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Vudu's upgraded mobile app brings offline rental viewing
Unlike some big streaming video services, Vudu isn't sitting on the fence when it comes to offline playback. The Walmart-owned provider has revamped its Android and iOS apps with several big features, most notably an option to download your rentals -- you can watch that movie in mid-flight even when the in-air WiFi is lousy. You'll also have access to movie extras for supporting titles, and iOS users now get both higher-quality 1080p HDX streaming as well as AirPlay. And if you're still attached to hard copies, you can buy discs inside the app instead of heading to the web. So long as you live in the US and like Vudu's à la carte approach to movies and TV, you can check out the upgrade right now.
Vudu starts streaming 4K movies to the Roku 4
Vudu's 1080p HDX streams were once considered high quality for streaming movies over the internet, (now they're even watchable on phones) but in the last year Amazon and Netflix surpassed them with 4K resolution and even HDR. Now Vudu is stepping up its game with some 4K flicks, currently available only through the new Roku 4. For the moment it has 12 movies viewable in 4K (check the list after the break), with prices of $10 for a rental and $25 - $30 to purchase. According to Vudu, you'll need an 11Mbps connection to stream the high-res versions that it's marked Vudu UHD. The option will be coming to other platforms including Vizio's 4K TVs soon, and for the ones that can handle it, there's support for HDR and Atmos surround sound too.
Vudu finally delivers 1080p HDX movies on Android devices
One of the best features of Vudu's movie service has always been its high quality video, and now you can view it on mobile devices. The latest version of Vudu for Android brings a native interface for the first time that's far easier to use and looks better on screens of all sizes, as well as the ability to play HD (720p) and HDX (1080p) quality streams or downloads. That's a feature that's still not available on iPhones and iPads, but it should work on "select" Lollipop or higher devices (read: capable of high-res video and the accompanying DRM).
Engadget's 2013 Holiday Gift Guide: E-readers
Welcome to Engadget's holiday gift guide! Head back to our hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Weighing your e-reader options isn't as difficult as, say, deciding on a new smartphone. There are fewer models to sift through, for one, and your allegiance to Amazon or B&N could further narrow things down. Still, you have a range of options in every camp -- from barebones devices meant for reading and nothing else to full-fledged tablets with the higher-end specs to match. Below, we make the case for some of our top picks.
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX (7-inch) teardown finds few easily repairable parts
We hope you weren't planning to repair the 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX yourself; a new iFixit teardown has revealed that Amazon's tablet isn't very serviceable. While it's easy to replace minor components like the headphone jack, major elements are fused together. You'll have to remove the motherboard to replace the battery, for instance. There aren't many surprising part choices inside the HDX, either, although we now know that LG supplies the 1,920 x 1,200 display. If you're still determined to fix Amazon's tablet -- or are just curious as to how it works -- you'll want to visit the source link.
Weekly Roundup: Surface Pro 2 hands-on, Xperia Z1 review, Valve's SteamOS efforts and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Amazon brings Verizon LTE to Kindle Fire HDX
Okay, okay, one more bit of info to share from Amazon tonight. Those snazzy new Fire HDX tablets are, as expected, getting cellular options. This time out, however, the company is adding an additional carrier. In addition to AT&T, Fire buyers will be able to go with a Verizon version. That upgrade will cost you an extra $100 on top of the base price, bringing the 7-inch version to $329 and the 8.9-inch one to $479. According to Amazon, "standard plans" will be supported for the two carriers. A breakdown of that pricing can be found after the break.
Vudu brings HDX 1080p streaming and downloadable movies to PCs
While HDX video has been a trademark for the Vudu service for years, when it launched streaming and Vudu-to-go downloads for PCs last year, they were limited to standard definition. That's been corrected recently, as the service is now offering 1080p or 720p HDX video via the web. What you still won't get on the PC unfortunately is higher quality sound as it's still limited to stereo audio for now, and in our tests we weren't able to access the Flash streams on a phone or tablet. Just log into the website and you should be able to try it out for yourself, however you will need adequate internet speed and an HDCP-compliant display -- check out the details at the link below.
