Walmart may ask $2 to $4 to port DVDs to UltraViolet
updated 08:45 pm EDT, Mon March 12, 2012
DVDs stamped to avoid multiple licenses
Walmart is reportedly set to formally announce its UltraViolet services sometime tomorrow, after the endeavor has been detailed by several recent leaks. The retailer is said to be allowing customers to bring in their existing DVD collections and pay between $2 and $4 per disc to gain access to corresponding digital copies.
The fees appear to follow the same pricing discrepancy that can be found between standard Blu-ray discs and those that also offer access to the UltraViolet digital copy. Critics have argued that charging any price is essentially requiring owners to pay twice for the same content, when software can be used to rip the digital copy for free.
It is unclear if Walmart has worked to simplify the terms of the service, which will only be available for DVDs from select studios. Certain studios are also said to put a time limitation on the digital copies, while others do not utilize an expiration schedule.
The $2 price is expected provide access to the movie in SD resolution, while the $4 price is said to be tied to HD content, sources have told told Streaming Media.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Dec 2011
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The MPAA can take ultraviolet and stick it where the sun does not shine. Making people pay again for a movie they have already bought and then giving the a 3 year license to that digital copy is bs I will never use ultraviolet ever. What a piss poor excuse for a system to watch legally bought movies.