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UltraViolet Digital Movie Locker Service Will Close on July 31, 2019
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N.B. *UK info*
I agree it would great if we could transfer them to iTunes and/or Amazon. (Or Google Play).
It's always been a joke in the UK IMHO, but I have redeemed all my freebies with the Blu-rays I've bought and have over 250 movies in my UV collection(!). I have rarely used them, because Blu-ray is much better, but it's still irritating.
Note though, that the 'retailers' (which in the UK is basically Sony Pictures Store and (Warner's) Flixster) should still continue to operate from what I can gather, and if you only use one of those you should make an account with the other one and link it to your UV library to safeguard it as much as you can.
There is also a service listed in the UK UV retailer services called Kaleidescape, but having an account with them apparently seems predicated on buying their hardware devices.
Physical media FTW though as far as I'm concerned. I have always viewed UV with suspicion because I always thought this kind of thing would happen. I would have much preferred digital copies had always remained with iTunes or been placed with Amazon (or even Google, at least they're probably not going anywhere).
I agree it would great if we could transfer them to iTunes and/or Amazon. (Or Google Play).
It's always been a joke in the UK IMHO, but I have redeemed all my freebies with the Blu-rays I've bought and have over 250 movies in my UV collection(!). I have rarely used them, because Blu-ray is much better, but it's still irritating.
Note though, that the 'retailers' (which in the UK is basically Sony Pictures Store and (Warner's) Flixster) should still continue to operate from what I can gather, and if you only use one of those you should make an account with the other one and link it to your UV library to safeguard it as much as you can.
There is also a service listed in the UK UV retailer services called Kaleidescape, but having an account with them apparently seems predicated on buying their hardware devices.
Physical media FTW though as far as I'm concerned. I have always viewed UV with suspicion because I always thought this kind of thing would happen. I would have much preferred digital copies had always remained with iTunes or been placed with Amazon (or even Google, at least they're probably not going anywhere).
Yes. Link UV to MoviesAnywhere (Disney’s locker) as long as your MA account is linked to Apple, all your UV movies will be there.
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Never known anyone to lose things on their personal servers??? Never happened??? Not once??
Except for paramount, MGM, and Lionsgate which don’t participate in Movies Anywhere.
This is why I don't watch movies, tv shows, listen to music, eat at restaurants, make friends, wear new shoes, sit in comfy chairs, or smile.. you never know when something you love will vanish off the face of the earth.
In the long run, it's really no different than all your VHS tapes when DVD came along, or DVD when Blu Ray came along, or HD DVD's when Blu Ray crushed it... the player itself will only last for so long if you sit on it -- and this is seemingly better, giving you an easy out to link the library elsewhere (which I assume everyone that has any UV movies would have done by now so they could play their UV movies in the first place).
It’s really very different to that. I could still play a VHS tape today if I chose to. I hold the control in that situation. Digital ‘lockers’ have keys held by the studios or retailers. They can revoke access whenever they decide to.
In the UK there is only a couple of services to even watch redeemed titles on. If Flixster UK went tomorrow, that would be the vast majority of people’s collections here gone, instantly. That’s very different to a shelf full of DVDs or Blu-ray discs and your player breaks. In that case you just buy another player, and that’s not going to become difficult for a long, long time.
I've looked into removing DRM from iTunes movies but have not found anything that does not, in theory anyway, degrade the quality. Everything I have looked at basically re-records the DRM'd movie, thus resulting in a loss of quality. I long for the days of Anywhere DVD that actually just removed the DRM directly.
I wonder what the ratio of affected people will be of people who directly purchased an item with ultraviolet from a retailer to people who bought ultraviolet codes second hand for cheap?
I haven't bought a Blu-ray in years, I realized it was a major waste of money if I only watched it a few times, but the ones I have that came with digital codes are all in iTunes.
Why you gotta be so negative?
[doublepost=1548952778][/doublepost]In all honesty... I totally forgot UltraViolet even existed. Clearly I never used it.
I find this wording in the story strange "Since its launch eight years ago, Apple never allowed direct iTunes support or sync with UltraViolet Libraries."
I had heard UV had been launched as a competitor to Apple because the studios were worried about the stronghold Apple had on the music world extending to them. So I am not sure this was ever Apples decision to support or not. Its about licensing. But yeah, I was disappointed when UV came along and some of the studios dropped iTunes downloads in its favor. That was a factor in my buying decision. If I really had to have the movie, I would digitize it. I think maybe I tried UV a few times? Dont have a clue what my account/password is lol. Dont really care.
Sure this highlights nothing is forever. Hey, Sears is closing down after all. Used to be you bought sears because you knew the warrantee would be good. UV was always too iffy for me. One day Apple will be gone too, but not likely to be soon, and when, will no doubt there will be some new holographic format I will want anyway.
Yes, I can still play my VHS tapes, but why would I want to? look like crap compared to what we are used to these days.
