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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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I have a Vudu and LOVE it! Blows the AppleTV and Xbox experience away.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.