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Which would you choose and why?

Poll Results: Which Service would get your money?

 
  • 54% (6)
    Vudu
  • 27% (3)
    iTunes
  • 9% (1)
    Xbox Video
  • 9% (1)
    Other (state which one and why)
11 Total Votes  
post #1 of 15
10/2/12 at 3:17am
Thread Starter 
I have a couple of Xbox 360's (used mainly as Media Extenders), AppleTV 1 and AppleTV2, and a Dell XPS Quad Core Q6600 with 8gigs RAM and 1.5TB on board serving as my DVR with a HDHomerun Prime. I also have NAS storage of 1TB. I'm having the worst time trying to figure out which service I should use. I have over 300 DVD and I am tryingto find the best digital service so I don't have all of these disks lying around. I have tried Amazon, Vudu, iTunes, and Xbox Video (Zune Video). Out of those 4 services I liked Amazon the least. I am wary of Vudu because I will have no physical backup if they decide to remove a movie like they did with some of the Marvel movies. iTunes I get the copy plus cloud backup. I only own a few through iTunes already, but kind of like the idea of using one box for all my video. Xbox video is good, I get a copy, but not all movies in HD like I can get with iTunes. My eyes and ears can not really tell the difference between the video and sound quality of the three services I like. So if you had the equipment I have, which service would get your money and why? Vudu, iTunes, or Xbox Video? Is there another service I have not looked at that may be better?
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post #2 of 15
10/2/12 at 8:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by benjaminmarle View Post

Is there another service I have not looked at that may be better?

Yes, rental of Blu-ray by mail with Blockbuster and/or Netflix. Much cheaper on average than Vudu HD or HDX rentals. You can covert your DVD titles to UV (SD, HD or HDX) titles and view them via Vudu. Just be aware that some of your 2:35 DVD titles may be cropped to 1:78 in the UV version. That is why I only converted a few of my DVDs to the UV version.

I use Vudu, Amazon Prime and Netflix streaming to fill in the gaps for Blu-ray by mail, OTA and PBS via satellite.
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post #3 of 15
10/2/12 at 12:32pm
I use xbox video as my primary service.... I like you have xbox's at most of my tv's and am planning on getting a surface tablet so it will be the service I have most places I want to watch content on.
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post #4 of 15
10/2/12 at 3:22pm
I've been a Netflix subscriber since 1999, so streaming is just an extension. I still get BD disks (2-out plan now.)
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post #5 of 15
10/2/12 at 5:33pm
Thread Starter 
I use Netflix and I have used Redbox. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear Wendell and andyross63. Some movies I like to own. That may be why my DVD collection is so large. What I'm trying to decide is who should I buy from for owning titles? Jagouar, I have been leaning towards the Xbox video, but the problem I have is not all is HD like with iTunes and Vudu. Plus the M$ point system. I hope they do away with that when everything is updated and renamed with Windows 8. It is so much easier to see how much I'm spending in $'s than points. Thanks for the input so far!
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post #6 of 15
10/3/12 at 4:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by benjaminmarle View Post

I am wary of Vudu because I will have no physical backup if they decide to remove a movie like they did with some of the Marvel movies.

When VUDU removed those films, did people who purchased them lose access? I own some things that I bought from MS on the Xbox which they no longer offer but I'm still able to stream. If VUDU dropped some titles from their catalog that purchasers lost access to I'd have expected there to be a huge stink about it.

Personally, I'd go with either VUDU or Zune. msgohan made some screen captures from all of those services and posted them to his "Netflix PS3 streaming comparison PIX" thread. Zune 1080p HD downloads average around 10 Mbps, VUDU HDX downloads (to the PS3)_ average around 9 Mbps and iTunes 1080p downloads average 5.4 Mbps, about the same rate as Netflix's 1080p encodes. These relative bit rates were reflected in the PQ, as could be seen in comparisons of the same frame from each as posted by msgohan. (Sadly his collection of screen caps were destroyed by ImageShack spontaneously and without warning converting them all to 800x450 res rolleyes.gif).

Though a recent update to the Xbox VUDU player gave access to HDX encodes, you cannot yet download titles to HDD on the Xbox like you can on the PS3 and a few other platforms (WD TV Live Hub is one of them).
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post #7 of 15
10/10/12 at 2:50pm
This thread helped answer a problem I've been having with "Cowboys and Aliens" which I have in UltraViolet. I tried to watch it on Vudu and it is gone. It still shows up in UV and in Flixster. Contacted Vudu support and did all of the link/unlink, log on/off steps to no avail and they are kicking the problem up to another support level.

