear.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Also keep in mind that just a week ago Walmart decided to put even more emphasis on Vudu .It isn't going anywhere.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

:lol: Yeah people who are digital only and dumped their physical media collections were probably freaking out at this news.

Not that it would ever happen, but if any of these digital services like Vudu went under, there would be some really fucking angry people who put in hundreds if not thousands of dollars into this.

I know that probably 90% of the people here who are supporters of digital movies, especially in this forum, are in it for convenience and because they simply don't have the space to store movies in their house anymore.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

i do still have all my physical media, but just find digital so much more convenient. music, movies and games...so easy.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Well, Google Play's sharing feature is pretty nice, if maybe not to the same level as UV.

What I think caused the shift to MA was that the studios saw how Disney had strong armed major retailer like iTunes, Amazon, and Google to participate in it's program, and they wanted a piece of the action.

I'm mostly fine with this except that MA doesn't handle TV shows. This isn't so much concern for what I already own, but since I get most of my digital stuff from codes that come from Blu-rays, there won't be a way for studios to include codes for TV shows anymore. And what about existing releases? Will Batman: The Animated Adventures lose the digital code because there's no place to redeem it? Will it only be redeemable on a former UV site, like Vudu?

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

"Any and all", I'll remember they said that.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

It's owned by Walmart, so I can't imagine it's going anywhere anytime soon. Worst comes to worst, one of the big studios would buy it - I can't see it shutting down.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

I never expected Target or Best Buy to shut their streaming sites down nor Walmart shutting down their Streaming/MP3 store... Yet those did close. So it concerns me.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

I doubt a studio would buy it, that seems like too much conflict of interest and such. If Sony owned it, how could WB trust that it's getting treated as well as Sony on the site? This is why UV and MA exist in the first place, to have a system where no single studio is in charge, and separate out the movie rights from retailers.

I think Vudu as a service is, currently, more attractive a buy than, say Walmart's DRM music store ever was. Vudu is pretty big. FandangoNOW would probably desperately want Vudu's customer base, for example. Still, the "safety net", so to speak, of UV is going away.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

VUDU only has 15% of the digital sell-through market - it's a small player in a field dominated by Apple's iTunes and Amazon's Instant Video. It's a complete rounding error to Walmart's bottom line, which is why there is significant corporate risk it disappears down the road. VUDU is now the provider of last resort for all UV collections. Streaming video is not one of Walmart's core competencies as the world's largest retailer.

Walmart is going to get out of physical media, sooner or later. They keep shrinking their media area and have been slowly drawing down any content (books, magazines, videogames, movies, music) threatened by digital distribution. Once they get out of physical media, VUDU looks more and more like an unnecessary division.

I'd be very surprised if VUDU is around in seven years.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

There will probably be a few services by then anyways. More than likely they'll allow UV and MA movie lockers to port into. I could care less if Vudu goes belly up. As long as there is another service that has a good interface, then I'm good with that.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

if it all went belly's up the lawsuit would be huge.

physical media is for niche supporters and grandparents looking for Christmas gifts for their grandkids. the world is going digital for everything, I don't see how Vudu, or some other services will ever go away.

Re: Ultraviolet shutting down
 

How legit would a lawsuit be, considering digital copies belong to the studios?