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Streamnation cracks open your digital TV and movie stash for online sharing
Digital movies and TV shows have a long way to go before they're as easy to share as an MP3. To that end, the cloud storage service Streamnation may have created a solution. You can now upload your own movies and TV shows to the digital locker service and lend them to whoever you want, so long as they also have a Streamnation account. Folks enjoying your videos have 24 hours to stream them across a number of popular devices, and during that period you can't view the media yourself. In that way, it's a lot like borrowing them a DVD or Blu-ray. The whole thing sounds an awful lot like Steam's sharing program, but the difference here is that historically, Hollywood tends to operate differently than the game industry when it comes to passing content around.
Sony to offer UltraViolet movies in France and Germany starting late September
To use UltraViolet these days, you have to live in one of a few English-speaking countries. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will change that soon: the company just teased its plans for the digital locker service in mainland Europe. According to the firm's David Bishop, Germans will get cloud access to Sony movies in late September -- possibly September 30th, as DECE hinted in April -- while the French will have their turn sometime in the fall. Neither Sony nor other studios have provided additional launch dates, although we know that neighboring countries like Belgium and the Netherlands should be next on the list.
Vudu brings disc-to-digital UltraViolet conversions home to beta users
As promised, Vudu has taken the trip to Wally World out of the process used to watch your discs via UltraViolet streaming apps and sites -- the legit way. Just like the in-store process, DVDs or Blu-rays can be leveraged to buy digital versions of the movie anywhere UltraViolet movies are available. Going from a DVD to an standard definition copy will run you $2, while upgrading to HD is $5 -- Blu-ray to HD is also $2 -- which is the exact same pricing as the in-store offering. Those who want to convert a few titles, and are lucky enough to get invited to the beta, can download the Windows-only application to a computer that has the required optical disc drive. Mac support is promised soon, but with the limited number of Macs with Blu-ray drives, we'd suspect that version will only work with DVDs.
Vudu and Walmart bring disc-to-digital conversions home, iOS app adds offline viewing next month
Walmart Entertainment launched its in-store disc-to-digital UltraViolet conversion early last year, and now it's making the process a bit simpler by letting customers do it by themselves at home. Powered by the Vudu To Go app for Mac and Windows PCs that already lets viewers stream or download movies in up to 1080p, they can search for previously purchased movies from participating studios (DreamWorks Animation, Lionsgate, MGM Studios, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) and then convert them: DVD to SD or Blu-ray to HD for $2, DVD to HD for $5. Like the beta feature recently launched by Best Buy's CinemaNow, the app authorizes the copy and then you can watch it through any of the numerous Vudu / UltraViolet-ready devices and services merely by logging in. One other new feature on the way is the ability for Vudu users on iOS to download copies to their devices for viewing offline. We first saw the feature on mobiles when its Android tablet app launched last month, and it will come to the Apple family of hardware in mid-February. One other note as Walmart attempts to expand its "Entertainment" brand is a Facebook app that will let its fans read and submit reviews and also vote on which movies will be offered for sale in-store and online. Still need a reason to give UltraViolet a try? Vudu is tossing new users 10 free pre-selected movies just for linking their account or signing up. Check out the full list of details in the press release after the break or hit the source link to see if it's live.
Paramount Movies lets you stream UltraViolet films from the cloud, for a price
Paramount became the first studio to offer digital versions of UltraViolet-based movies this week, with the launch of Paramount Movies. With this new service, users can purchase a film in either digital or physical form, and automatically store a copy of it within Paramount's cloud-based digital locker. This effectively allows you to stream a film to any iOS device, though support for Android and Windows Phone remains unavailable (as does compatibility with most set-top boxes). It's all part of DECE's "buy once, play anywhere" ethos, though it should be noted that the studio's UV offerings are somewhat limited. At the moment, Paramount Movies boasts about 60 titles, all of which are available at comparatively steep prices: $20 for HD quality movies, and $13 for SD versions. Check it out for yourself at the source link below.
