Got a big stack of disc-based movies and TV shows you wish you could watch, instantaneously, on your laptop, mobile phone or TV without actually having the disc stuffed into the device?
Wal-Mart and Hollywood movie studios are about to make that vision real.
The concept is called "Disc-to-Digital" and was announced recently by the retail giant and five major Hollywood studios -- Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros.
Here's how it'll work, starting April 16:
You take the discs into a Wal-Mart and look for the special D-to-D kiosk. First the staffer will sign you up for an account with Vudu, the Wal-Mart-owned movie streaming site available on "50 million TV sets and Blu-ray players, video game consoles, tablets and mobile phones," said company executive John Aden. Then hand over $2 for each DVD or Blu-ray you'd like to access from that Vudu site in equal streaming quality.
Want to upgrade a standard-definition DVD to enjoy high-def playback through Vudu? That'll cost $5 a pop. (You get the disc back, by the way.)
The process of registering a disc will "take seconds," said David Bishop, chief executive of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. And it's designed to give aid and comfort to people for whom concepts like "cloud-based entertainment" make their eyes glaze over.
In fact, Disc-to-Digital is part of a larger Hollywood studio initiative called UltraViolet, likewise designed to give "added value" to consumers and keep them buying hard copies of movies. (While still quite robust, the videodisc business slipped about 10 percent last year.) UltraViolet invites buyers of select titles (identifiable with a UV sticker) to register the purchase online and then share the movie in streaming fashion among six family members and friends registered on the same account. UV also allows a buyer to download and carry the movie around permanently installed on one device.
