Disney Movies Online closing permanently

[JustOneBite87]

Found this in my inbox today:


"Dear Guest,

Disney Movies Online is closing on December 31st. As part of this change, purchases, upgrades, and Magic Code entries can no longer be made on the Disney Movies Online website. You can continue to stream your existing movies until December 31st.

You can still enter Magic Codes on DisneyMovieRewards.com, and Disney Movies Rewards services will not be interrupted. You can also continue to use your Disney member name and password to access and enjoy other Disney websites. In addition, if you purchased a Disney Combo pack with Digital Copy, your Digital Copy can still be transferred and watched from either iTunes or Windows Media Player. Please visit our FAQs for more details.

We truly appreciate your support of our service—we have enjoyed serving you!

Best regards,
The Disney Movies Online Team"



THIS is why I am entirely against the home video industry moving towards solely digital distribution. Notice how it doesn't say anything about refunding the money of those like myself who purchased streaming versions of the films entirely separate from their physical counterparts.

[Sotiris]

They're closing it because Disney Movies Anywhere is probably about to launch.

[JustOneBite87]

They're closing it because Disney Movies Anywhere is probably about to launch.

Great! I'm sure Disney will either carry over my existing streaming collection that I have purchased from them or refund all of my money so I can use it towards the new versions.


Oh wait. It's Disney. They won't.

[RyGuy]

They're closing it because Disney Movies Anywhere is probably about to launch.

Great! I'm sure Disney will either carry over my existing streaming collection that I have purchased from them or refund all of my money so I can use it towards the new versions.


Oh wait. It's Disney. They won't.

Haha! Thanks for the laugh (albeit a bitter one).

Seriously, why wouldn't they automatically transfer everything . . . this irritates me to no end.

I received the same email as the OP, but mine also had this line:

If you would like a refund for the movies you purchased or upgraded on Disney Movies Online, please reply to this email with your name, mailing address, and phone number in the format below by February 28, 2013 and we will mail you a check. No additional action is necessary on your part.

First Name Last Name
Street Address
City, State Zip Code
Phone Number

I do love the way they phrased it: "If you would like a refund . . ."

Seriously? What do they think anyone would actually say, "No, that's ok. Keep my money."

[RyGuy]

I sent an email requesting my refund and inserted this in my response:

As a bit of VOC, I must say I am entirely disappointed by this course of action. It had been my hope that Disney would have transferred my viewing rights to whatever successor system is appointed. As you will note, I invested a fair amount of money in purchases from DMO; I feel as though the rug has been pulled out from under me and this experience will certainly make me more than a little reluctant to make any purchases from whatever successor system Disney might appoint.

[JustOneBite87]

My email did NOT have the bit about refunds and mailing customers a check. Seriously, who is running the show in the customer service department? Interns?

Probably.

[PatrickvD]

So glad I haven't jumped on a digital collection bandwagon yet.

I'm more than happy with my physical copies of my favorite films. It's also not surprising that Disney's being inconsistent with their digital/online stuff as well. I mean they can't even stick with a font or a cover art type.

[wrestling_stat]

I just want to double check because sometimes I interpret what they say in an email differently than what is meant. So Disney Movie Rewards is not ending, and we do not have to redeem our points yet by a certain date? Correct?

[JustOneBite87]

So Disney Movie Rewards is not ending, and we do not have to redeem our points yet by a certain date? Correct?

Correct. But you will no longer be able to get a discount on a streaming version of the film with the DMR codes and the online streaming itself will cease entirely at the end of the year.

[wrestling_stat]

So Disney Movie Rewards is not ending, and we do not have to redeem our points yet by a certain date? Correct?

Correct. But you will no longer be able to get a discount on a streaming version of the film with the DMR codes and the online streaming itself will cease entirely at the end of the year.

Thank you for verifying. I appricate it. I never bought any of the online steaming and never used it. Good thing I still have my dvds/blu-rays and of course digiatl copies.

[Barbossa]

They killed it here in Canada first. Now I see they did it stateside. Here's a quick blurb about it as well: http://www.castanet.net/news/Business/8 ... ovie-store

[milojthatch]

So glad I haven't jumped on a digital collection bandwagon yet.

I'm more than happy with my physical copies of my favorite films. It's also not surprising that Disney's being inconsistent with their digital/online stuff as well. I mean they can't even stick with a font or a cover art type.

Exactly! I think this strengthens the argument for why we need physical media. I only buy DVD's and Blu-ray's and do not use this service, and guess what? I wasn't screwed over!

Anyway, this is from the LA Times about what happened:

Disney is shutting down its Disney Movies Online service, which failed to catch on with users.

The site let consumers buy or rent digital versions of Disney and Pixar films and watch the movies on their computers. It was designed to ease the family entertainment company's mainstream consumers from the physical to the digital world.

But the service had many limitations. Movies could be viewed through a Web browser, but not downloaded for playback. Disney Movies Online also was incompatible with such Internet-connected devices as game consoles.

