Best Device for Digital Download Movies
Have you decided to ditch DVDs and Blu-rays to instead purchase movies and Idiot box shows simply in a pure digital format?
There are certainly advantages to that. But 1 of the biggest downsides of going all digital is that how you tin can view your content is largely dependent on the service you purchased information technology from.
Digital video providers
In this column, I await at how "trapped" video content purchased from iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Xbox and Google Play may be. The get-go 4 video marketplaces were listed yesterday past NPD equally amidst the meridian ways people buy digital video. Google Play is probably nonetheless in the "Other" category. Only with Android devices growing and Google standing to push its own Google Play marketplace, information technology seemed well worth including in this survey.
Why would anyone give up on physical discs? My last column, "Keep your Blu-rays and DVDs, Hollywood -- I've gone digital," covered some of the reasons I want to abandon them. Digital means I don't have to go off my couch, find a motion-picture show disc and shove information technology into my Blu-ray histrion. My Roku player can merely pull a movie I own down from the cloud. Digital as well means if I'thou on a trip, and away from my physical movie drove, I can pull the movie down to my laptop or tablet.
The digital trade-offs
Just equally many people who commented in response to my terminal column note, giving upwardly on discs means giving upward control. They're entirely right, too. Y'all're giving up the power to absolutely, positively know that the movie or Idiot box show you own is available to watch in the highest possible quality, without some terms of service down the road possibly taking it away.
Quality is a large issue. For the convenience of having your video content made bachelor to a variety of devices via the cloud, y'all might find that the best quality isn't always available. That Blu-ray might come up with an iTunes, Amazon or UltraViolet digital redemption code, but that doesn't mean y'all'll go a digital copy equal to your Blu-ray'due south quality. Even if you lot do, some devices might be restricted to just getting standard definition quality.
The trapped video matrix
Enough preamble. Beneath is a chart of how trapped your video might exist, followed by explanations. I've tried to encompass the major ways people might try to view their digital films, and I've really tested all of these to see if they work as promised.
Aye, if y'all take a physical disc, in that location are ways to rip the movie, strip information technology of copy protection and get it into diverse devices. I'thousand non including that option because my assumption is that well-nigh people aren't wanting to spend the time and attempt involved in doing that. Rather, I think they'd similar to buy movies from providers that give them as much native freedom and control as possible.
And yes, I know, technically discs are a digital video format. But I'm using "digital" in the same way that Hollywood itself does, as a term to mean an alternative to physical media.
On to the chart:
Browser
The get-go viewing pick listed is "browser," which covers whether you tin watch your purchased video within a spider web browser on a computer. If and so, that'south probably the well-nigh open and device-independent option out there, though it'southward less useful on phones, where smaller screen sizes tin make logging-in and navigating to your purchased video a hurting -- or where the lack of Flash or other plug-in support may make viewing impossible.
Sadly, while browser-based viewing may sound fairly open up, it can also come up with unexpected drawbacks. Amazon streams Hard disk drive movies you ain in 480p SD-quality, rather than 720p or 1080p Hd-quality. Nil in the browser playback window tells you this. Simply it'south in the pocket-size impress of the assistance pages, if you lot chase around.
Google also doesn't stream HD content -- either movies or Idiot box shows -- in bodily Hard disk drive quality. You'll be stuck at 480p, and you'll only know this if you lot get to the video quality option to check. Google does notation this when you purchase a video, just that might get overlooked by some. It likewise has a help page that explains more.
Vudu comes out seeming the big winner with full HD streaming in your browser. Simply so again, this kind of sucked:
I was trying to lookout man 1 of my videos on an external monitor hooked to my laptop. Vudu wanted me to use a cablevision that supports HDCP copy protection. Without that cable, it would but requite me SD quality. Perchance I have the right cable somewhere, only given I had indeed paid for my content, getting treated similar a pirate and not beingness able to watch my content in HD on the monitor of my choosing didn't brand me happy.
