Lots of news on the VUDU front today, starting with the announcement that the grossly overpriced
VUDU XL is finally shipping to all three people who forked out for one. Moving on to more important matters, the forthcoming v1.3 software -- which is hitting barely a month after
v1.2 was loosed -- will open up the VUDU Vault. Put simply, this feature will "enable consumer to move owned titles from the VUDU hard drive to a secure area on VUDU servers to free up space for additional purchases." As expected, the feature will only be available on "select titles," but hey, we suppose we'll take what we can get. Moving on, VUDU is also announcing the $39 IR receiver kit for both the original STB and the XL, which will "allow for the operation of the service using approved programmable remotes." Lastly, v1.3 will bring about a numerically listed Most Watched overlay as well as improved searching for TV episodes. No word on when the update will start being pushed out, but we'd guess it'll be sooner rather than later.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
fred @ Mar 4th 2008 9:00PM
"Lots of news on the VUDU front today, starting with the announcement that the grossly overpriced VUDU XL is finally shipping to all three people who forked out for one."
2 more than bought the AppleTV.
Im sure my statement was uncalled for, right?
ethana2 @ Mar 4th 2008 10:37PM
Could we get disclosure on engadget's funding by the way? ...including free units for review, please..
RonV @ Mar 4th 2008 9:12PM
Its out now and here is a link to the release notes.
http://forum.vudu.com/showthread.php?t=2579
JohnTitor @ Mar 4th 2008 9:38PM
Popcorn Hour A-100 or bust
chopper @ Mar 4th 2008 10:25PM
I have a Vudu and LOVE it! Blows the AppleTV and Xbox experience away.
Gian @ Mar 4th 2008 11:59PM
Oh, so you have an AppleTV, too? I think it unlikely you purchased both, and are therefore basing your comments on either reviews or in-store tinkering, neither of which do the box justice.
I had a Vudu box in the lab for a while. It was okay. The interface was a little overdone and the price-point was just way too high. Between Vudu, MovieBeam (which wasn't too bad, by the way), Tivo's Unbox, and AppleTV (fully disclosing I have one at my home), the AppleTV is by far the smoothest and most satisfying of the four. Vudu needs to get a clue and lower the box cost and simplify their interface. I understand the struggle, though. They have to look at the lifespan of the box and the potential for return on losses from the hardware. On top of that, the studios are brutal with rev share. All of these delivery models require high volume for profitability. I think the AppleTV has the best chance. I have a very strong feeling the AppleTV will survive to profitability, though it may take a couple of years.
Rob @ Mar 5th 2008 11:57AM
Ah yea, sure. Vudu plays games? I downloaded and played a movie with my 360 the other day, it was easy and worked great. I can't imagine why anyone would get yet another stupid box.
chopper @ Mar 5th 2008 12:51AM
You know what they say about assuming.
Yes, I own all 3. And based on your Vudu comments, it might be you never owned a Vudu. The interface between the two is night and day. The Vudu is smarter, easier, and way more straight forward. Perhaps if apple gave us a REAL remote, it wouldnt be so tedious. Click... click... click... click... yea... thats fun.
And before you further assume I am an Apple hater, on the contrary.... I love Apple. I have been using Macs since 1985 and own everything else Apple from iPhones to iPods.
But I'm not so blind I don't know a better product when I see it.
If you can sit there and tell me straight faced the AppleTV interface is better than Vudu's... then you sir, are a liar. Or simply void of good taste.
Gian @ Mar 5th 2008 11:00AM
You are correct. I do not own a Vudu box. I was performing a technical evaluation of the box for my work. We put one in the lab and tinkered to our satisfaction. I no longer have the box. So, since it's been around six months since I played with it, I dropped by their site to take a fresher look. This interface is drastically different from what I tested on. The previous interface was way more complex and convoluted. I still hate the remote, which I fail to see as much better than the AppleTV remote. I still don't think it's a better product. It is completely stand alone. I have no access to my library of DVDs. On the AppleTV, I can rip the DVDs and stream everything from my external hard drive. I also have access to all my music and a crapload of free podcasts. The rental experience for Vudu versus AppleTV is probably on par given the major interface update on the Vudu box, but all in all they are not equal. The features on AppleTV far surpass that of Vudu.
As for the Xbox, I really can't speak to it. I haven't used it.
As a matter of taste, there is no question of my preference for the AppleTV. A five year old can use it without frustration, and it's pretty hard to beat that. High quality, ease of use, access to all my media, and wireless streaming to boot make for a near perfect TV-based media portal. Vudu is just missing some things and costs too much for what you get. Moviebeam was, to the consumer, nearly the same product at Vudu, and it failed badly. Asking customers to shell out cash to only get the opportunity to rent movies is a pretty hard sell. The AppleTV box gives something to the consumer right of the box without having to pay more.
I'll concede this much, I preferred the previous AppleTV interface, but maybe it was too simple for showcasing rental titles.
Consider this:
AppleTV: $230 (Rental, Personal Video & Audio, Free Audio & Video Podcasts: SD & HD)
Vudu: $300 (Rental only: SD & HD)
MovieBeam: $150 (Rental only: SD & HD) FAILED
How is the Vudu box better?
chopper @ Mar 5th 2008 11:51AM
I agree with most of your points.
But I am judging the 3 compared on one thing and one thing only...
Watching movies. After all, THAT is what we are talking about here, isn't it?
