Video store in a box
Everyday I launch my Firefox browser and my homepage is Yahoo!. Like many millions of people out there the first thing I see on the homepage is Vudu – High Definition Movie on Demand. So, I guess it was easy for me to pick a subject today to blog about.
The Vudu is essentially your local Blockbuster video store in a box setup in your living room. Movies are downloaded through the Internet into the box. This might cause a problem for them down the road because some ISP provider are starting to put monthly cap downloads. (That’s another story) The Vudu has a movie format called HDX that produces full 1080p resolution. That’s comparable to Blue-ray DVDs. The starting price for the Vudu BX100 is $299 and comes with a promotional $200 store movie credit if you purchase it at Best Buy. Movies range from .99 to 5.99 depending on release status and format quality.
On it’s website, vudu.com, the company advertise that you could watch movies instantly. That’s true if you have already picked the movie you wanted to a few hours in advance or one that’s already downloaded to your box. Accroding to Yahoo! Tech Ben Patterson it took 3-4 hours for a HDX quality movie to download into his box over Road Runner broadband. Overall, with gas prices today and people are opting to stay home more the Vudu BX100 might become the video store of the future. This puts Blockbuster and Hollywood Videos one step closer to the graveyard.
