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View Full Version : VUDU / WalMart rolls out major cloud based movie storage program



2ndRick
03-13-2012, 03:28 PM
This is interesting....

VUDU / WalMart has rolled out a 'Disc-to-Digital' program which allows VUDU users to add the titles they own on disc to their cloud library for $2 to $5 per title.

You take your discs to a kiosk in a WalMart store, which does not rip and upload the disc, but rather uses the disc as a 'key' to allow the title to be added to your cloud.

Here is one major advantage of the proposed system... You do not need to own a title on BluRay to add the HD version of the title to your cloud account.

You pay the fee for the HD title addition, and it will allow you to use the DVD copy as the key. (so basically, BluRay disc sales are sure to plummet among VUDU owners).

I guess I should have held on to some of that giant DVD collection I sold off...

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/walmart_wants_to_be_your_movie_cloud/

ssamsal
03-13-2012, 03:35 PM
This is interesting....

VUDU / WalMart has rolled out a 'Disc-to-Digital' program which allows VUDU users to add the titles they own on disc to their cloud library for $2 to $5 per title.

You take your discs to a kiosk in a WalMart store, which does not rip and upload the disc, but rather uses the disc as a 'key' to allow the title to be added to your cloud.

Here is one major advantage of the proposed system... You do not need to own a title on BluRay to add the HD version of the title to your cloud account.

You pay the fee for the HD title addition, and it will allow you to use the DVD copy as the key. (so basically, BluRay disc sales are sure to plummet among VUDU owners).

I guess I should have held on to some of that giant DVD collection I sold off...

http://www.electronichouse.com/artic...r_movie_cloud/ love this idea! Wondering how it would be implemented in the cloud. Uploading or "checking" an disc title as proof might have some legs.

ssamsal
03-13-2012, 03:39 PM
This seems to be the same way spotify deals with your local music to the cloud by matching up your library for authentication purposes only

2ndRick
03-13-2012, 03:43 PM
love this idea! Wondering how it would be implemented in the cloud. Uploading or "checking" an disc title as proof might have some legs.

The article says it's *not* a rip / upload of your actual discs. Just using your discs as keys to authorize the existing UltraViolet file of that streaming title into your library.

If you have purchased discs with the UV copy included, they are added at no cost.

The nice thing about this is that we have all re-purchased the same damn titles 3-4x on VHS, then LaserDisc, then 'special edition' LaserDisc, then two-side DVD with anamorphic on one side and 4x3 on the other... Then 'special edition' DVD...

and now Blu-Ray.

Just as one example, I know that I purchased the movie 'Heat' four different ways...

From what I have read, ANY version of the film on DVD or BluRay will suffice as the key.

I still have a few titles on HD-DVD... I wonder if I can use them??... :)

Special-Ed
03-13-2012, 04:18 PM
So does this mean I will never have to purchase another star wars video?

funkyweasel
03-13-2012, 04:37 PM
So does this mean I will never have to purchase another star wars video?More importantly, can I load in my laser disc copies to the kiosk so I have a digital version of the movie where Han shoot's first.

Who's in for the You Tube video of me sitting at the kiosk with my two 400 disc Sony changers loading in 750 titles? The way I see it, I can borrow a chair from the home furnishings isle, a power strip from hardware, and a bag of bugles from the snack section. I suppose I'll have to pay for the bugles.

ssamsal
03-13-2012, 04:54 PM
The article says it's *not* a rip / upload of your actual discs. Just using your discs as keys to authorize the existing UltraViolet file of that streaming title into your library.

If you have purchased discs with the UV copy included, they are added at no cost.

The nice thing about this is that we have all re-purchased the same damn titles 3-4x on VHS, then LaserDisc, then 'special edition' LaserDisc, then two-side DVD with anamorphic on one side and 4x3 on the other... Then 'special edition' DVD...

and now Blu-Ray.

Just as one example, I know that I purchased the movie 'Heat' four different ways...

