UltraViolet

LAS VEGAS--Samsung said today it is making its Smart Blu-ray players compatible with the UltraViolet, the cloud-movie platform backed by the Hollywood studios.

The main UV feature will enable owners of the Blu-ray players to move their existing DVD and Blu-ray libraries into their own UV digital lockers.

The feature, which will be made available later this year, is being referred to as "disc to digital," which enables owners to slip in an eligible movie disc and the software will then attempt to scan and recognize the film. When it does, the technology will then offer owners a … Read more

Netflix is out of the consortium that created UltraViolet, the technology platform designed to make digital movies accessible to any device or service.

Sources told CNET that the highest-ranking executive representing Netflix within Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), a group of more than 70 companies connected to the film industry, recently did not renew his membership. Current members include Hollywood studios, software and hardware makers, film distributors, and retailers.

While Netflix may maintain some low-level DECE presence in the future, the company in large part cut ties to DECE a while ago, the sources said. Netflix executives have rarely, if … Read more

Hollywood continues to try to lay the foundation for UltraViolet, the technology that studio managers hope will replace the DVD.

Sony Pictures on Friday issued Blu-ray versions of "The Smurfs" and "Friends With Benefits" and also provided disc buyers with access to UV copies of the films. The studio will do the same with the release of the revenge flick "Columbiana" on December 20.

In addition, Variety, a film industry trade publication, is reporting that Sony Pictures will release a UV version of the Brad Pitt hit movie "Moneyball" on January 10. … Read more

LOS ANGELES--Warner Bros. has ironed out a short-lived glitch with the film studio's UltraViolet service just in time for the upcoming "Harry Potter" Blu-ray release.

Today, the updated Flixster app enables users to not only stream movies available on UltraViolet, but also download them to iPads and iPhones, a feature that was missing from Warner's initial movie releases on UltraViolet.

UltraViolet is the name of the technology standards and specifications that will enable film fans to store titles on the servers of film distributors, or what is commonly known as the cloud. From now on those … Read more

A group of technology and entertainment companies appears to have defied the doubters and is actually launching a new cloud-video platform--thanks in large part to Time Warner's HBO.

UltraViolet (UV) is the name for a set of standards and technology designed to enable consumers to store their movies and TV shows in the cloud. Participating retailers and services will store customers' video on their servers and then users can view the films on a wide assortment of devices from member consumer-electronics makers.

UV is what most of the Hollywood film studios, as well as many others connected to online-movie … Read more

Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, is very close to becoming the first large merchant to sign up to adopt UltraViolet, the cloud-video platform, sources with knowledge of the talks told CNET.

Ultraviolet (UV) is a set of standards and specifications designed to make approved movies and TV shows play on a multitude of devices. The technology is supposed to lay the groundwork for the next generation of home-video distribution and be the battering ram that crashes into walled gardens--the efforts by some companies to lock up consumers into watching movies on their devices and their video service.

The plan … Read more

To some, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes might appear to be a foe of Web distribution.

Remember, he was the guy who last year compared Netflix with the Albanian army--the view that the popular company would remake film distribution, he said, was a little like saying the tiny country's army would conquer the world. Time Warner has also made it clear Netflix subscribers won't be streaming episodes of HBO hit shows, such as "True Blood" or "The Sopranos," anytime soon.

Because Time Warner, one of the world's largest and powerful media companies, … Read more

The rumors from last week about Apple being "on the edge" of launching a cloud movie service, which would enable iTunes users to stream movies from Apple's servers and then re-download them to other devices, are at best premature.

Apple has yet to sign cloud agreements for feature films with at least four of the top six film studios, according to multiple film industry sources who spoke to CNET. Apple has indeed pursued such agreements, which CNET reported in May, but Apple's negotiations could drag on for months before the company acquires cloud rights from all … Read more

While much of Hollywood appears to be helping pave the way for cloud film services, there are still some nagging questions about how much support there is for the technology.

Certainly, lots of people are saying they're on board. Most of the top Hollywood film studios--with the exception of Disney--are part of a consortium that has developed UltraViolet, a set of technical standards they hope will act as the bedrock for the next-generation home video format. UV is designed to ensure that consumers will be able to play their movies and TV shows through a wide range of cloud … Read more