"Disney Movies Online does not have the flexibility that many users today demand," the company admitted in a statement. "We made a business decision to close the service until we are able to provide the greatest value and experience to our customers."

Disney told its users the service will close Dec. 31. Customers who purchased a Disney Combo pack with Digital Copy can transfer this copy to either iTunes or Windows Media Player.

The entertainment giant plans to launch a service called Disney Movies Anywhere, which would allow users to access their content across devices. No launch date has been announced.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/en ... 7748.story

[JustOneBite87]

Well good luck to Disney on their new digital streaming adventure. I'm sure it will eclipse and supplant physical disc releases in popularity in no time.

[milojthatch]

Well good luck to Disney on their new digital streaming adventure. I'm sure it will eclipse and supplant physical disc releases in popularity in no time.

I seriously doubt that, but we'll see.

[JustOneBite87]

I was being entirely sarcastic.

[milojthatch]

I was being entirely sarcastic.

Oh. Sorry.

Digital people, I have more bad news for you:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/201211 ... ires.shtml

Barnes & Noble Decides That Purchased Ebooks Are Only Yours Until Your Credit Card Expires
from the ebooks:-where-'buying'-means-'renting-for-an-indefinite-period' dept

DRM rears its ugly, malformed, malignant, cross-eyed head again. Despite the fact that, as Cory Doctorow so aptly put it, no one has ever purchased anything because it came with DRM, an ever-slimming number of content providers insist on punishing paying customers with idiotic "anti-piracy" schemes.

Combine this "malware" with digital distribution that sticks the end user with an unfavorable license rather than, say, an actual book, and you've got another ready-made disaster. The Consumerist has the details on yet another paying customer dealing with DRM stupidity. It starts off with this physical analogy.

f reader Synimatik had bought a paperback book a few months ago and picked it up to read now, the book’s pages wouldn’t magically glue shut just because the credit card she normally uses at the bookstore has expired.

Obviously, no one would expect a physical book to be subject to the whims of the publisher or the store it was purchased from. A sale is a sale, even if many rights holders would rather it wasn't. But, Barnes & Noble doesn't see it that way. Sure, you can buy an ebook from them, but you'd better keep everything in your profile up to date if you plan on accessing your purchases at some undetermined point in the future.

Yesterday, I tried to download an ebook I paid for, and previously put on my Nook, a few months ago. When I tried, I got an error message stating I could not download the book because the credit card on file had expired. But, I already paid for it. Who cares if the credit card is expired? It has long since been paid for, so the status of the card on file has nothing to do with my ability to download said book. I didn’t see anything in the terms of service about this either, but it’s possible I missed it.

This is just one more reason to either not buy ebooks, or strip the drm off of the ones you purchase so you can you the book you BUY on all your devices without having to purchase multiple copies for no reason and have access to something you already bought when you want it.

Nice work, B&N. Driving another person away from your offerings with your amnesiac point-of-purchase system. No one's purchase should be invalidated once the payment has cleared. Barnes & Noble got its money but its customer is out both money and a book. Does B&N really wish for its customers to root their devices and strip the DRM out of their purchases just so they can enjoy them at their own pace? Shouldn't the company be catering to its customers rather than treating them like thieves who can't be trusted even though they've already paid?

If this was a one-of-a-kind experience, we could chalk it up to "live and learn." But a whole lot of living has gone on and the only lesson anyone's learning is the most efficient way to remove pesky DRM idiocy from their purchased "licenses" in order to turn them into actual, useful goods.

[Lnds500]

I'm sorry, but will Disney kill Movies Anywhere altogether? Cause it seems like it.

Disney Signs Exclusive Deal to Stream Movies on Netflix
http://www.slashfilm.com/disney-signs-e ... n-netflix/

[SWillie!]

Hmmmmmm... that does certainly seem like they've decided to go in a different direction. That's a shame, in my opinion. With their own service, they would have much more control over bonus features, overall aesthetic, etc. Plus, doesn't it seem kind of early to making deals that won't roll out until 2016? The way technology moves these days, it's hard to say whether Netflix will still even be around by then.

[Lnds500]

The way technology moves these days, it's hard to say whether Netflix will still even be around by then.

Why? Isn't Netflix the biggest player on streaming content right now?

[SWillie!]

The way technology moves these days, it's hard to say whether Netflix will still even be around by then.

Why? Isn't Netflix the biggest player on streaming content right now?

Well yes, but that doesn't mean that it will still be in 3-4 years. If someone said 3 or 4 years ago that there would come along a service that would be giving iTunes a run for it's money as the biggest music distributor, people would think you're crazy... but today, Spotify is a very real competition for iTunes. And things will just continue to move faster and faster. Hulu could start making big deals with other studios, or even a new company could come in and throw off the status quo of how we watch movies. That's why I think it's a better idea for the studio itself to be in control of it's own content, without having to sign multi-year deals with other services. If 2016 comes around and Netflix is no longer top dog, then the jokes on Disney - they're stuck there anyways.

On the other hand, deals like this will more likely propel Netflix even further ahead of the competition, and in reality they will probably continue to be the biggest service.