I joined this forum after seeing this thread in a google search. I see now that Vudu doesn't offer C&A to watch on their site so maybe that is why I can't access my copy anymore.

I requested an iTunes redemption codes from Flixster for C&A and the only other film I have in the Vudu world. At least I can download and save an iTunes copy.

1. Why doesn't Vudu support know why I no longer have access to my movie? Clearly I'm not the only one who has experienced this problem.
2. If Vudu can remove movies this way, are customers safe using their disks to digital conversion service?

Obviously, I picked "iTunes" in the poll.
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post #8 of 15
10/10/12 at 3:52pm
I guess that there is some risk, but I doubt that its intentional on VUDU's part. I'll be interested in hearing what their support staff comes up with as an explanation and/or solution. As I said before, I've purchased things from MS' Zune video which they don't offer for sale anymore but which, as owner, I can still stream. I'm sure that access to things that you've purchased from VUDU is meant to operate in the same way.
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post #9 of 15
10/10/12 at 9:42pm
They told me that they can see that I have rights to the movie but it is a "rare" problem where the studio is not sending the right ALID code to their interface. They told me to call Universal Studios and tell them about it. This is utter nonsense because is THEIR job to resolve their interface issues. They shouldn't ask the customer to do it.

They also "assured me" that disk to digital content won't have this problem. *Yeah, right. Like I'm going to believe that. * I hate Walmart and dreaded going to their store for it anyway. Now I have another good reason to avoid all things Walmart and that includes Vudu.

Fortunately, Flixster works and I had the good sense to download the iTunes copy right away.
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post #10 of 15
10/11/12 at 12:53pm
I just started using the Disk to Digital and haven't had any problems. I can't say the same for Flixster though as there site seems to have issues pulling from my UV account, but I think that is because there having problems with their own site. As I can see my movies from other studio sites like Paramount and Sony...
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post #11 of 15
10/19/12 at 8:28am
My Flixster issues have been resolved. I think they fixed there site and a unlink/relink of my UV account solved it.
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post #12 of 15
10/23/12 at 5:17pm
I refuse to "purchase" anything from these services. Does anybody remember DIVX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIVX_%28Digital_Video_Express%29)?

I do have and use Amazon Prime account and Vudu account. I use Vudu for rentals only on rare occasion. Vudu HDX video quality is higher than Amazon HD, however my receiver is old and decodes DD+ as stereo, so this is a negative (regular DD 5.1 included with Amazon HD is decoded fine).

I also have Blockbuster Disc By mail subscription.
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post #13 of 15
10/25/12 at 10:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeschmoe007 View Post

I refuse to "purchase" anything from these services. Does anybody remember DIVX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIVX_%28Digital_Video_Express%29)?
I do have and use Amazon Prime account and Vudu account. I use Vudu for rentals only on rare occasion. Vudu HDX video quality is higher than Amazon HD, however my receiver is old and decodes DD+ as stereo, so this is a negative (regular DD 5.1 included with Amazon HD is decoded fine).
I also have Blockbuster Disc By mail subscription.



I agreee. Technology and content distribution changes when some executive sneezes wrong. I do not trust dumping all my money into paying somebody to convert my movies into any format. I can maybe understand if you live 50 miles from the local video rental store or Redbox, renting movies through some on-line service makes sense. I like having a disk. I can do what ever I want with it. But, if you choose to spend your money on a service, I would suggest Itunes. You can download a copy and save it to an external hard drive. Even going through Itunes, you are paying about the same price for most movies than you could get in the store. BTW, Walmart has the $5 dvd movie section. They also have a $10 movie section. You cannot even touch a movie for that price on-line.
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post #14 of 15
10/25/12 at 11:14am
Joe Blow agrees with Joe Schmoe biggrin.gif

Great minds think alike.

Amazon.com prices:

"Fringe" 1-st season on Blu-Ray: $28.95 (used $17.76+delivery, say $20). To "purchase" HD VOD: $56.99
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post #15 of 15
10/25/12 at 12:58pm
I prefer to buy physical copies because your not locked to any provider then. However, I prefer to buy blu-rays that come with UV copies, which can then be played via Flixster, Vudu and any other supporting partner for free. All my digital titles I own came from discs...
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeschmoe007

Amazon.com prices:

"Fringe" 1-st season on Blu-Ray: $28.95 (used $17.76+delivery, say $20). To "purchase" HD VOD: $56.99

Your right that for digital only copies, they are way to expensive. They should at least be half the price.. Hence why I always buy the disk and receive a digital UV copy or use D2D with a physical copy..
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