iTunes movie codes???

[spinningblade]

This has been a really interesting thread to follow.

A few weeks ago, I purchased the Jurassic World blu-ray combo pack for 24 bucks on Amazon. (I am one of the few who always purchased a 3D blu-ray when available since I have a 3D 1080p projector and enjoy 3D movies) The combo pack also comes with a UV digital copy.

I am seeing some UV code selling sites that have 10 copies of Jurassic World that they are selling for $1.50 to $2. I'm trying to figure out the business model of all this. Is some guy ordering Jurassic World blu-rays in bulk, selling the UV codes online, ripping the BD (if they want a copy for themselves), and then trying to sell the used blu-ray on eBay or Amazon. I don't understand how this could be profitable. Having to deal with strangers and PayPal, eBay/Amazon, shipping costs, ripping a personal copy. Any idea? I have actually purchased a few UV codes from these sellers since the prices were so good, but just curious as to what they are getting out of it.

 

[Kendo]

This has been a really interesting thread to follow.

A few weeks ago, I purchased the Jurassic World blu-ray combo pack for 24 bucks on Amazon. (I am one of the few who always purchased a 3D blu-ray when available since I have a 3D 1080p projector and enjoy 3D movies) The combo pack also comes with a UV digital copy.

I am seeing some UV code selling sites that have 10 copies of Jurassic World that they are selling for $1.50 to $2. I'm trying to figure out the business model of all this. Is some guy ordering Jurassic World blu-rays in bulk, selling the UV codes online, ripping the BD (if they want a copy for themselves), and then trying to sell the used blu-ray on eBay or Amazon. I don't understand how this could be profitable. Having to deal with strangers and PayPal, eBay/Amazon, shipping costs, ripping a personal copy. Any idea? I have actually purchased a few UV codes from these sellers since the prices were so good, but just curious as to what they are getting out of it.

If you check out the Blu-ray forums, a ton of people are simply selling the digital copy since they only want the disc. I used to think these were Netflix employees who get their hands on the codes but now I believe a very large population of these sellers simply sell the code from their personal collection.

 

[2010mini]

Most of the code sellers don't care for iTunes or UV copies as they consider them inferior to blu-Ray.

If they can make a few bucks on something they will never use... Hey, why not?

 

[BJMRamage]

Become a volunteer at a library that carries blurays and make use of the codes. Not sure.

I don't have anywhere near to the collection of codes to give out that some seem to have.

 

[twobelowpar]

Haven't lurked here in a couple weeks and just saw this thread. I've been selling codes online since March of this year. I started a thread here with what I have but it got locked (I did ask days in advance if it was allowed but got no answer). Anyway, the way I get my codes is from a movie rental store. Say he orders 20-25 Bluray combo packs. I'll purchase all the codes from him at a bulk rate and then list them on Google Plus and Facebook communities etc. I'm actually looking for another supplier since I usually sell everything I get.

Just as a FYI, non-US UV codes will redeem to your accounts. You just need to use a VPN while redeeming it and set it to Canada or UK etc. You redeem to Flixster but the title will port to Vudu. I'm from Canada so that is why some of my codes are cheaper (not all studios are region locked). I started off just seeing if I could make a few bucks in order to buy movies on iTunes that didn't come with iTunes codes. But with a little bit of luck and time spent building up a good name, it's turned into a great little side gig!

 

[ECJ]

How is everyone's restraint when it comes to $1 movies? I've seen Interstellar once in theaters, I'm a fairly big Christopher Nolan fan, and yet I don't think I would ever watch it again. But a big part of me wants it in my digital iTunes library like I have a baseball card collection, and mainly because you can get copies for just a dollar.

Do you guys go wild with cheap movies figuring it's only a buck or two? Because all those little purchases do add up in the end.

Very guilty of this myself. I try to limit my digital code purchase to $20 a week. In the beginning I would blow past that, but as I've learned to wait a few days for new releases, I save so much more and can get more movies under $20.

 

[netnothing]

Was able to get 39 movies for my UV library for $48.75 with D2D. Think I'm caught up with most of the movies I want for a while. Waiting for some of the new releases now (Antman, Minions).

Thanks again to @ECJ for starting this thread!!!

-Kevin

 

[Kendo]

Was able to get 39 movies for my UV library for $48.75 with D2D. Think I'm caught up with most of the movies I want for a while. Waiting for some of the new releases now (Antman, Minions).

Thanks again to @ECJ for starting this thread!!!

-Kevin

Not sure I follow. Don't you need the actual disc?

 

[netnothing]

Not sure I follow. Don't you need the actual disc?

