UltraViolet (website)

UltraViolet was a cloud-based digital rights locker for films and television programs that allowed consumers to store proofs-of-purchase of licensed content in an account to enable playback on different devices using multiple applications from several different streaming services.

UltraViolet was deployed by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE),[2][3] an alliance of 85[citation needed] companies that included film studios, retailers, consumer electronics manufacturers, cable television companies, internet service providers (ISPs), internet hosting vendors, and other systems and security vendors,[4] with the notable exceptions of Walt Disney Studios, Google, Amazon and Apple.

This shutdown came after the launch of Movies Anywhere over a year earlier, along with Fox, Universal, Lionsgate, Paramount, and Warner Bros. beginning to drop out of issuing new UV rights for their films during that time period.

An UltraViolet account was a digital rights locker where licenses (effectively receipts) for purchased content were stored and managed irrespective of the point of sale.

[7] Other minor film and television studios released their programming and movies with UltraViolet rights, but were not DECE members.

DMA providers included iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, Amazon Video, and Microsoft Movies & TV.

[8] Some services offered downloads that could be saved to PCs, tablets, gaming consoles, or phones for offline viewing.

[9] Other less notable streaming providers include: Kaleidescape, Verizon Fios On Demand, Videociety, and Nolim Films.

The CFF was an attempt by the DECE to allow downloaded video files to be copied between devices, stored on physical media (e.g. DVDs, SD cards, flash memory) or online backup services.

A 2015 simplification of the UV ecosystem made the Common File Format optional for studios and streaming providers.

The selected DRM technologies were: In September, Mitch Singer, the President of DECE, announced the upcoming launch of the "UltraViolet" system in an interview with Home Media Magazine.

[15] On October 11, the UltraViolet system launched with the Warner Bros release of Horrible Bosses, the first UV title.

[21] In January, Paramount released its first UV title "Paranormal Activity 3" [22] and in April DreamWorks Animation became the seventh studio to join the UltraViolet initiative with "Shrek", "Madagascar", "Kung Fu Panda" and "How to Train Your Dragon".

[23] Also in April, Vudu (operated by Walmart) became the first major UltraViolet retailer by adding UV rights to thousands of films.

[28] On October 30, Barnes & Noble announced it would launch an UltraViolet enabled electronic video store for its new Nook HD tablet.

[31] In January, DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor launched M-GO, a new streaming platform with UV capability,[32] and Cineplex became the first UltraViolet retailer in Canada.

[42] At the end of March, Vudu became the first UV retailer to offer Google Chromecast support for UltraViolet content.

Also in October, Tesco's BlinkBox became the first official UV retailer in the U.K.[47] On Nov. 12, KnowHow, a UK streaming movie provider, relaunched as CinemaNow and added Ultraviolet support.

[50] French supermarket chain Carrefour opened a digital video store with UltraViolet functionality called Nolim Films on January 27.

[59] On June 29, an update was released for the Nvidia Shield Android TV console that enabled support for the Vudu app.

[62] In April, it was noticed that movies from Relativity Media that were distributed by 20th Century Fox, were no longer UV enabled.

In late May, Universal Studios began referring to UltraViolet as only "Digital HD" on the back of its Blu-ray releases.

Redeem codes and access your Flixster video collection after that date by signing up or logging into Vudu or FandangoNOW."

[65] March 13 - FandangoNow joined MoviesAnywhere, and stopped offering UV rights for MA affiliated studios' films.

[72] On January 31, Sony Pictures Store shut down its website and discontinued all related operations in the U.S. except for their ULTRA 4K app.

[75] On March 18, Paramount Pictures issued a notice that the ability to rent, buy, or playback films via ParamountMovies.com would cease effective immediately.

On September 24, 2019, Flixster Video informed its non-US subscribers by email that it was planning to shut down its website, applications and operations on December 18, 2019.

After the demise of Ultraviolet, current Paramount releases with a digital code have featured a portal on Paramount's home entertainment website where a choice of retailer redemption can be made (usually either iTunes, Google Play Movies/YouTube or Vudu), while Lionsgate currently requires the download of an app and requires the reception of their newsletter list via email to confirm the ownership of a title before the choice of retailer redemption is made; MGM films often depend on the actual home video distributor contracted by MGM to release each individual film (although some MGM films like Missing Link and Booksmart also end up in Movies Anywhere, usually through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment).

On October 1, FandangoNOW completed transferring over UV titles to users' regular Movies and TV libraries and removed the Ultraviolet links from their website and apps.