Vudu 2.0 interface moves beyond PS3 & Boxee Box, now available on most TVs, Blu-ray players
Just shy of a month after it launched on the PlayStation 3 and days after debuting on Boxee's Box, the new Vudu 2.0 interface is live on most TVs and Blu-ray players with access to the service. Check out our earlier gallery if you're not familiar with the new look, it should be identical across the lineup (sans-Move support of course) with recommendations, enhanced sharing options and optimized for HD. For now it looks like the Yahoo! Widgets based Samsung and Vizio versions are the only ones still lagging but they're on deck for an update "soon." %Gallery-107570%
Vudu arrives on the Boxee Box, along with a host of big fixes (update)
Ah, there we go. After a bit of a false start, Boxee's rolling out Vudu to the Boxee Box today -- you can either hold tight for the auto update in the next 24 hours, or trigger the manual update in Settings. Vudu's offering new users who sign up on the Boxee Box a $5.99 credit, which is the price of a single HDX rentals, so that's clever. Vudu remains Vudu -- 1080p/24 video, 5.1 audio -- but we'll obviously give it a look on the Box to check it out. As for other improvements, there are quite a few; highlights include better browser performance with HTTPS support, a sorting option to ignore "the" or "a" in titles, more deinterlacing controls, a whole host of bug fixes, and quite a bit more. Not bad -- we'll let you know if we discover anything crazy. PR and the full changelog after the break. Update: Vudu's $2 for two nights deal applies to SD rentals, but you can get a single HDX rental for $5.99.
Vudu starts offering special features with Avatar
What does the Vudu HDX version of Avatar have that the Blu-ray version doesn't? That's right, special features. Typically you don't get 'em with a digital download, but Vudu figured the release of Avatar is the perfect time to change that forever. We're not exactly sure what features will be available, but at free, they are priced just right. This is yet another sign that Hollywood is warming up to digital delivery -- the first sign was that digital download customers don't have to wait another 28 days like Redbox and Netflix -- and Vudu also reminds us that if you want to stream Avatar in HD it is them or the Playstation as all the other streaming services will only offer the movie in SD -- we don't know about the Playstation service, but Vudu's HDX certainly qualifies as real HD. Another pictures of the Vudu interface after the jump.
Digital distribution is the real winner of Warner/Netflix deal
We just love when analysts make obvious statements, it makes us wonder why we aren't professional analysts -- Ralph Schackart, digital media analyst with William Blair & Co. states that companies who rent movies digitally have the most to gain from the recent Warner/Netflix deal. If this doesn't seem obvious to you then consider this. Right now the only (legal) way to rent a new release without leaving the house in the first thirty days is via Netflix. If Netflix strikes similar deals with the other studios, it'll really level the playing field between physical media and digital distribution rental services. It is obvious now that studios want to find a way to roll back the 2009 trend of renting instead of buying, but we're not so sure this new window will have the intended effect. Netflix said that most customers won't notice the new window and in our own personal experience, a 30 day window isn't going to make us buy anything we weren't going to buy already. Assuming we are right, the sooner Hollywood figures this out, the sooner we won't have to wait the extra 30 days, no matter what our preferred distribution channel is.
Engadget HD reviews VUDU on the LG BD390 Blu-ray player
With the update that'll bring VUDU to owners of the LG BD390 Blu-ray player on schedule for next week, the crew over at Engadget HD managed to get an early look. As you might expect, those HD snobs at EHD are hard to please, so that combined with the comparison to Blu-ray and Netflix's Watch Now, makes for an interesting read that you'll just have to click on through for. The bottom line though is that new features on existing hardware is always appreciated and if you've been waiting to pull the trigger on a Blu-ray player, this might just be the feature that'll make your finger twitch. %Gallery-74269%
VUDU on the LG BD390 review
We have to admit that we've been intrigued by VUDU since its very beginning and although it is far from perfect, is the closest thing we've seen to our dream of being able to watch whatever we want, whenever we want, and at a quality level that is acceptable -- and our definition of acceptable is much, much higher than most's. So of course we were excited to learn that LG was adding VUDU to the BD390 Blu-ray player. The big news here is that this adds yet another great HD source to an already full featured Blu-ray player. Now from our geeky perspective -- it also added a perfect way for us to compare multiple HD sources; including Blu-ray, Netflix Watch Now and VUDU HDX on the same box. But of course you'll have to click through after the break to find out why these three HD sources don't really compare. %Gallery-74269%
Vudu on the LG BD390 will bitstream Dolby Digital Plus
We just heard back from Vudu and there's good news. Unlike any other implementation before it, Vudu on the LG BD390 will bitstream Dolby Digital Plus via the HDMI 1.3 port to your AVR. In addition, if you prefer LPCM the BD390 can decode the Dolby Digital Plus track in the Vudu stream as well. This is much better than the LG HDTVs or even the Vudu box itself, which were only capable of re-encoding the stream down to old school Dolby Digital before delivering it to the receiver. We were also directed to this FAQ on Vudu's site which includes all the bit rates for various quality video; interestingly it looks like you need between 4.5 and 9 Mbps of throughput to enjoy moves in HDX quality.
