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Blu-Ray Digital Copies + iTuned + Apple TV confusion

post #1 of 14
6/11/12 at 10:36pm
Thread Starter 
Since setting up my Apple TV, I have purposely purchased my Blu-Ray movies with included digital copies when possible. The packaging for each title includes the iTunes icon, and indeed the copies are unlocked within the iTunes software. However, each one seems to have its own way of going about this process. Some have special windows to enter the code and some require inserting the "Digital Copy Disc". Odd and nonuniform, but no problem.

The problem I'm having with digital copies is this: not all digital copies are created equal, at least not in the eyes of iTunes. While all result in local SD renditions of the movies on my desktop PC, only some appear in my Purchases list under iTunes Store->Movies->Purchased.

So far I have entered codes for these movies: Kung Fu Panda 2, Captain America, X-Men First Class, Puss in Boots, and The Adventures of Tintin. Of that group, Tintin, Captain America, and Puss in Boots show on my Purchased list.

This is significant, as the resolution of the iTunes Store version is at minimum 720p, an improvement over the local digital copy. As I understand it, movies in the Purchased list under the iTunes Store are eligible for cloud streaming to my Apple TV and can also be re-downloaded. Should my hard drive crash and I lose all my local content, I would be able to download these movies again, just like apps in the App Store.

Can anyone shed some light on why some digital copies are treated differently by Apple and iTunes? Is there some way to tell from the packaging what you're really getting?
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post #2 of 14
6/12/12 at 9:00am
From what I understand only movies which are already available to purchase through iTunes are permitted to work with iCloud & the digital copy system. So the stuff on iTunes in the first place is probably better quality then what's thrown on the Blu-ray's.

Honestly seems a big old waste of time to me when you have the source video right there on disc which is better quality than iTunes and the digital copy, rip the movie from disc using MakeMKV, feed the movie.mkv file into Handbrake, select the AppleTV preset and once it's done you have a much higher quality video, you can even feed in the metadata for coverart and synposis using Win tools like Metadatabatcher or Metax, on OSX you have Subler, MetaX and IVI which also does the conversion.
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post #3 of 14
6/12/12 at 12:09pm
Thread Starter 
First, thanks for your reply.

After reading your list of steps necessary to produce a nice digital copy of the movie, it's ironic you find entering a digital copy code to be a big waste of time.

I know something of the process you recommend - back in the old days, prior to ubiquitous DVD burners, I used to rip DVDs and run video files through multiple converters and filters in order to produce serviceable VCDs, crossing my fingers each step along the way that the end result would play back properly. Often they did not.

Devices like the Apple TV and the digital copy code are appealing because they promise not to streamline this process but to eliminate it all together for those of us willing to pay a couple dollars more for the digital copy edition. That day is coming, but it's evidently not as close as I assumed.
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post #4 of 14
6/12/12 at 12:35pm
Apple TV and digital copies are BOTH a waste of time. Neither will play your movies at highest res with full menus and both are inconvenient. Read more about media players from Dune and Popcorn Hour.
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post #5 of 14
6/12/12 at 5:01pm
Digital copies are another failed attempt by rich bastards to stop you ripping the disc or downloading a decent rip online. Rip the disc. This isn't 1995, VCD's are long gone (well, except for anime porn in grimy Hong Kong stalls) and filtering is entirely optional. Use DVD Fab to create a 1:1 iso of DVD's. For BD's its up to you depending on what quality you want.
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post #6 of 14
6/13/12 at 3:56am
It's apparent that digital copy is going by the waste side for the new and ultimately bigger cash cow Ultraviolet. http://www.uvvu.com/ Sounds great on the surface until you read the fine print...aside from the fact that they'll abandon it in a couple of years and you'll have thrown your money out the window.
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post #7 of 14
6/13/12 at 9:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fiveolddogs View Post

After reading your list of steps necessary to produce a nice digital copy of the movie, it's ironic you find entering a digital copy code to be a big waste of time.
I know something of the process you recommend - back in the old days, prior to ubiquitous DVD burners, I used to rip DVDs and run video files through multiple converters and filters in order to produce serviceable VCDs, crossing my fingers each step along the way that the end result would play back properly. Often they did not.
Devices like the Apple TV and the digital copy code are appealing because they promise not to streamline this process but to eliminate it all together for those of us willing to pay a couple dollars more for the digital copy edition. That day is coming, but it's evidently not as close as I assumed.
if you throw away the appleTV, and get a more useful player, the procedure to rip a "digital copy' from any BR or DVD is just:
  1. insert disk
  2. run MakeMKV...
  3. done

hardly all that difficult, or a wast of time, and you get 100% source quality... why bother entering codes for lesser quality?
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post #8 of 14
6/16/12 at 6:37am
I am having issues with this whole "Digital Copy"/"Ultraviolet" thing... the more I think about them the more confused I get... hopefully someone can help provide me with some enlightenment?
what exactly is their point? why do they even exist?
what do they get me that just ripping the disk doesn't?

