Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

[VuduWu]

The setup was easy and I was excited about showing my wife our new "toy," and the disappointment sets in. Every new movie that she wanted to watch was not available to rent - despite already being out on dvd. This is a deal breaker for my wife. I understand the legalities but the actuality is waiting a month (or so) to rent a movie that's been available at your movie store for cheaper since its release = is not for everyone.
The HD quality and sound are really good but this will not be your lone source for movies; especially if you want the newest releases. You could pay $20 to own these movies but I'm cautious of owning much this early from Vudu. Plus, most movies are available cheaper their first week on dvd.

[NA9D]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

Well, if you MUST see movies the day they are released and you can't possibly wait 30 days, then you will be disappointed with the Vudu and all other Digital On Demand providers as all of them have the same limitations.

OTOH, if you find that Vudu's library is so large that you can watch other movies while waiting for new ones to become available then it is for you.

The Vudu box is meant to be one of several entertainment options available to you not the ONLY option.

[bald_]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

It's really no different than the delay between being in the theater and on dvd. After a while, you don't even notice. But yes, if you have to see a release on day 1 - no video on demand anywhere on the planet will be able to provide that, so you are stuck driving to a store, or hoping you are high enough in the netflix queue.

I do agree, however, that Vudu won't be your only source for movies. I use Vudu and Netflix. Right now I think they complement each other fine, albeit at a slightly higher cost than a single service alone, and I look forward to the day I can use a digital on-demand service only.

bald

edit: I also agree with your other point, that in it's current state Vudu is not a viable medium for ownership of a large collection. The storage is too limited, the format too non-portable for the cost, and the future of the service too unclear for a significant investment.

[mebby]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

I can remember being a little disappointed when I couldn't immediately rent the latest releases right after getting my Vudu but I quickly realized that there were probably 50 or movies that I wanted to watch at some point or another so I started adding them to my Wish List. Before I knew it I had a steady stream of movies to watch whenever I wanted and now I don't notice the unavailability of the new releases as much.

Yes - sometimes it stings me a little. Like now that I see Pineapple Express is available to purchase with no stated "available to rent" date so I'm left wondering if it will ever be rentable. But in general the Vudu still meets my needs b/c I've always got a Wish List full of 50 or so movies that I can watch.

But as the others have said - if you simply MUST watch new releases immediately as they are available then Vudu and any other VOD device isn't going to meet your needs. At least not today.

[aaronwt]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

Any movie that I must see right away are the ones I purchase on Blu-ray Disc. Otherwise I have no problem waiting 30 days. There are plenty of other movies to keep me busy during that time.

[HeadHodge]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

Any movie that I must see right away are the ones I purchase on Blu-ray Disc. Otherwise I have no problem waiting 30 days. There are plenty of other movies to keep me busy during that time.

I'm usually made aware of new movies by TV commercials, and other TV shows with movie reviews.

It would be nice to have something like a WishList but sortof like a RequestList, for movies that haven't even been released yet to the Big Screen (and aren't listed on VUDU yet).

And then when the movie becomes available, it would really be cool if I received an Email notification from VUDU saying the movie is ready to Rent and then click on a Hotlink in the Email to order it.

That way I could pick and forget movies I'm really interested in, months before they are available to watch on VUDU.

I was really interested in Apaloosa when it was advertised months ago, and almost totally forgot about it when it became available on VUDU.

It had it's corny moments with Fat Lips, but had some really good clean killing too.

[mebby]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

I'm usually made aware of new movies by TV commercials, and other TV shows with movie reviews.

It would be nice to have something like a WishList but sortof like a RequestList, for movies that haven't even been released yet to the Big Screen (and aren't listed on VUDU yet).

And then when the movie becomes available, it would really be cool if I received an Email notification from VUDU saying the movie is ready to Rent and then click on a Hotlink in the Email to order it.

That way I could pick and forget movies I'm really interested in, months before they are available to watch on VUDU.

I was really interested in Apaloosa when it was advertised months ago, and almost totally forgot about it when it became available on VUDU.

It had it's corny moments with Fat Lips, but had some really good clean killing too.

I agree with you completely on this. I think this feature set would be a very nice add for Vudu.

