Competition is a good thing, and now that the
Apple TV is actually turning into a solid offering in its space,
Vudu is cutting the price on its box to stay relevant. Originally launched at $399, you can now snag a Vudu to rent your movies and TV shows straight into your living room for $295. The best news is that if paid the full price for one of these things in the past 30 days, you can call up Vudu and get a $100 movie credit. Who knows if it'll be enough to mitigate the aggressively-priced and now competitively-featured $229 Apple TV, but it looks like consumers are winning already.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Josh @ Jan 24th 2008 9:18AM
Interesting product (I own one) but $295 is still too pricey. They need more content and they need to standardize on pricing/availability for purchase and rental. Right now it's all over the map and confusing to shop. The remote and UI are beautiful, though.
RonV @ Jan 24th 2008 10:29AM
You think VUDU's availability / pricing is all over the place you aught to check out the Apple TV usage table. Can do this/can't do that, on the computer/only on TV. That will really confuse the consumer.
SpotAnime @ Jan 24th 2008 10:29AM
I also have a problem with purchasing content on an unproven platform, for risk my purchases would go down with the ship if Vudu does not succeed. I've bought content from XBL Video Marketplace, on speculation one day there will be some synergy with the PC. But I'd be weary with something like this where I bought content I can't use anywhere else.
Rusdude @ Jan 24th 2008 1:10PM
FWIW, the content you downloaded to your Vudu box is yours to keep. Since it's not streamed, you can play it without Internet connection. So, for example, I can take my box to a friend's place and show off Bourne movies in HD without having to hook it up to the network.
Josh @ Jan 24th 2008 11:07AM
I have checked it out, actually... I was at Macworld and the keynote when it was announced. And played with it extensively on the expo floor.
iTunes and AppleTV's pricing model is INFINITELY simpler than Vudu's.
For starters, every major studio is on board, with new releases available there 30 days after the DVD release. It'll have much more content available than Vudu. Right now, out of the gate, 100 movies are available in HD. That's what... 98 more than Vudu, currently? After how many months?
Secondly, pricing is consistent: $4 for SD rental (available for Mac, PC, iPod, AppleTV) and $5 for HD rentals (which is available for AppleTV only.) It's a bit inane to compare this to Vudu... since Vudu has *no* option for Mac, PC, or iPod. Your only option is leaving the content stuck on the Vudu box! So yeah, that may be "less confusing," but it's also a lot more limiting. If a consumer is so easily confused, they could just use the AppleTV as a standalone movie box, no computer required, just like the Vudu, and not be so confused.
(Of course, the AppleTV does much more, like stream music and photos, and access YouTube... but that's besides the point.)
--
RonV, I notice you are very quick to defend Vudu in every blog post everywhere that mentions the product. (You're usually flirting with cjohn17, but that's another story.) Don't you think you should be disclosing that you run the Vudu user's forum?
I understand that you're hopeful to see the product succeed (as am I) but your bias (and conflict of interest) is painfully obvious. Your connection to the company has tainted your view. Consider giving it a rest, or take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Let the unattached consumers debate and decide on each product's merits. Not disclosing your connection (however tenuous you claim it to be) is completely disingenuous.
Disclaimer: I own a Vudu.
RonV @ Jan 24th 2008 12:03PM
I only post when I see mis-information in a blog. I don't run the user forum I am just a moderator. I am a fanboy to no product. I like technology and and I like competition. Both the VUDU and the Apple TV have their pluses and minuses.
Unlike some of the other folks like cjohn17 who have some type of chip on their shoulder about the VUDU I see a competitor in the marketplace.
If Apple wants to charge a flat rate for movies that is just fine. But a 3.99 rental on Apple TV could be 99 cents on the VUDU?
Josh @ Jan 24th 2008 12:21PM
So... what's the "mis-information" you're replying to on this blog?
Show me a 99-cent rental for a current release on Vudu (and not some bargain basement Z-list title!) and yeah, I'll start listening. Until then, content and consistency is key.
