Previous posts (here and here) have discussed UltraViolet, Hollywood's emerging rights locker system, where purchase of some home video discs also gives you access to stream online versions of the film. Early difficulties with the streaming system initially developed by the industry - people had difficulty registering and getting reliable streams - led it to consider letting other streaming services serve as the portal to the consumer.
WalMart's announced that it's new video streaming service, Vudu, will let people access their UltraViolet movies through their system, for a price ($2 for standard definition version, $5 for high definition) . One difference from other streaming systems is that WalMart will let you register discs bought elsewhere - although it has to be done in store and in person. It's a move that could help the movie industry move into online distribution, taking the WalMart move as providing a more user-friendly alternative for registering and accessing covered content. It might also help Vudu, as it enters an already crowded streaming video marketplace. That is, if people aren't put off by paying an additional fee for something they've already bought the rights to.
Source - WalMart to bridge online gap with disc-to-digital, Broadcast Newsroom
WalMart's announced that it's new video streaming service, Vudu, will let people access their UltraViolet movies through their system, for a price ($2 for standard definition version, $5 for high definition) . One difference from other streaming systems is that WalMart will let you register discs bought elsewhere - although it has to be done in store and in person. It's a move that could help the movie industry move into online distribution, taking the WalMart move as providing a more user-friendly alternative for registering and accessing covered content. It might also help Vudu, as it enters an already crowded streaming video marketplace. That is, if people aren't put off by paying an additional fee for something they've already bought the rights to.
Source - WalMart to bridge online gap with disc-to-digital, Broadcast Newsroom