I started collecting digital movies and really love it - anyone else?

Well this is a thread I would have never have started a few years ago. Like many of you, I've acquired tons of physical media, and hunted for my favorite movies on all formats from VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, Blu-ray, and now I have several dozen 4K UHD Blu-ray titles.

Many recent Blu-rays and (all?) 4K UHD titles come with a digital code to redeem the movie. In the past, I never bothered redeeming these, as there wasn't a common platform to redeem/playback, and I figured "hey I have the disc in the closet I can just as easily pull out". All that changed a few weeks ago when "Movies Anywhere" digital locker was announced (SH.tv thread here). This is a platform that basically aggregates your purchases/redemptions from VUDU, iTunes, Amazon and Google Play, and allows you to watch all your movies (not TV shows, yet) via your platform of choice. Since I'm an Apple TV (including 4K) user, I decided to go all-in with the iTunes platform, effectively able to watch everything at home and on-the-go, streaming real time or downloading to device(s).

After a bit of early on confusion with how best to redeem 4K titles to ensure 4K playback on Apple TV, I have a nice methodology to get everything working/redeemed as expected. So here's a rundown of what I like so far:

Pros:

• So many movies, all in one (brilliant) interface. I'm up to about 100 now in my iTunes, and it's easily categorized for movies for my kids, etc.
• Codes are cheap on the secondary market. While I redeem my codes included with physical disc purchases, you can also trade or buy movies at low prices. I often find interesting movies at $1-$4 that I add to my collection. At this low of a price, I consider that a "rental" fee. So where I wouldn't have considered purchasing the Blu-ray/4K at $15+, for $2 I'll often bite.
• Related to the above, you can/own get 4K titles in iTunes for well under $4 from redemptions of Paramount/Universal/Fox codes. How can you beat owning a 4K movie for $2-$4?
  
• It can be kinda fun hunting for cheap or out-of-print codes.
• You typically get the "extras" that come with Blu-rays.

Cons:

• Sometimes the "worst case scenario" actually happens: the content provider changes the content of something you already purchased, altering the movie (see here) <-- But this seems rare, and if I was really gonna be upset about this, I would already own the disc version.
• You don't "own" anything except the digital rights to watch the movie. But is resell a real big issue? I have hundreds of DVDs/Blu-rays that aren't even worth 50 cents on the used market. And how many collectors actually turn their old discs into cash?
• Can't watch a movie if your internet goes out. But, you probably have bigger issues if your internet is down.
• A few studios (Lionsgate, Paramount) aren't on board yet. However you can redeem Paramount (and a few Lionsgate) titles directly into your platform of choice, like iTunes.
• No TV shows. This is actually my biggest pet peeve/con. I personally find that watching TV series is quite the chore, using physical discs. I often forget which disc/episode I'm on, and having a digital locker to house all of them would make for much easier binge viewing

Reposting from another thread, but here's my strategy on redeeming 4K titles.

Anyone else having fun with this? How big is your collection?

EDIT: I almost forgot the elephant in the room: quality! I've been very impressed with the quality I get from AppleTV. Even for very picky viewers, you might be surprised. Here is a very interesting comparison:

 

Ah, I forgot one more huge "pro" - saves on storage space! Seriously this has started to become an issue for me. You buy several hundred videos, and honestly it's a pain to find shelf space for all that.

In fact, I've started using the VUDU Mobile to Disc service. You can convert Blu-ray titles to digital for only $2, and they port into iTunes. For titles where I plan to watch on a smaller screen or don't really care as much about the quality, this is brilliant. VUDU - In Mobile Disc to Digital

 

I’ve somehow ended up with 500+ in my iTunes account over the past 10 years so I guess I collect them too.

 

I think it's hard to convince hardcore collectors that they're "collecting" anything when it's just a license to watch something that streams into their home. It's a little unsettling to get over the idea that the material isn't in the room with you, under your roof. I'm still buying some Blu-ray discs these days, but the handful of discs I buy are all 4K HDR, mainly because I'm convinced it's better quality than what we can get via streaming right now.

