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

yes, where there's a will there's a way as they say...: )

 

iTunes has Super Dark Times in 4K on sale for $7.99. This is not even available on Blu-ray! I bought it and will check it out in the next few days.

 

If you're on this forum, you certainly know about Gort. Good news! The Day The Earth Stood Still is now available in 4K, via iTunes.

 

I just won an Apple TV box from work and will be setting it up tonight. I was looking at prices of movies/tv shows on ITunes and wow! It's expensive! In most cases, it seems to be much higher than buying the physical bluray.

I would love to start collecting digitally, but the cost so far is deterring me.

 

Check out my original post. I typically get codes/movies for under $4. From Amazon, I got the 3 disc Blu-ray set for Despicable Me 1/2/Minions for $15, and they came with codes that redeem in 4K via iTunes. This morning, I bought the 4K code for Sing for $2.50. Last week, it was Hidden Figures, Interstellar, and Megan Leavey each for $1, in 4K.

I only buy from iTunes if they have a sale: $4.99-$7.99 on titles that don't have codes from discs.. The rest of the time I get the codes on the second hand market and don't pay over $4 each.

 

Thanks for the explanation!

 

The whole digital collecting world has been turned upside down in recent weeks with the introduction of Movies Anywhere and studios clearly transitioning away from UltraViolet.

 

Yup. In fact the upcoming movie American Made specifically reference Movies Anywhere redemption, and not UltraViolet.

All of this is fine by me. UltraViolet always seemed clunky, and I never needed to use the 'sharing' capabilities.

With Apple/iTunes now offering the Amazon Prime Video app on Apple TV, iTunes/Apple TV can now easily be my single platform for watching all digital streaming content. I try only to get TV shows via iTunes (Breaking Bad is my only VUDU exception), and it is sooooo nice to watch a series via iTunes, vs. fooling around with discs.

 

I see their making rentals on new releases $6 now. It used to be $3.

 

No reason to pay that much for a rental, unless you really want the convenience or have some other urgency. You can buy (to own) virtually any new release code for under $6.

 

iTunes has a sale $7.99 for Top Gun, which is the only way to watch it in HD that is not DNR'd to death. Plenty of beautiful grain on this, which is scrubbed out of the Blu-ray.

Also, Taxi Driver in 4K UHD is on sale in iTunes for $9.99. There is no 4K disc for this, so this is currently the best way to watch.

 

And here is a redemption guide, courtesy of Blu-ray.com forum member TheDean. This seems more up to date than the version in my original post:

 

How come iTunes does not allow you to download the 4k stuff? I'd love to watch some of these, but I don't want to stream it.

 

I got the blu ray code for the complete Breaking Bad, how much memory would it use downloading wise?

 

I have a feeling it has to do with the studios not wanting people to have downloaded copies of 4K. When you stream, your device pings back to the authentication/entitlement servers every few seconds to verify that you're actually allowed to have access/stream that title in particular. No retailer (i.e. Amazon, Google, VUDU) allows for direct download of a 4K title.

If you look at the particular episode/season in the iTunes Store, you should be able to see the download size for SD/HD on the "product" page. However, you can't redeem a code for Breaking Bad in iTunes. You'd have to redeem in VUDU. But the download size should be approximately the same from VUDU, as what iTunes shows you. Probably ~2GB per episode, for HD.

 

Dunno if my iPad 2 could handle that.
Then there's the download time.

 

I'm considering the transition to digital, but just need assurance that I won't lose access to my digital content because of a technology change. Like going from VHS/Beta to DVD to BD, what is the prospect of the digital format becoming outdated and not supported by new hardware?

If I get that assurance, it'll probably happen soon for my movies, because I just don't watch them often enough to justify keeping physical copies on hand. I'll keep the handful that are really important to me, will donate movies that I probably won't watch more than one or two more times (if they aren't on Netflix, I can almost certainly get them at my library), and will go digital for the ones in between those two groups.

I've gone digital for playing my music, but not for buying it. I still buy my albums on CD, but rip them right away and put the CD in storage. I do listen to a fair amount of CDs that I borrow from the library, so I'm not ready to be without a good disc drive for playback.

 

I started off like you. Ripping my CDs, then boxing them up in a closet.

The transition to digital movies is nearly the same, the two main differences being:

1. Technically the playback quality may not be as good as the physical disc (although even upon detailed evaluation, it can be very hard to notice). I find streaming quality via iTunes much better than Netflix, which almost always has artifacting. In an increasing amount, the streaming version is often 4K, where no 4K disc exists. Which leaves streaming as the highest resolution viewing experience for a few titles.
2. It's a better storage/inventory system than ripping your audio CDs, because you don't have to download your movie library and worry about hard drive space, backups, tagging, etc. Your entitlement rights for each title are just stored in iTunes, and/or Amazon, Google, VUDU - assuming the title is Movies Anywhere-eligible. In other words, even 1000 movies take up zero physical or hard drive "space".

I can't imagine a scenario where the digital format would become outdated. What you really own is the right to stream/download a particular title in SD, HD, or UHD (4K). Leave it to the digital retailers (iTunes, etc) to figure out what codec they send to your device, as you're guaranteed 1080p, if you own it as such. Sounds like you'd be a good candidate for the VUDU Mobile Disc 2 Digital feature. Basically use your smart phone to scan the barcode from your old Blu-rays and/or DVDs, and for $2 per title, you "own" the digital version. You can toss the discs, or donate them. I did this for lots of kids titles, or things that I probably will only watch a few times. I cleared out a LOT of shelf space

There are many "new" movies I probably won't watch more than once, and can't justify a physical copy. So, I just get the code for $1-$3. Even if I only watch it once, it's basically the price of a rental.

 

The danger is Hollywood switching their digital rights system on the fly, like they just did from UltraViolet to Movies Anywhere. Most users agree that Movies Anywhere is a downgrade in several key aspects from UltraViolet, as it greatly limits account sharing with others.

 

True, UltraViolet allowed for more sharing, but it was really too good to be true. Basically you could share your entire UV movie collection with 5 random people who never paid a penny for the content. Not hard to see how that was not going to last.

The way I see it, movie studios are unlikely to make major shifts detrimental to customers that have "paid" for digital goods. I can't think of many (any?) examples for the music/movie studios, Amazon, Apple, or even Google where a consumer that actually spent money was put in a bad spot due to a digital rights change. You're more likely to be hung out to dry by a hardware or software vendor that stops support vs. content providers.

 

i have acquired an old 32gb ipad and i have a few of my favorite movies in itunes that i used digital codes from my blu-rays to get. the only thing that bothers me is the drm so basically i cannot watch these on anything other than itunes running on my pc or this ipad. i get that they want to prevent piracy, but if i bought the movie from itunes, i just want to watch what i paid for. sue the people who upload it to pirate sites.

 

Youtube old movies should be no problem.

 

A used Apple TV is <$50. Hook that up to any regular TV and watch all your iTunes movies.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out.

That's my concern. But since we're talking about codecs in streaming players, I assume they'll be available much longer than devices built for a certain format of physical media.

 

My question is slightly on topic...so here goes.

I redeemed a number of Blu Ray codes via MoviesAnywhere and then into Amazon Prime Video. After using the amazon credits to get the streaming version of the movie from the Blu Ray, I have found that I have about 7 dollars left in credit to use.

Since all of my movies have been redeemed and this is really "left over" credit from the Blu Ray codes, does anyone have any knowledge regarding if I can use this extra amount on another movie? I'm guessing that it can't be applied to anything and is simply a loss.

Thanks!