Why I do not redeem those free digital movies. (1 Viewer)

[TJPC]

Ok, this is a typical example. I have been buying Blu rays for years now, and most come with a card for a “free digital download”. Every 6 months or so, I have tried to do this, and end up giving up in disgust.

Today I was at the computer and decided to try again when I was entering the title of the Blu ray for “Skyscraper” into my database.
The card that came with the set tells you to go on to the Universal website and type in the code. I did so, and it immediately took me to the “Google Play” website.

There I was told to sign up. I must have typed my e-mail, name, etc. etc. at least 3 times before it was accepted and they gave me a g-mail address and sent a code to my phone.

Finally I was all set! The movie was there. I pushed play, and a pop up told me my flash drive was out of date! It’s an old computer, so I didn’t bother, and instead decided to download the Google play app on my phone, as they suggest. Something was wrong with this, because it took over an hour.

When I finally had the app, I typed in my e-mail address and password. “Skyscraper” is not there, and there is nothing in my library! I guess it is time to give up again.

 

[JQuintana]

Wow, sorry for all your bad luck with the code set up.

I've had zero issues when I do it. My friend who is my age but is a crotchety old man when it comes to tech (hates smart phones and other things like that) also hates streaming so he gives me all his codes. It takes like a minute to pull up the app and I just hit "Redeem" and plug in the code and BAM!, I have a library of movies to watch via multiple apps or directly on my 4K Roku TV, all in glorious 4K or "regular" HD.

Works like a charm.

 

[Worth]

There aren't the same options in Canada as there are in the U.S. I only redeem the codes if they're iTunes compatible, otherwise I don't bother.

 

[JQuintana]

That stinks.

 

[DaveF]

Is the a Canada thing? Now that I do redeem codes, it's easy:

Go to MoviesAnywhere. Login with 1Password (because I'm not an animal who logs in manually ). Redeem code. Takes about a minute.

If that doesn't work, I read the card more carefully to see if it's a non-MA source and go to their specific site. Then it's more annoying.

But Skyscraper is in MA, so it shouldn't be annoying.

Some people go through a more involved process to optimally redeem every code from the best specific site for that particularly movie. Kudos to them. I don't do that. I'm pretty tech savvy. But the streaming movie industry broke my mind and I gave up. Go to MA. Redeem Code.

 

[TJPC]

The codes in Canada are problematic. It is almost impossible to get them to work properly. I must have hundreds of unclaimed codes by now. Either we can’t access the website, or everything seems ok but you can never find the movie. I don’t bother anymore, but I have only been successful twice.

 

[Worth]

Movies Anywhere isn't available in Canada.

 

[DaveF]

Movies Anywhere isn't available in Canada.

Ah. That's a bummer!

 

[Rob W]

If you are buying your discs from the U.S. and shipping them to Canada, the codes generally will not work. If you're in Canada and buying Canadian versions of the discs ( which generally means bilingual packaging and not much else ) those codes will work just fine. But Warner U.S. code will not redeem in Canada, for example, and vice-versa.

 

[David Norman]

This sounds like a post I made in one of the early UV or digital threads when Warner had their own, Sony/Universal/Lionsgate/Paramount/Fox, etc all had their own sites plus Itunes, VUDU. Flixster and I tried to sit down and figure it all out.

I ended up with about 10 accounts and passwords and about 2 movies that I never could watch or redeem over about 3 days and gave up for years.

When both my kids were away at way Out of state colleges, I finally went back in 2014 or so once UV seemed to have tamed most of the redemption issues, I was able to make a bunch/lot/ton of Digital redemptions via cheap Disc to Digital redemptions (with some VUDU deal I was getting a digital for 0.25-50 ea), VUDU allowed sharing and finally got a bunch of things redeemed, but only about 80% of the items redeemed in one place and sometimes you still had to run around to other sites to redeem the rest.

At least for a while I had a library that at least somebody could use. Then DMA came along in 2015 and would redeem but not share on VUDU, then MA replaced DMA, then VUDU grandfathered sharing so new email addresses could be added, and now UV is going away so expectation are that any sharing ability will as well.