 

I moved countries about 5 years ago, and took none of my physical media with me.

I've gone "fully digital" since then for movies (although started buying vinyl again about a year ago on the music front).

 

With a few exceptions, we stopped buying movies years ago simply because we don't watch them enough to justify the money/space.

That all changed over the past year as our daughter got old enough to discover the joys of animation. For us it's digital all the way. The amazing convenience of watching content on demand over multiple platforms trounces physical media in every way.

As an aside, I had kids way too young during a short-lived first marriage in the early 90s, and now have a wonderful 3-year old daughter with my wife. I've bought "Beauty and the Beast" at least 4 times. VHS, DVD, remastered DVD and now HD Video. You're welcome, Disney.

dan c

 

100% digital for my movie and tv collection. I use the Plex interface and I absolutely love it. Easy for my wife to use, easy to customize the art.

 

I always redeem the digital codes that I get with movies and TV shows, and occasionally I've bought digital versions of movies without the disc. I've also taken advantage of the VUDU disc-to-digital service and converted some of my DVD's and Blu-rays to streaming digital. I love it, can't beat the convenience and the quality is perfectly acceptable, occasionally outstanding. I do need to think about downloading them and streaming with Plex though, it would be tragic to have the proverbial rug yanked either by licensing or data caps.

 

I’m not sure if anything would ever convince the “hardcore” collectors. But as someone who used to spend thousands on videos at Tower, and ordered from overseas plenty of times, it’s not that hard to make the digital leap.

And there are a growing number of titles where the streaming quality trumps the physical release. I just bought the HDX version of “Raw” today from VUDU for $7. It’s a new movie, yet only available as a DVD in the US. And I couldn’t find an import Region A title with English subtitles. I rented the DVD, but it stinks! Happy to have it in HD for a low cost.

Similar story with a few other digital-only 4K titles including Silence of the Lambs and The Conjuring/Annabelle movies.

 

I haven't started collecting them, but I recently purchased Blade Runner: The Final Cut on Amazon for $6.99. I have digital movies and shows. Some of the shows were impulse purchases. I wanted to watch something right then and there, so I just clicked the purchase icon. Very convenient.

Until I read the original post, I wasn't aware that one could purchase second hand codes. I did a quick Google search. Is there a particularly good site for purchasing codes?

 

This aggregator website is pretty good, but some e-commerce sites can be on the expensive end: Digital Movie Codes - Movies Anywhere, UV, iTunes | UltravioletCinema

For more realistic prices, search the Digital FS section at Blu-ray Forum - Blu-ray Community and Forums

 

I have three main issues with iTunes movies:

1) Picture quality isn't very good
2) Audio quality isn't very good
3) DRM

1) I wonder what type of encoding settings Apple runs the content through and using what encoder. Why don't they just use x264, which is totally free to use, and is said to be the world's best H.264 encoder?

2) The audio quality is 160kbps AAC 2.0 which is fine for mobile devices. But then the DD surround track is only 384kbps? I would include a 640kbps DD 5.1 track using a good encoder (like Dolby Surcode or Aften).

3) The DRM is what really says no for me. If I buy digitally, I want to watch it on any device and any software player. That is the entire point of digital download movies. I mean I get where they're coming from - they have to protect their intellectual property. But it just hurts the consumer. Go after the people who upload it to torrent sites, not people who are willing to pay for it.

That said, I do like VUDU. VUDU works on a lot more of my devices and the quality is really very good as far as streaming goes. But VUDU-To-Go takes forever to download something locally onto any of my devices.

When I watch a movie, I still go down to the basement, get my binder off the shelf and get out the Blu-ray or DVD.

Thanks.

 

Have you watched an iTunes movie lately, via a Apple TV 4th gen or Apple TV 4K? Picture quality is very good, and better from what I get from VUDU from various Roku boxes.

