VUDU's HD selection now outnumbers Apple TV's, Blu-ray might be next

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 31st 2008 at 6:16PM

For the fourth week in a row, VUDU leaves the flood gates open and continues adding HD movies to the its library in record numbers. Now with this week's additional 120 HD movies, it has replaced the Apple TV as the download service with the best selection of HD. According to VUDU, there are now 769 movies available (or coming in the next few weeks) compared to about 690 HD movies that are offered on the Apple TV. So at this rate, VUDU should also surpass Blu-ray's HD selection in about two weeks. Of course we are talking about quantity here, and not quality, which we're sure could be debated continuously. Unfortunately for movie fans, it's still not quite the ultimate solution, as there's no way to purchase movies in HD, rentals are still limited by 30 days and 24 hours, and worst of all, there is still about a 30 day window between when the latest movies are released on disc and when they show up on download services. But this does make us wonder what would happen if Hollywood eliminated the artificial differences between downloads and discs.

Filed under: Media streamers

Tags: Apple TV, HD movies, HdMovies, Vudu

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Rob78 @ Oct 31st 2008 7:04PM

I just bought one of these boxes and trust me, it's an amazing piece of technology. I don't to plan to ever buy another DVD. This is such a better way to browse and watch movies.

Highest Ranked

Thomas @ Oct 31st 2008 10:01PM

Nahh.. It will be a cold day in hell before I pay 300-1000$ for a machine that is limited to one supplier.

If the screenshot is correct then they change 20$ for Incredible Hulk - That costs 17$ on Amazon. I can take it with me and I can sell it agail. With these guys I can delete it and throw my money down the drain when the disc is full.

If I purchase something and my harddisc breaks it doesnt look like I am guaranteed to be able to download it all again for free and I cant make a backup.

Is it true that it can only output Dolby Digital 5.1 and the bitrate on HD is limited to 4Mpbs? Must look and sound pretty lame compared to real HD content.

Neutral

Peter @ Oct 31st 2008 10:51PM

How many HDX titles are there now?

Neutral

nathan @ Oct 31st 2008 11:27PM

There are a few more than 100 HDX titles. So they still have a long way before they compete with even my local blockbuster's selection of Blu-Ray discs to rent.

I cannot imagine anyone BUYING movies this way -- they cost more and you get less than with physical media. But I suppose some people will.

If the selection was there and there was an all you can eat plan, I'd gladly rent this way and cancel netflix.

Neutral

Leonardo DiCrapio @ Nov 1st 2008 9:24AM

I just don't get it. My Tivo Series 3's do so much more than this box. They record high-definition cable (or free Over-The-Air via antenna) recordings. I can get videos from Amazon downloaded (and streamed, also?) to the S3. The Amazon videos are currently in standard-definition, but high-definition videos are most certainly coming in the near future.

Netflix will be streaming to my S3, probably by the end of the year. It'll probably only be in SD at first, but HD will be coming within a few months for sure after that (XBox 360's are getting HD this year, I believe). By the way, the Amazon and Netflix stuff is not why I bought the box in the first place, but it is a great fringe benefit.

Tivo will be around in a few years; Vudu's future is all but certain. People who want HD On-Demand are most likely going to turn to their Comcast or Verizon FiOS High-Definition Set-Top Box/DVR.

Neutral

Stin @ Nov 1st 2008 3:17PM

Torrents ftw!

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