can you buy and download mp4 of movies How trapped are your digital movies and TV shows? Buying films or TV episodes from a digital media outlet may be great if you watch though one particular device. But what happens if you change from iOS to Android? From a PC to a Mac? From a Roku to Apple TV? We chart it out. Have you decided to ditch DVDs and Blu-rays to instead buy movies and TV shows only in a pure digital format? There are certainly advantages to that. But one of the biggest downsides of going all digital is that how you can view your content is largely dependent on the service you purchased it from. Digital video providers In this column, I look at how "trapped" video content purchased from iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Xbox and Google Play may be. The first four video marketplaces were listed yesterday by NPD as among the top ways people purchase digital video. Google Play is probably still in the "Other" category. But with Android devices growing and Google continuing to push its own Google Play marketplace, it 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 get off my couch, find a movie disc and shove it into my Blu-ray player. My Roku player can just pull a movie I own down from the cloud. Digital also means if I'm on a trip, and away from my physical movie collection, I can pull the movie down to my laptop or tablet. The digital trade-offs But as many people who commented in response to my last column note, giving up on discs means giving up control. They're entirely correct, too. You're giving up the ability to absolutely, positively know that the movie or TV 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 big issue. For the convenience of having your video content made available to a variety of devices via the cloud, you might find that the best quality isn't always available. That Blu-ray might come with an iTunes, Amazon or UltraViolet digital redemption code, but that doesn't mean you'll get a digital copy equal to your Blu-ray's quality. Even if you do, some devices might be restricted to only getting standard definition quality. The trapped video matrix Enough preamble. Below is a chart of how trapped your video might be, followed by explanations. I've tried to cover the major ways people might try to view their digital films, and I've actually tested all of these to see if they work as promised. Yes, if you have a physical disc, there are ways to rip the movie, strip it of copy protection and get it into various devices. I'm not including that option because my assumption is that most people aren't wanting to spend the time and effort involved in doing that. Rather, I think they'd like to purchase 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: The trapped video matrix Danny Sullivan. Browser The first viewing option listed is "browser," which covers whether you can watch your purchased video within a web browser on a computer. If so, that's probably the most open and device-independent option out there, though it's less useful on phones, where smaller screen sizes can make logging-in and navigating to your purchased video a pain -- or where the lack of Flash or other plug-in support may make viewing impossible. Sadly, while browser-based viewing may sound fairly open, it can also come with unexpected drawbacks. Amazon streams HD movies you own in 480p SD-quality, rather than 720p or 1080p HD-quality. Nothing in the browser playback window tells you this. But it's in the small print of the help pages, if you hunt around. Google also doesn't stream HD content -- either movies or TV shows -- in actual HD quality. You'll be stuck at 480p, and you'll only know this if you go to the video quality option to check. Google does note this when you purchase a video, but that might get overlooked by some. It also has a help page that explains more. Vudu comes out seeming the big winner with full HD streaming in your browser. But then again, this kind of sucked: I was trying to watch one of my videos on an external monitor hooked to my laptop. Vudu wanted me to use a cable that supports HDCP copy protection. Without that cable, it would only give me SD quality. Maybe I have the right cable somewhere, but given I had indeed paid for my content, getting treated like a pirate and not being able to watch my content in HD on the monitor of my choosing didn't make me happy. Mac Download It can be nice to download your video content for offline viewing. My next category on the chart is whether you can do this on a Mac. iTunes, of course, makes it easy for Apple content. Vudu is the only other major platform supporting Mac downloads. Just don't try doing it with Chrome. Vudu will ask you to use another browser. I used Firefox; Safari would probably be fine, too. PC Download Next up: can you download content to your Windows PC? Sure -- in fact, all but Google allow this. But there's a gotcha again with Amazon, where when using its Unbox player, HD movies will only be downloaded in SD quality. TV content, however, can be downloaded in HD quality. Amazon also has a restriction that you can only download to two devices. Except it might really be four