Love VUDU but here are my gripes..

[thekich]

1. If a movie is only in SD now, can we upgrade to HDX if avail in the future for a couple of bucks? Like have an "upgrade" button for an extra 3.99.

2. Prefer the old black look. Can we have a provision in "Settings" to choose our own background colors? I could do this with a Comcast cable box.

3. The slowest scan speed is still too fast

4. Can I have, say, Bates Motel in a bundle, even if not discounted, so I only see one thumbnail in my collection instead of 5?

5. Can't remove titles already bought from my Wishlist

6. Make the time counter in the bottom right larger. Too small to read.

7. The search function is a nightmare. Take a page from Netflix.

8. Why does it ask me to keep rating the movie every time i watch it? I already did the first time.

9. The last 25 movies I punched in are not available. No Wonder Boys? Where is Death on the Nile? Deconstructing Harry?

10. Why is Seinfeld a square picture? Would not have purchased if I knew this. Want it in Widescreen like on TBS.

11. How bout a "Swap" button. For movies that we bought and are tired of we can "swap" it for another movie of equal value.

[robot_deodorant]

^ I agree with 3, 5, 8 and 10.

My 4k TV with an amazing Wi-Fi connection has trouble streaming for some reason while watching 4k (only on vudu) and not on Netflix or other services' videos. Maybe more buffering is needed?

I also would like to mention that the way Vudu handles bundles/deals in the library is a bit annoying. For instance, I have my library of movies (My Vudu/My Movies) and it can sort alphabetically, release year or whatever (which is fine), but if I want to watch, say, Skyfall (2012) - I know that I accidentally bought two of the "Craig" Bond films twice in two different deals. The first bundle was bought sometime after 2008, I bought "007 Daniel Craig": Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. The second bundle was later, I bought "The Daniel Craig Collection" : Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre.

So instead of just placing all four movies in my movie library, and adding the bonus materials to maybe a bonus materials library... I have to remember what bundle each movie is in.

A small problem, and some will say "Well, if you just search the store and click the movie, you can watch" - I know this, however there are other movies with this problem that have many different versions/directors cuts/etc. And it's easier to use your library in that situation. And if you have purchased different bundles like I have in this particular case as well, then that is also quite annoying. Just a little QOL thing I'd like to mention.

[4kcinema]

I'm wondering why movies that I've watched stay in my watchlist even though I've watched them in their entirety. Best I can think of is that the system is keeping them in there based on the progress they were at when they were last paused. Very odd.

[Jerry8169]

10. Why is Seinfeld a square picture? Would not have purchased if I knew this. Want it in Widescreen like on TBS.

If you understood what had to be done to make it "widescreen" you wouldn't want it that way. Since it was filmed back before everything was widescreen, it was filmed for 4:3 format tvs. To make it widescreen, you zoom in, and cut the top and bottom of the picture off to make it fit, then scan up and down as needed to try to keep the most important things in view. This is known as pan and scan and it was done the opposite direction for people who didn't understand why movies filmed in 16:9 to fit a theater screen wouldn't fit their square 4:3 tvs so they would zoom in and cut the sides off to make it fit the square, again moving left and right to try to keep the most important things on screen. Unfortunately, you're still losing picture from what was filmed either way.

[gamescan]

10. Why is Seinfeld a square picture? Would not have purchased if I knew this. Want it in Widescreen like on TBS.

Seinfeld was filmed and broadcast in 4:3. No one wants to pay for a cropped version of a classic TV show any more than they want to pay for a cropped P&S copy of a widescreen movie.

If Vudu provided this in a cropped version, they would likely get a LOT of refund requests.

[Jerry8169]

Seinfeld was filmed and broadcast in 4:3. No one wants to pay for a cropped version of a classic TV show any more than they want to pay for a cropped P&S copy of a widescreen movie.

If Vudu provided this in a cropped version, they would likely get a LOT of refund requests.

Exactly, there used to be a forum thread, probably still around, of people complaining about cropped movies. Most people want things in the OAR (original aspect ratio) so we can see what was originally filmed and presented to the audience.

[robot_deodorant]

Seinfeld was filmed and broadcast in 4:3. No one wants to pay for a cropped version of a classic TV show any more than they want to pay for a cropped P&S copy of a widescreen movie.

If Vudu provided this in a cropped version, they would likely get a LOT of refund requests.

That's not completely true. The show was filmed in a completely different widescreen format, and cropped for 4:3 and 16:9 later.
Here's some examples:

http://i.imgur.com/KKiMbWP.png

http://i.imgur.com/JYEzbfv.gifv

Pay close attention to what's available in the widescreen shot that is NOT available in the 4:3 shot. A normal Widescreen crop would not have any extra detail.

[RogerJ]

A reeeally thorough explanation of the Seinfeld aspect ratios...
https://youtu.be/PFIrsitJW5M

[thekich]

No one wants to pay for a cropped version of a classic TV show any more than they want to pay for a cropped P&S copy of a widescreen movie.

If Vudu provided this in a cropped version, they would likely get a LOT of refund requests.

I want a refund now lol. I'm sure everyone is tired of their square Sein DVDs after a decade of WS versions on TV. I like movies on like HBO HD where it fills the screen even though there's a little cropping and it doesn't bother me. On something like a sitcom, I'm even less likely to care. I just want it to fill the 50" I paid for.

And how bout some concerts VUDU, huh? Police Synchronicity, No Doubt Live in the Tragic Kingdom, Rush R30?

[boojitede]

I love watching Seinfeld in widescreen on Hulu

[Navigator]

A reeeally thorough explanation of the Seinfeld aspect ratios...
https://youtu.be/PFIrsitJW5M

I found and was about to link that same video before I saw you had already posted it. The examples it shows provide a pretty good reason to choose the 4:3 version over the 16:9 version, at least to me. Some people so badly want the image to fill the entire screen that they don't care that it results in poorly composed shots.

The only time I've liked the conversion from 4:3 to 16:9 is with the show The Wire, in which the original production team actually had a say so in the process and worked to retain their original vision in the conversion.

The worst example I've ever seen is with The Simpsons, and I'm still pretty unhappy that Vudu only has the horrible widescreen version in HD.

[tinkBMW]

I am confused. My Vudu app works great on smart TV n Blu Ray player .. but but I cannot get thethe Vudu app for my fire stick which is what I watch 95% of the time. I just joined tonight I I don't know how toto get ahold of Vudu concerning movies anywhere when I connected it a whole bunch of my movies from Vudu did not go over 2 MA. Can you help at all? Thank you

[RogerJ]

Agreed, agreed and agreed.

[gamescan]

That's not completely true. The show was filmed in a completely different widescreen format, and cropped for 4:3 and 16:9 later.
Here's some examples:

http://i.imgur.com/KKiMbWP.png

http://i.imgur.com/JYEzbfv.gifv

Pay close attention to what's available in the widescreen shot that is NOT available in the 4:3 shot. A normal Widescreen crop would not have any extra detail.

It was shot flat in Super 35 with safe space around the edges, but was always composed for 4:3.

[FelipeF]

I am confused. My Vudu app works great on smart TV n Blu Ray player .. but but I cannot get thethe Vudu app for my fire stick which is what I watch 95% of the time. I just joined tonight I I don't know how toto get ahold of Vudu concerning movies anywhere when I connected it a whole bunch of my movies from Vudu did not go over 2 MA. Can you help at all? Thank you

Amazon Fire Sticks are not supported by Vudu.