From what I have read, ANY version of the film on DVD or BluRay will suffice as the key.

I still have a few titles on HD-DVD... I wonder if I can use them??... :) I though that is what i said :) I must be speaking in tongue again. Tat is how spotify works. Not actually storing your music in the cloud, just storing your content tags and then streaming it. Tat's the idea i love.

2ndRick
03-13-2012, 07:23 PM
I though that is what i said :) I must be speaking in tongue again.

Yeah, I was typing my reply before I saw your second post.

BTW, I use Spotify as well.

It was my understanding that it acts as a player for my files when I am on the machine/network where those files reside. It still streams them when I am on another network... and in either situation, I can listen to TONS of music that I do not own.

I think that in their case, they use the stream vs play model as a way to avoid some of the performance royalties that they would be required to pay if 100% of the music was streamed to me.

In addition, it may be to reduce the strain on their servers if the file I am requesting exists locally.

ssamsal
03-13-2012, 07:52 PM
Yeah, I was typing my reply before I saw your second post.

BTW, I use Spotify as well.

It was my understanding that it acts as a player for my files when I am on the machine/network where those files reside. It still streams them when I am on another network... and in either situation, I can listen to TONS of music that I do not own.

I think that in their case, they use the stream vs play model as a way to avoid some of the performance royalties that they would be required to pay if 100% of the music was streamed to me.

In addition, it may be to reduce the strain on their servers if the file I am requesting exists locally. it takes your itunes playlist and uses that to synch and stream away from your puter..it's just one feature of Spotify but I love the way things are going not only using the cloud for storage but also starting to use it to run code

MrDigitronic
03-13-2012, 08:33 PM
Very interesting. Wonder how that will work if the title doesn't exist in Vudu's library or in the US. Couple of our customers have a pretty extensive collection of movies bought in Europe, so maybe the system won't be able to add every movie...

2ndRick
03-13-2012, 08:42 PM
This article says that Disney titles and others will not be a part of this service....

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401511,00.asp

Well, if different services and multiple libraries (with different UIs) are required for a client to enjoy their entire media library through a streaming solution, then it looks like we found the fatal flaw in cloud based delivery.

Nothing can just be simple...

Tx Red
03-13-2012, 08:47 PM
How the freak is this any different than kaleidescape??? I mean you OWN the movie and then access it digitally. I see no difference.

Also, what keeps my neighbor from taking 100 disc I own to wal-mart right after I do and using them? Seems even less secure than kaleidescape.

Greg_C
03-13-2012, 09:10 PM
There you go, trying to be logical when we are talking about lawyers and Hollywood.....

TedW
03-13-2012, 09:15 PM
There you go, trying to be logical when we are talking about lawyers and Hollywood.....

+1

I had the same reaction. How is this going to control pirating and why is Kscape getting hammered if this is allowed to fly.

Vudu HD feeds are pretty darned good for a streamed feed so I could be in to this.
Netflix still looks like shit to me.

2ndRick
03-13-2012, 09:21 PM
How the freak is this any different than kaleidescape??? I mean you OWN the movie and then access it digitally. I see no difference.

Also, what keeps my neighbor from taking 100 disc I own to wal-mart right after I do and using them? Seems even less secure than kaleidescape.

Also,
At the front of every WalMart aound here is a RedBox.... Anyone who walks past that to purchase a DVD or BluRay from the back of the store must be a complete moron.

jwjames83
03-14-2012, 09:23 AM
Can someone repost the very first link - when I click it, I get the ellipsis. I can't seem to Google that article either - though I see plenty others.

PC Mag says it "Rips" it to the cloud . . . kind of confused.

cory
03-14-2012, 09:45 AM
Fuck Walmart!!

This actually sounds pretty cool and cheaper than repurchasing content, but really don't like Walmart and try my best not to support them.

2ndRick
03-14-2012, 10:14 AM
Can someone repost the very first link - when I click it, I get the ellipsis. I can't seem to Google that article either - though I see plenty others.