Warner preps for UltraViolet with Flixster Collections app to manage your movies
You don't have to wait for Green Lantern or Horrible Bosses on Blu-ray before getting a taste of the UltraViolet future, as Warner has released a beta version of its Flixster Collections app that wants to dig deep into your movie library. Currently running on Macs or PCs, it's not concerned with where your media is -- it ties in with Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, iTunes then asks about your disc collection and downloaded files -- but it wants to index all of it. Once everything is imported, you can browse through them in a Netflix-style interface and even share them over different social networks. As Home Media Magazine points out, the access to titles from all studios is an important first here, but until UltraViolet actually launches, there's not much to do once all your information is out there. Hit the source link to try it out yourself, and make sure you've got the requisite logins handy, you'll be a while.
Time Warner CEO talks HBO Go expansion, first UltraViolet digital locker-enabled movies
The second quarter 2011 results for Time Warner came out today and while news of a successful quarter intrigues investors, we're keying in on the always chatty CEO Jeff Bewkes' comments about new technology including HBO Go, UltraViolet and even Netflix. After a successful launch for HBO Go on mobile devices with more than four million downloads, it will expand to Brazil and Mexico by the end of the year and Asia next year while also streaming to more connected TVs and game consoles. Another platform getting some love is the long awaited "digital locker" UltraViolet (Listen to our podcast with the man in charge for more background), which will be included on the Blu-ray releases of Green Lantern and Horrible Bosses later this year and fully integrated with recent purchase Flixster; we'll finally find out if buy once, play anywhere is really as good as it sounds. Oh, and that Albanian army Netflix? Bewkes may be warming up to it -- and the impressive profits posted by CBS after its new streaming deals -- so while HBO is probably still off of the table for streaming there may be other TV content from its library on the way in return for a fat licensing check.
EMI joins Warner Music Group in Apple cloud music service
Sources have told CNET that EMI has signed a deal with Apple to license its music for cloud-based services. EMI joins Warner Music Group, which signed on with Apple for cloud-based music services last month. The remaining two major labels, Sony and Universal, are expected to sign similar deals with Apple as early as next week. Getting all four major music labels to sign on to a cloud-based service is seen as a serious win and another vote of confidence for Apple's rumored cloud-based digital distribution services. Amazon and Google both launched cloud-based digital lockers earlier this month, yet neither of those companies have any agreements with the four major music labels. Cloud-based services are rumored to be a big part of iOS 5, and late last month it was revealed that Apple's digital locker services might be called iCloud after Apple bought the icloud.com domain from a Swedish company.
Second source suggests Apple purchased icloud domain
Earlier this week, we reported on a circulating rumor that suggested Apple bought the icloud.com domain name. Today, All Things Digital added to that rumor with a report of its own. According to AllThingsD, "sources in position to know" have confirmed to them that Apple did buy the icloud.com domain name from Xcerion, a cloud computing company based in Sweden. The original rumor suggested Apple paid up to $4.5 million for the domain name, but AllThingsD was unable to corroborate that figure with its source. Presumably, Apple will use this domain name for the rumored iTunes in the cloud and digital locker service it is supposedly gearing up to launch. Would you be excited to use your iCloud account to sync your iPhoto and iTunes content with your iPad while you're on the iGo?
Rumor: Apple might have bought iCloud.com
GigaOm is reporting that Sweden-based cloud storage company Xcerion has just sold its iCloud.com domain name for US$4.5 million and that the likely buyer is none other than Apple. Xcerion had previously sold a cloud-based storage service called iCloud, but it's been rebranded as CloudMe after the sale of the iCloud.com domain. While GigaOm doesn't get into specifics, the site says its source is familiar with the company and that the buyer of the domain name is Apple. Currently, the WhoIs information still lists Xcerion as the owner of iCloud.com, but that could be a deliberate move until Apple reveals its new cloud-based services. Even though GigaOm doesn't name its source, it does fit in with other reports that Apple is gearing up to launch a digital locker soon. Apple does have a penchant of throwing an "i" in front of everything. If GigaOm's sources are correct, get ready to say goodbye to iDisk and hello to Apple's iCloud.
