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Amazon Selling UltraViolet Films for Warner Bros

- By - Source : CNET

Amazon may actually save the struggling new video format, UltraViolet, by selling the digital media without the physical discs.

The UltraViolet format launched quietly late last year without much of a fuss, presenting as a bonus "digital copy" when consumers purchased certain Blu-ray movies like The Smurfs, Green Lantern, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. This digital copy is only playable through Flixter either online or via the Android or iOS apps but it's being touted as 'The Next Big Thing,' the next step in media consumption as consumers move away from physical media. Unlike videos purchased on iTunes or Amazon, these are not locked to a specific OS or hardware platform: the movies can be played back on any device that supports the Flixter app -- the movies can even be played within Facebook (there's an app for that). That's the awesome aspect of UltraViolet.

The kicker here, though, is that Hollywood is currently forcing consumers to purchase the physical copy before they have access to the UltraViolet version. Many consumers don't want to purchase DVDs or Blu-ray movies anymore -- they want digital versions they can watch on their laptop, their tablet, their smartphones and their portable media player (like the iPod Touch) without having to jump through hoops or beg Hollywood for extra permissions. Without purchasing the physical disc, the UltraViolet version is inaccessible, and presently consumers can't even unlock digital versions of movies they already own. To that end, UltraViolet is seemingly at a standstill despite Hollywood's push.

However, there may be some good news after all. Currently, Warner Bros-owned Flixter is pushing the UltraViolet format by offering a free movie on the house -- all users need to do is create an actual UltraViolet account (which is free) on both the Flixter and UltraViolet websites. What's more, mega online retailer Amazon has also reportedly signed on to actually sell UltraViolet movies without the requirement of physical copies. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Amazon VP Bill Carr while speaking at a panel discussion.

As it stands now, Amazon has reportedly struck a deal with Warner Bros. to sell UltraViolet movies and TV episodes, or rather, the codes to unlock the digital content, directly to consumers. However, though Amazon has confirmed it has signed a deal with one Hollywood studio, the Warner Bros. aspect of this story is just an assumption made by multiple film-industry sources. For what it's worth, Warner Bros. is one of the biggest studios and one of UV's biggest supporters among the 70 Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) member companies. DECE is the consortium that actually founded UltraViolet. What's more, Warner Bros. owns Flixter. So, to assume that Amazon's new deal was signed with Warner Bros. is not exactly a wild stab in the dark. Just know that it is unconfirmed by either party as of writing; Warner representatives declined to comment and Amazon did not respond to an interview request, CNET reports.

In addition to Amazon's hopeful solution, Samsung said on Wednesday that certain 2012 Blu-ray players will feature Disc-To-Digital which will essentially unlock the UltraViolet version of every DVD and Blu-ray movie the user registers with the device. This was the direction the UltraViolet consortium had in mind in the first place: allowing consumers to register their current and future DVDs and Blu-ray discs to unlock a digital version that is theirs to keep forever and ever.

There's no question that the highly-anticipated UltraViolet format saw a slow, underwhelming start last year, but 2012 looks to be the year the new format will take off thanks to the likes of Amazon and Samsung. Perhaps, if Amazon proves to be successful, additional Hollywood studios will jump on-board and sell digital copies directly to consumers, bypassing the dying physical format once and for all.

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Shin-san 01/13/2012 12:09 PM
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This might actually get me to buy Blu-ray discs even though I don't have a player.

wildkitten 01/13/2012 12:21 PM
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I don't like Ultraviolet anyway. I preferred the old method of a digital copy you would get when you would by a BluRay+DVD+Digital Copy combo pack of actually downloading either a Windows Media file or an iTunes file and having it in my possession so I could play it how and when I wanted.

I'm getting sick of this cloud.

spasmolytic46 01/13/2012 12:42 PM
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I'm so sick and tired of companies acting like its a privilege to access content I already own. I'll just keep ripping and encoding things myself. I'll also keep supporting the efforts of others to do the same. Thank you Linux and free software communities.

thefiend1 01/13/2012 12:48 PM
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Hey Kevin, dont be a fool. Maybe you dont care about the highest picture quality or sound available (which you wont get, and will never get from anything streaming) Doesnt mean everyone feels the same way. Physical format wont die. Just like PCs wont die.

alidan 01/13/2012 1:16 AM
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so how do i get the free movie?

pjmelect 01/13/2012 2:15 AM
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I don't see the problem with ripping blue ray movies on to your portable device, the copy protection has long been defeated.

qhoa1385 01/13/2012 2:58 AM
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so now I need high speed internet + tons of bandwidth just to watch a movie? and also Seller/Producer will jack up the price because they'll claim "WATCH ANYWHERE!"

