I finally got my e-mail for my HDX To VUDU UHD upgrades early morning of November 8th about the 5th or 6th day after they started doing this. After seeing what others were getting for upgrades and what I finally got it is obvious that the process is rather flawed and another round of upgrades should happen in the very near future to fix the shortcomings of this upgrade process.
I will use my library as an example of how flawed the upgrade process was.
I had just 9 movies "upgraded from HDX to VUDU UHD".
#1. Bridge On The River Kwai (Already owned this one in UHD by purchasing a UHD version from another source than VUDU but originally bought the HD version from VUDU which is why VUDU probably mistakenly gave me this as an "upgrade" this time.)
#2. Wonder Woman animated 2009 version (Already was upgraded in VUDU only UHD a few years ago when VUDU upgraded some Warner titles a few years earlier to VUDU only UHD.)
#3. Elf (Never really purchased this one in HDX. I rented it on VUDU and then got an HD code through a promotion. The rental I suspect was treated as a purchase and which is why it was one of the upgrades this time).
#4. Polar Express (Never really purchased this one in HDX technically. It was a credit I got for a free holiday movie but it was treated as a purchase by FandangoNOW pre VUDU merger I believe.)
#5. Matilda (This one I did purchase in HD on VUDU so this one should have been upgraded which it was.)
#6. Aloha (Also a HD purchase from VUDU so this one should have been upgraded which it was.)
#7. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (Again an HD purchase from VUDU so it should have been upgraded which it was.)
#8. The Outsiders 1983 Original Version (Not 100 percent sure but I believe this was part of a mix and match purchase at VUDU so if only purchases other than disc to digital count than it should have been upgraded which it was.)
#9. 2012 movie from Sony (Also a HD purchase from VUDU so it should have been upgraded which it was.)
So of the 7 upgrades that were actually new to my VUDU Collection 5 of them should have been upgraded for sure while 2 might have been mistakes in my favor.
BUT now here are the PROBLEMS with this round of upgrades!!!
#1. Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story are still both HD in my VUDU collection while Elf and Polar Express are now upgraded to VUDU UHD Only even though all 4 of these I got through codes from purchasing cereal or crackers promotions. It would seem that all 4 should have not been upgraded to UHD or all 4 should have been upgraded and not just 2 out of 4.
#2. Despite seeing some Superman movies such as Superman II being upgraded for some people mine were not upgraded to UHD maybe because I bought it as a bundle at FandangoNOW before the VUDU/FandangoNOW merger. Since the 2 companies are the same now those movies should have been upgraded.
#3 James Dean Collection of Rebel Without A Cause/East of Eden/Giant which I have seen individually upgraded by others was not upgraded at all even though I purchased the bundle at VUDU.
#4. Stripes which I "purchased" for free several years ago at FandangoNOW was not upgraded either despite others getting the upgrade for this movie. Even though it was free and at FandangoNOW it was technically a purchase because I had to "purchase" it and it wasn't just added in my collection automatically.
#5. Underworld movies had some that were upgraded for others but not for me. I can't remember the exact sale but I believe I purchased those at FandangoNOW as part of a buy one get the others at a reduced price type sale or something like that several years ago pre VUDU merger.
There are several others that weren't upgraded but most likely wouldn't have been eligible since disc to digital and codes and purchases at other retailers such as Amazon or iTunes weren't allowed from what little we know about the upgrade process.
In my case there were a significantly larger number of movies that should have been upgraded than those that were accidentally upgraded to UHD.
So I think another round of VUDU only UHD upgrades is warranted because there was obviously flaws in what got flipped to UHD for some people and what didn't. VUDU needs to go back and add those upgrades regardless of whether the purchase was made at FandanoNOW or VUDU or whether it was an individual movie purchase or part of a bundle.
This process shouldn't have been a lottery where people just happened to enter multiple codes or get a bunch of free rentals gets lucky and gets a whole bunch of upgrades and it should be based more on what you actually purchased from FandangoNOW/VUDU in the past. We who paid for these movies should get a fair return on our investment and get the UHD upgrades we deserve and not sit here and watch in frustration that some one who might have just got a bunch of codes from friends or family for free are now also getting free upgrades.