with ripping I get:
I have the choice of either having full menus or just the movie... I generally pick just the movie, but in some cases menus are nice...
I can play the movie on any device that supports DVD or BR playback (ie anything from the lowly WDTV to the mighty Dune, and everything in between,etc...)
with the addition of Plex I can play it on just about anything I could imagine... even on iCrap I would guess.... (note I don't actually have Plex set up, as I don't really think I need it, but looking at it, it does look cool, but I am somewhat guessing about its usefulness...)
I can play the movie without an internet connection for it to phone home.
Movie "A" can be playing back on multiple devices at the same time
I could create my own 'cloud' if I really wanted too... ie make my NAS available from outside... or I could just copy my movie(s) onto a usb flash drive/ convenient storage of my choice, and take it with me and not worry about internet access...
ripping is super easy... generally, just pop in disk and hit the "go" button

with "Digital Copy"/"Ultraviolet" I get:
????
really what do you get that you don't get from just ripping???
there has to be something... otherwise "Digital Copy"/"Ultraviolet" wouldn't serve any purpose, and would therefore cease to exist... but "Digital Copy"/"Ultraviolet" does exist, therefore it must serve some purpose... what is that purpose?
Edited by Somewhatlost - 6/16/12 at 6:43am
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post #9 of 14
6/16/12 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Somewhatlost View Post

I am having issues with this whole "Digital Copy"/"Ultraviolet" thing... the more I think about them the more confused I get... hopefully someone can help provide me with some enlightenment?
what exactly is their point? why do they even exist?
what do they get me that just ripping the disk doesn't?
In my opinion the biggest advantage is that the movies are stored "in the cloud". You can download or stream them anywhere, anytime where you have an Internet connection. You also don't have to manage physical storage or worry about losing your media in case of a hard disk crash.

Personally I use digital copies mainly when travelling (e.g. on the iPad during long flights). I have also stopped buying TV shows on disc (unless there is a particularly great deal), because it's much easier to just get them on iTunes and stream them anywhere in my house without having a computer running or juggling discs. For movies we are not quite there yet IMO, since Ultraviolet is still a bit too fragmented (e.g. you cannot download Paramount movies to the iPad through the Flixster app at the moment), and on iTunes not all movies are available in the cloud.

Which brings me to the OP's question: The reason that not all of your digital copies show up in the "Purchased" list is simply that not all studios have agreed to make their movies available through Apple's cloud yet. Initially all Universal and Fox movies were missing, but Universal recently joined the club. There are rumors that negotiations with Fox are ongoing as well.
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post #10 of 14
7/1/12 at 2:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rigby Reardon View Post

Which brings me to the OP's question: The reason that not all of your digital copies show up in the "Purchased" list is simply that not all studios have agreed to make their movies available through Apple's cloud yet. Initially all Universal and Fox movies were missing, but Universal recently joined the club. There are rumors that negotiations with Fox are ongoing as well.

The cloud thing really is the key, and I think it will become more important as time goes on. For obvious reasons, I have hitched my wagon to Apple as far as the cloud is concerned. Rolling your own is great if you're looking for a hobby. But I'm at the point in life where I want some of these things to work on their own. And rolling your own doesn't get you cloud unless you're really going hardcore and setting up your own server.

When Universal movies joined the club, did those who had already unlocked digital copies have those Universal movies retroactively added to their "Purchased" list in iTunes?
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post #11 of 14
7/2/12 at 3:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fiveolddogs View Post

And rolling your own doesn't get you cloud unless you're really going hardcore and setting up your own server.
assuming HP or someone still makes WHS boxes, having your ripped media 'in the cloud' (ie accessible anywhere) is as easy as buying, plugging in, setting up your WHS box...
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post #12 of 14
7/2/12 at 11:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Somewhatlost View Post

assuming HP or someone still makes WHS boxes, having your ripped media 'in the cloud' (ie accessible anywhere) is as easy as buying, plugging in, setting up your WHS box...

WHS does not seem to be going anywhere. All the major players seem to have left. Too bad actually as it's quite nice. As far as ripping disks goes you have to circumvent copyright protections which raises quite a few other issues depending on where you are from.

Disks are not doing as well as people thought they would. It does seem as if the momentum is with the cloud, and not ripping to a WHS and serving inside the home and out to the net or wherever.

philip
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post #13 of 14
7/2/12 at 11:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pmcd View Post

WHS does not seem to be going anywhere. All the major players seem to have left. Too bad actually as it's quite nice. As far as ripping disks goes you have to circumvent copyright protections which raises quite a few other issues depending on where you are from.
Disks are not doing as well as people thought they would. It does seem as if the momentum is with the cloud, and not ripping to a WHS and serving inside the home and out to the net or wherever.
philip

So if I have 15TB of media, I should stick it with some random cloud company? The cloud is a fad like 3D. Relying on anyone but yourself is a problem. Relying on yourself is a smaller problem.
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post #14 of 14
7/4/12 at 9:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiddles88 View Post


So if I have 15TB of media, I should stick it with some random cloud company? The cloud is a fad like 3D. Relying on anyone but yourself is a problem. Relying on yourself is a smaller problem.

Not everyone wants to run a server farm at home. At some point you won't be able to back up your 20 gig disks. The cloud is hardly a fad any more than buying music has switched to iTunes and similar services.

Philip
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