1) Apple uses QHVC/QDH1 for their encoder. Not much is known about this encoder, but by most subjective and objective measurements, it delivers exceptional quality. And I am picky... I have several ISF-calibrated displays, and even use a Murideo processor for 3D LUTs. (e.g. I take my video pretty seriously)
2) Supported formats include (up to) Dolby Digital + 7.1. I have often done A/B comparisons on Blu-rays with DD+ and TrueHD, and find it hard to tell a huge difference, if the source material is not great. Keep in mind that most movie soundtracks are the food equivalent of a hot dog.
3) Not sure I follow. If you use Apple products, then it's a non-starter. If you use Android, you can do the exact same thing as I'm describing, but just use VUDU or Google Play as your playback mechanism. In what scenario can you not download/watch a movie on any device? If you own it via iTunes/VUDU (thanks, Movies Anywhere), I'm not aware of any modern device that doesn't support offline viewing. DRM only exists so you don't download the movie you bought and give it to someone else. Doesn't stop you from playing it back wherever.

 

I have a library of physical media and one of Ultraviolet (VUDU, etc,) that comes with the BR...I have both and each one serves a purpose...I can watch my favorites on the go which is cool...

 

I have several thousand movies through UltraViolet, though they are almost always used for family members and relatives. 99% of my movie watching is through my media collection or recordings from the DVR.

 

Small dinky flat ?
Think I'd just use a laptop and watch old pre 1980 movies on that. Go to the cinema and watch a new movie on the BIG screen.

 

Wow! All redeemed from physical discs, or purchased codes?

 

Most are from the physical discs. I am a reviewer for a website, so I get free copies from the studios for many releases.

I know someone else with a UV collection nearing 20,000 movies. They did it through liberally abusing VUDU's D2D program where you scan the disc and can purchase a digital copy for cheap.

 

Interesting tidbit from the "digital only" world:

Top Gun is only available in standard 2D Blu-ray as a heavy-handed Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) mess of a transfer. A few years back, Tony Scott-supervised 6K transfer that was made for the 3D release with all grainy goodness intact. Unfortunately, this unmolested transfer never made it to 2D Blu-ray, but did end up in iTunes. I watched this one last night (paid $2 to own, for a code online) and was quite impressed. The movie itself didn't hold up as well I remembered, and I've watched it dozens of times. But (!), the image was detailed with varying amounts of grain, as expected. The color was a bit on the reddish side, but it fits in with the "hot" cinematography, and apparently this is exactly how Tony Smith wanted it to look. So, like an increased number of audio titles, sometimes the very best film presentation is only available via a streaming service (see also Silence of the Lambs).

More reading: An Update on Color Timing, DNR and Top Gun 3D

 

WOW! impressive...

 

yes, but they had to have 20,000 already correct? cheap, yes about 2 bucks or up to 5...

 

I'm currently at 1,681 movies on Vudu, and several TV series, which I obtained via Disc-to-Digital, codes (either with movies I bought or buying them through sellers), and direct purchases through Vudu or other UV services. Totally understood that A/V quality isn't as good as physical, but it's really hard to beat the convenience factor of browsing through my collection right on my TV, and I can share my collection with my brother and a few friends.

 

So laptop for movies 1979 and earlier, and theater for 2017 and later - what about the 1980-2016 movies?

 

There were methods to get around D2D's limits. A person could visit the library and scan their discs for D2D. There was also a way to knock the digital price down to $1 per movie on the D2D program, I think. I wouldn't know the specifics, I never used D2D.

 

I use D2D and all you need is a bar code, so yeah, any disc in a package with a bar code that is eligible for the program can be scanned. The potential for gaming the system is enormous. The scan-the-bar-code thing is very convenient (and it's hard not to scan everything I own!) but I fear for the future of this if people can just scan any package they hold in their hand. One limitation is that you have to be in your house to scan the code, but that just means you can't go to Best Buy and start scanning codes. Stuff you check out from the library can be easily scanned.