Posted Wed Jul 24, 2019 at 01:14 PM PDT by Steven Cohen
As previously reported, UltraViolet is officially closing on July 31. The digital locker system was designed to redeem and link digital copies from numerous studios to various online retailers, enabling playback from a variety of devices.
But while the end of UltraViolet might present an inconvenience for current users, the platform's termination DOES NOT mean that users have to lose their hard-earned digital libraries. In fact, in most cases, customers can retain all of their currently redeemed and purchased digital copies even after UV closes up shop. That is, so long as they ensure that a few simple steps have been followed.
For most UltraViolet users, ensuring that your digital titles remain accessible will require you to simply sit back and do nothing. As long as you've had your UV account linked to VUDU and/or FandangoNOW, and you keep your UV account open and linked to those services, you're basically set to keep your content through those retailers.
But, if you're not sure whether your account is properly linked up, we've got you covered with a quick guide. Here's a few steps you can take to make sure your digital library is ready for UltraViolet's end:
And now that you've ensured that your UV library won't disappear come July 31, there's actually another step you can take to expand availability of your titles even more. To do this, you simply need to sync your VUDU and/or FandangoNOW account up to a Movies Anywhere account.
Like UltraViolet, Movies Anywhere is a digital locker system that can link to a variety of retailers, allowing users to redeem and access their supported digital titles across numerous services. The retailers currently supported include VUDU, FanangoNOW, iTunes Amazon, Xfinity (for Xfinity TV subscribers only), Google Play/YouTube, and Microsoft Movies. Meanwhile, studios currently participating include Disney, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Universal.
Here's how to get started with Movies Anywhere:
With that said, there are two notable caveats to that last point that users should be aware of:
While all of this is admittedly a bit of chore to get sorted out and setup, the end of UltraViolet and the continued expansion of Movies Anywhere should simplify and streamline the digital copy redemption and playback process in the long run.
If Paramount and Lionsgate eventually sign on, and TV shows are added to the mix, Movies Anywhere has the potential to fulfill the promise that UltraViolet could never quite live up to -- resulting in a truly unified digital copy platform that hopefully avoids UV's tragic fate.
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