devices, when you actually start playing with the download options. And there's no way to deauthorize those devices, other than contacting Amazon support -- which I did through chat. It only took a few minutes, but the whole situation feels confused, and Amazon's page about it isn't much help. As for Xbox Video, confusingly, its help page says to use the Zune software to download video, with no mention that if you have Windows 8 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 8, there seems to be no pause option. iOS Can you 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, nothing on my iPad Retina prompted me about what quality I wanted or indicated what quality I received. It's probably HD, but it would be nice to easily know that. The Amazon Instant Video app for iOS was surprisingly good, 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's no download option for offline viewing. Some videos are even restricted from playing on iOS. Finally, content you buy on Google Play is made available nicely through the Google's YouTube app, under the Purchased area. But there's no download option. Android Can you get your video on an Android device? Not if you buy through iTunes. Not if you buy from Amazon. Even if you try to use your browser to stream Amazon video, a Flash requirement will likely stop you in your tracks. Xbox Video is out, too. Vudu has an app which is nice, and unlike the iPad, allows for downloading video for offline viewing. However, you'll be limited to SD quality. Google Play, unsurprisingly, has the best support for Android. Indeed, having an Android device is the only way to get HD content from Google Play and to have it offline. Kindle Want to view your video content on a Kindle? Amazon supports it, of course. It also makes it very clear exactly what your download quality options are, which I like: Kindle download options. FYI, 720p shows as the maximum rather than 1080p because the Kindle Fire HD I own can only 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 work through the Kindle's browser but had no luck. Windows Phone As you'd expect, Microsoft's Xbox Video supports Microsoft's Windows Phone. No one else does, not even if you try to go to Amazon, Vudu or Google through the phone's browser. As for Xbox Video, the support is pretty poor. Forget downloading your purchases from the cloud, as Apple, Amazon and Google all allow for their mobile devices. You need to download to your computer, 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. But Zune wouldn't recognize my HTC 8X Windows Phone 8. I tried using the Windows Phone app for Windows 8 as an alternative, 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, because it doesn't work. Too bad -- I was left with no way to get my purchased video onto my phone. 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 still the only Surface model shipping at the moment. The more expensive Surface Pro, which launches next week, is really just a full-fledged Windows 8 computer in a nice package. Whatever a PC can do, it can do. But Surface RT -- and any Windows RT computer -- is more limited. You can't install the Amazon Unbox player, so you can't download Amazon video for offline viewing. There are no apps from others beyond Microsoft that allow for playing or downloading video. However, its Internet Explorer browser will allow for streaming video from Amazon, Vudu, and Google. Roku The Roku box is one of my favorite gadgets. I use it almost every night to stream content directly from places like Netflix and Hulu to my TV. It also offers great support for Amazon and Vudu, up to 1080p quality, if you have a higher-end model. Xbox While Xbox Video has no real support outside devices using Microsoft's own operating systems, Xbox itself is pretty open to other providers. You can buy and view your purchased content from Xbox Video, of course. But you can also access Amazon and Vudu. While the YouTube app is offered, purchased videos you have available in YouTube from Google Play aren't listed. If you try to access them by saving them as a favorite or to your Watch Later list, they still won't play. Apple TV As with Roku, I like Apple TV for how simple it makes it to stream video from places like Netflix and Hulu to my TV. But if you want to watch purchased video, your choice is unsurprisingly only iTunes. None of the other providers is an option. Yes, you can get YouTube, but your purchased videos from Google Play won't be listed. Even if you add them using your computer to your YouTube Watch Later or Favorites lists, they won't be listed at all on Apple TV. Other devices There are many other devices that I haven't covered, perhaps most notably the Wii and the PS3. I don't own either, so 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 certain that as with Apple TV and the Xbox, purchased videos wouldn't be accessible. And the winner is. So who's the winner in all this, the provider that if you buy from allows you the most choice? That's a pretty tough call. It's easy to look at all the "no's" in the Xbox Video column and perhaps think that's the wrong choice to make. But if you own an Xbox and a PC, you'll