Warner Brothers will launch a new technology in New Zealand when it releases the first part of The Hobbit on DVD and Blu-ray on May 1.
The technology, called UltraViolet, will allow buyers to log in on a computer and watch the film from the cloud via an internet portal such as Flixster.com.
Because it is internet based it will work on any device with an internet browser, regardless of whether it’s running an Apple, Microsoft or Google operating system.
For The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, customers can go to flixster.com/getuv where they will register or log in to their Flixster account. They will then also be automatically prompted to register/connect their UltraViolet account where their UltraViolet library will be stored. This is a simple process. Very little information is required to register and the UltraViolet account will be accessible via any future UltraViolet portals as well as Flixster.
Once the customer is in their Flixster account they enter their redemption code on the leaflet.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will then be added to the customer’s UltraViolet account or “locker”.
This means that the UltraViolet Cloud identifies that the customer owns the title and will make it available to them wherever they are.
Roger Clarke, Managing Director of Warner Bros Home Entertainment Group, said UltraViolet had worked well for the distributor in other markets.
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the perfect title to be launching with in Australia and New Zealand and we are already looking ahead to adding UltraViolet to all our major releases this year.”
