Vudu Disc to Digital Service - Now from Home!

What is it worth to you to be able to stream your movie collection to any device? For some people - nothing. They've got the disc, they've got a player, and when they want to watch a movie, they put the two together. But other people find a lot of value in the convenience of streaming their content. These people have spent countless hours ripping their discs to a server, setting up a home network, devising ways of streaming their content, and even manually organizing the files so that they "make sense".

If not, "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" won't be next to each other in their interface.

And then there is everyone else. These are the people that would like to stream their content but don't have the technical expertise or the desire to figure out how to do it. Maybe they feel that ripping their discs (which usually requires the breaking of copy protection) is somehow wrong. Who knows? All we know is that they would like to stream but it hasn't been easy for them to do.

Vudu and Walmart are looking to change that.

Vudu has announced their Disc to Digital service. While it is still in beta, we can expect this to roll out fairly soon. The basic idea is that you pay a fee and can access your discs via the Vudu service. The process is a bit more complicated than that, but first, the features.

If you have a DVD, you can get a SD (Standard Definition) streaming copy for $2. If you have a Blu-ray, you can get a HD (High Definition - do I still need to define these?) copy for the same $2. Most interestingly, if you have a DVD and you want an HD copy to stream, you can get that for $5. The HD copy includes Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and 1080p/24fps video.

Vudu is also now completely UltraViolet compliant so any UltraViolet movies you own will show up on your Vudu queue and any Vudu movies will show up on your UltraViolet list. There is one main caveat of course: Only movies available for UltraViolet redemption are currently supported through the Disc to Digital service. The studios supporting UltraViolet include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

So, how does it work? First, you'll need to set up a Vudu account and an UltraViolet account (both are free) and make sure they are linked (if you do them at the same time, they will be). Once you've done that, go to http://www.vudu.com/disc_to_digital.html and click on "Start Here." You'll be prompted to create a movie list. This will be a list of the discs you want converted. If the movie doesn't show up in your search, it isn't eligible for the Vudu Disc to Digital service. When your list is complete, you print it out.

Now, here's the bit that we didn't expect: You take your list and all the discs you claim to own down to Walmart.

At this point, Vudu gets a little vague. They say you can keep your discs so we think that the Walmart people just verify you have the disc, add them to your account (somehow), and charge you. We're not sure how they are checking that you and your friends aren't just sharing all your discs so that you can all have a huge movie collection for just $2 a pop, but we're betting they have some way of doing that (or they just don't care).

Vudu has recently announced an In-Home Disc to Digital service as well but you'll need a PC. If you have Blu-rays to convert, you'll need a Blu-ray drive in that PC. For many, the Walmart option is probably a better one.

The Disc to Digital program started on 4/16/2012 though it is still in beta. The In-Home Disc to Digital is new. For more information, visit www.vudu.com.