Hi guys,
This might sound a bit strange, but bare with me for a second.
I watch/use Plex via the Xbox One App, and store all my media on a NAS with boatloads of storage space, but pretty sub-par processing power. As a result, transcoding anything 720p or higher isn’t really an option for me.
I like movies. I want to buy/support movies, and ideally I’d like to actually watch the version of the movie I bought, and do so via the Plex Xbox One App.
So my question is this: Where am I able to buy ‘new release’ HD digital releases of movies online in a format that both PMS can handle and the Xbox One Plex App can play via Direct Play (I.e. Without having to transcode).
P.S. I live in a country where ‘new release’ and ‘physical copy’ don’t see eye to eye, so while media shifting is legal here (ripping physical media etc), it is both cost and time prohibitive (I.e. We only get them here once its been out for freaking ages and they are often still stupid expensive).
Fortunately, circumnavigation of geoblocking techniques IS legal here (srsly), so I am able to use my US post office box (ty HopShopGo lol) and the glorious wonder that is a VPN to purchase from US-only options ‘as if in the US’, so feel free to include any of those in your recommendations.
Please note however that while I have a decent download rate, internet connectivity is spotty as hell, so streaming services are out.
Thanks!
Any place you purchase a digital video is probably going to be DRM protected and made to only be played on authorized devices. Plex will not play these files so using purchased digital videos is not a viable option.
You only option might be to have a friend purchase the physical movies and ship them to you, unless you are in one of those countries that it is illegal to ship to.
Urgh... srsly? How's it work with movies you get off of iTunes or Amazon. Can you only play it on an iPad or whatever? Is the DRM un-DRM-able?
I'd like a legitimate way to actually grow my library, but it's just proving to be way too much of a pain in the neck.
In terms of shipping physical media internationally - freight makes it uneconomical, and it kinda defeats the purpose, but it is possible. Makes you almost wish there was a way I could go to whoever produced the movie, say "here is my $x-number of dollars, I'll get the movie myself" lol
OK... if actually playing the DRM-laden BS files is impossible, what's the 'cheapest' platform to buy new movies digitally from, so I can buy the licence, not bother with their file, and just have a more compatible version 'magically appear' in my Plex library? That way, it's still licenced (legal), and is just taking a liberal interpretation of our media shifting laws.
Yup. If you buy from iTunes, you can only play it through iTunes or through an authorized device like the Apple TV. Same with Amazon, you can only play back through their website or on an Amazon tablet. Removing DRM is illegal and cannot be discussed.
I do not use purchased digital video just because of this issue. I stick to physical discs. Even the laws around that are a little iffy, because to copy the disc you have to break the DRM protection on the disc, but so far I have not seen any stories of an individual being prosecuted for backing up their private dvd collection.
Hi MovieFan - thanks for the feedback, however you may be interested to note that removing DRM does not actually appear to be illegal. It may be against the terms of use put proposed by the content distributor, but as there is interoperability exceptions written into the DMCA, it doesn't look like it's actually enforceable.
That Clupeidae of the ~620-740nm Wavelength variety aside, does anyone know what the most cost effective buy-movie-digitally options out there from a strictly 'codecs used' perspective (i.e. DRM aside, the audio/video codes are Plex/Xbox One Direct Play Compatible)?
Pretty much up for trying any of them once or twice to see how I go, with the exception of iTunes, which I boycott on principle, lol.
I boycott Apple too. :lol:
I would argue that removing the protection on a phone to give full access to something you bought is different then removing DRM from a movie so you can make a copy. http://lifehacker.com/5978326/is-it-legal-to-rip-a-dvd-that-i-own
Making a copy, perhaps, but digitizing physical media is permitted here (media shifting), and removing the DRM from a downloaded file so that you can actually play it should fall within the interoperability clauses (as it is only being done so you can use what you've already paid for).
That being said, where are my actual 'decent' options for getting stuff that's in a non-ass-backwards codec? Has anyone ever bought a digital movie from Amazon? Who are the other non-Apple players in this market-space, and has anyone dealt with 'em before?
Also, on the topic of the Xbox One, what actually happens when one buys a movie or show on the Xbox One through the store? Does it download, does it stream, is it 'owned' or is it rental? How does it play - through the crappy media player, or can I load it in through Plex somehow? The descriptions seem really freaking vague... I looked at a season pass for one of the shows I watch, but had NFI what rights that actually gave me for it, so in the end I didn't buy it.
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