4 ms·

The iTunes Store continues to be the only reputable place to buy movies, mainly because they allow downloads (except 4K...but I digress). In the past, redownlo

by ezfe 4y ago

The iTunes Store continues to be the only reputable place to buy movies, mainly because they allow downloads (except 4K...but I digress). In the past, redownloading movies wasn't even permitted. You download it and save it somewhere yourself. You can still do that to avoid any issues in the future, but I suspect the few incidents that have affected the iTunes Store are unlikely to re-occur. Why? For exactly the reason I mentioned at the beginning, originally you couldn't even re-download movies so it stands to reason the initial transition might've had some licensing loopholes.

causi 4y ago
It's interesting that even storefronts run by the same company don't always have the same reliability. Microsoft fucked over thousands of gamers when they pulled the plug on Games for Windows Live, yet I can still download episodes of Invader Zim I purchased on the Xbox Live Store in 2006.
jSherz 4y ago
Do the downloaded movies have DRM attached that requires a network connection or limits their usage?
- kalleboo 4y ago
  They have DRM attached and need to be played on a computer that has logged in to your iTunes account and been "blessed". But unless something has changed, as long as you keep that computer offline it will be able to play those videos in eternity. You can un-bless all your other computers (as you can only have 5 computers blessed at once) but I guess if the other computers are offline they can keep playing old downloads.
  - IYasha 4y ago
    > But unless something change :)
    - PontifexMinimus 4y ago
      4 words that explain why, if I ever wanted to collect movies, they would all be DRM-free torrents. When the "legal" way to do it is self-evidently a scam perpetuated by corporations and governments working together against our interests, then they only honourable ways are either to watch illegal downloads or not watch movies at all.
      - dfxm12 4y ago
        Why eschew ripping physical media? You'll likely have a more uniform collection in terms of quality. Also depending where you are in the world, it's either legal or just as legal as torrenting media. In the latter case, it's not really enforced. It's also probably more honourable, if that's something you really care about.
        PontifexMinimus 4y ago
        > Why eschew ripping physical media? None of my computers has a DVD drive! Though if I was interested in movies, probably one would. > You'll likely have a more uniform collection in terms of quality. Also 4K is useless to me as I have a 1080p monitor. > It's also probably more honourable, if that's something you really care about. Helping systems of control that are actively hostile towards me is not honourable, IMO.
        YurgenJurgensen 4y ago
        You need a real computer to rip BDs. A netbook or a Raspberry Pi aren't going to cut it because of the CPU requirements. Said Pi will have no trouble running a torrent client though.
    - BiteCode_dev 4y ago
      Found the spartan.
  - Kon-Peki 4y ago
    > But unless something has changed, as long as you keep that computer offline it will be able to play those videos in eternity. I don't know if it ever was that way. If it was, something has changed. During the early months of the pandemic, we carried a Mac mini around that had a ton of downloaded content, and spent a lot of time in places with no internet service. It needed to "re-bless" itself every so often (I don't remember how often - maybe once a month or twice a month - it wasn't very often). Our solution was to carry it with us when we were near enough to a tower. Using a phone hotspot with just a single bar of bad service, the process took 10-15 seconds. So as far as tech/media companies go, Apple is almost certainly the least bad option, by a wide margin. But it's not perfect ;)
    - kalleboo 4y ago
      > I don't know if it ever was that way. If it was, something has changed To be fair, it was a LONG time since stopped buying video from iTunes. Like 5 years at least. I subscribe to a bunch of the streaming services but instead of bothering to figure out exactly where something is streaming I just download it from the Pirate Bay where I know I can find everything right away.
JohnTHaller 4y ago
Can you play those downloaded movies outside of Apple hardware/software?
- CharlesW 4y ago
  Yes. A bunch of non-Apple devices have an Apple TV app now¹, and you can also play movies to any device that supports AirPlay 2¹. ¹ https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-app/devices/ https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-app/devices/
  - JohnTHaller 4y ago
    That's still Apple hardware/software. If you can't play it outside of the locked down Apple ecosystem which is checking your license, then you don't own it.
    - scarface74 4y ago
      If your movie is from any of the five participating studios you buy the movie once and it works across all of the major video platforms if you use Movies Anywhere https://help.moviesanywhere.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004576826-Studios-currently-participating-in-Movies-Anywhere https://help.moviesanywhere.com/hc/en-us/articles/1150045768... Blu ray players are also locked down and the embedded keys are subject to revocation
      - rthomas6 4y ago
        If you buy blu-rays from those five participating studios, they also give you the same Movies Anywhere digital copy.
        FalconSensei 4y ago
        US only though, so if you move you are out of luck.
      - password4321 4y ago
rthomas6 4y ago
>The iTunes Store continues to be the only reputable place to buy movies Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and Goodwill work pretty well for me.
- ezfe 4y ago
  I obviously meant for digital movies, even if I forgot that detail
  - intrasight 4y ago
    I think all movies are digital now ;)
paxys 4y ago
Those downloaded movies still have DRM, and can only be played on official Apple devices or apps. Apple can revoke the license whenever they want. No better than what Amazon and others do.
WorldMaker 4y ago
Vudu while it was owned by Wal-Mart was quite reputable for purchasing digital movies and TV for some similar reasons to following iTunes' lead and was at times "the blue collar iTunes Movie Store". Vudu's current owner, Fandango Media, I have a lot less trust in because they have burnt a few bridges with previous digital movies sites (including one of their same brand; they briefly ran a Fandango branded digital movies app that closed without much notice or refunds, to be rebooted as FandangoNOW months later, in part because they bet on UltraViolet and didn't want to just convert UltraViolet purchases to Movies Anywhere like Vudu and iTunes did during that same time). So far Vudu has still seemed to be doing well under the new ownership, but that distrust in the new owner still sews seeds of doubt. Speaking of Movies Anywhere, that is still an assurance that I trust when making purchase decisions. Even after UltraViolet died, possibly especially because UltraViolet died (and the way at least iTunes and Vudu handled that transition). Movies Anywhere seems to have won out because it is technologically simpler. Plus the Disney backing seems to work in its favor as Disney has some reason to make sure Movies Anywhere does right by families and doesn't tarnish their brand by association. I'm a little less particular which store I buy from if it supports Movies Anywhere. For movies that still aren't yet Movies Anywhere I'm much more cautious. (This was why I avoided Steam's brief foray into movies, for example. They worked with non-Movies Anywhere studios and it didn't feel all that shocking when the experiment failed and Steam stopped selling movies.)

