DTS, Inc. has just announced that several leading content solution
providers, including Digital Rapids, Elemental Technologies, and Rovi, now
support DTS Express™ surround sound for creation of content in the
UltraViolet Common File Format (CFF). DTS Express, part of the DTS-HD
family of audio solutions found on nearly all Blu-ray Disc movies, is fully
optimized for digitally delivered content, providing a high-quality immersive
surround sound experience with the UltraViolet CFF.
DTS Express is a high performance adaptive bit rate technology that
delivers an impressive cinematic surround sound experience from content,
whether streamed or downloaded. With the ability to adapt to bit rate
changes without audio dropouts, clicks or pops, as noticed with competing
audio solutions, DTS Express shines when bandwidth is limited and
network conditions fluctuate.
DTS Express provides:
• Constant bit-rates from 64 kbps (2 Channel) and up
• 5.1 channels from 160 kbps to 512 kbps
• Supports up to 7.1 channels from 288 kbps to 768 kbps
• Adaptive bit rate capability (without audio anomalies)
• Backwards compatibility with all legacy products via the DTS real-
time transcoder
DECE's UltraViolet platform gives consumers greater flexibility in how and
where they collect, share and enjoy movies and TV shows. Once a movie
or TV show has been added to their UltraViolet collection, users will have
options to stream it on most Internet-connected devices, download it for
offline viewing, or play it back on a disc. Because UltraViolet offers so many
viewing options, users have greater freedom to choose where they want
to watch—whether it's on a mobile device, computer, smart television,
game console, etc.
Sony and Warner are the only two studios who are only offering Ultraviolet as the consumer's sole choice as a digital copy option. A little bit different than Disney that not only continues to offer their digital copies on physical discs, but iTunes being their primary source for redeeming their digital copies.
Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, and Universal have all been consistent in including both iTunes and Ultraviolet digital copies.
... and like everyone else, Ultraviolet just needs to go away.
People easily forget that Disney and Apple are about the ONLY major companies that DON'T support UV. This hatred for UV is stupid. The anger should be directed at Disney and Apple for not supporting UV. It shouldn't be directed at the 100+ companies that do support it.
Heres the thing a UltraViolet Is just another WB thing that they go of there way to hurt Someone last time Sony which i dont get why sony with UltraViolet I guess as long as not them they dont care what happens and UV sucks every time i put in a code it miss up no matter who i use Wb and Sony need to give people a choose on what works best for them and instand of tell what to like which every time i email them they try telling how great UV is when all want is itunes version not great all i dont like being talk down to.
Ultraviolet, is great sure it may not be the easiest to get setup and started, but once you get it going and link it with Vudu for playback on almost any device it is awesome. And not only do you get quick and easy access all your movies but you can share it with multiple friends and or family members, without worrying about getting your stuff back. And being able to take your discs into Wal-Mart to add them to your digital locker for $2 (or $5 if you upgrade to HD) is very reasonable and beats paying full price like most format changes entail. So haters will hate but they are missing out, sure it may not be Blu-ray quality yet but it is pretty close and definitley complements my DVD/Blu-ray collection.
I love UV. The ability to stream a ton of movies from my collection without having to eat up space on my laptop or phone is awesome. I can download if I need to, but most of the time I don't. Unlike iTunes, where we have to download the movie to our iPad before we can watch it. Half of our 64gb is taken up by the 30 or so movies my son likes. Contrast that with the Ultraviolet on my phone or tablet or computer where I currently have instant streaming access to 132 of my movies and it takes up ZERO space.
The people who bitch about Ultraviolet are the people who've never really used it and don't understand Ultraviolet. Trust me, once you've used both a fair amount, you realize how much iTunes digital copy sucks.
If they're going to stick with UV for digital copies then they should make it standard to include a HD copy of the movie.
They give you standard copies so you still have to go to Walmart which is a major inconvenience & pay extra for the UV HD copy I would want for my iPad or HDTV.
If you're buying a DVD include a standard UV copy. If you're buying a Blu-ray include a HD UV copy.
Does the UV copy even tell if it's standard or HD before you link it to your account? I tried a few & they were all standard copies.
Also having to link from different studios into your Vudu account took too much time & caused a lot of problems for me.
Itunes was simple. Put in the code & download. No linking by studios. Easy to do. I wish the Itunes copy had been HD also though.
And, no, almost every UV title I have is full 1080p. (including the full seasons of 2 Broke Girls and Shameless). Yet the same movie with iTunes digital copy (like Snow White and the Huntsman or Prometheus) is SD on iTunes. So you actually have it flipped. You also get some of the movies in Dolby Digital+ 7.1 through UV. Of the 132 movies in my UV account, only 14 of them are SD. 3 of those were given to me free for doing things through Flixster and the other 10... here's a little surprise... if you still have any Universal iTunes digital copy codes (like Nutty Professor or Born on the Fourth of July) those codes can be redeemed to unlock the UV version in VUDU (but most are SD, although Airport redeemed in HD). Add to that that you can take a DVD you own into Walmart and for $5 have it converted to a 1080p UV title. I love the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, but it's never gotten a Blu-ray release, much less a decent DVD release (the DVD is non-anamorphic). I found a used copy of the DVD for $3, took it in and paid the $5 HD unlock and got a crisp 1080p widescreen Dolby 5.1 Ultraviolet compatible version for $8. I can watch it on my big screen, my phone, my tablet, my iPad, my laptop... or I could buy the iTunes version for $15 and only watch it on my laptop and iPad (but, again, only AFTER downloading the entire thing). I did the same thing with my Alien Anthology, but going Blu-ray to HD is only $2 each. Now I have the entire Alien series ready to stream anywhere for only $8 total.
