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Ultraviolet (UV) Streaming

8K views 33 replies 13 participants last post by  reidw 
#1 ·
Lately, I have found myself avoiding movies that do not come with a digital copy (I don't mind iTunes, but because of the cross platform availability I find myself using UV more). I've had quite a bit of luck with it, as it works well on my PS3 (although I know others have had problems) and on a recent road trip I downloaded some UV films to my android tablet and iPad. Apart from storage space considerations, it worked flawlessly. However, when I look online I do hear a lot of gripes about UV. Am I putting all my eggs in one basket? How does everyone here feel about it?
 
#3 ·
I have pretty much stopped buying Blu-rays as most are packaged with a DVD and a digital copy code, for which I have no use. I would prefer to pay less and only receive a Blu-ray disc, as can be done with DVD.

I also have a dozen or so DC codes which you are welcome to have. Some specify UV while others mention iTunes or Windows Media. I don't know what the cross-compatibility is, if any.
 
#8 ·
I have a lot of blu-ray discs that also come with DVD's and the codes.

I've noted on ALL of them that there are expiration dates for the codes.

Be mindful of that.

Cameron
 
#10 ·
What exactly is the requirement? Is it watching on the HTPC with movies on the HTPC, watching on the HTPC with movies on the another PC, watching on media players and mobile devices with movies on the HTPC, watching on media players and mobile devices with movies on the another PC?

Kodi, as supplied, will play most non-encrypted content on the local network. The directory containing the content must be shared (or be on the same PC) and Kodi configured to find it. BD content may require a proprietary player due to encryption.
 
#12 ·
Not sure if this is the right place to post this but UV has just announced that it is shutting down this summer. The announcement glibly assures US customers only that there should be no problems but says zilch about their customers outside the US. My question. Aside from Flixster which in Canada could also go out of business at any time are there any other reliable retailers connected to Ultraviolet? If not those of us with UV copies of their favourite movies may soon find them inaccessible.

I might add that this is exactly the scenario that proponents of physical media have been warning us about for years. Beware the cloud!
 
#13 ·
This is not the first streaming service to go out of business. There is a long history of shutdowns, mergers and acquisitions. So far, most services have made arrangements for purchases to be made available by some other means. That could be a digital download or transfer to another service.
 
#15 ·
People in the states are pretty lucky, their movies and tv shows will still be available through VUDU, but what about here in Canada? I do have some movies and tv shows with UV but how can watch them on my Appletv? Legally.

I think Canadians will get burned.

Mr.6
 
#16 ·
On the UV website at https://www.myuv.com/retailers , there is a setting in the lower right corner to change countries.

Changing from the USA to Canada reveals a different set of retailers.

I don't use the UV service, so I can't test to see which one, if any, will work. :)

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#17 ·
The only site of the three that really works for Canadians is Flixster. The other two are limited in their scope and utility. Flixster has served me well but it has already shut down in the US so I'm just not confident that it has much of a future in Canada. If it goes then all of the digital movies that I've downloaded or for which I have streaming rights from UV will be garbage.

And in the meantime almost every disc I buy continues to include a digital copy whether I want it or not. It is bad enough that each copy is usually only playable in only one of the two phone/tablet ecosystems but now almost every digital copy is tied to Movies Anywhere which despite its name doesn't sell their services to Canadians. Digital copies are becoming useless in Canada and I would hope the disc producers would remove the digital copy/code included in all Canadian disc packages and hopefully give us a break on the price. (I can dream).
 
#20 ·
Flixster's situation is weird. I redeemed something on there at Christmas and it was an adventure dealing with WB support (who apparently own Flixster movies in Canada now?). It seems WB has another movie app that doesn't work reliably here so they support Flixster for us, although I can't imagine that state of affairs will go on forever.

If you've already linked UV and Flixster together, you shouldn't have to do anything in regards to the email.
 
#22 ·
Got this email today:

Following the announcement by UltraViolet that it will be discontinuing its service on July 31, 2019, we are writing to provide you notice that Flixster Video is planning to shut down its website, applications and operations on October 31, 2019.

To enable you to continue to enjoy your video collection after the shutdown of Flixster Video, we have made arrangements to allow Flixster Video users to migrate available videos in their Flixster Video collections to Google Play. Google Play is a global online store that is home to the latest apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, books and magazines you can enjoy and share on all your favorite devices.

Please note that certain videos in your Flixster Video collection may not be available for migration to Google Play. Certain other limitations may apply subject to the terms of service and available features of Google Play in your country.

We will provide you further notice and information once this Flixster Video – Google Play migration process is available for Flixster Video users, which is expected to be in July 2019
 
#23 ·
So my fears as outlined in post #17 in this thread have now come true. As a Google Play Movies user already this will hopefully make the transition seamless although that I'm concerned about movies to which Google Play may not have the rights. The idea that the rights owners can withdraw their permissions on a whim is one of the reasons that I have never made much use of cloud based anything. I own those digital movies (paid for them when I bought the discs) and now I may lose them. If that does happen it's outright theft of my property.
 
#24 ·
Blu-ray discs themselves are not much different from cloud based movies. You don't own the content on the discs, only a conditional license to view it. Rights to view the discs can be revoked at any time and some player makers have had their licensing rights revoked, potentially making discs unplayable on their equipment. I've seen a number of software based Blu-ray players become unusable because they were abandoned by their developers. The main difference is that the disc and hardware player markets are more stable than streaming services. Streaming and cloud based services are a less stable market with a lot of consolidation and failures taking place.
 
#25 ·
@ExDilbert: OT. You seem to know a lot about movie rights. Is there any truth to the rumour that physical bluray discs have a secret flag that if activated by the movie studios would make a disc unviewable and turn it into a drink coaster? I seem to remember a couple of stories about this in the media shortly before BDs were introduced but since then I've never seen the subject mentioned anywhere. Know anything?
 
#26 ·
Blu-ray discs are encrypted using a key that is created by the movie studios. Players have a set of decryption keys built in but new discs may require that a new, current key be obtained online. Without the correct key, the disc is unplayable. Decryption keys may be revoked at any time, though I've never heard of it happening.
 
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