VUDU price dramatically slashed to $99* for the holidays

by Darren Murph posted Dec 23rd 2008 at 8:15AM

We know it's a touch late to be ordering up a gift for unwrapping on the 25th, but this one just might be worth the IOU you'll likely be forced to give. VUDU's movie set-top-box, which typically goes for $299, is now priced at just $99 for a limited time. Of course, VUDU forces you to purchase $50 in movie credits along with it (thus the asterisk being applicable here), but it's not like you're just going to buy this and never watch anything, right? There's also a bundle that includes a Wireless Kit at 50% off (now just $49), making the grand total for a VUDU, $50 in movie credits and a Wireless Kit only $198. Let's just say now is about the time to buy if you've been holding off on a VUDU -- we hear those HDX titles are mighty tasty!

[Thanks, Rob]

Filed under: Set-top boxes, Internet

Tags: deal, deals, digital downloads, DigitalDownloads, hd rentals, HdRentals, movie set-top-box, MovieSet-top-box, on sale, OnSale, price cut, price drop, PriceCut, PriceDrop, promo, promotion, rent, rentals, renting, sale, travel kit, TravelKit, vudu, vudu travel kit, VUDU XL, VuduTravelKit, VuduXl

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Leonardo DiCrapio @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:13AM

Great! I can spend $200 for a box that will probably stop being functional sometime in 2009 when the company files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection (and goes out of business for good). Vudu wouldn't have to discount these things so ridiculously if they were selling like hotcakes (which they're not). No thanks!

Neutral

wayne famous @ Jan 6th 2009 10:21PM

After doing some research I believe Vudu will be around for a long time. I own a box and I love it. It even does youtube now. Benchmark capital is financing vudu and over 30 studios have bought into it. I am pretty sure people at some point in time said the same thing about apple and look at them now.

Highest Ranked

Rob78 @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:24AM

Weren't they suppose to go out of business a year ago. How did that prediction work out?

Neutral

Leonardo DiCrapio @ Dec 23rd 2008 12:02PM

Vudu...

Following in the footsteps of MovieBeam, MovieLink, etc.

The quality may be better than the above parties, but who cares? Hardly anybody is buying these Vudu boxes, and Vudu's future is far from certain. Maybe you want to take a chance on them, but I don't. And it's not because I am cheap. I spent $500 on a Pioneer Blu-Ray player. But you know what, I have a lot more faith in Pioneer being around in a year or two than Vudu, and besides even if Pioneer were to go out of business, their assets would likely be bought up by another manufacturer (i.e. Panasonic or Sharp). And my Pioneer Blu-Ray player will keep on working as all the major studios are releasing on the format (Sony-owned United Artists, Paramount, etc.).

Disney sold MovieBeam to Movie Gallery (which owns Hollywood Video). Movie Gallery is in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection and shed its MovieBeam assets, I believe.

MovieLink lost tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars before the movie studios sold it to Blockbuster for about $2 million. Blockbuster is perpetually losing money.

Highly Ranked

Aaron Smith @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:39AM

They'd do a lot better if they would just spend their energy making a Media Center plugin. I'm sure they make most of their money through rentals, not through hardware. Their box is nothing that a HTPC or streamer can't do itself.

Neutral

JMGNYC @ Dec 23rd 2008 11:14AM

It's a great little box and provides a good service but with bandwidth being tight and caps coming there's no way I want to be part of their P2P network. I won't sign up with NBC on-line for HD for that reason either.

Neutral

DEEZNUTZ @ Dec 23rd 2008 11:36AM

I know it's really an issue with the studios, but if VUDU could work out a flat monthly fee for unlimited access rental, with a better lineup than Netflix's current online offering, than they stand a chance. Till then, Im sticking with Netflix.

Neutral

Brent @ Dec 23rd 2008 12:09PM

i wouldn't even be reading this post if my appletv had enough new releases for rent. Steven P Jobs keeps trying to get me to buy new releases instead of renting. Who's gonna store a 4 GB movie on an appletv forever - no one.

now i'm looking at hacking the apple tv to read streamed DIVX files i get on BitTorrent.

I REFUSE to put another box under my 50" Panny Plasma

Neutral

ericdj @ Dec 23rd 2008 9:49PM

They sell, and quite well. They are doing very well.

As for your Moviebeam comparison, not even close. It never sold. It was a product that was stuck on the shelves, with no signage, no advertising or anything. They gave no support or properly explained to people in sales how to sell or use it. Thats why it failed.

Neutral

Scott Gimpel @ Jan 20th 2009 2:34PM

I really feel that Vudu has a chance to be the future. It's only a matter of time when local video stores cease to exist. It is far more efficient for everyone if movies could be purchased instantly from home with countless of titles available over a high-speed internet connection.

Netflix online streaming through the XBox 360 works OK, but the video quality is poor (not close to HD) and their selection is absolutely terrible. I mean, what good is it if we can't stream new releases like Dark Knight and Ironman in 1080p?

Vudu has a chance to take the whole thing over because of the amount of titles available (over 10,000) and their delivery in 1080p. I don't know that Blu-Ray is even an upgrade over this technology because, again, you need to deal with obtaining the actual plastic disc. Whether you rent it, buy it, or have it shipped you, there is lag time in being able to watch it.

Now, with Vudu, I can queue up movies in full 1080p/24fps on my iPhone while at work to watch later that night - now that is convenience!!

This technology should be widely available and standardized by now considering its 2009 already - but it can't be too much longer...

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