Is it Time for VUDU?
2009
We have always liked the idea behind VUDU but when push came to shove Apple TV always won. It was less expensive, video quality was close and it offered additional features like support for iTunes. Well it might be voodoo but we have changed our minds for apparently three good reasons.
- $149 new low price
- HDX – The new benchmark for on-demand picture quality
- Pandora our favorite free music streaming service
The new pricing along with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee makes trying VUDU painless and greatly reduces the cost of ownership. When VUDU was much more expensive you felt you were making a real commitment with Apple TV being less expensive and the safer bet since it had Apple and iTunes behind it.
Now if you are willing to make the commitment you will be rewarded with over 1,400 movies encoded up to 1080p at 24 frames per second priced from 99 cents to $5.99. The new HDX format offers roughly twice the resolution of other Internet based HD formats and comes with enhanced audio. Based on your broadband speed you may not be able to stream HDX movies instantly but you will be able to download them for later viewing. Just keep in mind once you start viewing a movie there is a 24-hour window before the movie self-destructs unless you pay an extended viewing period fee of 99 cents for SD and $1.99 for HD titles.
Pandora has been playing on countless number of Internet based devices of late including the current generation of Blu-ray players. If you aren’t familiar with Pandora it’s well worth getting to know and it’s even free. Simply tell Pandora an artist you enjoy and it will create a custom station based on your taste in music.
By rating songs while they play Pandora continues to zero in on exactly what you like and don’t like. Before long you have a station which plays all your favorite music and even finds new releases you are bound to appreciate. You can create multiple stations for different moods or for others in your household.
VUDU offers other Internet based video such as YouTube but what really attracts us is the high-quality HDX audio and video. Not quite Blu-ray quality but it’s as close as we have seen. Add in the facts it’s solidity built, has a sexy and easy to use remote, and a great interface we can’t help but root for the company. The last gadget we loved this much for being simple yet sophisticated was TiVo which we have been using for over eight years. Let’s hope VUDU keeps the tradition alive.
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