PC Mag says it "Rips" it to the cloud . . . kind of confused.

The PC Mag article is full of errors compared to every other article online.

They are also saying that it's $3 per title instead of a $2 / $5, and they report that quality of the stream title in your library is the same as the disc you use as the key... Like-for-like, SD stream with a DVD key, HD stream with a Bluray key.

This goes against the statements on every other article...

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/walmart_wants_to_be_your_movie_cloud/

Thanks for telling me about the dead link.
I replaced it in the OP, and included it in this post as well.

sirroundsound
03-14-2012, 12:43 PM
Being up here in the north, I don't have to worry about all this nonsense. We have soooo many rules and restrictions we will never see this service. I will just have to keep on pirating as this seems to be the only way to get some content. :)


Arrrgh matey..... another episode of Top Gear is waiting for download.....

Matt
03-14-2012, 12:52 PM
Julies article on CePro stated that Samsung is working with Flixster on a similar service. She also said that the VUDU service checks the digital signature for each title, so you can't just bring in your neighbors DVD's.

That being said, if it's good enough for Walmart, I don't see why this wouldn't be ok for KScape. Then again, why would anybody pay KScape prices for storage if this service is available for a couple bucks a disc and playable via a $120 BD player?!?

2ndRick
03-14-2012, 01:05 PM
She also said that the VUDU service checks the digital signature for each title, so you can't just bring in your neighbors DVD's.

Hmm... Over the years I have owned a bunch of DVD, HD-DVD, and Blu-Ray discs that I have purchased used from friends, Craigslist & eBay, used CD/DVD stores, classifieds on AVS, and former Blockbuster or Redbox rentals.

Does that mean that if the 'digital signature' has been claimed, that the discs I own and possess cannot be added??

Also, since when do DVDs have any sort of unique IDs??
If this is the case, this is news to me.

Matt
03-14-2012, 01:23 PM
Hmm... Over the years I have owned a bunch of DVD, HD-DVD, and Blu-Ray discs that I have purchased used from friends, Craigslist & eBay, used CD/DVD stores, classifieds on AVS, and former Blockbuster or Redbox rentals.

Does that mean that if the 'digital signature' has been claimed, that the discs I own and possess cannot be added??

Also, since when do DVDs have any sort of unique IDs??
If this is the case, this is news to me.

I honestly don't know that answer for sure, but was told by a KScape person a couple years ago that there is a unique ID per disc. I really would be surprised if there isn't.

brandenpro
03-15-2012, 10:55 AM
This is too good to be true. Different articles have different details, something is amiss.

Somebody like KScape should have a streaming box/with storage box that creates a torrent type network. Now they dont have to serve up terabytes of data, everyone shares the load.

The reason people pirate is because its easier, and the solutions are better. I just checked and "War Horse", and "Extremely loud and incredibly close" are available as blu ray rips right now. In one click from my work I can have both movies sitting on my server at home within 20 mins or less. With Popcorn hour front end I have a wall view of my library.

Give me that experience, and I will gladly pay.

smcnally
03-15-2012, 11:39 AM
Somebody like KScape should have a streaming box/with storage box that creates a torrent type network. Now they dont have to serve up terabytes of data, everyone shares the load. .

A streaming box that creates a torrent type network already exists... it's called Vudu ;)

They use a bit torrent service for their movies.

Fins
03-15-2012, 01:04 PM
Disney movies not being included is a deal breaker for me. The biggest reason I have bought multiple copies of the same movies is because the kids damage discs or lose them. I would also prefer the ability to synch content to an iOS device for offline viewing. There is a vudu app for apple stuff, but it isnt going to help when on the road and trying to keep the kids entertained.

Overall, this is almost a great idea.

TedW
03-15-2012, 07:50 PM
Disney is not easily available from any service so that's hardly a deal breaker

Fins
03-15-2012, 09:45 PM
Disney is not easily available from any service so that's hardly a deal breaker

iTunes has a lot of Disney stuff. Granted, they still have to abide by the seven year cycle of rolling movies out for a short time then pulling them from the shelf for seven years. But I can rip all of my own discs to my iTunes and synch them to my devices.