No. The person you deal with has the discs. You pay them a fee, usually .25 cents a movie if doing 10 or more. They login to your Vudu account (you change your password of course), and they load up the movies. When done you login to the Vudutogo app and see the cart. You purchase it and you are done.

Most people are loading up Blu-ray Discs, so the Vudu fee is $2 per disc under 10. But one you order 10 in a single order they take 50% off making each $1.00.

Interesting approach. Most argue this is slightly better than codes as you are at least giving the studio something back in the Vudu fee. Basically guys with huge movie collections.

No brand new releases are available. But plenty of great movies.

-Kevin

 

[Kendo]

No. The person you deal with has the discs. You pay them a fee, usually .25 cents a movie if doing 10 or more. They login to your Vudu account (you change your password of course), and they load up the movies. When done you login to the Vudutogo app and see the cart. You purchase it and you are done.

Most people are loading up Blu-ray Discs, so the Vudu fee is $2 per disc under 10. But one you order 10 in a single order they take 50% off making each $1.00.

Interesting approach. Most argue this is slightly better than codes as you are at least giving the studio something back in the Vudu fee. Basically guys with huge movie collections.

No brand new releases are available. But plenty of great movies.

-Kevin

Ah, so that is how I see some collections going up to 1,000 movies and people thanking various people for helping them in some threads. Thankfully I'm okay with purchasing only newish movies that I want. The older stuff I'm content with streaming through Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO.

 

[spinningblade]

I definitely would not feel comfortable giving a complete stranger access to my VUDU account. But, I'd definitely do that with family and friends.

I actually joined VUDU 2 years ago solely because I heard about their Disc To Digital program. I had accumulated quite a DVD collection over the past 15 years and had close to 200 DVDs. Instead of purchasing blu-ray versions of all of these to get HD quality, I used to D2D program. I think I spent around $100 bucks converting around 200 DVDs to 1080p HDX digital copies. Now my binder of DVDs sits in a closet collecting dust as I now enjoy all of my movies in amazing HD quality.

I also have about 15 blu-rays (that never came with a digital code) that I converted to HDX copies for $1 each with my external blu-ray drive. The D2D program is definitely a great way to get a nice collection of HDX movies - and it's legal and supports the movie studios. (which is why both Flixter and VUDU (and kiosks in Walmart) offer disc to digital conversion services.

I SUPPOSE people could use it to rent blu-rays from netflix/redbox or from the library and use it to convert discs they do no legally own. I'm not sure the software can detect a retail blu-ray disc versus a rental one.

 

[InsideTJ]

I've been digging through by bluray discs and have found a few that i never redeemed the codes for. I have a Cinderella collectors box that has been sealed on my shelf for over a year. Opened it up and there is a digital code! I've found about 4 or so of my movies had codes I had forgotten about or didn't think about. Until now.

How many times can Disney movies be redeemed and on what services? I know most are DMA (that's what I redeemed Cinderella on). But is it possible that this same code is good on another redemption service? I see several listings for DMA/DC+. Is it one or the other?

 

[InsideTJ]

Do you guys have OCD when it comes to having everything in one format (like iTunes) or do you not care if you have a mix and match of movies on iTunes, Google Play, and UV?

Itunes is definitely my preferred platform. A big part of this quest for me is to organize everything into one place. I don't own any movies on any other services yet (other than DMA which works great and is seamless into iTunes).

That said, I'm pretty careful about not cluttering up my library with cheap movies just because they're cheap. I don't really want rentals/one time watch movies in my library. But this may change. I try to stick to my favorites, classics, and those that have some meaning to me. I currently have about 50-60 movies and about 4 TV series. I'm trying to be selective, but I'm not sure how long this pickiness will last.

 

[surfnode]

You can rent from iTMS and use M4VGear to strip the DRM within your 24hr rental period and then you get to keep the movie for good. hah

 

[netnothing]

I definitely would not feel comfortable giving a complete stranger access to my VUDU account. But, I'd definitely do that with family and friends.

I actually joined VUDU 2 years ago solely because I heard about their Disc To Digital program. I had accumulated quite a DVD collection over the past 15 years and had close to 200 DVDs. Instead of purchasing blu-ray versions of all of these to get HD quality, I used to D2D program. I think I spent around $100 bucks converting around 200 DVDs to 1080p HDX digital copies. Now my binder of DVDs sits in a closet collecting dust as I now enjoy all of my movies in amazing HD quality.

Depends on who you go with. The main D2D community I found is run by 2 guys that take the whole thing very seriously. Their reputations depend on it. Plus, they don't care about my Vudu library.....they are sitting on 2700 Bluray's of their own.

It is a great program to load up your library.

You can rent from iTMS and use M4VGear to strip the DRM within your 24hr rental period and then you get to keep the movie for good. hah

Sad thing is, you'll end up paying more most times for the rental.