So, again, it sounds like a bunch of questions/complaints coming from someone who hasn't really used Ultraviolet that much.
That's exactly the way it DOES work. Every legitimate UV code I've gotten from a Blu-ray has been HD. The only ones that were SD were, as I already said, free movies and older iTunes codes that will also work with UV through VUDU. You only go to Walmart to "buy" a title via straight across conversion or upgrade. You could take a bunch of Blu-rays that NEVER had digital copy and for $2 each "buy" 1080p Ultraviolet copies or take your DVDs and for $5 "buy/uprade" a 1080p Ultraviolet copy. But you would never have to go to Walmart to get a 1080p version of an Ultraviolet that came with your Blu-ray because, in my 100+ titles, they've all already been HD.
Now, I will completely agree that UV is a bit of a pain to set up and I originally thought it was a total failure based on that. But once I got my accounts sorted it was easy. In fact, most every UV title can be redeemed directly through your VUDU account now.
I have NEVER used a digital copy in my life. I always did prefer UltraViolet though from what i have read. I did finally make an UV account just 3 days ago and will test it out on my phone soon. This whole argument is about change or preference. Everybody has to change to a dominant format sooner or later. There was bluray vs HDDVD and HDTV vs tube TVs. EVERYBODY bitches at the cost of blurays including myself but if everybody would lose that DVD and upgrade, blurays would drop in price as have HDTVs (drastically). The same thing might be said if we can get a dominant digital copy base. Since UV doesnt use physical media, that $0.25 DVD its on might help lower prices. (i know I am dreaming but I think I am on to something)
Oh yes it is! The UK have had UV for quite a while now. It's much more flexible and it's easier for everybody to access it,not just iTunes customers. I'm an Apple customer and I can see the sense in UV,why should Digital copies with BDs be locked to Apple. This way everybody gets the benefit. Nothing wrong with that!
Technically, the codec is no longer referred to as DTS in the film industry! DTS was acquired by Beaufort International Group 3 years ago, and It's now called: Datasat Digital Entertainment. The current DTS logo has also been changed to Datasat. So therefore, the caption of this article should read: Datasat (formerly known as DTS.)
"You prefer the hard copy." So did I when I had 140 hard copies. But with 450 hard copies in 4 years I can't continue to store hard copies so I like UV. I hate eating up my living space with hard copies and hated eating up all my HDD space using iTunes. Plus iTunes has no 5.1 or 7.1 sound. "Nuff said."
@uther...
It's a start. But I guess it's too hard for some people to simply (and graciously) say, "OK, didn't know that. I was wrong."
BTW, you're challenge was: "Name me one BD in Canada that has UV."
We named 3 which is 300% of what you actually asked for. There are no extra points for attempting to be clever when you're wrong. Actually, it puts you in the negative. Humble actually puts you at zero.
@pacman9270
Hard copy will always trump streaming for me as well, but this isn't a case of either/or. What if you're traveling? You can't bring your entire physical collection with you every, but UV allows that. And what about for titles that haven't gotten a Blu-ray release? I have 1080p Dolby 5.1 version of The Shadow in my UV locker. That was never even released widescreen on standard DVD. But when/if Universal releases it to Blu-ray domestically, I'll absolutely pick that up as well.
Yes, physical media is the top of the food chain. Ultraviolet is IN ADDITION to that.
Well, where I am living I have one choice of ISP. It charges $40/month for 3 Mbps, which isn't enough for a lot of SD movies, i.e., high bitrate DVDs. So UV is useless to me at the moment, at home and even anywhere else I could go that doesn't have the bandwidth to support 1080P, which often runs over 30 Mbps.
I am not so sure about the "free" storage. Wouldn't a lot of studios like to wheedle out a storage fee, eventually? Armies of accountants and MBAs are going to discover that the storage is costing them money, if they haven't already factored that into the cost of each UV copy. So, am I paying for something I can't use?
@joie,
You're swimming around in a lot of false information. First... you're measuring things using DVD and Blu-ray bandwidth which UV doesn't use. According to Vudu, these are the speeds required for the various resolutions:
SD (480p) requires 1000 kbps
HD (720p) requires 2250 kbps
HDX (1080p) requires 4500 kbps
also keep in mind that with a PS3, you can also download movies if you feel you don't have enough speed to stream.
Also, the movies are in storage whether you're using them or not. For every person who adds The Dark Knight Rises to their UV account, they don't add another digital copy of the movie. It's essentially the same copy that everyone has access to. That goes for people who have it in their UV account or people who rent it or buy it from VUDU or a variety of other purposes. So you're not paying for something you can't use... you're just getting access to something that is ALREADY there.
But your comment really highlights a big problem with UV right now... people just don't understand what exactly it is or why it's beneficial. Hopefully that'll change because it really is leaps and bounds better than iTunes digital copy.
UV is alright, but the Flixster app needs you to log in to access your "offline" copies of films on iOS, which kinda defeats the point in the having offline copies of the film stored on your iPod/Phone...
DTS, Inc. has just announced that several leading content solution
providers, including Digital Rapids, Elemental Technologies, and Rovi, now
support DTS Express™ surround sound for creation of content in the
UltraViolet Common File Format (CFF). DTS Express, part of the DTS-HD
family of audio solutions found on nearly all Blu-ray Disc movies, is fully
optimized for digitally delivered content, providing a high-quality immersive
surround sound experience with the UltraViolet CFF. 