TedW
03-16-2012, 08:05 AM
iTunes has a lot of Disney stuff. Granted, they still have to abide by the seven year cycle of rolling movies out for a short time then pulling them from the shelf for seven years. But I can rip all of my own discs to my iTunes and synch them to my devices.

well there you go. itunes is the biggest piece of shit I've ever run across and I won't personally use it for more than backing up my iPhone.

smcnally
03-16-2012, 09:09 AM
well there you go. itunes is the biggest piece of shit I've ever run across and I won't personally use it for more than backing up my iPhone.

Why do you use it for backing up your iPhone? It's not even needed anymore.

TedW
03-16-2012, 04:35 PM
Why do you use it for backing up your iPhone? It's not even needed anymore.

where are you backing up to then? iCloud or something? I don't back up often but I do find it easier to rearange all the icons in iTunes instead of on the phone itself and then sync.

I really have nothing but disgust for iTunes.

smcnally
03-16-2012, 05:04 PM
where are you backing up to then? iCloud or something? I don't back up often but I do find it easier to rearange all the icons in iTunes instead of on the phone itself and then sync.

I really have nothing but disgust for iTunes.

Yup, iCloud.

TedW
03-16-2012, 06:18 PM
I just fired up my old Vudu box again. I used to really like my Vudu box but man did Walmart screw it up.

TedW
04-26-2012, 12:11 PM
Just got my first email from Vudu on this service. I'm still not entirely sure I get it and I'm not sure it's actually going to go anywhere but I am definitely intrigued. We still need bigger internets pipes to make all this stuff work as it should.

FP Crazy
04-26-2012, 03:06 PM
I've been personally using Vudu for several years. While I hate WM, I was glad they purchased it, as I don't think they would still be around unless someone would have bought them. Their streaming quality is as good as anything out there, and better than most (HDX).

Their GUI is as good as anyone's and better than most too. And their selection is very good.

You probably need 9-12Mbps to reliably stream HDX movies, but I've heard you can do it with less. I consistently get 30mBps, so I would not know

TedW
04-26-2012, 03:51 PM
I've been personally using Vudu for several years. While I hate WM, I was glad they purchased it, as I don't think they would still be around unless someone would have bought them. Their streaming quality is as good as anything out there, and better than most (HDX).

Their GUI is as good as anyone's and better than most too. And their selection is very good.

You probably need 9-12Mbps to reliably stream HDX movies, but I've heard you can do it with less. I consistently get 30mBps, so I would not know

The GUI is good but since they updated the box and added all the extra crap I don't need the box itself is painful. Crashes constantly. I wish Tivo would ad Vudu so I could dump their box and just have it as a service on Tivo.

right now I'm capped at 10m by choice but it seems to be OK.

Matt
04-27-2012, 10:18 AM
They reall need to work on the "my vudu" portion for it to be a usefull app. There's no way to sort or organize your collection. It doesn't even alphabetize the movies right now. My 29 movies that I've bought on vudu are in the order of purchase which is retarded. It's obvious that no thought has been placed on this with regards to the large collections that Walmart hopes will be brought in on this service.

tigerpawgt
04-27-2012, 07:22 PM
Wow, this linking process between Vudu, Ultraviolet, and Flixster was pretty seamless. Took just 5 mins. You can register to create your Ultraviolet account right from Vudu's website, and my Vudu owned movies automatically populated to the Ultraviolet library.. except Avatar unfortunately. Then I logged into my Flixster app on my iphone and presto the Vudu movies are available to stream from the Flixster app since Flixster is also linked to the Ultraviolet account.

And it appears to be bidirectional. If I buy a BluRay or DVD with the Ultravoilet code, this will make it's way onto my Ultraviolet account then get transfered over to my Vudu account. I'll have to try that out this weekend. Pretty cool.

