Cloud-based digital rights locker UltraViolet will stop on the 31st of July this year. The service recommends users to verify that their library is connected to the service of at least one retailer. After Ultra Violet closes, the library will be no longer available through the UV website.
The service shuts down due to competition, likely from the service Movies Anywhere, which offers similar services. Another reason is movie studios Fox, Universal and Lionsgate, stopped issuing new Ultra Violet rights for new movies.
Users who want to verify their UltraViolet library can follow the instruction on the UltraViolet website. Till the 31st of July, the service will operate as usual. Until that date, users can still redeem code and watch movies from their library.
The UltraViolet website states that the closure of the site should have hardly any consequences for users, as it states, “In most cases, we anticipate very little impact. Most, and perhaps all, existing rights in UltraViolet Libraries currently available through your linked retailers that are still operating should continue to be available from those retailers. While there could be some disruption, we do not anticipate this on a broad scale and are working diligently to minimize and avoid such instances.”
UltraViolet was launched in 2010 by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, an alliance of 85 companies including Hollywood studios, retailers, consumer electronics manufacturers, cable television companies, ISPs, hosting companies, and other internet systems and security vendors.
It's basically a form of DRM that allows consumers who bought a physical copy of a movie (such as a DVD or Blu-ray) to watch a digital copy, provided by UltraViolet, on a mobile device, PC or console. By entering a code, the movie is stored in the user's cloud-base digital rights lockers.