The weird thing is I seem to be able to redeem many CANADIAN digitals in the US via VPN/FLIXSTER/UV easier than folks in Canada are.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I have been able to register the codes I do have even with the 4K blu-ray titles. I have also had not problems using VUDU or Movies Anywhere with my Apple TV. I still feel physical media offers the best quality in sound and video vs digital streaming. I am impressed with what I have seen with my 4K Apple TV and there will be times I watch my movies on the Apple TV. I prefer my disc versions but I am not about to turn down free digital versions as they give me a way to watch the movies if the disc dies!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Dave, if you haven’t already, I’d highly recommend creating an iTunes account and then linking it to your Movies Anywhere account, so that you’ll get copies of your Movies Anywhere films through the iTunes app as well.

In my experience with the AppleTV, content being played from the iTunes app looks and sounds better than the same content being played on the Vudu and Movies Anywhere apps.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Dave, if you haven’t already, I’d highly recommend creating an iTunes account and then linking it to your Movies Anywhere account, so that you’ll get copies of your Movies Anywhere films through the iTunes app as well.

In my experience with the AppleTV, content being played from the iTunes app looks and sounds better than the same content being played on the Vudu and Movies Anywhere apps.

Yup, that's why I asked him in that other thread about whether he's using iTunes or just Vudu and MoviesAnywhere.

 

[TJPC]

I recently bought “Bumblebee”, “Aqua man” and “ Fantastic Beasts”. They all came with digital codes. On a lark, I tried to claim them, and after downloading the appropriate apps, they worked!

I sat down and took a couple of hours and about 100 discs and typed in the codes. We have no Vudu in Canada, but “Flixster” is still operational. I now have apps for it, Google Play, Apple TV, iTunes on my system.

Depending on the company, some codes were rejected because they were expired, and some because the Blu was bought in the USA or came from Britain. Some companies did not seem to care. If you count Disney (which I can’t find once I download!), I think I have access to about 50 movies now.

Between going to 15 different websites, it took me hours and I would certainly recommend entering codes as you get the discs! I had the time and I was in the mood. I still have a massive job ahead of me and plan to tackle 10 discs a day from now on.

Having said all this, I doubt that I would ever watch a movie from a digital copy. Right now with my system, the only way to do this is on my IPhone, or computer. When we eventually upgrade hopefully the movies will still be there.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

What I love about having the codes with the discs is that it can make it easier for me to access bonus content when it's on a multi-disc set.

For instance, the other night, I watched Spider-Man Homecoming in 3D. All of the bonus features are on the 2D disc. Instead of getting up, switching discs, letting the FBI warnings and forced trailers play, I simply turned on my AppleTV and selected Spider-Man Homecoming in iTunes. All of the bonus features were there, and I was able to watch them quickly and easily without having to switch discs and navigate through the Blu-ray menus/warnings/trailers on the way there.

 

[Tino]

Exactly. Convenience.

 

[Cranston37+]

One of the most unheralded things you can do when you have digital copies vs. physical copies - bringing the Apple TV with you when you travel to hook up to hotel room TV's or students bringing theirs to college...

 

[David_B_K]

When you buy movies via iTunes, how do they get to your Apple TV? Are they stored in the cloud like VUDU purchases? Or do you have to download them to your computer and link the computer to your Apple TV?

 

[Cranston37+]

When you buy movies via iTunes, how do they get to your Apple TV? Are they stored in the cloud like VUDU purchases? Or do you have to download them to your computer and link the computer to your Apple TV?

The Apple TV is a small device, like a Roku, that you hook up to your existing TV. It has an App Store just like your phone, one of which is iTunes. Video then streams from the cloud on the Apple TV, or if you have downloaded content on your Mac or iOS device you can send it to your Apple TV via AirPlay.

 

[David_B_K]

I knew it was like a Roku. I just wondered where the purchased movies live. Also, I often see mention of movies "on sale" at iTunes. Is that something you find out about in the App, or do they send emails?