However, I seem to recall that Ultraviolet has an expiration on purchased discs. Doesn't it allow access for 1 year, then you have to pay to extend it or something like that?

Dingo Dog
07-15-2012, 05:08 PM
3 months later has anybody played with this? Is it worth looking into?

tigerpawgt
07-15-2012, 05:37 PM
Ive registered a few new blurays (with ultraviolet codes). Was pretty seamless to have them transfer to my Vudu account. The low res version streams very well to my ipad and iphone using the Vudu player app or from web browser. Way better than attempting to stream same movie using the Flixster app. To me it makes most sense to buy a dvd/bluray combo pack then register up onto Vudu. Going the other way (buying direct from Vudu) costs about the same but you don't get the disks.

I've read reviews where Walmart workers were clueless when the reviewer brought pre-owned discs to the store to register. Plus it was hard to identify in advance which disks were eligible.

Bottomline.. Works great to build a library going forward but the experience of converting existing disks will be hit & miss until the system gets established. One drawback is Disney is going their own way. Hopefully they also work a deal with Vudu. In the meantime I've still got my collection ripped to my homeserver and stream thru the Oppo bluray player, so the only time disks are used is when we're taking a long trip in the minivan.

FP Crazy
07-15-2012, 05:54 PM
I posted on RC my experiences (do a search in the CI Lounge).

It works pretty well. I took 5 movies in and it was painless to have them converted. The clerk wasn't sure how to do it but he called another one that was familiar with it and she converted them for me in short time.

I also purchased a UV disc in the movie dept while I was waiting, took it home and registered it with my UV account.

I use Vudu to view/[lay my library, I've never tried Flikster.

If you go to the UV web site you can search what movies in your library are UV complaint, even print a list if you want (I took the list into WM along with the discs)

If they can get a few more major studios on board it will really get traction. If they can get AppleTV on board, game over.

TonyAngelo
07-16-2012, 08:45 AM
If they can get a few more major studios on board it will really get traction. If they can get AppleTV on board, game over.

Well, Apple has their own thing already, it's called the iTunes store. I don't know why they would dilute that.

And that's pretty much the same reason that Disney likely won't be on board anytime soon.

Dingo Dog
07-18-2012, 09:34 PM
So, for someone like myself who has upwards of 700 dvd's is this a viable solution for managing the collection or is it still too early to jump on board? I had thought about K-Scape in the past but do not want to jump on that ship anymore! I would love to retire the old Escient DVDM-100 and the pair of Sony 400 disc changers (and would seriously love to reclaim that rack space!).
Joe

The8thst
07-19-2012, 10:12 AM
So, for someone like myself who has upwards of 700 dvd's is this a viable solution for managing the collection or is it still too early to jump on board? I had thought about K-Scape in the past but do not want to jump on that ship anymore! I would love to retire the old Escient DVDM-100 and the pair of Sony 400 disc changers (and would seriously love to reclaim that rack space!).
Joe
What about importing all your DVDs to iTunes and using AppleTV?

Dingo Dog
07-19-2012, 11:06 AM
What would I give up in the way of picture/sound to do so? I assume I would store the files on a NAS an a computer running iTunes would always have to be on?

PAAI
07-19-2012, 11:41 AM
Dingo, For your own home, consider using Plex or XMBC to get the movies to the TV. LG TVs recognize Plex.
I am not a fan of dealing with itunes for movies with an appletv or otherwise.

Dingo Dog
07-19-2012, 11:51 AM
What is it about iTunes you do not like for movies? I am not a fan of iTunes in general but have never really tried it for this purpose so I do not know the ups and downs of it. I have not heard of Plex before - what hardware would it use besides LG tvs? And the other I assume you are talking about is X-Box Media Center?

Dingo Dog
07-19-2012, 11:53 AM
DId a quick look at the Plex website- Roku is a decent box for $99. I wonder what the interface looks like for Plex. Do you know if Plex does a decent job of organizing the movies? Also, what about picture/sound quality? I do not want to give either of these up just for the convenience of a digital copy.

