Fox to begin releasing digital copies of movies weeks before Blu-ray and On Demand

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

We movie fans know how fast things change when it comes to home video. Even the name “home video” no longer really applies since we can watch movies anywhere on numerous devices. We have switched from film to videotapes to laserdisc and then DVD. Blu-ray is still new and already we have the advent of digital copies and streaming media. It is harder and harder to build a movie collection since the format keeps changing.

20th Century Fox is pushing ahead of the studios by making a bold change to their release strategy for movies. Later this month when PROMETHEUS is released, the Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand release it will already have been available for three weeks on Digital HD (another name for UltraViolet digital copy).

The DHD copies of the movies will sell for $15. Fox is also planning to release ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, THE WATCH, and ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT using this new strategy. UltraViolet and similar DHD formats are currently not supported by Amazon or Apple, but this may be the next step in getting away from physical discs.

What you don’t get from a digital release is that feeling of unwrapping a new movie like a Christmas present. You lose the collector’s editions or special features that we have become accustomed to getting with DVD or VHS. What you gain is the ability for more companies to release more movies since the cost of putting a file online is vastly cheaper than manufacturing cases, inserts, and shipping.

Time will tell if DHD replaces the physical purchase of a movie. Which do you prefer?