Juno, Aliens VS Predator: Requiem and Fox Digital Copy

Two notable DVD and Blu-ray releases are available this week - Juno and Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem. Juno wins an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay that went to blogger-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody. AVP: Requiem has, um... killer aliens and , um... promises a sequel which will not suck as bad as the first AVP.

Both movies are 20th Century Fox productions and the Blu-ray versions of both include dts-HD Master Audio soundtracks.

Both discs offer the new Fox feature 'Digital Copy'. This is an extra disc included at no extra charge in your DVD or Blu-ray versions of the movie. The disc holds the controls for syncing a copy of the movie onto your computer or portable device using either iTunes or Windows Media Player.

Fox seems to be blazing the trail by lightening up digital restrictions on movies. I can’t say the ability to watch Juno or AVP: Requiem on an iPod Video is something I’ve always wanted. But it’s good to see the man lightening up on Digital Rights Management.

Hold on! The digital copies don’t simply reside on the DVD itself. They’re actually invitations to sync with an outside source to obtain the movie files. That means they’re subject to certain restrictions – namely…

…if you’re trying to sync the movies from Canada, Fox says: No Way, Jose!

Not only are the digital copies simply not available in Canada but there is no warning. Canucks will spend time as I did this morning fumbling around with unresponsive buttons and unspecific error messages before using Google to find out nobody in Canada can get their digital copies. Fox hasn’t said a word about it yet. The disc’s support-800 number simply doesn’t work from Canada.

The movies simply aren’t for download in Canada yet. We probably have some cross-border licensing issues to thank. One way to sidestep the issue is to create a US iTunes account. But maintaining an extra US iTunes account just to get a digital copy of a movie might be a little more than most people can handle without serious anger management training. Would it have been too much for Fox to provide some info on what’s going on?

Way to keep us updated, Fox! Late spring and bland politicians weren’t enough for us up here, now we get Fox kicking leftover April snow in our face.