Posted Thu Oct 4, 2018 at 02:41 PM PDT by Michael S. Palmer
The move to an Ultra HD home entertainment ecosystem has been a lot more complicated than the transition from SD to HD. In addition to resolution variances, multiple HDR formats, and consistency questions across each TV brand and model, there's also been a question of digital copy resolution.
In the HD era, most digital copies redeemed for HD digital copies. But in the 4K era, results initially varied by studio.
Studios like Warners Bros instantly offered 4K redemption while others, Disney and Fox come to mind, stuck with HD. Then Disney waffled back and forth, customers were frustrated by the lack of clarity, and Disney ultimately shifted with 4K redemption. And almost every other studio followed. Sony, Lionsgate, Paramount, Warners, Universal, and Disney all include 4K digital copies with the purchase of a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.
20th Century Fox was the last (major studio) holdout.
And so we redeemed 4K codes for movies like The Greatest Showman, Deadpool, Logan, and two versions of The Martain in plain old high definition, which is a shame, because they're all terrific 4K movies. (At least on iTunes, these movies are now available with Dolby Atmos even if you only own the HD version.)
Great news. It's looking like Fox has quietly updated their Digital Copy redemption policy. Readers first reported their digital copies included in Predator and the Predator Trilogy redeemed in 4K via Movies Anywhere. I recently redeemed the code included in the Deadpool 2 and experienced similar. And another reader says they just redeemed the X-Men Trilogy in 4K as well. Sure, Fox still doesn't support Dolby Vision, but if you buy a new-release Fox 4K disc, redeem that code as instructed, you will now get instant access to the 4K HDR10 version on streaming platforms like iTunes, Vudu, and the Microsoft Store.
(Another great tip: if you own an older Fox Blu-ray that includes a Digital Copy with the option to redeem IN iTunes directly, iTunes will automatically upgrade you to 4K if possible. But, again, you have to redeem your Digital Copy in iTunes. If you redeemed elsewhere, you'll be stuck with HD. The only catch? Newer Fox Digital Copies require you to use Movies Anywhere, which may or may not lock you to HD.)
Is this a permanent change for 20th Century Fox? We can't guarantee anything, but it's looking very promising. Let's hope Fox keeps this up because it's a must-have feature for any 4K enthusiast who maintains a digital library along with physical one. The only bad news is this policy change doesn't appear to effect previously-released 4K digital copies (at least, not in my library).
What about you? Have you redeemed any other 4K Fox movies and received a 4K digital copy? Are you seeing any of your previously-redeemed Fox movies, that were in HD, in 4K now? Are you able to redeem any of those older codes for 4K now? If so, let us know in the comments below and we'll make sure to update this article.
Cheers and thanks so much for reading.
NOTE: this article was updated to reflect that Predator, not Deadpool 2, appears to have been the first Fox movie to redeem in 4K.
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