[tamanaco]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

edit: I also agree with your other point, that in it's current state Vudu is not a viable medium for ownership of a large collection. The storage is too limited, the format too non-portable for the cost, and the future of the service too unclear for a significant investment.

I hope Vudu is working on addressing these restriction issues. Enabling the Vudu box USB port to accept external storage and/or partnering with a third-party that for a fee can enable users to archive the movies that they purchased via Vudu to a place somewhere online (Outside the Vudu box even in a secured format approved by the studios) would be steps in the right direction.

I'm aware of the copyright restrictions that studios put on Vudu. But costumers need to make their message clear... not to Vudu... but to the movie studios. Just like the message was make clear to the music studios that DRM was bad for business. They need to realize that medialess digital content (not tied for marketing purposes to any physical portable media like CDs, DVDs or USB drives) is the future of the media business. Just like DRM is making its way out of digital music it should also depart from digital video and from all digital content that customers "purchase". That includes every studio and video content in any format (SD, HD, HDX Blue... Future)

I won't buy a single music track online unless is devoid of DRM and in a Lossless file format. I feel that folks that buy music from iTunes or MP3s on any online store in any loosy format are being shortchanged. Try playing a MP3 on a decent receiver... that stuff sounds awful outside a portable player. I mostly buy music CDs rip them to FLAC and store the CDs somewhere I can't see them. Once in a blue moon I buy FLAC music online. Having my music library in FLAC format allows me to play my digital library at CD quality in my receiver via my SqueezeBox. I can use those FLAC files and transcode them to any existing or future loosy format for use in my portable DAP without the need of the original physical media. I can also recreate the original CD if I loose or damage the originals. I can play then anywhere and change them to any format without restrictions as long as it it's for "Personal Use". Until I get the same type of freedom I get from FLAC files for music with video I will stand aside. I only own 4 or 5 DVDs. I mostly record to my DVR or rent movies via VOD service of my cable company and now from Vudu. I won't be buying any videos any time soon. But if I wanted to buy downloaded titles they would have to be free of any digital security scheme. This does not mean that buying titles from Vudu is a bad thing. It is a perfectly efficient way of storing movies and getting rid of those tall DVD boxes and maybe help save the planet.

The problem is that the folks at the studios forget that the pirates that are making money off their golden goose can easily buy legit DVDs/Blue Ray disks in reputable stores. If they're unable to break the security code to make perfect copies... they play the movie over a digital projector and record it with a decent digital camera. These guys are thieves they'll always figure out a way around the security restrictions. Understood... the quality of a movies copied with a digital camera is not there... but the folks buying this stuff are not looking for quality at ~$2 a pop. From what I see in the street of NYC the majority pirated DVDs are made from promotional copies of movies either from the studios themselves or their distributors. Most of those $2 movies have messages saying that if you're not an authorized viewer the local police or FBI will come and get you. Very, very secured.

[Nded]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

....snip....I'm aware of the copyright restrictions that studios put on Vudu. But costumers need to make their message clear... not to Vudu... but to the movie studios.....snip.....

Well, this costumer's message is pretty clear, but I'm not sure how that helps get the studios' rears in gear....

[NA9D]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

I won't buy a single music track online unless is devoid of DRM and in a Lossless file format. I feel that folks that buy music from iTunes or MP3s on any online store in any loosy format are being shortchanged. Try playing a MP3 on a decent receiver... that stuff sounds awful outside a portable player.

To each their own. I personally have always preferred LPs over CDs and frankly tube amplfiers over transistor amplifiers as I just feel the old analog formats have a warmer sound.

But, once in the digital format, I can hear very little difference between lossless and a high bit rate AAC file. Very little in this case = none. I play my AAC media all the time over my AV system and it sounds great.

So please don't say I'm being shortchanged. Maybe your ears can tell the difference - mine can't.

Now, I do agree with you completely about the pirating issue and all. The real goal the studios should have is to make digital copies easily obtainable, easily portable and affordable. They do that and give the market what it wants and they'll have very little pirate problems. The pirates will ALWAYS be there, but if the barrier to owning a digital copy is low, then most people will opt to go with the "legit" product.

[tamanaco]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

No costumes... I sent my message to the studios by not "buying" any videos on any media source (DVDs, Blueray or via download) that restricts me to certain devices. I want the digital content I "buy" to be fully portable and without restrictions as long as I use it for "personal" purposes.

