M+E Daily

by Terence Keegan

Walmart consumers have a strong desire for digital access to their movie collections in a way that’s easy, secure, and affordable, according to John Aden, the retailer’s executive vice president of general merchandising.

Announcing the launch of Walmart’s “Disc-to-Digital” service with five major studios at a Tuesday press event in Hollywood, Aden promised that the service “will dramatically change the face of entertainment.

“It’s the solution customers have been asking for,” Aden said.

Under the new initiative, which launches in 3,500 Walmart stores on April 16, consumers will be able to bring collections of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs into stores for digital “conversions” through Vudu, Walmart’s streaming video-on-demand service. A standard DVD or Blu-ray movie conversion costs $2, while a standard DVD to HD conversion costs $5. Titles, Aden said, do not have to be purchased at Walmart.

Partnering studios include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Following Aden’s remarks, a panel featuring Dennis Maguire of Paramount Pictures, David Bishop of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Simon Swart of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Craig Kornblau of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and Ron Sanders of Warner Home Video fielded questions on what the service could mean for their sell-through business.

Bishop touted the partnership as bolstering support for the studio-backed UltraViolet digital rights technology.

“This is a monumental step forward for UltraViolet,” Bishop said. “The combination of Walmart and Vudu couldn’t be more powerful.”

As it’s only been a few months since UltraViolet’s launch, panelists said this initiative would make the technology ready for a mass audience. Panelists also stressed that Disc-to-Digital would complement physical and digital libraries to strengthen movie ownership.

Walmart commences its marketing campaign for Disc-to-Digital on YouTube, with an animated demonstration of how the service will work.

Executives at the event distinguished the Walmart/Vudu service from Samsung’s disc-to-digital effort, which the consumer electronics maker unveiled at the CES convention in January. In contrast to Samsung’s plans for an in-home experience, users of the Walmart/Vudu service will — at least at this point — only be able to activate digital access to movies in stores.