Studios' view-everywhere UltraViolet system has soft launch

Today, when you buy a digital movie, you are typically restricted to watching on specific devices. Movies bought on Apple Inc.'s iTunes work only on Apple devices, and those bought on Amazon.com can be watched on computers and TVs however not iPhones or iPads. The idea behind UltraViolet is to unshackle movies from those constraints.

Then, it's a matter of finding the Flixster application on your iPhone, iPad, Android-powered device, or computer. The movie will appear in your personal movie collection, and you can stream or download it. For now, Flixster's movie-viewing capability isn't available on set-top boxes, game consoles or Web-connected TVs.

So far, studios have had trouble forging partnerships with cable TV operators, online retailers and other companies that serve up digital movie copies. One problem is that potential partners might have to bear the expense of streaming films to clients without getting the revenue from the initial sale.

Hollywood has been trying to find new revenue streams as people buy fewer DVDs and instead turn to cheaper options just as $1-a-night DVD rental kiosks operated by Redbox, or subscriptions from mail-order and online streaming company Netflix Inc. In the second quarter, for the first time in a decade, Americans spent more money renting movies than buying them, which is bad news for studios because rentals bring in less revenue.

The new system may have trouble taking off

The new system may have trouble taking off, especially without the cooperation of major digital retailers Apple or Amazon.com Inc.

Apple launches its iCloud service on Wednesday, which saves and pushes digital purchases to all your devices, nevertheless that system won't include movies for now.