[tamanaco]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

To each their own. I personally have always preferred LPs over CDs and frankly tube amplfiers over transistor amplifiers as I just feel the old analog formats have a warmer sound.

But, once in the digital format, I can hear very little difference between lossless and a high bit rate AAC file. Very little in this case = none. I play my AAC media all the time over my AV system and it sounds great.

So please don't say I'm being shortchanged. Maybe your ears can tell the difference - mine can't.

I give you the "warmer sound" of LPs over CDs argument, but not lossy formats over a lossless formats. How loud do you play your music over you AV system? With lossy file formats you're bound to hear distortion at high volume levels with almost any decent receiver.
If you drop a pebble from 20 feet in a bucket of water you will see the ripples (waves) in the water, but if you drop a grain of sand you probably won't see anything. If you drop both at the same time, the tiny ripples of the grain of sand will affect the large waves that you can see. A similar effects happens with sound waves. If you remove sounds (waves/noise/hiss high/lows) outside your hearing range with an encoder the music within your hearing range will be affected. The compression algorithms used to compress lossy formats will throw lots of stuff away and try to compensate with other sound tricks. You don't get something for nothing. If this was not the case; all digital music files would be 50K and all CD music albums that you buy in the store would be made up of MP3s.
In lossy file formats some sounds outside your hearing range are gone and no longer influence the music as it is reproduced over your AV system. Lossless format files still reproduce those sounds outside your hearing range and the music played over your AV system is influenced by the those waves. You'll hear the sounds of waves that were modified or created by collisions of sound waves within and outside your hearing range.
I hope my argument made sense... is late... the last presidential bowl is over... I'm falling out. But to close... you can sell me an original artist 10 year old CD in good condition for $10, but I won't give you a dime for the same album made up of pristine MP3s you downloaded yesterday.

[bald_]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

... Like now that I see Pineapple Express is available to purchase with no stated "available to rent" date so I'm left wondering if it will ever be rentable...

Incidentally it just showed up as rentable on 2-20-09

bald

[mebby]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

Incidentally it just showed up as rentable on 2-20-09

bald

SWEET!!! Thanks for pointing that out!

[aaronwt]

Re: Out of luck on renting latest movies... you have to wait

I give you the "warmer sound" of LPs over CDs argument, but not lossy formats over a lossless formats. How loud do you play your music over you AV system? With lossy file formats you're bound to hear distortion at high volume levels with almost any decent receiver.
If you drop a pebble from 20 feet in a bucket of water you will see the ripples (waves) in the water, but if you drop a grain of sand you probably won't see anything. If you drop both at the same time, the tiny ripples of the grain of sand will affect the large waves that you can see. A similar effects happens with sound waves. If you remove sounds (waves/noise/hiss high/lows) outside your hearing range with an encoder the music within your hearing range will be affected. The compression algorithms used to compress lossy formats will throw lots of stuff away and try to compensate with other sound tricks. You don't get something for nothing. If this was not the case; all digital music files would be 50K and all CD music albums that you buy in the store would be made up of MP3s.
In lossy file formats some sounds outside your hearing range are gone and no longer influence the music as it is reproduced over your AV system. Lossless format files still reproduce those sounds outside your hearing range and the music played over your AV system is influenced by the those waves. You'll hear the sounds of waves that were modified or created by collisions of sound waves within and outside your hearing range.
I hope my argument made sense... is late... the last presidential bowl is over... I'm falling out. But to close... you can sell me an original artist 10 year old CD in good condition for $10, but I won't give you a dime for the same album made up of pristine MP3s you downloaded yesterday.

192kbs WMA sounds very good. I would guess that 99% of people could not tell the difference between a 192kbs WMA track and a CD.
Now if you had a 192kbs MP3 track I think it would be easy to hear the difference but if you bump that up to 320kbs I would say the same thing. 99% of people would not be able to tell the difference between it and a CD.

I used MDs in the mid 90's which used ATRAC which sounded very good compared to CDs. When MP3s became popular I never liked them much and preferred the WMA format. So I ripped my hundreds of CDs I've purchased since 1985 in the WMA format and will never buy a CD again. Although my only complaint is that my Squeeze boxes won't play DRM music.