I had heard UV had been launched as a competitor to Apple because the studios were worried about the stronghold Apple had on the music world extending to them. So I am not sure this was ever Apples decision to support or not. Its about licensing. But yeah, I was disappointed when UV came along and some of the studios dropped iTunes downloads in its favor. That was a factor in my buying decision. If I really had to have the movie, I would digitize it. I think maybe I tried UV a few times? Dont have a clue what my account/password is lol. Dont really care.
Sure this highlights nothing is forever. Hey, Sears is closing down after all. Used to be you bought sears because you knew the warrantee would be good. UV was always too iffy for me. One day Apple will be gone too, but not likely to be soon, and when, will no doubt there will be some new holographic format I will want anyway.
Yes, I can still play my VHS tapes, but why would I want to? look like crap compared to what we are used to these days.
I really hope this doesn’t affect Vudu. I buy all my Marvel flicks there as its the only way to get 4k HDR/DV. Since Apple doesn’t want to let its users decide how much they want to pay. I’m fine with $25 and $30 premiums for Disney owned streaming 4k!
Would you mind sharing how you strip the DRM? I have amassed a large number of iTunes content now, and I would love to be able to do that, too.
Also, I have a video that I transferred to VUDU, because I had a code for Ultraviolet. I thought, through MoviesAnywhere it would show up in iTunes, but it doesn’t. Any idea, why not?
I’ve already addressed where you started. They don’t make VHS players anymore. And the length of time that will work is directly tied to the life of your current player. They won’t last forever, then, gone.
Apple has enough money to outlast my life IMO. Dont care if Apple dies after I’m dead.
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it’s not like you’re losing these movies. article shows that they’re transferring your media to another provider.
even this small service is making sure customers keep their movies.
i would take a digital purchase over a blunray any day. just so convient than being limited to a bluray player
But the difference (because there is one!) is I am still in control of that. I could stockpile 20 VCRs if I wanted to. I am not in control of a streaming service remaining open. It's not the same as VHS/DVD/BD because streaming is not *only* reliant on the playback hardware (where I appreciate the point you're making), it's reliant on the streaming provider allowing you to access the content.
How are Microsoft's Plays For Sure music files doing versus vinyls from the 70s? Or even 8-track cartridges? I could easily go on eBay now and buy an 8-track player. The digital files are unplayable. See the difference?
I am way more confident I could play a DVD for the rest of my life than an ultraviolet streaming video, that's for sure! I hope iTunes is around forever, and at least you can download iTunes movies (in HD at least) and if you keep a running authorised system there's some wiggle-room, but basically you are tied to hoping the studios and/or Apple don't pull the rug from under you.
Personally I think we really need stronger laws about digital media, including the right to permanent, non-expiring downloads of purchases or equivalent access. For non-DRM files it's more of a moot point as long as you make your own back-ups, but if companies want DRM involved, I think the quid-pro-quo should be stronger guarantees that the media you paid to access will always be accessible.
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I just realized that I subconsciously made the decision to gradually give up the rights to everything I’ve ever purchased, sorted, tagged, playlisted or otherwise managed via iTunes than have to continue dealing with iTunes. Thanks to Spotify (and all the streaming video services) it feels like a small price to pay. In fact, I don’t think I’d even own an iPhone or iPad if iTunes was still the required go-between for my devices and my data. I can’t believe it lives on, TBH...
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That pretty much covers all bases...
just make sure you linked https://www.flixstervideo.com/ to your library and you'll continue to have access to them apparently.
The fact that starting in the 1970’s (and up until now for many) almost all of us paid significant monthly fees to watch cable or satellite— which is/was pretty crappy content on average, and also absolutely stuffed with advertising (at a ratio of almost 2 to 1), is both shocking, and revealing of how much power content providers have had.
In exchange for 1/3 of our viewing time, cable should’ve not only been hooked up for free and provided for free, but we should’ve been begged to keep it connected. I don’t know if this speaks to the lengths people will go to avoid having to read a book, or a wholesale lack of information, or what. The last 20 years has been an absolute and total reinventing of how we waste our free time. haha. Crazy....
This is why I chose the biggest name in the business with the longest track record and largest bank account: Apple. They aren’t some startup or fly by night operation. I can trust that my movies will be available from there for probably the rest of my life.
Unless you want to move to different hardware/OS. Apple's got people by the balls; most of them just don't know it. (I'm preparing for a potential exodus from the Mac ecosystem
and this is one reason why I'll be removing DRM or re-downloading items I've already purchased.)Right with you, pal. I never trust a third-party (not even Apple) with my content. I bought it, I own it.
...
When will people understand that convenience (in any arena) is rarely your true friend? Often it's just a gimmick designed to convince people to surrender power over themselves. "The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape," as ol' Bill once said.
I've lost access to almost every movie collection I ever had. VHS, Laserdisc & DVD. Not to mention 10 different videogame collections and two different music collections. Of course I did all of those on my own timetable, but it's not a big deal in the end.