Mac Download
It can be nice to download your video content for offline viewing. My side by side category on the chart is whether y'all tin practise this on a Mac. iTunes, of course, makes it easy for Apple content. Vudu is the only other major platform supporting Mac downloads. Simply don't try doing it with Chrome. Vudu will ask you to use another browser. I used Firefox; Safari would probably be fine, also.
PC Download
Adjacent upwardly: can you download content to your Windows PC? Sure -- in fact, all merely Google allow this.
Just there's a gotcha again with Amazon, where when using its Unbox thespian, HD movies will but be downloaded in SD quality. TV content, however, tin can be downloaded in Hard disk quality.
Amazon also has a brake that you can but download to two devices. Except it might really be 4 devices, when you actually start playing with the download options. And there'southward no way to deauthorize those devices, other than contacting Amazon support -- which I did through chat. It merely took a few minutes, simply the whole state of affairs feels confused, and Amazon's page almost information technology isn't much help.
Every bit for Xbox Video, confusingly, its help page says to use the Zune software to download video, with no mention that if you accept Windows eight or Windows RT, this seems unnecessary. You can download Xbox Video content from within the Video application that's native to those operating systems. Also, be warned. Once you start that download in Windows eight, there seems to exist no suspension option.
iOS
Tin yous get your video on an iPad, iPhone or iOS device, through an app? No surprise, that's not an issue for those who own Apple devices. They all support this. However, what quality are you getting? I'd never thought to look before doing this testing. When I downloaded from the cloud, nil on my iPad Retina prompted me nigh what quality I wanted or indicated what quality I received. It's probably Hd, but information technology would be nice to easily know that.
The Amazon Instant Video app for iOS was surprisingly skilful, but as with Apple, it's hard to know what the download quality is.
Vudu claims to support the iPad, but that's really just supporting playback in the Safari browser . There'due south no download option for offline viewing. Some videos are fifty-fifty restricted from playing on iOS.
Finally, content y'all buy on Google Play is made bachelor nicely through the Google'south YouTube app, under the Purchased expanse. Merely in that location's no download pick.
Android
Can you lot get your video on an Android device? Non if you buy through iTunes. Not if you purchase from Amazon. Even if you endeavor to employ your browser to stream Amazon video, a Flash requirement will likely stop y'all in your tracks. Xbox Video is out, too.
Vudu has an app which is overnice, and different the iPad, allows for downloading video for offline viewing. Nonetheless, you'll be limited to SD quality.
Google Play, unsurprisingly, has the best support for Android. Indeed, having an Android device is the only fashion to become HD content from Google Play and to have it offline.
Kindle
Want to view your video content on a Kindle? Amazon supports it, of form. Information technology also makes it very clear exactly what your download quality options are, which I like:
FYI, 720p shows as the maximum rather than 1080p because the Kindle Fire HD I ain can merely do 720p. The bigger Kindle Fire HD 8.9 can do 1080p.
None of the other providers supports the Kindle. I even tried to get Google Play and Vudu content to piece of work through the Kindle'due south browser but had no luck.
Windows Telephone
As you'd expect, Microsoft's Xbox Video supports Microsoft's Windows Telephone. No one else does, not fifty-fifty if y'all try to go to Amazon, Vudu or Google through the phone'south browser.
As for Xbox Video, the support is pretty poor. Forget downloading your purchases from the cloud, equally Apple, Amazon and Google all allow for their mobile devices. You need to download to your estimator, then get a cable, then connect your phone to the computer and transfer using the Zune software.
That worked for my Lumia 900 Windows 7.5 phone, using a Windows 8 laptop. Merely Zune wouldn't recognize my HTC 8X Windows Phone eight. I tried using the Windows Telephone app for Windows 8 as an culling, but it kept giving an error that my video couldn't be shared. Maybe that's why the Xbox Video download instructions don't mention the app, considering it doesn't work. Too bad -- I was left with no way to get my purchased video onto my telephone.
Surface
Given that Microsoft is pushing its Surface tablet hard, I wanted to include it in the roundup. I looked at Surface with Windows RT, the less expensive model and even so the only Surface model shipping at the moment. The more expensive Surface Pro, which launches next week, is really just a total-fledged Windows 8 estimator in a nice bundle. Whatever a PC tin can practice, information technology can do. Merely Surface RT -- and any Windows RT computer -- is more limited.