And of the 3, the Vudu is by far the best of the bunch. Its not perfect.. mainly due to the studios... but its damn close. Over 5000+ movies for rent or purchase, HD movies for rent or purchase, TV shows for purchase... and they just introduced the ability to take movies off your hardrive, and download them at anytime for free to keep your 250gig drive from filling up. You can also add external hard drives to the Vudu which is great. I personally rent only, but if you are a buyer, its good news.
As far as the remote goes, we will have to agree to disagree. Clicking 180 times to get a movie, or simply rolling the wheel.... seems like a no brainer... but to each his own.
I had high hopes for the AppleTV Take 2... maybe they would get it right this time... but honestly... besides adding rentals... it was a step back in my eyes. Yes, you can access your movies, your photos, all that... but I could already do that on my Xbox 360.
I wanted a movie machine to replace Netflix. And of the 3, Vudu is the only one who can honestly do that. I think to be fair, you would have to really give the box another shot. As I said, I love all things apple... ESPECIALLY the interface. They are the kings of OS. From the iPod to Tiger... but seriously... the Vudu interface is far superior. I actually feel like Im at a video store looking at movie covers. I can click on any actors picture and see what movies HE was in... its just brilliant.
I will say this though... until the movie studios WAKE up and realize its 2008, ALL 3 systems... and any coming down the pipeline will be completely handcuffed. There are so many stinking little rules in place, that none of them can truly beat the local video store at this point. Some movies you can buy, some you cant, some you can rent... buy only on these dates.. and if HBO has first dibs of airing a movie, you have to take that movie down til thier contract is up... and so on.
The BS really is killing these poor boxes before they get started.
xdreamwalker @ Mar 5th 2008 7:40AM
My vudu box got the software update yesterday. I am happy to see that I can delete and download again like I can with Amazon.
Timothy @ Mar 5th 2008 8:55AM
I've had a VUDU since December and this is the 3rd update that adds new functionality. One by one all of the criticisms about the box are being addressed. We're loving this thing!
As far as the box price, it has a 250GB drive for less than the AppleTV's 160GB, way more movies, and better video quality for said movies... I will say no more.
JonO @ Mar 5th 2008 4:30PM
Gian, what Vudu box were you looking at 6 months ago? I've been a tester of the interface for over a year now and it has changed very little. I think you have the Vudu confused with something else. Please, don't talk about matters you know nothing about. The interface on the Vudu is the same now as it was before launch. You just don't know what you speak of and it shows.
Second, Vudu's price point is NOT too high. The AppleTV sells for $229 but with an 80 Gig hard drive. Vudu sells for $295 with a 250 Gig hard drive. The storage space on AppleTV is woefully small. Yes, I do own both as well. Vudu blows the ATV away. I bought my ATV last January right after they were announced. My prototype Vudu in the plexiglass box arrived first as Apple couldn't meet their ship date. I can take pictures if you like.
Apple's navigation features during a movie are so bad it's nearly criminal. There's just about no way to skip back 5 or 10 seconds to hear missed dialog. It's certainly not easy to do. And I get so tired of an extremely tedious buried menu structure. It's fine on an ipod, where I have a scroll wheel to zip through things but the model does not work well on a video viewing device.
And don't even get me started on the photo viewing aspects of the iPod. Gee, I can synch iPhoto albums or events. But I can't select what events I want - I have to take them all. And WFT about not being able to browse the photo library or view meta data on screen or zoom in on the photos or rotate them....
Bradleybang @ Mar 5th 2008 1:43PM
I have Xbox360 + Comcast + Netflix so I have plenty of avenues for movies in my home theatre. I am thinking another box (Vudu) will have to prove itselve worthy of kicking Netflix out.
My mom got a Vudu for xmas and from using it, I see a potential winner. The software and remote are very user friendly. The 6 year old, the 9 year old and the 65 year old seem to be able to operate it with ease...as apposed to Xbox360 movie interface.
Podcasts and personal pictures are not what I sit in my theatre to watch/listen. Its movies and television and looks like Vudu is getting there.
Will I miss the xtra features on DVDs? yes
But more important is the studios download crap limit of 24 hours. "Oops I fell asleep I'll watch tommorow night" happens and the Xbox/comcast/vudu studio required rerent sucks.
Its like the late fee of the old video store. Thats what made Netflix popular.
HEY STUDIO! how about a higher priced rental option. Say All HD rentals are 6.99 and last for 7 days.
mrmacman @ Mar 5th 2008 3:16PM
I like this archiving feature: if I lose my hard drive on the AppleTV or my Mac, then all my purchased movies disappear. On Vudu, I can just re-download.
I'd order content on my XBox 360, but I have to figure out how to order up points first. Then figure out how many points is how many dollars and make sure I'm not paying $15 for a movie rental.
Gian @ Mar 5th 2008 5:52PM
JonO, spare me. The interface as it appears on the website today is not the same as what I worked with last summer. Tony Miranz, himself, came to our offices to present the box. I don't remember when last year he came by, but I remember dorking around with it last summer. I do know it was before public release of the box. There had been some buzz about the box, but it had not yet been released to the general public. Don't ever tell me what I know or don't know. The functionality and features might be the same, but the layout has definitely changed.
After a quick check of their website, it shows a release date of early September. So, my time frames should be spot on.
JonO @ Mar 5th 2008 6:16PM
Dude, I was alpha testing the box last February when it came to me as a Plexiglass prototype. Other than the improvement in the graphics and some sanding of rough edges, the interface is very much the same as it was. It has changed VERY little. We've given a lot of feedback on the UI and it has changed as we've indicated where it needs to change, but they have been somewhat minor. It was not a completely different UI as you claim.