I will use my library as an example of how flawed the upgrade process was.
I had just 9 movies "upgraded from HDX to VUDU UHD".
#1. Bridge On The River Kwai (Already owned this one in UHD by purchasing a UHD version from another source than VUDU but originally bought the HD version from VUDU which is why VUDU probably mistakenly gave me this as an "upgrade" this time.)
#2. Wonder Woman animated 2009 version (Already was upgraded in VUDU only UHD a few years ago when VUDU upgraded some Warner titles a few years earlier to VUDU only UHD.)
#3. Elf (Never really purchased this one in HDX. I rented it on VUDU and then got an HD code through a promotion. The rental I suspect was treated as a purchase and which is why it was one of the upgrades this time).
#4. Polar Express (Never really purchased this one in HDX technically. It was a credit I got for a free holiday movie but it was treated as a purchase by FandangoNOW pre VUDU merger I believe.)
#5. Matilda (This one I did purchase in HD on VUDU so this one should have been upgraded which it was.)
#6. Aloha (Also a HD purchase from VUDU so this one should have been upgraded which it was.)
#7. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (Again an HD purchase from VUDU so it should have been upgraded which it was.)
#8. The Outsiders 1983 Original Version (Not 100 percent sure but I believe this was part of a mix and match purchase at VUDU so if only purchases other than disc to digital count than it should have been upgraded which it was.)
#9. 2012 movie from Sony (Also a HD purchase from VUDU so it should have been upgraded which it was.)
So of the 7 upgrades that were actually new to my VUDU Collection 5 of them should have been upgraded for sure while 2 might have been mistakes in my favor.
BUT now here are the PROBLEMS with this round of upgrades!!!
#1. Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story are still both HD in my VUDU collection while Elf and Polar Express are now upgraded to VUDU UHD Only even though all 4 of these I got through codes from purchasing cereal or crackers promotions. It would seem that all 4 should have not been upgraded to UHD or all 4 should have been upgraded and not just 2 out of 4.
#2. Despite seeing some Superman movies such as Superman II being upgraded for some people mine were not upgraded to UHD maybe because I bought it as a bundle at FandangoNOW before the VUDU/FandangoNOW merger. Since the 2 companies are the same now those movies should have been upgraded.
#3 James Dean Collection of Rebel Without A Cause/East of Eden/Giant which I have seen individually upgraded by others was not upgraded at all even though I purchased the bundle at VUDU.
#4. Stripes which I "purchased" for free several years ago at FandangoNOW was not upgraded either despite others getting the upgrade for this movie. Even though it was free and at FandangoNOW it was technically a purchase because I had to "purchase" it and it wasn't just added in my collection automatically.
#5. Underworld movies had some that were upgraded for others but not for me. I can't remember the exact sale but I believe I purchased those at FandangoNOW as part of a buy one get the others at a reduced price type sale or something like that several years ago pre VUDU merger.
There are several others that weren't upgraded but most likely wouldn't have been eligible since disc to digital and codes and purchases at other retailers such as Amazon or iTunes weren't allowed from what little we know about the upgrade process.
In my case there were a significantly larger number of movies that should have been upgraded than those that were accidentally upgraded to UHD.
So I think another round of VUDU only UHD upgrades is warranted because there was obviously flaws in what got flipped to UHD for some people and what didn't. VUDU needs to go back and add those upgrades regardless of whether the purchase was made at FandanoNOW or VUDU or whether it was an individual movie purchase or part of a bundle.
This process shouldn't have been a lottery where people just happened to enter multiple codes or get a bunch of free rentals gets lucky and gets a whole bunch of upgrades and it should be based more on what you actually purchased from FandangoNOW/VUDU in the past. We who paid for these movies should get a fair return on our investment and get the UHD upgrades we deserve and not sit here and watch in frustration that some one who might have just got a bunch of codes from friends or family for free are now also getting free upgrades.
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