Movie studios, faced with dwindling DVD sales as consumers turn to streaming, want to create their own cloud-based storage option to compete with Apple. Aptly named UltraViolet, the service apparently hinges on invisible interest by audiences that have abandoned physical sales.
A version of DRM placed on DVD movies, UltraViolet allows consumers to buy media but store it in a digital locker. An included passcode lets users then access the movies online. So far, other than Apple — which has its own iCloud service appearing Wednesday, Oct. 12 — Walt Disney is the only company not going along with the studios’ cloud plans. The late Steve Jobs was Disney’s largest shareholder. Disney says it will launch its own service, Disney Studio All Access in the next few months.
Although Apple has had trouble obtaining licensing rights to provide movies via iCloud, finance chief Peter Oppenheimer said this summer he expects “neat stuff” appearing in the cloud-based iTunes store. Just what “neat stuff” remains unclear. However, UltraViolet appears to be a preventive measure against Apple gaining the ability to stream movies from the cloud.
This latest move from the studios could be just the latest example of fighting a rear-guard attack. Already, much of movie sales happens either via Netflix streaming, the ubiquitous Red Box kiosks or Apple. Whether consumers will purchase physical DVDs that can be stored online is anyone’s guess. But perhaps such uncertainty just further explains the studios’ choice of words: ultraviolet cannot be seen by the human eye.
