UltraViolet Set to Become the Next Movie Format Standard

Many people may not have heard of it yet, but UltraViolet video is set to become synonymous with portable movie viewing, that is if, Hollywood has its way. The idea, explains Robert Levine in a Fortune magazine piece is that people like the idea of buying and owning their own copy of a movie, but are ready to leave the DVD format behind because it ties them to a single player. UltraViolet allows such viewers to buy a movie, and store it online in virtual format, and then to play that movie by accessing the site via the Internet any time they wish, from any of their multiple Internet ready devices.

But UltraViolet is also a format, requiring a player, though this one is strictly software. Levine then explains that UltraViolet is the brainchild of some of Hollywood's biggest movers and shakers. While it's strictly made and sold by Warner Brother's which is why people who bought a copy of the most recent Harry Potter DVD, also found they had an UltraViolet copy of the movie too, it really belongs to Hollywood itself, because Hollywood is banking on it becoming a standard, obviating the need for DVDs and placing big movie studios once again in the driver's seat.

Unfortunately, thus far, as Yahoo Finance is reporting based on a New York Times piece, UltraViolet isn't making much headway just yet. But that's not to say it won't, the current roadblock appears to be getting the word out about the new service, something that ought to seem like a no-brainer for an industry that lives and dies by creating video entertainment.

There's also the tricky little set of hoops the current system puts users though before allowing them to watch movies they've bought and paid for already. First they have to create an account on the UltraViolet site, then they have to sign into to Flixster and then register the movies they've purchased. Not as easy as buying ebooks from Amazon or songs from Apple, but the studios promise things will get easier.

Once users have everything set up though, things start looking up. They can watch registered movies on their iPad, desktop or laptop and eventually on their television screens via such devices as Roku or game consoles. And that's the beauty of the new format, movie owners will be free to choose when and where they watch the movies they've paid for, all while maintain ownership of that movie. It's theirs to keep for as long as they want to watch. And that's why, eventually, it's almost certain to become the next video standard.