AfterDawn: News

Warner wants to convert your existing disc collection to UltraViolet

Since its launch, the UltraViolet movie cloud locker service has seen its share of ups-and-downs, but it appears to now be receiving a large push from Warner Home Entertainment.

Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Home Entertainment Group, says the group will start a disc-to-digital program that will help drive adoption of UV, as well as bring traffic to the movie recommendation site Flixster.



Tsujihara says there are currently 20 billion movie discs owned in domestic households around the world and there are only 32 UV releases with another 150 planned for release this year.

Warner is working with retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy to offer technology that will allow consumers to bring in their discs and have them uploaded to the UltraViolet cloud for playback anywhere. If you purchase your discs online (via Amazon for example) you will be sent emails asking if you want to convert the discs to UV. All converted files will have the UV DRM embedded.

The second part of the campaign involved the recommendation engine Flixster. All Warner UV buyers need to register for a free Flixster user account and use the site to manage their collections. Flixster will also be adding a store where users can import their rental data from iTunes, Netflix and Hulu and see recommendations or share what they are watching.

Warner is looking to add Flixster apps to the PS3, Xbox 360, Roku and "all web-connected Blu-ray players" in the near future.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 10 Mar 2012 13:36

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• 31 comments

• hikaricor

  And they still don't get it..

  10.3.2012 13:51 #1

• Scaldari

  but getting closer
  

  Account Created Saturday 12 January 2008. After 4 years I consider myself a Sr. Member no matter WHAT my post count says.

  10.3.2012 14:03 #2

• Jeffrey_P

  No thanks Warner. Take UV and shove it where the Sun doesn't shine.
  
  Jeff
  

  Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

  10.3.2012 14:57 #3

• ivymike

  HA HA HA HA HA, Warner, I want a lot of things too but that doesn't mean that I'm gonna get it....

  10.3.2012 15:12 #4

• bigdan45

  @ivymike Just like a three-way, every guy wants one but most dont get them. lol
  

  10.3.2012 15:25 #5

• Jeffrey_P

  I see where this is going with Warner. They won't be happy until they own everybody and their videos with no optical disk.
  
  Screw that. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of people like owning a physical disk to do what they with it. Figures iTunes would be involved but Walmart? I purchase Blu-Ray disks through Walmart. Older remastered movies go from $5.00 up. I just purchased Spinal Tap widescreen 5.1 yesterday for $8.00. Shpping is free if you pick it up from one of the stores.
  
  You better believe the first thing I am going to do is back it up and use the copy to preserve the original.
  
  Wonder how the MPAA and RIAA attempt at revisions of the DMCA is going?
  
  Hope we sleepy Americans realize like with the defeat of SOPA and PITA that no new restrictions are needed. Enough is enough.
  
  "Give 'em the finga!"
  
  Jeff
  

  Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

  10.3.2012 15:36 #6

• ivymike

  I don't buy CD's at Wal*Mart. Only because the S.O.B.'s censor the profanity out of the discs and they do so without a clear label stating that this disc has been edited.

  10.3.2012 15:42 #7

• Jeffrey_P

  Originally posted by ivymike: I don't buy CD's at Wal*Mart. Only because the S.O.B.'s censor the profanity out of the discs and they do so without a clear label stating that this disc has been edited. I know what you mean like Cee-Lo's song, "Fuck You". However there is other resources. I'm talking movies at this point.
  
  Jeff
  

  Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

  10.3.2012 15:54 #8

• blueboy09

  I have 4 movies on my phone from these guys (came with the physical copies BTW), and the only advantage that I see myself is they're available to stream and not on your phone taking space, but that's about it.
  

  Chance prepares the favored mind. Look up once in a while and you might learn something. - BLUEBOY

  10.3.2012 16:09 #9

• cyprusrom

  Originally posted by blueboy09: I have 4 movies on my phone from these guys (came with the physical copies BTW), and the only advantage that I see myself is they're available to stream and not on your phone taking space, but that's about it. I have my entire collection ripped on a Synology NAS...it is available to stream anywhere I have internet connection, with no DRM crap.

  10.3.2012 17:18 #10

• xtago

  I would think if you bought a disk, to play in a player.
  
  You probably did so not generally to be able to have a copy but to simply be able to play a file without having to stream it.
  
  To stream a movie to your phone you will still need enough quota to cover that whole file so if harry potter was a 2 gig file then you'd need 2 gig to be able to stream it to your phone another 2 gig to be able to stream it to your TV, another 2 gig if you want to play it at any other time.
  
