All iPads 64GB iPad 4 ordered, thanks to UltraViolet and Digital Copy

[WatchYouGo]

I had placed an order yesterday through AT&T (local store that lets me reserve prelaunch items) for the 32gb iPad and then decided I want the 64gb. Main reason: I bought a few Ultraviolet DVD's yesterday and actually got them to download to my iOS devices. It was a pain in the rear at first, but once I got everything set up it worked flawlessly. Best Buy had the 4-pack of Underworld movies on sale for $30. I normally try to buy Digital Copy releases and I honestly had no idea what UltraViolet was. I did a quick google search in the store and figured it was worth a try. It's a shame they aren't iTunes compatible, but I downloaded the Flixster app and was able to download them to my device from there. If I want to use UV with my Apple TV i'll have to mirror my handheld, but more likely I'd probably just my PS3 in that case.

Considering I do some traveling, it will be nice to have a decent library stored on the device. You can also stream UltraViolet movies with VUDU, but IMO it's far better to not have to depend on a great connection (especially when flying or being overseas).

 

[kappaknight]

Wouldn't it be easier to just buy or rent digital copies of the movies for much less?

I know some movies you just gotta own, vs. rent, but buying UltraViolet only encourages the studios to try and screw us instead of working with proven, existing tech that can do the job much better and for less.

 

[WatchYouGo]

Wouldn't it be easier to just buy or rent digital copies of the movies for much less?

I know some movies you just gotta own, vs. rent, but buying UltraViolet only encourages the studios to try and screw us instead of working with proven, existing tech that can do the job much better and for less.

Maybe you're right, but I never really buy expensive new releases. I honestly don't feel like spending $20-$30 on them. But sometimes Target or Best Buy has sales that make it worth buying, at least IMO. For instance, Best Buy had the Inglorious Basterds Blu Ray on sale for $10 with a digital copy. My wife and I both liked the movie, so for me it was a good purchase. Now I can have it on my iPhone, iPad, and stream to our Apple TV.

 

[Tortri]

Maybe you're right, but I never really buy expensive new releases. I honestly don't feel like spending $20-$30 on them. But sometimes Target or Best Buy has sales that make it worth buying, at least IMO. For instance, Best Buy had the Inglorious Basterds Blu Ray on sale for $10 with a digital copy. My wife and I both liked the movie, so for me it was a good purchase. Now I can have it on my iPhone, iPad, and stream to our Apple TV.

Just to give you a heads up the digital copy is usually SD instead of HD. To most people thats fine but it irks me that you buy a bluray movie that says "digital copy" only to get a low def digital copy. I mean I buy bluray for its quality so I expect the digital copy to be HD not SD. Thats just me though, again most people are happy with the SD digital copy and some digital copies are in HD.

 

[Mak47]

Just to give you a heads up the digital copy is usually SD instead of HD. To most people thats fine but it irks me that you buy a bluray movie that says "digital copy" only to get a low def digital copy. I mean I buy bluray for its quality so I expect the digital copy to be HD not SD. Thats just me though, again most people are happy with the SD digital copy and some digital copies are in HD.

Agreed. The studios still don't get it, but they'll try to ride out the physical media money train as long as they can.

What people don't often realize is that big stores like Target and Wal-Mart often sell DVD's, Blu-Rays and CD's at a loss just to attract people into the store. The studios still collect whatever their normal price is when they sell the products to the stores.

This is why the studios are clinging to physical media and why prices are often higher on iTunes than in Target or Best Buy.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

What people don't often realize is that big stores like Target and Wal-Mart often sell DVD's, Blu-Rays and CD's at a loss just to attract people into the store.

I think people get it, they are just too lazy to bother. Physical media sales have been on the decline for years. It takes time to rip a DVD or CD whereas downloads are instant.

Personally, I still buy CDs, but not because of the price, but the quality. If Amazon or iTunes ever started selling lossless tracks @ the same price as current 256 lossy tracks I'd be done with CDs. I hate physical media. Total PITA but I hate lossy tracks @ .99-$1.29 too.

 

[MRU]

Just to give you a heads up the digital copy is usually SD instead of HD. To most people thats fine but it irks me that you buy a bluray movie that says "digital copy" only to get a low def digital copy. I mean I buy bluray for its quality so I expect the digital copy to be HD not SD. Thats just me though, again most people are happy with the SD digital copy and some digital copies are in HD.

