Live Free or Die Hard DVD to Come with Digital Copy Feature

Well, John McClane always broke the rules so why shouldn't this release?

In a story from The Hollywood Reporter, it looks like "20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is expected to announce Tuesday that the special-edition DVD of Live Free or Die Hard will come with an electronic copy of the movie that can be played on a computer and select portable video players."

"This may be the killer app, where you have physical media that allows you to have a big-screen experience and at the same time move the file around to other devices and have a great experience there as well," stated Mike Dunn, the division's worldwide president.

The release of Live Free or Die Hard "precedes by nearly a month Warner Home Video's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which also will let DVD buyers download a copy of the movie to a PC or portable video device."

The plan is for this "Digital Copy feature" to "be included on select other Fox DVDs down the road, though no titles have been announced. The DRM-free feature allows consumers to quickly and easily transfer the movie file to Windows-based computers or portable video players equipped with Microsoft Windows' PlaysForSure feature, available from such manufacturers as Archos, Toshiba, Samsung, RCA, Dell and Creative Labs."

"The industry has sold nearly 12 billion DVDs to date, and the release of Live Free or Die Hard is the first one that allows consumers to move their content to other devices," Dunn said. "With the myriad of viewing options available to consumers in our rapidly evolving digital world, a DVD with Digital Copy offers a simple way for consumers to satisfy their growing desire to watch what they want, when they want and, most importantly, how and where they want."

To access this new feature, "consumers can insert Disc 2 of the Live Free or Die Hard DVD into their computer. A menu will pop up, giving users the choice of either executing the Digital Copy application or launching the DVD special features. If the Digital Copy application is selected, the computer will verify the proper requirements and ask the user to enter a 16-digit serial code, found inside the DVD case. After selecting a destination -- either the computer's hard drive or a connected PlaysForSure video player -- the transfer will begin, and the program will be ready for playback after about five minutes."

Dont't forget to also check out: Live Free or Die Hard