get better quality downloads than Amazon currently allows, despite also being on the Xbox and the PC. Google also may seem a pretty poor choice, when you consider that you can't download to anything but an Android device, and that streaming through the browser is only in SD. But if you're consuming video primarily through Android devices, Google is going to give you the quality edge over the only alternative, Vudu. If you have several Apple devices, iTunes can make a lot of sense. Sure, you could buy from Vudu and download to your Mac, like iTunes allows. But Vudu support for iOS is pretty limited. Sure, you could buy from Amazon on iOS as an alternative to iTunes. But then you won't have an option to download to your Mac. On the flipside, you do have more alternatives compared with Xbox and Google. And those alternatives potentially give you options should you one day leave Apple behind. As for the alternatives, both Amazon and Vudu are compelling in their own ways. Amazon's lack of Android support is a drawback, but if you like Kindle, you're covered there. Going with devices that support Amazon also means you perhaps may get drawn into Amazon's Prime Video, a huge selection of "free" content -- free for a relatively low annual fee that comes with other major perks. Vudu perhaps stands out as the unique player without hardware to pitch. There's no Vudu phone, tablet, or computer. Vudu's future is being integrated into all these other devices. That perhaps makes it one of the best hopes for being 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 answer. It's ultimately going to be up to each person. I hope the chart above helps some in making those choices. I do wish that every box had a "yes" in it. I'd certainly feel less trapped if that were the case. What I really want is to buy a movie from any provider and have it work on any device, so that I never have to make or update a chart like this again. How to Get Digital Copies of Movies You Already Own. What is a digital copy of a movie? The ability to make digital copies of movies makes it easy to watch your collections over and over again, all without taking up huge DVD disc space. In this article, I will show you 2 easiest way to solve how to get digital copies of movies you already own . Download the below DVD to Digital Converter to assist you.

◆ How to Get Digital Copies of Movies You Already Own? ※ How to Get Digital Copy of DVD I Own with Desktop Software.

◆ How to Get Digital Copies of Movies You Already Own with WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro. ※ Get Digital Copies of Movies I Already Own with Vudu's Disc to Digital Service. How to Get Digital Copies of Movies You Already Own? Nowadays, we can enjoy movies and TV episodes on almost any electronic device. All you have to do is move your fingers. So, the fact that many people want to know is how to get digital copies of movies I already own. Indeed, DVD discs have not only begun to be obsolete, but are also vulnerable to DVD scratches or other unexpected damaged and take up a lot of space. Although some DVDs have been released with a digital download code, what if the digital code expires or there is no code of the DVD at all? Don't worry, here are 2 different solutions for you to cope with different situations. DVD to Digital Copies Converter. Converting DVD to digital copy files like MP4, AVI, MOV, MP3 and others is an ideal way to free your movie library from physical discs and make them compatible with a number of players and devices. WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro is the best DVD to digital copies converter that allows you to get DVD movies easily. Download it to have a try! How to Get Digital Copy of DVD I Own with Desktop Software. How to get a digital copy of a DVD movie? A program that is available to convert DVD to digital is essential. WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro is a powerful, clean and easy to use DVD copy software program that allows you to do the job easily. This is a really helpful tool for making digital copies of the DVDs you own that enables you to copy DVD to PC, copy DVD to tablet and more devices in MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV and varied video formats. Besides, it assists you in removing DVD CSS, Region Code, Multi-angle, RCE, Sony ARccOS, UOP, Disney X-Project DRM and Cinavia Protection. So, you can use this software to process any DVD you own. Now, free downloadfree download it to solve the how to get digital copies of movies you already own issue. How to Get Digital Copies of Movies You Already Own with WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro. Preparation: Insert a DVD into the DVD-ROM. Step 1: Load DVD into Program. For solving how to get digital copies of movies you already own issue, firstly, free downloadfree download, install and launch WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro on your PC. Then click on DVD Disc on the main interface to load the DVD content. Tips: WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro also enables you to rip ISO image file and DVD VIDEO_TS folder. Step 2: Choose a Desired