Digital Copy Plus is Disney's answer to the more widely supported UltraViolet, and it has been launched here in Australia alongside the newly released Iron Man 3 DVD and Blu-ray sets. The Australian launch of Digital Copy Plus follows the US launch of the same system earlier in the year, via the Oz the Great and Powerful release.
While the idea behind Digital Copy Plus and UltraViolet is the same - to allow users to redeem digital copies of their purchased discs from the cloud - the implementation though appears to be quite different.
UltraViolet requires users to register for an UV account, which will then allow users to link the content on their purchased UV enabled discs to this account. To download or stream the content, users may then need another account with a participating content platform, such as JB Hi-Fi's NOW video service, and the recently launched EzyFlix service. This two step registration process has been criticised by some users for being confusing.
Digital Copy Plus works fairly similarly to the existing Digital Copy system, but instead of going to iTunes or a special website to redeem the digital movie using the supplied redemption code, users will now have to go to the Digital Copy Plus website to start their redemption process. This allows users to choose from a wider range of digital platforms compared to before, including iTunes, Google Play and EzyFlix. Users will only be able to choose one platform to redeem their digital movie on though, so those with both Android and iOS devices will have to make a tough choice. No registration is required at the Digital Copy Plus website, although users will obviously need an iTunes, Google Play or EzyFlix account to carry out the redemption.
Disney, and its affiliate studios, are the only ones supporting Digital Copy Plus. Sony, Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Fox have put their weight behind UltraViolet.
