As others have written VUDU basically is UV at this point, FandangoNow being the other minor UV player. My take on this is if the UV locker does eventually go away that VUDU will continue to allow for family sharing by reworking their UI/website. I think they are fully aware that this is a feature utilized by many many people. Google Play and iTunes have their own versions of family sharing so it's not going away.
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Nope.Originally posted by mrewster View Post
Apple = ~$900 billion.
Google = ~$600 billion.
Amazon = ~$420 billion.
Walmart = ~$250 billion.Comment
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Very quietly on 11/13. And no, it is not a good sign at all. They are sunsetting UV. Those of us with shared UV libraries will be allowed to continue sharing and adding UV titles (for now), but no new shared UV libraries going forward. Seems to be the "whither on the vine" approach to killing UV.Originally posted by ploogerComment
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I'm strongly considering switching from Vudu. I became a loyal Vudu customer years ago after starting out at Amazon Video. At the time Amazon was not a DMA partner/provider. I liked the DMA concept and there was a Vudu app on my Smart TV. Following that I found out I could convert my DVD's to digital HD copies on Vudu which really sold me. So, I converted my collection to digital. At that time they offered a 50% discount when you did 10 movies. I don't have too many discs left that I haven't converted; however, their disc-to-digital service is not nearly the same draw as it once was when the 50% off promotion was being offered.
Next, I found out I could share my movies with family members through Ultraviolet sharing. Ultraviolet really had me sold now. I wished that Amazon and other digital movie providers would join UV, but I was glad to have it on Vudu. I didn't need to share my login with family members but they were able to use their own account. This led to me bringing more customers to Vudu and increasing Vudu's sales. Without the UV sharing I can say with confidence they would have never used Vudu. Not only that, but I increased spending of my own to buy movies that my shares would enjoy. Vudu became a conversation starter in a way. I would go over to their house and they'd have Vudu open watching another movie. Knowing that movies were being watched, I would buy more movies.
Now to respond to what brought me to Vudu and how they have changed:
DMA has now dissolved into MA (Movies Anywhere). It has had a very displeasurable rollout. Still, it is connected to iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon. It's not like it was when DMA was only connected to iTunes and Vudu. Also, iTunes has been making many pro-consumer changes which gives more incentive to use their products and their service. Vudu has not.
Disc-to-digital without the 50% off promotion is far less of a draw now. As I already stated.
Ultraviolet sharing has been removed by Vudu and I really have no idea why. In turn, Vudu is no longer a conversation starter. New customers are not brought in through sharing the way I turned friends and family into paying Vudu customers. Less and less people will be finding out about the service. As so many people I talked to had to be educated on what Vudu was and if it could be trusted. I'll tell you what brands these people do know, love, and trust: Apple (iTunes), Amazon, and Google Play.
All 3 of those services offer a way to share moves with family members, Vudu is now the only one that doesn't. I thought iTunes was the fool to agree to Movies Anywhere, but apparently it was Vudu. As now they seem to be abandoning the things that drew people in to use their service in the first place. Trying to distance themselves from UV might just be the last straw and I believe it will be their downfall. Abruptly removing Ultraviolet sharing without a suitable replacement for customers to use to share movies with family is especially foolish. There are many upcoming movies I had planned to purchase but if they're not UV then no way. Leap! is just one of them which I've been watching for it to become UV and seems Vudu just doesn't want to. They've been hesitant to add UV to any movies lately.
Another problem with Vudu is poor customer service. Why even bother, seriously?Comment
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At first I was saying I don't think UV is going anywhere, but after these past few weeks, and titles losing UV rights if redeemed in other places, even if the title ports to Vudu and is UV, then they stopped allowing the sharing. I can see the death of UV upon us. I think once Lionsgate and Paramount join MA (hopefully soon), UV will start to fade out, unless the smaller studios decide to jump ship and take on UV, but I would rather see all join MA, and make it easier for the customers.Comment
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I prefer Vudu but if they don't continue uv enabling movies and tv shows or come up with a family sharing replacement they pretty much lose any incentive to keep doing business with them. iTunes and Google apparently offer sharing and Amazon not only has sales all the time but they also often price match sales found on Vudu and iTunes. The reason MA is pretty useless for me is because I barely have any movies in iTunes and Amazon, the bulk of my movies are on Vudu because I can share them with my family and if that goes away there's nothing keeping me here. I think it's time to start focusing more on my physical collection while digital seems to be spiraling into an uncertain chaotic mess. I wonder what's going to happens in a few years time if Disney wants to get out of the digital business or just wants to change MA into something else. Seriously studios and digital shops need to come together and figure all this crap out once and for all or you're going to drive people away.Comment
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As MA takes over for UV, and the final studios and Wal-Mart get fully onboard, you'll finally have that central hub for movies. And now instead of just Vudu-only movies (that aren't on UV) and using crap like Flixster; You do/will have the choice to buy from Amazon, Google Play, VUDU, and iTunes. With Disney's support behind the main site, it won't get neglected into a convoluted mess that the UV site is now.
Just get your Disc to Digital stuff in now while you can.Comment
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I keep reading that if you redeem codes through MA they don't get UV status (if they had it normally)? When did this start? As I redeemed two titles earlier this month on MA and just noticed both have UV on Vudu?Comment
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if you look at the back of this upcoming bluray from universal "The Snowman"..... the future of UV on new releases isn't looking so good.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....L._SL1500_.jpgComment
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Actually check your UV locker. They will show the UV symbol on Vudu as those are UV enabled movies but they may not actually be in your UV locker.Originally posted by Wasteland View Post
Vudu got butthurt that they were giving UV licenses for movies that ported in from non-UV providers and started removing the UV rights from peoples accounts for those movies. Pretty petty of them to not just honor it and put in a fix to stop it from continuing.Comment
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Although it kind of sucks it's smart on Vudu's part because it gives people incentive to buy/redeem from them so I'm actually ok with that even if it means missing out on some good deals elsewhere. Since most of my digital collection is on Vudu I very much want them to grow and thrive which means their going to need all the incentives they can get to keep people coming back here like family sharing and their disc to digital programs..Originally posted by JimD17 View PostComment
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Wow! A handful of newer additions to my library show UV on Vudu but don't appear in my UV locker, I never knew about this. I redeemed a few iTunes codes that were MA, no UV rights. I redeemed a few on MA for the HD upgrade before the big meltdown, no UV rights. Pretty sad, but I'd say this is is just more proof UV will slowly die off, which is very sad.Originally posted by JimD17 View PostComment
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Nice. I just confirmed that the four "free" titles from linking to MA (Ghostbusters, Lego, Ice Age, Jason Bourne) have disappeared from my UV account, where they have been since the day I linked iTunes, Google, Amazon and Vudu to MA. So much for "your UV rights last forever."Originally posted by JimD17 View Post
A customer-friendly approach from Vudu would have been "we link to everything" not "you didn't buy it here, we revoke your UV"Comment
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Vudu has indicated that this is dictated by the studios that joined MA, NOT a decision by Vudu.Originally posted by Pepper View PostComment
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Things are going from bad to worse:
"Please check the insert that came with your disc for instructions on how to redeem the code.
You may also be able to redeem the code at your favorite UltraViolet retailer?s website."
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