iTunes Digital copy redemption not in HD or 4K (Solution)

So over the years I’ve redeemed many Digital copies, and some were with VUDU and other providers that may have only been standard definition. Many of these titles have not been available to “upgrade” to HD or now 4K as that has been happening.

One solution i found was getting a new 4K disc and using the new code and it would overwrite the old code. Another way was purchasing any content set with multiple titles that contained a title you wanted to upgrade. For years I had 3 Harry Potter films stuck in HD only due to the codes I used. Recently the entire set was on sale for $39.99 - so I nabbed it - not knowing what I am just about to explain. I would have saved a little bit. Low and behold, the three titles stuck were now at the top of recent purchases.

However this week I just tested a theory and it worked on an older title that I only had in Standard Definition from an earlier digital copy. There was no way to purchase this title in the store as it read PURCHASED. I used “hide purchase” for this title and the purchase option for the on sale HD version was now clickable. When I went to purchase it told me I already owned it, and asked if I wanted to continue. For $7.99 it felt like a worthwhile test. And low and behold the title jumped from the beginning of my purchase history, and now showed as the recent purchase in HD.

I performed all this digital trickery using OS X on a laptop, so I’m not sure if iOS alone would do the trick. Perhaps others can comment on that.

Some titles have now shown up twice. Perhaps the older version, and a new version with 4K. Once that occurs, I hide the older version so it doesn’t show up in my library twice.