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UltraViolet Digital Movie Locker is Shutting Down (theverge.com)

Posted by msmash on from the for-the-record dept.

UltraViolet, one of the entertainment industry's first attempts at creating a comprehensive digital locker service, is shutting down on July 31st. Users should link their libraries to the service of at least one retailer which can then be used to access their films and TV shows after the shutdown. From a report: UltraViolet's days were numbered ever since Disney, the only major Hollywood studio not to join, launched its expanded Movies Anywhere locker service in 2017. Not only did it offer broad studio support, but it could also be connected to major digital retailers like iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play, unlike UltraViolet. Additional resources: How to safeguard your UltraViolet library.

3 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Such is the fate of all DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Pirates win again!

  2. Physical Media FTW! by imperious_rex · · Score: 5, Insightful

    THIS is why I always prefer physical media. When a movie or music album is literally in one's hands, they cannot take it away from you. Plus physical media can be easily loaned and borrowed between friends. When your media library is "in the cloud" on somebody's server, you don't really own the media. It's just available for you to lease or check out, not to own forever or to pass on to somebody else. When that service becomes defunct, so does your media library. Ooops! Physical media isn't without its problems (bit rot over time, physical damage, etc.), but I put more trust in a disc in my hand than in an account that could be shut down at any time.

  3. Do you even know what it did? by Solandri · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ultraviolet reinforced the concept that if you bought a license for a show or movie, that license was universal and entitled you to stream it from anywhere So if you bought a movie on Fandango, you could use that license to view it from Vudu, and vice versa. No more having to dig through a half dozen streaming services trying to figure out which one you used to buy a particular movie. If you paid for the license, you could stream it from any of them (who supported Ultraviolet).

    IMHO, a service like this should be a legal requirement for anything that's sold as a license instead of a physical product. It reinforces the concept that the digital licenses you buy belong to you, not to the service which happened to sell it to you.