  See how you could run out of data quota quickly
  
  Also if you don't have a connection able to pump the data through quick enough it's all pointless as it won't work at all anyway, so you'd need to pirate or buy the disks again.
  
  It's not thought out very well, but this is what you get when people think you can convert everything into a digital copy it doesn't work for every situation.

  10.3.2012 18:53 #11

• LordRuss

  Originally posted by ivymike: I don't buy CD's at Wal*Mart. Only because the S.O.B.'s censor the profanity out of the discs and they do so without a clear label stating that this disc has been edited. That's another reason why I also quit using NetNuts. They too started shipping disks without the 'making of' material on the DVD. It's like 'they' turned around, did like we did, stripped the movie, put only the menu & the film on the DVD, printed a new top of the DVD & then shipped it out for viewing.
  
  That's not what I rented! I rented a DVD! Not a movie. I expected a DVD experience & didn't get it, thus stopping the service.
  
  Originally posted by Jeffrey_P: "Give 'em the finga!" Way ahead of you Jeff! I have both at full mast!
  

  http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

  10.3.2012 19:00 #12

• ivymike

  I wouldn't be surprised if Wal*Marx censored some DVD's also...
  
  I don't have an electron microscope on hand to look for the fine print bullshit that says whether this CD has been altered or not.
  
  If I fork over hard earned money to hear Eminem swear his ass off, then I damn well better hear some foul language on the damn disc I purchased and not some sound gaps or stupid bleeping sounds.

  10.3.2012 19:34 #13

• Semperfipal

  Remember, Walmart's HQ is in Bentonville, AR, the bible belt of the U.S. Its the right wing christian censors who drive this BS and force Walmart and other media producers to censor media. In the mean time these folks are hitting on their neighbors wife and viewing porno on the internet, hypocrites all!

  10.3.2012 20:15 #14

• Jeffrey_P

  Originally posted by ivymike: I wouldn't be surprised if Wal*Marx censored some DVD's also...
  
  I don't have an electron microscope on hand to look for the fine print bullshit that says whether this CD has been altered or not.
  
  If I fork over hard earned money to hear Eminem swear his ass off, then I damn well better hear some foul language on the damn disc I purchased and not some sound gaps or stupid bleeping sounds. Since clean and dirty versions are produced by the music so-called industry, it would be difficult to sell something that doesn't exist. I don't think Walmart has enough pull for a clean version of a DVD or Blu-Ray. Unless of course Walmart is willing to pay umpteen million dollars to make it Mormon clean.
  
  Just ask Mitt to foot the bill, corprate raider lying POS.
  
  Jeff
  

  Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

  10.3.2012 21:43 #15

• Jeffrey_P

  Originally posted by Semperfipal: Remember, Walmart's HQ is in Bentonville, AR, the bible belt of the U.S. Its the right wing christian censors who drive this BS and force Walmart and other media producers to censor media. In the mean time these folks are hitting on their neighbors wife and viewing porno on the internet, hypocrites all! Indeed.. People are very Holy until they get out of church, have a few drinks then beat their wife(s) and children as LDS fundamentalist polygamists do.
  
  Churches should pay taxes just like the rest of us. The line should be drawn between separation of Church and state at the economic level. The Catholic Church makes ~ 1/2 trillion $ a year without paying $0.01 for taxes. My family are all Catholic but damn.. Pay up guys and gals.
  
  The Bible belt is 200 years behind the times.
  
  Jeff
  

  Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

  10.3.2012 21:47 #16

• LordRuss

  Originally posted by Jeffrey_P: Originally posted by Semperfipal: Remember, Walmart's HQ is in Bentonville, AR, the bible belt of the U.S. Its the right wing christian censors who drive this BS and force Walmart and other media producers to censor media. In the mean time these folks are hitting on their neighbors wife and viewing porno on the internet, hypocrites all! Indeed.. People are very Holy until they get out of church, have a few drinks then beat their wife(s) and children as LDS fundamentalist polygamists do.
  
  Churches should pay taxes just like the rest of us. The line should be drawn between separation of Church and state at the economic level. The Catholic Church makes ~ 1/2 trillion $ a year without paying $0.01 for taxes. My family are all Catholic but damn.. Pay up guys and gals.
  
  The Bible belt is 200 years behind the times.
  