You can't install the Amazon Unbox histrion, so you can't download Amazon video for offline viewing. In that location are no apps from others beyond Microsoft that allow for playing or downloading video. However, its Net Explorer browser will allow for streaming video from Amazon, Vudu, and Google.
Roku
The Roku box is one of my favorite gadgets. I utilise it almost every nighttime to stream content directly from places similar Netflix and Hulu to my Television. It also offers great support for Amazon and Vudu, upwardly to 1080p quality, if yous take a higher-finish model.
Xbox
While Xbox Video has no real support exterior devices using Microsoft'south ain operating systems, Xbox itself is pretty open to other providers. You lot tin can buy and view your purchased content from Xbox Video, of course. Simply yous tin also admission Amazon and Vudu. While the YouTube app is offered, purchased videos you have available in YouTube from Google Play aren't listed. If yous effort to access them past saving them as a favorite or to your Lookout man Later listing, they still won't play.
Apple Tv
As with Roku, I similar Apple tree TV for how simple it makes it to stream video from places like Netflix and Hulu to my Telly. Simply if you lot want to lookout purchased video, your selection is unsurprisingly merely iTunes. None of the other providers is an option. Yes, y'all tin become YouTube, but your purchased videos from Google Play won't be listed. Fifty-fifty if y'all add them using your figurer to your YouTube Watch After or Favorites lists, they won't exist listed at all on Apple Tv set.
Other devices
In that location are many other devices that I haven't covered, maybe almost notably the Wii and the PS3. I don't own either, then I couldn't test them. Amazon and Vudu say they both support the PS3; Amazon supports the Wii. YouTube is available on both the Wii and PS3, but I'm fairly sure that equally with Apple Television and the Xbox, purchased videos wouldn't be accessible.
And the winner is...
So who'due south the winner in all this, the provider that if you buy from allows you the nearly choice?
That's a pretty tough call. It's easy to wait at all the "no's" in the Xbox Video column and perchance remember that'south the wrong choice to make. But if you lot own an Xbox and a PC, you'll become better quality downloads than Amazon currently allows, despite also existence on the Xbox and the PC.
Google also may seem a pretty poor choice, when you consider that y'all can't download to anything but an Android device, and that streaming through the browser is merely in SD. But if you're consuming video primarily through Android devices, Google is going to give you lot the quality edge over the only alternative, Vudu.
If you have several Apple devices, iTunes tin can brand a lot of sense. Certain, you could buy from Vudu and download to your Mac, like iTunes allows. But Vudu back up for iOS is pretty limited. Sure, yous could purchase from Amazon on iOS as an alternative to iTunes. But then yous won't have an option to download to your Mac. On the flipside, y'all do have more alternatives compared with Xbox and Google. And those alternatives potentially give y'all options should yous ane day leave Apple tree behind.
Every bit for the alternatives, both Amazon and Vudu are compelling in their own ways. Amazon'southward lack of Android support is a drawback, but if you like Kindle, you lot're covered there. Going with devices that support Amazon too means you lot mayhap may get drawn into Amazon's Prime number Video, a huge selection of "gratuitous" content -- free for a relatively low annual fee that comes with other major perks.
Vudu perhaps stands out every bit the unique role player without hardware to pitch. There'south no Vudu telephone, tablet, or computer. Vudu'due south future is being integrated into all these other devices. That maybe makes it i of the best hopes for beingness a provider who traps your content the least. But then again, it's potentially in the riskiest position of being cut off.
I don't know the respond. Information technology's ultimately going to be upwardly to each person. I hope the nautical chart to a higher place helps some in making those choices. I exercise wish that every box had a "yes" in it. I'd certainly feel less trapped if that were the example.
What I really want is to buy a movie from whatever provider and have it work on any device, and so that I never have to make or update a nautical chart like this over again.
DOWNLOAD HERE
Posted by: burmeistertivenswil.blogspot.com
