VUDU permanently cuts retail price of movie set-top-box in half

We had a sinking feeling those promotional prices over the holidays wouldn't stick once Santa had done his duties, but rather than ratcheting price tags back up entirely, it has decided to permanently reduce the retail price on its standard VUDU movie set-top-box by half. As of now, prospective buyers can snag a box for $149 (down from $299), while the more capacious VUDU XL is dropping from $999 to $499 (and that'll include a gratis home theater connectivity software package). Also of note, the rack-mountable VUDU XL2 is stooping from $1,299 to $799 for those who prefer that form factor. So, these stickers low enough for you? Or are you really planning to wait 'til Christmas 2009 to score an even more special deal?

[Mushrooshi Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:26PM]

So what technological niche does this serve again?

[Mushrooshi Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:32PM]

Hmm, I wikipedia'd it, it seems it is for consumers who don't know that you could build a media centre PC for far less.

Also, while this isn't, well, to say, "legal", torrenting all the way.

[Fanfoot Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:36PM]

You can build a media center PC for less than $149.00?

Prove it.

[Dr Spaceman Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:58PM]

Yes, please do. Prove it.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 8:00PM]

Looks sleek, but I fail to see it purpose :\

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 9:53PM]

this market is waiting for the ion. vudu is trying to dump inventory while they still can. proprietary set top boxes are a dying breed.

[Roberini Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:26PM]

XBMC sounds in order for this box.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:27PM]

So an extra $350 or $650 for extra space? What is this? Xbox 360?

[TheCow5 Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:32PM]

This is too funny, it will never sell.
ask them if you ever own the HD DVD you purchase form them lol or do you have to pay them a fee to keep it on there server lol or can actuall use this without some super fast internet connection lol (your standard DSL speed wont do) ask them.

the UI is simply one of the best I've see however, if only Popcorn Hour could come out with a US like this.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:38PM]

Congratulations, you just used the acronym "lol" three times in one sentence.

[BookishOwl Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:45PM]

standard dsl works fine. You will have about a 10sec buffer before the show starts.

[xirsteon Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:53PM]

Nice. 'lol' 3 times in one sentence........ If you ask me, I'd say you were sleep talking....

[Bomberman Posted Feb 10th 2009 5:55AM]

You've actually replaced punctuation with 'lol'! Nice job!

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:44PM]

I have one and its really a nice system. For 149.00 its a pretty good deal considering the Roku player is 99.00 and no hard drive.

[Dr Spaceman Posted Feb 9th 2009 8:01PM]

Yeah, but you're paying out the ass for movies. I pay $9/mo for Netflix.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:48PM]

I might consider buying one if they didn't limit downloads to 4 mbps.

[xirsteon Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:54PM]

good point.... I'm patiently waiting for my boxee invite for win 32 beta. And the price that I pay for that?

Patience and it's free as in free beer or freedom.......your pick!

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:57PM]

once again, why TF would I buy a digital download when the price is comparable to the quality of a bluray, and a bluray has a definitively better picture and sound quality?

[xirsteon Posted Feb 9th 2009 7:59PM]

I guess the recession punch is landing quite well on this company too.... I thought it was only landing on the civilians... while tax payers (bail out $$$) are paying companies like Chase and Citi to use our $$ to buy jets and all the likes....while they kept extorting consumers by changing APRs with hidden gotchas

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 8:03PM]

Well I don't know, I did consider buying this box, still thinking about it.
$149 for movies in real 1080p with no service charge, sounds like a good deal.
It does require 4mb download speeds, I get 10 from Time Warner in my area, so thats no problem.
Hopefully it works better than Netflix bs HD, which barely works in my area.
Using Netflix, I get 1 bar on the xbox or PlayOn\PS3 so that totally sucks.

-Edward

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 8:25PM]

Nevermind, I didn't realize that you had to pay per movie.
I'll stick to downloading backups for now.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 8:35PM]

NO ONE LIKES THIS!!!!!!!!11111111 THATS Y THEY GOTTA LOWER DA PRICE!!!!!1111111111111111111111111111111

EVERYONE LOVES DA APPLE TV!!!!!!!!!!11111111111

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 9:36PM]

i hate the apple tv just because you said that.

[vandrook Posted Feb 9th 2009 9:24PM]

oh yeah pedophile bear, apple tv is rolling off the shelves. popo some pop and get a popcorn. Bit torrent ... nice.

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?module=onlinestore&pluginoption=catalog

[WWPJ Posted Feb 9th 2009 9:35PM]

i don't know much about VUDU but i did try it at best buy and the remote was great, it made me wonder why this design is not found in other devices.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 10:25PM]

Comments are pretty funny - a lot of people that have never used a Vudu. Go try one, you might like it. This is not a product targeted at people who download torrents. Who can compete with stealing?

bald

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 10:32PM]

I bought one of these, no HD over component. Useless at any price.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 9th 2009 10:32PM]

lol

[uShak Posted Feb 10th 2009 12:45AM]

I have one of these.

I think it's actually a VERY good product.

See, I end up not touching my home theater for a whole month at times. And that means paying a monthly fee isn't ideal for me (Netflix or similar).

Next, the picture quality is fantastic in 1080p.

The library of films is HUGE. Includes international films, cult classics, documentaries, indie films, etc etc.

The remote is very intuitive and coupled with a very easy and effective UI.

There are channel-like programs that include youtube, flicker, and other internet media sources.

The software is constantly being updated.

I can rent a movie in full 1080p HD while I'm not at home and then look forward to watching it when I get home.

If I want to watch HD immediately, it'll be a lower bitrate... but still looks good.

The on-demand style of the service doesn't fit everyone, but it fits my lifestyle perfectly.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 11th 2009 3:57PM]

and i'm guessing you bought it before the price drop?

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 10th 2009 2:16AM]

finally affordable

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 10th 2009 6:15AM]

Lol, the vudu logo looks much more fun when you tilt it 90 degrees to the right.. kinkey stuff xD

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 10th 2009 6:56AM]

Tilt a d 90 degrees and what? you see some cockandballs
Not that funny

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 10th 2009 8:29AM]

still better off to just buy a PS3 and drop a 1TB HDD in it :/