Travis Beane 01/13/2012 4:02 AM
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thefiend1 :
Hey Kevin, dont be a fool. Maybe you don't care about the highest picture quality or sound available (which you wont get, and will never get from anything streaming) Doesnt mean everyone feels the same way. Physical format wont die. Just like PCs wont die.


Well, I have a 50 megabit connection, and I can stream over 20GB a hour. I cold triple my speed through my ISP if I cared to pay enough. I'd go for full Bluray streaming if offered.

Dyseman 01/13/2012 5:26 AM
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Sorry, I refuse to buy anything with Ultraviolet. I get digital copies so when I fly, or long car trips with kids in back watching on laptop. Can't do that with Cloud.

So, I'm with now buying the cheap BD only version and ripping.

Used to pay more, gladly, for the BD/DVD/Digital Copy... I guess I should thank Ultraviolet for saving me money and not supporting them. I have 2 Sony 400 BD Changers and have always bought my BD's.

Now with things like WD-live, I'm now enjoying ripping them to MKV's,

fyasko 01/13/2012 5:47 AM
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that is why i still have netflix, i rent, rip and burn... i also don't torrent or share them. i now have an extensive collection of movies i can "rent" any time i want from netflix.

invlem 01/13/2012 7:29 AM
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Next big thing? This is the first I've heard of it...

alidan 01/13/2012 8:39 AM
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i thought ripping dvds was illegal, under dmca you arent allowed to make a coppy if you have to circumvent a coppy protection to do it.

Hellboy 01/13/2012 9:12 AM
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Just like every format behind it - this is the one..

Films on cloud, no more storage of films. Watch films on the go if your in a hotel etc etc on your ipad or laptop. This would revolutionise the way we watch films.

Every device should have this installed and then choose the films you have paid for..
Sounds like a result to me.

Dont think the cinemas will like it much tho...

demonhorde665 01/13/2012 10:19 AM
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"Many consumers don't want to purchase DVDs or Blu-ray movies anymore -- they want digital versions they can watch on their laptop, their tablet, their smartphones and their portable media player (like the iPod Touch) without having to jump through hoops or beg Hollywood for extra permissions." where are these many people that these article always mention .. they say the same shit about games too , but EVERY ONE i know still prefers physical media over digital media. so where are these numbers ??? hell half the country doesn't even have the bandwidth to get/download SD movies let alone HD movies or UV movies. so show me the figures where are all these jumpers to digital media ???

mayne92 01/13/2012 11:28 AM
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-- the movies can even be played within Facebook (there's an app for that). That's the awesome aspect of UltraViolet.

...so this only reminds me of the people on Wall-e who float around fat and obsessively focused on their screens that act shocked that a world exists behind the monitor - completely bewildered.

back_by_demand 01/13/2012 1:54 PM
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I like the idea of streaming a movie that I have bought even if I don't have a disc with me, for example I know for a fact I have Inception on Bluray but if I am on a long train journey I would either connect to the trains Wifi or tether to my phone and watch it should I feel like it.

But if I know I am going somewhere with no connection, such as a holiday where there is no coverage, or if my ISP at home has a FUBAR and I lose my internet for certain amount of time, I would like the security of having a physical copy along with all my other movies.

So good for Amazon for not enforcing that you need a disc, but I still want that disc at some point so send it along anyway, mkay?

tolham 01/13/2012 2:10 PM
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wtf is ultraviolet?

the_crippler 01/13/2012 2:40 PM
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demonhorde665 - Count me as one of them. I prefer digital format for my movies, because my shelves long ago got filled. Now, note that I said *prefer.* This doesn't mean I don't buy physical still - but that's because there's still no good way to buy just a digital copy at the same quality and easily use on all devices without a cloud. I still *prefer* to get it digitally.