  Jeff (Deity of choice here) knows I've grown up around enough beer drinking baptists to confirm all this! Except one little smidge of a fact... just 200 years? Maybe for the US sure, but on a global scheme...
  
  I just watched Keven Smith's "Red State" last night. Talk about a horror film. Yeah, yeah, little off topic & a possible political statement, but kinda hints toward a possible, passable truth. Might/could apply here too.
  

  http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

  11.3.2012 10:31 #17

• Jeffrey_P

  Originally posted by LordRuss: Originally posted by Jeffrey_P: Originally posted by Semperfipal: Remember, Walmart's HQ is in Bentonville, AR, the bible belt of the U.S. Its the right wing christian censors who drive this BS and force Walmart and other media producers to censor media. In the mean time these folks are hitting on their neighbors wife and viewing porno on the internet, hypocrites all! Indeed.. People are very Holy until they get out of church, have a few drinks then beat their wife(s) and children as LDS fundamentalist polygamists do.
  
  Churches should pay taxes just like the rest of us. The line should be drawn between separation of Church and state at the economic level. The Catholic Church makes ~ 1/2 trillion $ a year without paying $0.01 for taxes. My family are all Catholic but damn.. Pay up guys and gals.
  
  The Bible belt is 200 years behind the times.
  
  Jeff (Deity of choice here) knows I've grown up around enough beer drinking baptists to confirm all this! Except one little smidge of a fact... just 200 years? Maybe for the US sure, but on a global scheme...
  
  I just watched Keven Smith's "Red State" last night. Talk about a horror film. Yeah, yeah, little off topic & a possible political statement, but kinda hints toward a possible, passable truth. Might/could apply here too. Sometimes I just ramble-on even though it may be off topic. Depends what mood I'm in.
  
  I'll be 57 on Thursday the 15th (Ides of March)... OOoooo :0.
  
  Maybe it's as my ex calls it, "Oldtimers."
  
  I'm sure it's centuries for Europe. Americans have lived in the US just a few hundred years. My grandparents were Italian immigrants. The only true Americans are the native American Indians.
  
  Jeff
  
  Jeff
  

  Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

  11.3.2012 12:50 #18

• LordRuss

  Originally posted by Jeffrey_P: I'll be 57 on Thursday the 15th (Ides of March)... OOoooo :0.
  
  Jeff Kid's birthday is on the 16th, & you're 10 years 'my' senior, either way I'm getting older too. Happy birthday if it doesn't get around. And what's topical... Like an ointment.
  

  http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

  11.3.2012 16:09 #19

• Jeffrey_P

  Originally posted by LordRuss: Originally posted by Jeffrey_P: I'll be 57 on Thursday the 15th (Ides of March)... OOoooo :0.
  
  Jeff Kid's birthday is on the 16th, & you're 10 years 'my' senior, either way I'm getting older too. Happy birthday if it doesn't get around. And what's topical... Like an ointment. Thank you.
  
  My eldest daughter will be 30 5/4. My youngest is 27. Two + years apart.
  
  Now, where is my scooter? j/k
  
  Jeff
  

  Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

  11.3.2012 16:47 #20

• LordRuss

  Originally posted by Jeffrey_P: My eldest daughter will be 30 5/4. My youngest is 27. Two + years apart.
  
  Now, where is my scooter? j/k
  
  Jeff Oldest is 21, 22 in Oct. On a cane now, be needing that chair before long myself.
  

  http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

  11.3.2012 17:30 #21

• ThePastor

  Couple of questions:
  Why do I have to have my disk "converted"? One would assume simply proving ownership should be enough to gain access to an already converted, HQ version.
  
  Will they do like Apple did? Where they scan my PC and give me a streamable version of any media I already have?
  Now THAT would be something.
  

  "But the bigger point here is that UMG has effectively admitted this takedown was never about copyright. They demanded YouTube censor Megaupload and justify that by saying they have a contract which allows it so its fine. Its painfully clear what they would do with a law like SOPA that gives them much more power"

  12.3.2012 16:54 #22

• LordRuss

  Originally posted by ThePastor: Will they do like Apple did? Where they scan my PC and give me a streamable version of any media I already have?
  Now THAT would be something. That plain gives me the heeby-jeebies, the corporates going through my stuff proving I did or didn't buy something. It's bad enough I have to put up with it on occasion at Walmart when the "You're an Asshole" alarm goes off when they didn't properly demagnetize an item.
  