Output Digital Video Format. This software will rip all DVD titles and automatically select the main movie for you. Now, all you have to do is click on the output format option on the right and select any output format or device you need in the new pop-up window to convert DVD to MPG, DVD to PS4, etc. Step 3: Get Digital Copy of DVD I Own. After setting the output format, set the output path on the lower left side of the interface. Finally, on the right side, click the "Run" button to get digital copies of movies you already own. WonderFox does not promote any illegal ripping, please ensure that your actions are legal in your country, and the ripped movies cannot be used in any commercial activities. Get Digital Copies of Movies I Already Own with Vudu's Disc to Digital Service. If you purchase a DVD disc that did not offer a digital code, you can get a digital copy of your movie with "Disc to Digital" from VUDU. VUDU can unlock your collection from discs and get access to your movies from the cloud. All you need is your disc and a computer with a Blu-ray or DVD reader. The below is a specific tutorial of how to download a digital copy of a movie. Step 1: Download the Vudu To Go app from vudu.com/apps. Step 2: Sign in (or Sign Up) and complete your account. Step 3: Click "Disc to Digital" and insert a disc to convert. Step 4: Enjoy your new digital movies anytime, anywhere. Once you have converted DVD discs to a digital video format, then you can copy the digital movie to any other devices such as a USB drive, SD card, for watching anytime, anywhere. Now it must've gotten crystal clear to you of how to get digital copies of movies you already own. By the way, WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro is a better choice because VUDU does not support all DVDs, and WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro has many features that can cater to your needs, such as extract audio from DVD, cut clips from a DVD, etc. Finally, if this article does help you, please share it with more people! How to Get Digital Copies from DVD Disc and Websites. WonderFox DVD Video Converter. WonderFox DVD Video Converter is a desktop disc to digital program which converts any disc, old or new, to all the most popular video formats, including MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, MOV, MP3, H265 and more. Apart from that, it lets you download digital movies from YouTube, Facebook, Dailymotion and more 300+ websites. Download it to have a try! Convert Purchased iTunes movies to MP4 on Mac. Most of the people who spend their money in order to purchase iTunes movies are looking forward to convert them into MP4 format. That’s because the DRM copyright protection delivers lots of restrictions to the media files and the users will not be able to play them as the way they want them to be played. These iTunes movie files come in M4V format and you would not even be able to copy them to other devices that you have around home and play. Therefore, you would want to convert them into DRM-free MP4 format. Many different methods are available for you to convert DRM protected M4V files that you have into MP4 format. Using a tool that has specifically been designed to achieve this functionality can be considered as the best option out of them. These files have the ability to convert the DRM copyright that you have in a smooth and efficient manner. You just need to import the media files to the tool and it would convert all of them in a breeze. However, you need to be careful in order to select a reliable and user friendly tool to achieve the above mentioned functionality. If you are looking or the best tool in order to convert purchased iTunes movies to MP4 on your Mac, DRM Video Converter by AppleMacSoft would be the best option available. It comes along with a variety of impressive functionalities, which can assist the users to keep peace of mind. Using DRM Video Converter can also be considered as a legal method available for you to remove DRM from iTunes movies and convert them into MP4 format. DRM Video Converter is identified as an efficient tool available for the people to convert M4V media files into MP4 format. In fact, this tool offers batch conversions and the users will be able to convert their files 30 times faster. Therefore, people who use this tool will not have to go through any frustration in order to convert the media files and introduce the ability for them to be played on any device. Moreover, this tool has been designed in order not to break the Fairplay DRM protection technology introduced by Apple. Therefore, your media will would never be modified and you will be able to get the same experience. The quality of the media files will not be reduced as well. Therefore, you will be able to enjoy 1080p videos in the way that you downloaded them to your iOS powered device. You can convert purchased iTunes movies to MP4 in three simple steps via DRM Video Converter. Step 1 – You need to add all the purchased movies to the application interface. Click "add files" button on the upper left, and then you will find purchased movies from your iTunes library. Step 2 – You need to