I'm completely there on the game front. Only time I buy a retail disc is if the game isn't available on Steam/Amazon download.

cknobman 01/13/2012 2:58 PM
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Until there is an easy, affordable, unrestricted (ie: I can play on whatever device I want, connected to internet or not) way to purchase digital copies of movies I will just stick with either buying or renting them and making my own digital copies. This way I can keep a master copy of the full quality film and just rip it to whatever digital format I want to suit whatever device I have.

kawininjazx 01/13/2012 3:10 PM
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Blu-ray $20 ultra-violet $19.99. What a deal. /sarcasm

gokanis 01/13/2012 4:22 PM
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"Many consumers don't want to purchase DVDs or Blu-ray movies anymore..."
Yeah sure, people want stuff that is not real and only on the cloud and only available when the host says it is. No thanks I'll just stay in the bronze age with my physical discs ripping them to my devices at the best resolution possible for that device.

TLE0629 01/13/2012 5:52 PM
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As previously asked, how exactly do you get the free movie? Neither site (Flixster nor Ultraviolet) mentions anything about getting a free movie if you sign up on both sites.

caedenv 01/13/2012 6:09 PM
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I hate these types of streaming services. If I purchase something, then I want it to be mine and mine alone, to do with as I please, and on whatever device I want that attaches to speakers and a screen. I do not want to have a movie removed from a streaming service because some future governing body deems the movie 'unfit for viewing' (both dems and reps are just as likely to do this... just blocking different content). Or what happens if a company or distribution house gets bought out and decides to sunset a movie for whatever reason? And what happens if actors have more say in what performances of theirs they want released or re-released? Sure it may never happen, but I'm not about to take that risk, when it is so easy to keep my own files.
I will always have a local network, with my own personal files, and backups of all my physical media that I can watch on whatever I want. I love Netflix and hulu as they are cheap for bulk amounts of media. But when it comes to a movie I find myself watching over and over again (Braveheart, V for Vendetta, 5th Element, Independence Day, Friends, Fraser, a slew of Anime, etc etc), then I buy it, put the case on the shelf for display, rip the disc to the network, and put the disc away in my little storage locker for safe keeping where it won't get scratched or melt in a fire. I find very few movies worth watching (much less watching more than once), but when I do, I want to have access to it as long as I live... which I hope to be a very long time.

caedenv 01/13/2012 6:11 PM
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TLE0629 :
As previously asked, how exactly do you get the free movie? Neither site (Flixster nor Ultraviolet) mentions anything about getting a free movie if you sign up on both sites.


You dont get a free movie. You buy a Uv movie (disc copy), and you will be granted access to their networked copy of inferior quality.

gorehound 01/13/2012 9:24 PM
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I refuse to give Big Content a dime out of my Wallet and that goes for Netflix,Itunes,etc as well.
Why support those who are paying off Politicians to bring Censorship to our Great Nation.This is a great way to fight back and keep your dignity.I Boycott all of those in Big Content.The only films I intend to buy are used and physical.
FIGHT SOPA/PIPA/OPEN

alidan 01/14/2012 12:47 PM
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so let me get this straight, the bouns for buying the bluray version of the movie is getting free digital access, not them trying to get you to try out the format with an older movie for free...

what poor wording.

drevl182 01/14/2012 9:22 AM
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Just a heads up but yes you do actually get 1 free movie. You have the choice of 12 different movies to select from. Mars Attacks, Lethal Weapon & Demolition Man to name a few. It connects with your Facebook account & add an app that allow you to view said movie. You also have the choice of downloading the movie but have to install Adobe Air to view it which is what I chose. I can't comment on quality ATM as I'm currently downloading the 1.7GB file but if you wish to know I can always comment on quality.

alidan 01/14/2012 12:03 PM
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drevl182 :
Just a heads up but yes you do actually get 1 free movie. You have the choice of 12 different movies to select from. Mars Attacks, Lethal Weapon & Demolition Man to name a few. It connects with your Facebook account & add an app that allow you to view said movie. You also have the choice of downloading the movie but have to install Adobe Air to view it which is what I chose. I can't comment on quality ATM as I'm currently downloading the 1.7GB file but if you wish to know I can always comment on quality.



so, where is it? as i am finding nothing. can you give us the steps?