disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

[jeffpn]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

Once you buy a physical item you can do whatever you want with that physical item including lend it out.

Sure you can. Try buying a movie on whatever format you like, put advertisements in the paper that you'll show it on a 50' screen, and you'll charge far less than what movie theaters charge, at only $5 per person. Or try airing it on your own television station. The studios would shut you down as soon as they found out. Where do you get the idea that "Once you buy a physical item you can do whatever you want with that physical item?" That is not true at all! Lending it to someone is an entirely different story. Put money into the equation, and the rules change dramatically.

[Jake]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

I don't think a "rental copy" has ever cost more than a retail copy, since providing rentals does not require permission from the studios. It's the doctrine of first sale. Once you buy a physical item you can do whatever you want with that physical item including lend it out.

The rental discs come into play because companies like redbox agree not to rent out new releases for a month or so in order to get cheaper pricing on discs. My understanding is that blockbuster does not agree to this and buys retail copies anyway so its not every company that would have special discs.

I think it's the other way around company-wise. BB definitely participated in this (about the time they started having 100+ copies of each new release in one store). Redbox didn't agree to it with some studios, which is why they have been known to send employees out and buy out all of the retail copies in a store.

In fact, some retailers (including Walmart and Target) started limiting the number of a DVDs purchased to prevent them from buying out the whole inventory...

[tfisher]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

Perhaps there was before one of the landmark copyright/first sale cases?

This was about 18 or 19 years ago. But I would expect Blockbuster and other rental companies to still be paying a higher price for rental copies. Not that this really matters. I don't see that it makes a difference how much Blockbuster paid for the DVD that I bought from them and want to watch in the cloud.

[jonline]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

Perhaps there was before one of the landmark copyright/first sale cases? The studios fought like dragons over human flesh back in the late 70's to early 80's before losing to that precedent. I was still in diapers at the time so that's all I can offer about it.

[tfisher]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

I don't think a "rental copy" has ever cost more than a retail copy.

Like I said, VHS rental tapes did, at least some of them did. I know this because my wife use to work for a video rental store. DVDs may not have cost any more than regular retail, I really don't remember because they didn't have DVDs at their store back then.

[jonline]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

I don't think a "rental copy" has ever cost more than a retail copy, since providing rentals does not require permission from the studios. It's the doctrine of first sale. Once you buy a physical item you can do whatever you want with that physical item including lend it out.

The rental discs come into play because companies like redbox agree not to rent out new releases for a month or so in order to get cheaper pricing on discs. My understanding is that blockbuster does not agree to this and buys retail copies anyway so its not every company that would have special discs.

[tfisher]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

Rental-specific DVDs are usually sold to rental stores for little/no profit by the studios in exchange for rental revenue sharing, etc. So I wouldn't expect this to be supported. Then again, you may have luck in store with those, as long as "PROPERTY OF BLOCKBUSTER" isn't stamped all over it

If you think about it, buying any used DVDs should not automatically entitle you to a UV right (for example, with UV DVD purchases there is a code that can only be used once, usually by the original purchaser).

Then things have changed, because about 18 years ago rental stores actually paid 2 or 3 times the cost of a regular retail version of a movie and the rental store didn't share any revenue. This was back in the day of VHS...I don't remember any specifics about DVDs.

I have converted 4 or 5 movies that I purchased from Blockbuster. Is it illegal for rental stores to sell their used DVDs? If not, then I have the right to buy it and watch it...that (in my opinion) should include a digital locker.

[lostinva]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

It could be in their agreements which ones are authorized, and it would be very easy to block discs that were specifically pressed for rental only if they wanted to.

This is where the human factor kicks in with in-store purchase.

[Jake]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

The problem I see with that is that you may own a used disc that is a rental copy. Stores like Blockbuster will sell off their DVDs and I think that if someone buys a used DVD they should be allowed to use it for D2D.

Rental-specific DVDs are usually sold to rental stores for little/no profit by the studios in exchange for rental revenue sharing, etc. So I wouldn't expect this to be supported. Then again, you may have luck in store with those, as long as "PROPERTY OF BLOCKBUSTER" isn't stamped all over it

If you think about it, buying any used DVDs should not automatically entitle you to a UV right (for example, with UV DVD purchases there is a code that can only be used once, usually by the original purchaser).

[tfisher]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

The studios could implement different disc ids for retail vs. rental discs to prevent renters from using rental copies on the D2D program. In fact the rental only discs which already exist to some extent would already have to have different disc ids. The studios would just have to go all in on rental copies for all titles to deter this though.

The problem I see with that is that you may own a used disc that is a rental copy. Stores like Blockbuster will sell off their DVDs and I think that if someone buys a used DVD they should be allowed to use it for D2D.

[lostinva]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

Right, all pressings from the same master would get the same calculated ID. Different content = different ID, no matter how small the difference is between the discs.

[rdodolak]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

The studios could implement different disc ids for retail vs. rental discs to prevent renters from using rental copies on the D2D program. In fact the rental only discs which already exist to some extent would already have to have different disc ids. The studios would just have to go all in on rental copies for all titles to deter this though.

[tfisher]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

If you mean me, I was clarifying that there is nothing on the disc itself that is an actual code or ID that identifies the disc, it's entirely generated on demand by a standard algorithm...

I can see that...sort of like a digital signature...sort of like the way a check digit or is calculating or a MD5 hash calculation. That would also explain how different pressings of the same movie wouldn't be recongnized because the DVD menu is often different and that would change the underlying data which would alter the digital signature.

But the point I was making earlier is that if you and I both buy the same movie they would each contain the same digital signature.

Does this make sense?

[lostinva]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

That's not at all what tfisher was talking about.

If you mean me, I was clarifying that there is nothing on the disc itself that is an actual code or ID that identifies the disc, it's entirely generated on demand by a standard algorithm...

In-store service is subject to a lot more error and cheating of the system, than simply reading the discs. So while a single disc could be re-used by multiple people with the in-home service, at least there is some computerized system that makes the process simpler and far less error prone and removes stupid humans from the equation.

[sbuberl]

Re: disc to digital... I don't get it.. are the discs unique?

when anyone goes to walmart do you actually bring your discs in store? When I went there for the first time I brought 5 movies and the guy said I'm doing nothing with those and that he just wanted my printout from online.... Is anyone else getting this answer from asscociates and has anybody got them stamped? just checking cause this could be a good thing....Hmmmm

You're supposed to bring the movies so they can verify ownership (or at least actually in your possession). Otherwise, a person could get any D2D movie for HDX for $2 if they say they have the blu-ray and the clerk doesn't check. This allows people to get an awful lots of movies they own in UV locker for real cheap). It seems not many places actually stamp them, but the place I goes to does.