select the output destination folder where the MP4 files need to be saved on your Mac. and Click "settings" icon to choose the output subtitles and audio tracks. (Optional) Step 3 – This is the final step, where you need to hit the “convert” button in DRM Video Converter to initiate the conversion process. After conversion, you can find the converted MP4 videos by clicking the "history" button and then you can transfer the DRM-free iTunes movies to any digital devices and players as you like. DRM Video Converter comes along with an intuitive and user friendly interface as well. Therefore, you will not have to go through any hassle when you are using this software. It is compatible with the Mac OS as well and converting iTunes movies would be a smooth experience for anyone who uses it. Ready to try it out? Start a Free Trial Now. Download for Mac. Download for Windows. Product Information. Mac OS X 10.8 or above system Fully support Mac OS X 10.12.6 Apple iTunes must be installed. Current Version: 2.1.0 Released Date: 01/08/2020 File Size: 16.5 MB. Mac OS X 10.8 and later. You can immediately download the latest version of the DRM Movie Converter and start to playing iTunes movies on android device right now ! Unofficial news and tips about Google. You have the option of downloading and storing your favorite Partner videos and watching these videos even without an internet connection. To download Partner video: 1. Find the video you'd like to download. 2. Below the video's play bar in the lower left hand corner, you'll see a 'Download' button. 3. Click the 'Download' button to indicate that you'd like to download the video. Videos are available to download in the MP4 format and some of them can be downloaded for free and they're even licensed as Public Domain or Creative Commons. An example of channel that offers Creative Commons-licensed video downloads is Stanford University. If the download requires payment, you'll be directed to a Google Checkout page where you'll find the price of the video. Google Video had a similar option that has been discontinued in 2007, but it used DRM and it required to be online in order to authenticate your credentials. Update : YouTube's blog has more details. The downloading options are a test for US partners and there are 5 licenses for the downloaded videos: * Personal, non-commercial use * Creative Commons (Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works) * Creative Commons (Attribution- Noncommercial-Share Alike) * Creative Commons (Attribution) * Public Domain (no copyright protection) Ask LH: Where Can I Buy Permanent Downloads Of Movies And TV Shows? Hey Lifehacker, We keep hearing about streaming services like Netflix, Stan and Presto for our entertainment needs, but what about a service where you can buy a movie or television show to download permanently? Personally, I don’t like streaming, but would pay for a high quality downloadable file. What are the choices? Thanks, File Hoarder. Whether you like it or not, streaming is on its way to becoming the dominant distribution method for all our home entertainment needs. As we recently reported, physical media is in rapid decline and the gap has been mostly filled with streaming services such as Stan, Presto and numerous ISP offerings. (The same thing is happening in the music industry with Spotify, Rdio, Google Play Music and Beats Music.) Many consumers prefer this model to purchasing downloads — it’s quicker, requires minimal storage space and usually works out cheaper. Plus, you can’t display movie downloads on a shelf, so the value of “owning” a copy is less pronounced than it was with physical media. Simply put, most people are perfectly happy to use streaming services even if it means renting the media they watch. With that said, there are still a few options on the market that allow you to download movies and TV shows to permanently keep. The obvious options here are iTunes and Google Play — both offer an option to rent or buy, with prices coming in at around $19 for new release movies. Another option that may be worth considering is UltraViolet. This is a cloud-based video distribution service designed to give you instant access to your entertainment library across multiple devices. While purchases can be instantly streamed, there’s also an option to download them for later viewing. Once you’ve downloaded a file, your rights do not expire: it’s yours to keep forever. Click here and here for an overview of how the service works. There are also a handful of content holders who are bringing their creations directly to consumers via their own websites. For example, the US comedian Louis C.K. is selling a bunch of comedy specials for just $US5 each. The files are all DRM-free and can be played pretty much anywhere. Naturally, you can also go through the painstakingly finicky process of ripping all your physical media to hard drive. Or you could just throw your scruples out the porthole and become a filthy pirate. If anyone has additional suggestions, let FH know in the comments section below. Have a question you want to put to Ask Lifehacker? Send it using our [contact text=”contact form”].