And another heads up. (May not affect you in your country)...

Here for example in Ireland our Blu-Rays & DVDs have dual distribution with the UK and so all films share same packaging and are rated by both the Irish film classification and the UK film classification. The two are inextricably tied together.

Despite this, the last 6 Blu-Rays I have bought that came with digital copy, 5 of them refused to let me download the film telling me I had to be in the UK to do so. Yet that was never listed on the cover.

I feel cheated by UltraViolet lately, and trying to report it to flixster is a hopeless joke.

 

[WatchYouGo]

Just to give you a heads up the digital copy is usually SD instead of HD. To most people thats fine but it irks me that you buy a bluray movie that says "digital copy" only to get a low def digital copy. I mean I buy bluray for its quality so I expect the digital copy to be HD not SD. Thats just me though, again most people are happy with the SD digital copy and some digital copies are in HD.

Good point and it's something that I was aware of. It does peeve me that they come in SD, but I guess it also takes up a lot less space that way (still BS though if you want to stream with your Apple TV and can't get HD).

I've read some people have had issues with Flixster, does anybody care to comment on that? After I got everything setup correctly I didn't have any issues downloading or streaming, but I also haven't tried it too much.

 

[Tortri]

And another heads up. (May not affect you in your country)...

Here for example in Ireland our Blu-Rays & DVDs have dual distribution with the UK and so all films share same packaging and are rated by both the Irish film classification and the UK film classification. The two are inextricably tied together.

Despite this, the last 6 Blu-Rays I have bought that came with digital copy, 5 of them refused to let me download the film telling me I had to be in the UK to do so. Yet that was never listed on the cover.

I feel cheated by UltraViolet lately, and trying to report it to flixster is a hopeless joke.

We don't have that issue here in the US, though I'd get frustrated about getting a code that won't work expecting it to.. About the only thing I can think of is that you redeem the code for the movie on iTunes, download it but it only keeps a local copy on your computer it doesn't add itself to the iTunes purchased list. I ended up getting this fixed by email iTunes support. It could of been a bug at the time.

 

[MRU]

We don't have that issue here in the US, though I'd get frustrated about getting a code that won't work expecting it to.. About the only thing I can think of is that you redeem the code for the movie on iTunes, download it but it only keeps a local copy on your computer it doesn't add itself to the iTunes purchased list. I ended up getting this fixed by email iTunes support. It could of been a bug at the time.

Sadly the iTunes code they supply if for the wrong store too... They really don't want us get our digital copy. I've had to end up ripping my Blu-Rays myself the only thing is I don't get them then synced with iTunes Match. Hey ho...

 

[parseckadet]

I refuse to deal with UltraViloet. The one movie I bought that used it, I emailed their support address and requested an iTunes download. They replied quickly and I was downloading from iTunes and syncing to my iPad that same day. It was SD, but I don't care. I'd rather have the SD version so it takes up less storage on my device. On a screen as small as an iPad there just isn't that much difference anyway. When I watch the movie on my HD TV I still pull out the disc anyway.

Honestly though, I may be done with physical media for good. I moved last year, and half my movies are still in boxes. Every time I open the closet I resent having them take up storage space.

 

[Revelation78]

Why don't you simply RIP a Bluray and then convert it over to iTunesHD format. It's extremely easy to do and the programs are free or really cheap.

 

[parseckadet]

Why don't you simply RIP a Bluray and then convert it over to iTunesHD format. It's extremely easy to do and the programs are free or really cheap.

1: I don't have a Bluray drive.
2: Dealing with Flixster support and downloading from iTunes took less than an hour.

 

[WatchYouGo]

Why don't you simply RIP a Bluray and then convert it over to iTunesHD format. It's extremely easy to do and the programs are free or really cheap.

I'd need to get an external Blu-Ray for my laptop. What programs can you recommend that are cheap or free, it's probably worth doing. Also, I don't think I'd be able to stream those through my Apple TV (can't with UV either but I can use VUDU on my PS3 if need be).

 

[chdwil]

I've found the optimal way to add movies to my ipad is to get a DVD, rip it to 480p mpeg4 using the program of your choice, and then add it to iTunes. I can the easily stream it to my Apple TV, or add it to my iPhone and ipad. The reason I use 480p is that it uses much less storage space on my device and at the screen size of the iPhone or ipad 480p looks pretty good.