  But they don't shake-down my family & I, just the shopping bags. I just have a feeling the corporates will lovingly blaze through the entire computer & record the entire contents. Oh sure, they 'say' they won't report anything negative. As I'm sure the check is in the mail & all girls do this too.
  
  That being the case... I'm with the band.
  

  http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

  12.3.2012 17:25 #23

• Jeffrey_P

  Originally posted by ThePastor: Couple of questions:
  Why do I have to have my disk "converted"? One would assume simply proving ownership should be enough to gain access to an already converted, HQ version.
  
  Will they do like Apple did? Where they scan my PC and give me a streamable version of any media I already have?
  Now THAT would be something. I assume Warner will not convert any A/V. They just need proof of purchase to give you access to the UV version.
  
  Indeed, if anybody has plans to turn in their optical disk, I would read the EULA front to back or hire a lawyer to translate the legalese into layman's terms.
  
  It stinks and I would never go for it.
  
  The industry will pawn you one way or another.
  
  Jeff
  

  Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

  12.3.2012 17:26 #24

• LordRuss

  Originally posted by Jeffrey_P: The industry will pawn you one way or another.
  Ding! Ding! Ding! What has he won Alex!
  

  http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

  13.3.2012 11:57 #25

• Jeffrey_P

  Originally posted by LordRuss: Originally posted by Jeffrey_P: The industry will pawn you one way or another.
  Ding! Ding! Ding! What has he won Alex! I'll take the two tickets to paradise please. ;)
  
  Maybe the way Wal-Mart will deal with returned optical disks is to use a hole punch permanently disabling it. However, if the disk has been ripped it's a little too late.
  
  How many people will fall for the latest failure by the movie industry? Only time will tell.
  
  Jeff
  

  Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

  13.3.2012 12:51 #26

• Mez

  For music, I only buy CDs. I don't need Warner to rip the disk for me. If fact I am sure I will do a far better job than they since I care about quality. CDs cost about the same as mp3s, by the album but you have the disk and have the quality. If I had to choose between UV and nothing, I would pick nothing. The big media houses only produce garbage. The only real talent out there is in the independents.
  
  Even the disks are not what they used to be. They used to be stamped foil now they have a new process that old players have a hard time reading.
  
  The greed of the media will put them out of business. The demise of Blockbuster will grease that path. They always bought the junk along with the good stuff. With their plans, I would even rent junk because there was nothing better. I had seen all their old movies and the industry doesn't produce a good movie per month for many years. Recently it has been much worse than that. They are way better off re-releasing old movies. At least I will be entertained when I go to the movies. I will pay to see Titanic and the like on the IMAX.

  15.3.2012 16:05 #27

• bratcher

  No way Warner & WalMart will I ever use your UV service!! I'd rather use the physical discs in my DVD player.....

  15.3.2012 19:43 #28

• getanacct

  I know how to convert my DVDs into other formats, so Warners and all the other media companies are out of luck, and I'm glad!!
  

  15.3.2012 23:35 #29

• 8686

  Hmmmm, Warner & Walmart. They were major factors in the BR vs. HDDVD war weren't they?
  
  YEah, NOT into getting rid of my tangible discs. Unfortunately, IMO I think the ones really against optical discs becoming extinct are the ones who know how to manipulate the data on them so they can do what they want with them. I don't think the large majority of the market does this though. If I didn't I would probably buy more through streaming since it's easier than going to Blockbuster. But now that Blockbuster is almost gone, streaming might actually be more of a reality. Especially when people get fed up with the 30-day new release BS with Red box & Netflix.
  
  I don't know where the future lies. As much as I don't like it, I think all media will eventually no longer be tangible. I don't we will see it in our lifetime though.
  
  Here's another thing. I remember when Netflix was threaten by the internet companies because it was consuming too much bandwidth. Consumers were worried that their internet rates would increase. What's going to happen when people start streaming BR files all over the net?

  16.3.2012 09:34 #30

• Neppie

  Reading the article and replies wonder if I'm the only person who likes the idea of having ownership of already purchased DVDs and CD's in a virtual place rather than physical.
  
  I'd like to be able to watch any movie I own anywhere and not have to rent a storage facility. My collection is too large for the small apartment I'm renting. Entropy happens.
  
  The only disadvantage of UV was everything I've purchased from 1990 to present. This article is telling me I'll be able to transfer those. I can't take it all with me when I die but this is the next best thing.

  29.8.2012 21:18 #31