If nothing else, it’s confusing since most other VUDU titles are UltraViolet-ready. Even if you’re not a huge fan of UltraViolet, this is clearly a minus.
This ultimately limits the portability of your VUDU titles-for example, you can’t play them offline on your iPad-and the devices on which you can play them. Even if you only use VUDU for UltraViolet, Disney’s VUDU titles are only good in VUDU and will not show up in your UltraViolet library. Don’t be fooled by the fact that VUDU is one of the redemption options. VUDU titles are not added to your UltraViolet library. …and this handy chart is the cypher to decode the first chart. This handy chart helps you choose a redemption option. And choosing a Digital Copy Plus format is like an exercise in hieroglyphics (see below). So plus…minus? This one’s a wash. Paramount and Universal, for example, offer both an iTunes copy and an UltraViolet copy. While this adds flexibility, it’s actually more limited than what some other studios are offering. You can redeem a digital copy at iTunes, Amazon, or VUDU. Many consumers will still try to redeem the codes in iTunes. Consumers are used to going to one place (or in the case of UltraViolet one of two places) to redeem codes.
You redeem your code at a special web site-not in iTunes. Arguably, this is a plus since you can then access the video in your chosen mobile format. You can redeem your “Magic Code” on a mobile device. This is nice, but it’s hardly a plus, since many studios had already moved from the model of including a digital copy on the packaged media and simply allow you to download a copy from iTunes. You don’t need to insert a disc to redeem Digital Copy Plus. Digital Copy Plus is different from Digital Copy, but not significantly, and for the most part, not in a good way.ĭisney debuted Digital Copy Plus with the Oz: The Great and Powerful release. So how is it different? Let’s add up the plusses and minuses: They must be conjuring something wonderful from Yensid’s cauldron, right? Oh how amazing it must be since, after all, Disney has been the one major studio hold-out on UltraViolet.
Last week, the entertainment press and trade jumped on the news that Disney was “Eliminating” Digital Copy for a better model that gave customers more freedom and flexibility.