Walmart and US studios team for disc-to-digital service

US retail chain Walmart and five Hollywood studios are launching a $2 dollar service that allows customers to convert their DVD and Blu-ray discs to digital files. Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warners are all on board the project.

The service will be performed by Vudu, the streaming technology company owned by Walmart, and allow users to watch the converted content from any connected device.

The move is seen as a boost to cloud-based services and digital lockers such as UltraViolet, which is backed by Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warners and Lionsgate and Disney’s proprietary Keychest system.

The Walmart ‘disc-to-digital’ service will be available in 3,500 Walmart stores across the US and standard conversion will cost US$2 and conversion to high definition US$5.