by ezfe 4y ago

causi 4y ago

It's interesting that even storefronts run by the same company don't always have the same reliability. Microsoft fucked over thousands of gamers when they pulled the plug on Games for Windows Live, yet I can still download episodes of Invader Zim I purchased on the Xbox Live Store in 2006.

jSherz 4y ago

Do the downloaded movies have DRM attached that requires a network connection or limits their usage?

kalleboo 4y ago
They have DRM attached and need to be played on a computer that has logged in to your iTunes account and been "blessed". But unless something has changed, as long as you keep that computer offline it will be able to play those videos in eternity. You can un-bless all your other computers (as you can only have 5 computers blessed at once) but I guess if the other computers are offline they can keep playing old downloads.
- IYasha 4y ago
  > But unless something change :)
  - PontifexMinimus 4y ago
    4 words that explain why, if I ever wanted to collect movies, they would all be DRM-free torrents. When the "legal" way to do it is self-evidently a scam perpetuated by corporations and governments working together against our interests, then they only honourable ways are either to watch illegal downloads or not watch movies at all.
    - dfxm12 4y ago
      Why eschew ripping physical media? You'll likely have a more uniform collection in terms of quality. Also depending where you are in the world, it's either legal or just as legal as torrenting media. In the latter case, it's not really enforced. It's also probably more honourable, if that's something you really care about.
      - PontifexMinimus 4y ago
        > Why eschew ripping physical media? None of my computers has a DVD drive! Though if I was interested in movies, probably one would. > You'll likely have a more uniform collection in terms of quality. Also 4K is useless to me as I have a 1080p monitor. > It's also probably more honourable, if that's something you really care about. Helping systems of control that are actively hostile towards me is not honourable, IMO.
      - YurgenJurgensen 4y ago
        You need a real computer to rip BDs. A netbook or a Raspberry Pi aren't going to cut it because of the CPU requirements. Said Pi will have no trouble running a torrent client though.
  - BiteCode_dev 4y ago
    Found the spartan.
- Kon-Peki 4y ago
  > But unless something has changed, as long as you keep that computer offline it will be able to play those videos in eternity. I don't know if it ever was that way. If it was, something has changed. During the early months of the pandemic, we carried a Mac mini around that had a ton of downloaded content, and spent a lot of time in places with no internet service. It needed to "re-bless" itself every so often (I don't remember how often - maybe once a month or twice a month - it wasn't very often). Our solution was to carry it with us when we were near enough to a tower. Using a phone hotspot with just a single bar of bad service, the process took 10-15 seconds. So as far as tech/media companies go, Apple is almost certainly the least bad option, by a wide margin. But it's not perfect ;)
  - kalleboo 4y ago
    > I don't know if it ever was that way. If it was, something has changed To be fair, it was a LONG time since stopped buying video from iTunes. Like 5 years at least. I subscribe to a bunch of the streaming services but instead of bothering to figure out exactly where something is streaming I just download it from the Pirate Bay where I know I can find everything right away.