Mitsubishi now shipping VUDU powered 1080p streaming HDTVs
Joining LG and (eventually) VIZIO, Mitsubishi's new line of Diamond Unisen HDTVs are shipping with VUDU 1080p streaming capability built in, plus out of the box ability to handle the service's Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround audio, thanks to the 18 speakers peeking out of the bottom of the frame. The 46- and 52-inch LCDs can stream movies via Ethernet, or wirelessly with the optional VUDU wireless accessory bridge. Buyers unsure of whether the streaming experience can live up to expectations are encouraged to take advantage of an offer of two months of SD, HD and HDX movies (up to $50 worth) for free, so if the LT-46249 or LT-52249 find their way into your living room for anywhere near their respective $2,599 and $3,099 MSRPs, we'd plug that network cable in and give it a shot. Check the official PR after the break.
VUDU ditches the box, integrates into LG's LH50 NetCast HDTVs
After a quick test run on Entone's IPTV boxes, VUDU has now done the deed with a big time player. In a joint announcement today with LG, the outfit is announcing its first major foray into STB-less movie streaming. LG's Netflix-friendly LH50 line of connected HDTVs will act as the hosts, with VUDU's tried and true high-def streaming service acting as the highly anticipated guest. The outfit's next generation movie platform will enable owners of the 47LH50, 50PS80, 60PS80 and 42LH50 to buy or rent HD and HDX (1080p) films on demand through a refreshed user interface that promises no stutters or buffering waits. The new VUDU also brings along instant fast forward and rewind as well as instant start for all movie qualities, and as before, there's no monthly fee associated with the service. Eager to dive on in? It'll be made available for everyone (existing owners included) starting next month, and just so you know, we definitely don't envision LG being the last TV maker to slip under VUDU's covers. The full release is after the break.Update: From the sounds of Vudu's solo PR, the LG sets are just the first off the line, so we'd expect a few more manufacturers to partner up soon.
Buena Vista and Vudu to sell HD titles day-and-date with Blu-ray
Big news for Vudu fans this morning as yet another barrier to the digital download world is knocked down. Buena Vista has shown over the past year or so that it is willing to try new things and today that means you'll be able to buy HD and HDX titles via Vudu. This is the first major studio to make this type of commitment to digital purchases via Vudu and although we're not the biggest fans of the model due to limited viewing windows etc, we have to admit that having access to 60 HDX quality movies like No Country for Old Men is intriguing. No mention of animated features in the release though, which is a concern, but even so, we like knowing that there are higher quality digital downloads than Apple available for sale.
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VUDU to debut as an embedded service on Entone IPTV boxes
After being "bombarded by inquiries" about integration the first lucky dance partner for VUDU as a service is Entone, maker of IPTV set-top boxes. Entone's CEO is a little over the top in describing the VUDU + (whatever service provider is first to offer this combo) as the first time two competing visions come together in one unified service (Amazon VOD + TiVo, Xbox 360 + Netflix, we could go on) but it would be an original twist for customers to get the box directly from their TV operator. Expected to launch this summer, it could get VUDU's HD and HDX movies into customers homes without dropping $149 on a single use additional box, but until one of Entone's 50+ telco carriers actually opts for the service it's all just a (good) idea.
HP Pavilion dv6, HDX 16 and more see updates, rumors
In the market for an HP laptop? Then it looks like your buying decision just got a tad tougher, with another round of official and not quite official announcements affecting four more models among the company's many offerings. Those include the dv6 (pictured above), which is now available with lower-cost Intel Pentium Dual-Core T4200 or Core 2 Duo T6400 processors and ATI Mobility Radeon HD4530 or HD4650 graphics, and the considerably higher-end HDX 16, which gets a boost in the graphics department courtesy of NVIDIA's GeForce GT 130M GPU with 1GB of on-board RAM. What's more, while HP isn't saying anything about it just yet, Notebook Italia seems pretty sure that the 18.4-inch HDX 18 will also be getting a similar graphics upgrade in the coming days. Lastly, it seems that the 17-inch Pavilion dv7 laptop has also seen a mild update in the form of the dv7-2000, which now packs ATI's latest Mobility Radeon HD4000 series graphics, and a Core 2 Quad Q9000 processor on the top-end configuration.Read - Notebook Italia, HP Pavilion dv6, HDX 16, HDX 18Read - Notebook Italia, HP Pavilion dv7