Rusdude @ Jan 24th 2008 1:15PM
New releases aren't priced at 99 cents anywhere. But as I mentioned in the other comment, Vudu does offer more price points which are less than or equal to Apple's (except for new HD releases). But from my time on Vudu forums, pricing isn't really a major concern. The whole deal about what's rent-only / purchase-only / purchase-now-or-wait-and-rent-on-X-date is more of an issue, but Apple has similar issues with iTunes content.
With regards to content, Vudu has more movies, iTunes has more TV shows, and HD content will be about the same.
Josh @ Jan 24th 2008 12:24PM
And, BTW, saying you're "just a moderator" of the Vudu user forum doesn't somehow free you the obvious conflict of interest.
Rusdude @ Jan 24th 2008 1:02PM
Uhmmm... Apple's pricing structure is similar to Vudu. Apple will have two tiers of SD (2.99 for catalog titles/3.99 for new releases) and for HD (3.99 and 4.99 respectively). Vudu offers slightly more flexibility ($1.99-$3.99 for SD; $3.99 or $5.99 for HD), but lower pricing for catalog titles is better for the consumer so the only advantage AppleTV has is that new HD releases will be $1 cheaper. But nothing stops Vudu from matching Apple's pricing.
I believe the confusion you probably refer to is that some movies on Vudu are rental-only or purchase-only or the fact that a lot of new releases are available only for purchase when they get released. But from what has been reported so far, iTunes has similar issues and, more importantly, HD content is rental-only at Apple's store.
JeffDM @ Jan 24th 2008 5:36PM
It looks like if movies are the only thing you want, maybe Vudu is an option. Personally, I'm more interested in showing my photos on my home theater, and it looks like AppleTV would be a much better option. I tried using my PS3 for this but I'm not liking any of the HDNA server software.
Gus @ Jan 24th 2008 6:07PM
"Competition is a good thing??"
Unless of course this site is referring to BR, then of course the death of the competition is paramount! (pardon the pun)
Mike @ Jan 24th 2008 7:02PM
Gus,
Came on for the same thing.
Competition is good for xbox 360 vs wii vs ps3
Competition is good for RPTV vs LCD vs plasma
Competition is good for vudu vs apple tv vs netflix downloads
Competition is good between blue ray vs HD D...wait...screw the consumer...monopoly is good for sony
Gus @ Jan 24th 2008 7:18PM
It staggers me Mike that the BR crowd want HD DVD to die.
I am certainly not a BR fan, but I would have thought if I was, to have a dominant 70% share would be a good thing, I would want to support a minority competition, surely that will help to keep the BR team honest, keep prices down and drive a better result for everyone. An artificially created 100% monopoly can only be bad for BR.
toodarkpark @ Jan 24th 2008 10:25PM
Disclaimer; I don't own an AppleTv nor a Vudu. Honestly I think both have a major flaw: Why am I paying Apple/Vudu $300 for the privilege of ONLY renting movies from them on a broadband connection I pay for? I don't buy my Blockbuster only DVD player from Blockbuster to watch Blockbuster DVDs. Nor do I have to worry about sharing them with my friend who owns a Netflix DVD player.
Am I missing something? I own an iPod, I want an iPhone but why don't I want a Vudu/AppleTv?
oz @ Jan 30th 2008 10:31PM
i have a VUDU- trying it out on the 30day moneyback guarantee- pretty good video but not bluray by any means.
so here is my question- if one is interested in the quality of the video resolution, which box will be the better choice?
i looked at an apple tv setup in the Apple store the other day and the video on a sony flatscreen was horrible- is that appletv version 1? a family movie my daughter watched on the VUDU the other day was very choppy. will both boxes output the 1080P/24 that my 1080p/24 projector is built to display?
Quality is the revolution- even my home theatre is no where near the experience of the cinema for visual euphoria-
convenience is great but it is no substitute for quality- thats why i never listen to my IPOD