JohnTHaller 4y ago

Can you play those downloaded movies outside of Apple hardware/software?

CharlesW 4y ago
Yes. A bunch of non-Apple devices have an Apple TV app now¹, and you can also play movies to any device that supports AirPlay 2¹. ¹ https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-app/devices/ https://www.apple.com/apple-tv-app/devices/
- JohnTHaller 4y ago
  That's still Apple hardware/software. If you can't play it outside of the locked down Apple ecosystem which is checking your license, then you don't own it.
  - scarface74 4y ago
    If your movie is from any of the five participating studios you buy the movie once and it works across all of the major video platforms if you use Movies Anywhere https://help.moviesanywhere.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004576826-Studios-currently-participating-in-Movies-Anywhere https://help.moviesanywhere.com/hc/en-us/articles/1150045768... Blu ray players are also locked down and the embedded keys are subject to revocation
    - rthomas6 4y ago
      If you buy blu-rays from those five participating studios, they also give you the same Movies Anywhere digital copy.
      - FalconSensei 4y ago
        US only though, so if you move you are out of luck.
    - password4321 4y ago

rthomas6 4y ago

>The iTunes Store continues to be the only reputable place to buy movies Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and Goodwill work pretty well for me.

ezfe 4y ago
I obviously meant for digital movies, even if I forgot that detail
- intrasight 4y ago
  I think all movies are digital now ;)

paxys 4y ago

Those downloaded movies still have DRM, and can only be played on official Apple devices or apps. Apple can revoke the license whenever they want. No better than what Amazon and others do.

WorldMaker 4y ago

Vudu while it was owned by Wal-Mart was quite reputable for purchasing digital movies and TV for some similar reasons to following iTunes' lead and was at times "the blue collar iTunes Movie Store". Vudu's current owner, Fandango Media, I have a lot less trust in because they have burnt a few bridges with previous digital movies sites (including one of their same brand; they briefly ran a Fandango branded digital movies app that closed without much notice or refunds, to be rebooted as FandangoNOW months later, in part because they bet on UltraViolet and didn't want to just convert UltraViolet purchases to Movies Anywhere like Vudu and iTunes did during that same time). So far Vudu has still seemed to be doing well under the new ownership, but that distrust in the new owner still sews seeds of doubt. Speaking of Movies Anywhere, that is still an assurance that I trust when making purchase decisions. Even after UltraViolet died, possibly especially because UltraViolet died (and the way at least iTunes and Vudu handled that transition). Movies Anywhere seems to have won out because it is technologically simpler. Plus the Disney backing seems to work in its favor as Disney has some reason to make sure Movies Anywhere does right by families and doesn't tarnish their brand by association. I'm a little less particular which store I buy from if it supports Movies Anywhere. For movies that still aren't yet Movies Anywhere I'm much more cautious. (This was why I avoided Steam's brief foray into movies, for example. They worked with non-Movies Anywhere studios and it didn't feel all that shocking when the experiment failed and Steam stopped selling movies.)