Walmart’s Vudu has introduced a new “disc-to-digital” app that lets you convert your DVDs and Blu-rays into streaming digital movies that you can watch anywhere. The smartphone app can scan the barcode of approximately 8000 movies.

Disc-to-digital movies
It will cost you $2 dollars to convert a DVD into a “digital copy” in SD resolution, and $2 dollars to convert a Blu-ray into a digital copy in 1080p HD resolution (what Vudu calls HDX). If you want to upgrade DVDs to “HDX” picture quality you have to option to pay $5 per title.

If you have a library of hundreds of movies this will obviously cost you a significant sum but it is cheaper than to buy digital copies from new. Vudu explains that the program is based on UltraViolet that was announced several years and is slowly getting traction. Other services such as Flixster and Verizon FiOS also support UltraViolet but notably absent are Apple iTunes and Amazon Video.

After you have converted a movie you can watch it on any device that the Vudu app is available on, including Smart TVs, game consoles, mobile devices, and streaming players.

Walmart already offered the disc-to-digital program in-store and via PCs.


Approx. 8000 titles but none from Disney
It is currently possible to convert approximately 8000 titles, including Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and the Bourne series. Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Universal, and Warner Bros participate.

Disney is not participating. 

There are also some limitations and security safeguards to keep in mind. You need to be at your home address to do the conversion. The app uses GPS to confirm your location and match it to the address on-file. This is to ensure that you actually own the movies. There is also a cap of 100 titles per year per account.

To get started you need to download Vudu app, which is available for iOS and Android. The first conversion is free for a limited time.

- Source: Variety