Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

[Broman]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

It's your choice, but given how simple it is to set the filters to "Available to Rent", I'm surprised.

BTW you are correct it is simple. However I dislike having to do it every time I go to find a movie. Permanent selection or the ability to turn off purchase only was the topic of the thread.

[Broman]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

wow... I get told to stay on topic from one Mod and then another comes in and corrects my personal opinions. Interesting.

Either way, I'm not putting out $300 in the hopes that the company does something I'm looking for down the road. ATV2 does what I want now in the interface. ATV2 isn't flawless or a complete package either. My major gripes are the crappy Apple remote (can use a universal remote which makes up for a lot), as well as the heat and esthetics of the unit itself. Beyond that I was just trying to buy a different interface for a second TV and was lead to believe that my experience could be better with the Vudu. For me, I think ATV2 is a better interface and choice. The 30 day guarantee is a nice offer from Vudu. I do appreciate that.

but to get back on topic...

[NA9D]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

2. Larger purchasable library. Rent library seems equal with the ATV2

Actually, Vudu has something like 4000 movies for rental. ATV2 has less than 1000.

ATV2 has the advantage of:
1. IMHO cleaner interface

Only in the UI. Trying to RW/FF through content on ATV is a nightmare. Yeah, there is chaptering but try skipping backwards 5 seconds quickly to hear missed dialog on ATV. It's no where near as clean in that area as Vudu.

5. Slightly larger HD movie selection

By what measure? Vudu has over 100 HD movies now. ATV was to have 100 by the end of Feb. But since there's no way to get counts on ATV unless you do it manually, I guess we don't really know now do we?

Movie pricing seems almost the same on both units. Apple's cheaper on the HD movies, Vudu has some older movies that are cheap to rent. I think in the end it'll even itself out and they are really both on par.

Agreed. They are pretty close and each has some advantages over the other. Neither is a clear cut winner at this point. It all has to do with your preferences and what you want. I agree with any of your points that I didn't dispute! Apple has the edge on TV shows, podcasts, etc. Both just make life more fun!

As for continuing to make things better - ATV has been out for over a year and there have been 2 additional software releases. Vudu has been out for not even 6 months and there have been 6 software releases. Vudu's plan is to roll out new updates approximately every 4 to 6 weeks. Each update adds new and improved functionality or features. I wonder how long it will take Apple to come out with a new update that isn't just bug fixes.

Back on topic, I believe that sooner rather than later, that Vudu is going to have the features you want. It will not be the same box 6 months from now it is today. I doubt you can say that about your ATV.

[NA9D]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

Movies ordered directly from Apple TV (sans computer) are all rental.

Well, that sucks.

[NA9D]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

Not much to say then. Vudu can't do rental only as a permanent user option.

Too bad... i guess I'm returning the unit until a further date when I can configure it to my taste. I hate to take the risk on $300 if it wont fit my needs in the long run.

Thanks for the info guys. It was a help.

It's your choice, but given how simple it is to set the filters to "Available to Rent", I'm surprised. There's even some titles that you see in there that are purchase only that you might want to buy.

But then again, Vudu isn't for everyone. It's for the person who wants access to over 5000 movies instantly.

[Broman]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

Not much to say then. Vudu can't do rental only as a permanent user option.

Too bad... i guess I'm returning the unit until a further date when I can configure it to my taste. I hate to take the risk on $300 if it wont fit my needs in the long run.

Thanks for the info guys. It was a help.

[RonV]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

OK back on track for this thread's topic. We have other threads that have VUDU vs. Apple TV...

[Broman]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

I haven't looked at my AppleTV in a bit, but I was not aware you could set it to show just purchases or just rentals. I think they are all mixed in together as well.

With the new release of the ATV2 software you can only rent now (I think... I haven't seen any movies for purchase since the update). For me personally, this is optimal. I'm not a big fan of purchasing movies online and paying the same price that I can go out and get a disc for. What can be done with the disc is beyond anything worth getting into a chat about here.

What makes the ATV2 comparable with the Vudu is you can now have your computer off and just the ATV2 on and browse through a large selection of movies and rent them with ease, just like the Vudu. I'll give Vudu the edge on having a larger selection, BUT it's really only larger because of purchasable movies.

I'm coming off like an ATV fan. I don't mean to, I'm really just a tech nut and love having the latest and greatest to play around with. At this point though, I'm personally not enjoying the Vudu interface as much as touted on a lot of these recent Vudu review articles. I'd give the edge to ATV2.

