Gonnateachyahow: Building a Large Digital Movie Collection

1. Ultraviolet Account

2. Vudu Account

3. Flixster Account

Building a digital movie collection can be a daunting task. Most people start out with Vudu, Flixster, or Target Ticket which are all networked together under Ultraviolet. These are by far the most popular sources and are promoted when you buy most movies today. Disney is the major holdout for the Ultraviolet movie network. Disney created their own database for movies and linked with Google Play, Itunes, and Vudu. Disney Movies Anywhere's titles are not compatible with Ultraviolet although Disney has said they have not ruled out the option in the future.

Using these services can be very expensive, although Vudu and Flixster have created a cheaper way to add your existing movies, with Disk to Digital. Check out this article on using Vudu’s disk to digital software.

One of the best, but least used ways to grow your collection is to “share” or “merge” your collection with other peoples collections. Each Ultraviolet movie in their collection will automatically add to your collection when you merge existing accounts. Then each time you purchase an Ultraviolet compatible movie it automatically appears in their collections and the same will happen each time they purchase a movie it shows up in your collection. This can be done though the Ultraviolet site or through the Vudu site. Let me offer a word of caution on doing this. Make sure that the people you share with can be trusted, or give them a low level access. If you give them too high of an access they can actually remove you from your collection and gain legal rights to all of your movies. You authorize them to use your account and can very easily give them administrator privilege without meaning to. Again this should only be used with people you know and trust. DO NOT SHARE WITH PEOPLE YOU MEET IN GROUPS. There have been many cases of hundreds of movies being taken from collectors by people they met online.

Getting the newest, hottest movies can set you back financially very quickly, and as of now it still makes more sense to pick up the physical copy of the DVD or Blu-Ray to add these to your collection, because most new releases cost the same as the DVD or Blu-Ray and the disks usually come with a digital copy code. Look for specially marked packages with the Ultraviolet logo. Discount movies can run you as little as 4-5 dollars at major chains while new releases can be picked up for 15-30 dollars. Most TV shows do not have Ultraviolet included with the disks, although there is a slow increase to more and more titles. TV shows can also be purchased from your favorite provider but most do not have the compatibility of Ultraviolet, the Ultraviolet logo is visible on compatible movies. Make sure to look through your existing collection for movies that contain the digital copies and add them at the corresponding websites, then use disk to digital to convert your current DVD / Blu-Ray collection.

Next check online retailers like Ebay and Amazon for movies you want, look first for movies that include a digital copy, and then if it isn't available pick up your favorites for disk to digital conversion.

There are a few services that can get you new releases at a fraction of the normal cost; although there is some concern of the legality of such services. Movie studios have been requesting that sites not carry the digital codes separately, saying they are for the original user with the disk that was purchased and use of otherwise violates the copyrights. Owners are saying that the code belongs to them and can be given away or sold like a disk if they choose to do so. Ebay stopped the sale of digital codes without physical disks in an attempt to appease the movie studios.

Listia.com often have movie codes going for 2000-8000 credits, Websites such as UVgrab.com will carry most new releases for 5.00 (US funds) and sale items for 3.50. The codes are delivered from UVgrab at checkout and most are HD (HDX).

You can also find codes at various groups on Facebook and Google+ (search for Ultraviolet or Vudu), here you will find links to smaller stores (Tactail.com) these will sometimes have codes for as little as a dollar. Watch for codes over 5.00 you can usually get them cheaper at UVgrab or lista.

Another fine thing to check out on Facebook and Google groups are the occasional free code giveaway. This is when someone or a store has an extra code and will give it away either by posting the code directly to the live feed or by starting a game and then messaging the winner.

These are a few ways to build up your movie collection without killing your wallet.