TedW
12-04-2012, 09:09 AM
So anyone have any updates? Other than the initial push I have not really see any advertising or press on this could based Vudu solution.

FP Crazy
12-04-2012, 10:20 AM
AFAIK, it's not really Vudu, per say, it is UltraViolet. That's not to say if you buy a movie on Vudu (buy, not rent) that it's the same thing, but both Vudu purchases and UltraViolet purchase show up in the same My Vudu Movies cloud vault (you have to link your Vudu account to your UV account). However, (I think) if you log onto your UltraViolet account (i.e via a browser), only your UV purchases show up and not the Vudu purchases.

UV seems to be slowly adding more movie studios into their ecosystem, and there are several majors on board already.

Even though I hate WM, I actually like Vudu and I think UV is as good an idea as anything else out there. UV at least allows you to buy the BluRay disc (some movies) and also have it in the cloud, where it can be watched from any UV or Vudu client. Much better than AppleTV, IMO.

HiFiGuy1
12-04-2012, 11:56 AM
Not to start a storm, but I just spoke with K because of a client I am getting transferred to my new company for service purposes, and the Kaleidescape Online Store is supposed to be rolling out by the end of the month. There have been some unforeseen but serendipitous consequences of the whole legal battle, and losing/settling it may be the best thing, because now K is directly involved with UltraViolet as a vendor, and it sounds like the relationship is going to be good for existing K clients. If you're already a dealer, it may be useful to call your rep and get some more details. The factory guy I spoke with said that the new Online Store is going to be even better than they originally envisioned it, as a result of the fallout from the lawsuit, and Hollywood studios are actually approaching them to help sell collections and stuff. Ironic, to say the least.

I can just imagine the conversation: "Hey, I know we just sued you and tried to bury your company, but now we see that your system is a perfect conduit, and it may actually be beneficial to us to have you sell our movies. You game?"

One of the things that is being worked out, which was important to me, was whether a digital copy or authorized torrent can be used on multiple systems owned by a single client, and that is looking promising. If it comes to fruition, what this basically means is that a client buys a copy of a Blu-ray on the Online Store, and it would load onto both of their systems, at home and at the second home. There would be no need for those particular discs to be carried from home to home, and they'd be fully authorized for all players in both locations.

Also, instead of having to drag hundreds of movies into Wal-Mart for authorization with UV, since K already knows what you have in your server, they are trying to get rights to do the same thing without having to leave the house, I am sure with a comparable fee to what Wal-Mart/UV charges now per title.

There should be an announcement for some of this stuff coming up in the next 30 days.

FP Crazy
12-04-2012, 12:02 PM
Ironic to say the least.

It's like saying, "Hey, I know we just raped/ass f*cked your wife, sadistically tortured her for several months before killing her, and then burned down your house, but hey, can we now be friends? And we'll even give you a job"

Sadly, K will probably buy into it, as it makes sense for them and they don't have too many choices.

HiFiGuy1
12-04-2012, 12:10 PM
Ironic to say the least.

It's like saying, "Hey, I know we just raped/ass f*cked your wife, sadistically tortured her for several months before killing her, and then burned down your house, but hey, can we now be friends? And we'll even give you a job"

Sadly, K will probably buy into it, as it makes sense for them and they don't have too many choices.

Yeah, the factory guy and I had a good laugh over the irony of the whole situation, but it sounds like it may have opened up some opportunities that K didn't imagine they would have had only a year ago, so it could actually turn out to be a good thing in the long run.

tigerpawgt
12-04-2012, 03:18 PM
So I've been slowly cross populating movies between Vudu, Flixster, and my recent BR purchases using UV as the hub. I like it. Works well as a way to get streaming/downloading access of the movies to my mobile devices and avoid manual process of down res'ing them. My wife took about 20-25 of our old DVD's into WM to upload to Vudu. Remember to go to the photo center cause no one else in the store has a clue.