In my opinion Vudu has the following over the ATV2:
1. Much Better ergonomic remote. RF is hit or miss for people. Me personally it's a miss because the lack of compatibility with universal remotes. Great for people where the Vudu might be out of the line of sight for IR.
2. Larger purchasable library. Rent library seems equal with the ATV2
3. Slightly better resolution on HD movies... almost even IMHO.
4. Quicker start up time for movies. To be fair I'm able to watch HD movies off the ATV within about 60-90 seconds. I could care less about a wait like that. Gives me a chance to get comfortable in the chair, pop open a soda and I'm rocking and rolling with the movie.
5. Larger drive, but your paying for that I guess with the higher price.

ATV2 has the advantage of:
1. IMHO cleaner interface
2. Rent only movies... simplifies my life!
3. More TV shows, Youtube etc. (I don't use youtube, but I can see how some might like it). If you purchase a season pass on a TV series it's very nice!
4. Able to stream / copy movies from iTunes library. Pretty huge deal for many people.
5. Slightly larger HD movie selection

Movie pricing seems almost the same on both units. Apple's cheaper on the HD movies, Vudu has some older movies that are cheap to rent. I think in the end it'll even itself out and they are really both on par.

I'm sure both camps are going to have to improve functionality and distinguish themselves. In the end we all will win. Let's just hope the studios take the win/win approach and make licensing agreements a bit easier to work with. Studios sure do have a lot to gain... I just hope they can see it!

Cheers

[orccro1]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

I haven't looked at my AppleTV in a bit, but I was not aware you could set it to show just purchases or just rentals. I think they are all mixed in together as well.

Movies ordered directly from Apple TV (sans computer) are all rental.

[redwein]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

Well I think part of the problem is the same I've pointed out before. The filters are not permanent and not global.

If you could go to user prefernces set your filter and have it work for every aspect of data discovery, that would be a huge help.

I agree that would be a useful feature but the post I was responding to said he was so annoyed by it that he decided to use some combination of Apple TV and Vudu. It seems to me that applying the filter every time you use Vudu is less of a hassle than checking 2 different libraries on 2 different machines, using 2 different UIs, etc.

[NA9D]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

I agree with Broman. I only rent and I also have Apple TV. It would be great to be able to have a simple option to turn off the Purchase Only movies. Because of this annoyance I find myself using Apple TV first, and if I can't find anything there then I switch to Vudu.

I haven't looked at my AppleTV in a bit, but I was not aware you could set it to show just purchases or just rentals. I think they are all mixed in together as well.

I've been asking for some global permanent filter options for a while now. I expect it will make it into the UI at some point. Vudu has been quite good about adding customer requested features. It's just a matter of getting it worked into the development schedule.

[HeadHodge]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

On the surface it may look like this could be done but how does it effect the following components:

• Collections
• VUDU Suggestions
• Most Popular
• etc.

The ripple effect could be deep. Nobody here except for VUDU engineers know how a global filter would effect the software. Also only VUDU knows how this would effect their license agreements with the content owners.

Well sure, that's one of my points. Unless we can get some sort of feedback from VUDU we're just WAGing.

Although it's fun doing that, it sort of hinders the ability to give constructive feedback or criticism if we don't know what's in the works, or what's possible, or what's impossible.

At a minimum I know it should be possible to make the current filter function at least permanent as an user preference.

Regards

[RonV]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

All the components are there to some degree, but until a new release comes out or some sort of insight to future release features is given by VUDU, we're just pretty much left hanging in the dark.

On the surface it may look like this could be done but how does it effect the following components:

• Collections
• VUDU Suggestions
• Most Popular
• etc.

The ripple effect could be deep. Nobody here except for VUDU engineers know how a global filter would effect the software. Also only VUDU knows how this would effect their license agreements with the content owners.

[HeadHodge]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

Wouldn't that be more trouble (and annoying) than just using the rental only filter on Vudu first? I don't think it's the case that ATV has more movie rentals than Vudu (though I'm not saying I know that to be true).

Well I think part of the problem is the same I've pointed out before. The filters are not permanent and not global.

If you could go to user prefernces set your filter and have it work for every aspect of data discovery, that would be a huge help.

All the components are there to some degree, but until a new release comes out or some sort of insight to future release features is given by VUDU, we're just pretty much left hanging in the dark about the future of filters.

[redwein]

Re: Possible to permanently turn off purchase only movies?

I agree with Broman. I only rent and I also have Apple TV. It would be great to be able to have a simple option to turn off the Purchase Only movies. Because of this annoyance I find myself using Apple TV first, and if I can't find anything there then I switch to Vudu.

Wouldn't that be more trouble (and annoying) than just using the rental only filter on Vudu first? I don't think it's the case that ATV has more movie rentals than Vudu (though I'm not saying I know that to be true).