-Kevin

 

[Keepoffthegrass]

Will my UK Star Wars blu ray collection transfer to DMA and then sync with my iTunes ? That would be beyond cool ?

 

[BMox81]

Will my UK Star Wars blu ray collection transfer to DMA and then sync with my iTunes ? That would be beyond cool ?

Everything bar A New Hope should be ok I imagine.

Let us know how you get on!

 

[BJMRamage]

Will my UK Star Wars blu ray collection transfer to DMA and then sync with my iTunes ? That would be beyond cool ?

Does the UK Bluray edition come with digital copy codes?
and you can't D2D a Disney/DMA movie...they don't allow it.

 

[BJMRamage]

I've been digging through by bluray discs and have found a few that i never redeemed the codes for. I have a Cinderella collectors box that has been sealed on my shelf for over a year. Opened it up and there is a digital code! I've found about 4 or so of my movies had codes I had forgotten about or didn't think about. Until now.

How many times can Disney movies be redeemed and on what services? I know most are DMA (that's what I redeemed Cinderella on). But is it possible that this same code is good on another redemption service? I see several listings for DMA/DC+. Is it one or the other?

You should be able to get a second redemption out of it. the second redemption would be either DC+ or XML-based.

 

[Kendo]

Anyone get any TV shows yet? I just bought The Wire: The Complete Series on iTunes and was curious how iOS categorizes each show. For The Wire, there is a main "folder" and then 63 episodes in that folder rather than having separate season folders in the main Wire folder.

If I buy a season of Game of Thrones, on my main page will I have The Wire: The Complete Series and Game of Thrones Season 1? Or will iOS create a main Game of Thrones folder and within that folder have Season 1, Season 2, etc? It is difficult to tell if OS considers a single season as a main folder.

 

[BMox81]

Anyone get any TV shows yet? I just bought The Wire: The Complete Series on iTunes and was curious how iOS categorizes each show. For The Wire, there is a main "folder" and then 63 episodes in that folder rather than having separate season folders in the main Wire folder.

If I buy a season of Game of Thrones, on my main page will I have The Wire: The Complete Series and Game of Thrones Season 1? Or will iOS create a main Game of Thrones folder and within that folder have Season 1, Season 2, etc? It is difficult to tell if OS considers a single season as a main folder.

I've got GoT and they appear as you suggested - One folder and each season within that folder.

 

[ECJ]

Anyone get any TV shows yet? I just bought The Wire: The Complete Series on iTunes and was curious how iOS categorizes each show. For The Wire, there is a main "folder" and then 63 episodes in that folder rather than having separate season folders in the main Wire folder.

If I buy a season of Game of Thrones, on my main page will I have The Wire: The Complete Series and Game of Thrones Season 1? Or will iOS create a main Game of Thrones folder and within that folder have Season 1, Season 2, etc? It is difficult to tell if OS considers a single season as a main folder.

It would be the shows, then folders for each season. FYI on the Google group there are people who sell the entire TV shows seasons for $15 -$20. I just bought True Blood series for $20. Look up John Cooper on the groups.

 

[Kendo]

Thanks BMox and ECJ. I guess for the complete series of The Wire, they consider the "Complete Series" as one giant season so I have 63 episodes right after one "folder jump."

If I buy GoT, I guess there will be two "folder jumps." One to get into each individual season, and then one more to get into the episodes of each season.

 

[BMox81]

Thanks BMox and ECJ. I guess for the complete series of The Wire, they consider the "Complete Series" as one giant season so I have 63 episodes right after one "folder jump."

If I buy GoT, I guess there will be two "folder jumps." One to get into each individual season, and then one more to get into the episodes of each season.

Oh - in my GoT folder, it specifies each season/series within the one folder. I don't know whether that's because I've bought seasons invidually or not.

Are you saying that The Wire shows up as 63 consecutive episodes?

 

[Kendo]

Oh - in my GoT folder, it specifies each season/series within the one folder. I don't know whether that's because I've bought seasons invidually or not.

Are you saying that The Wire shows up as 63 consecutive episodes?

Yep. So if I open up the Videos app on iOS, I have The Wire with the number 63 on the top right. I go into that folder and I have all 63 episodes in a row. As mentioned, it probably considers the Complete Series as one giant mega season.

If I go into the iTunes Store and look up the Complete Series, each episode has an iCloud download link. But if I search Season 1 in the iTunes Store, it gives me a $2.99 price tag. So iTunes considers an episode from a season as a different purchase from an episode of a complete series, even if it is technically the same show.

Lastly, if you search for a GoT season that you own, does the entire season give you a price tag? For example, each episode gives me an iCloud download link, but the main page gives me a price instead of a download link.