UltraViolet In UK Stores For Christmas 2012

UltraViolet’s future in the UK is already looking bright with a prediction that by Christmas 2012 most major theatrical releases will be UltraViolet-enabled to give consumers “any time, anywhere” access to their favourite films.
Blinkbox founder Michael Cormish has said he expects enough products featuring the UltraViolet digital distribution technology to be in store by Christmas 2012.
Speaking at the HIS Screen Digest Future of Digital Media Distribution event, Cormish anticipated the first UltraViolet titles to appear early next year, allowing for an UltraViolet Christmas later in the year.
Warner Bros. released the first UltraViolet titles, "Horrible Bosses" and "Green Lantern”, in October, and announced the launch of UltraViolet in the U.K. with the Warner Bros.' "Final Destination 5".
The premise of UltraViolet is to allow consumers to watch film and television content across multiple branded platforms, such as computers, connected TVs, game consoles, smartphones and tablets. When a consumer purchases an UltraViolet DVD it is then possible to watch versions of the title on these other devices
It was created and championed by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), a consortium of more than 75 companies, including four major studios as well as consumer electronics manufacturers, big box retailers and technology and video service providers.
Will It Catch On?
This news however comes at a time when analyst question whether UltraViolet will actually catch on.
For studios, UltraViolet is a way to add value to DVD and Blu-rays, with the hope that sales of packaged media will cease its downward spiral. But what UltraViolet offers so far, a digital copy, is something that consumers have shown little interest in.
Reports show that redemption rates of "old-style digital copies" ran up to 25% for the biggest titles but averaged in the mid-teens: not compelling numbers.
Meanwhile others assert that pricing of UltraViolet digital files versus rental prices is key.
UltraViolet however said: "It is all about the value of ownership. You can reset interest in ownership if it costs £9 vs. £5 to rent. But if a Blu-ray disk or digital file costs £20, it's a challenging proposition."
Re-education is also suggested for consumers who've had bad experiences with digital downloads. Many experts thought digital direct-to-consumer would be a huge business, but it's been relatively flat.
They claim consumers didn't want to download content because they thought it would fill up their hard drive and crash it. They were concerned they wouldn't be able to share content on different devices and there was no way to aggregate their libraries. So re-education is needed.
’Don’t Forget DVDs,’ Says BVA
The industry has also been urged to not overlook discs during the soar in new delivery systems.
The Chairman of the British Video Association, Charlie McAuley, has said that new delivery systems although important to the video industry can not overshadow the fact that people still like packaged media.
In a speech to the trade group’s AGM, McAuley, who also is Paramount Home Entertainment UK & Ireland VP/Managing Director, said that although the BVA needs to ensure it supports new and legitimate business models on behalf of its members, it is important not to overlook the role of DVD, Blu-ray and 3D physical discs.
McAuley said that he did not wish to come across as unfashionable but most consumers still purchase and enjoy content this way and the disc could be around for some time to come.
(LB)