Panasonic Blu-ray Players Add Vudu Service

Panasonic announced it has added Vudu's HD movie streaming service to its line of Viera Cast-enabled Blu-ray Disc players, beginning on Nov. 24.

Vudu is a video-on-demand service offering instant streaming (no download time) of movies and TV programs through IPTV-enabled HDTVs and Blu-ray Disc players with no computer or cable/satellite TV service required, and no subscription or monthly membership fees.

Vudu's service offers an extensive library of HD movies available for streaming to connected equipment, many of which are available at a $2 rate for a two-night rental. Additionally, many new releases are available on the service on the same day as they are released as DVDs.

For the complete article, please click here.

Wal-Mart agrees to buy video company, Vudu

According to a New York Times article on Monday, Wal-Mart has agreed to buy Vudu, a movie service Silicon Valley start-up.

Vudu competes directly with the video-on-demand services of the cable companies, but they Vudu has tried to stand out from competitors with its large selection of HD movies, user friendly interface and social media integration via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Pandora.

For the full article, click here.

VUDU slashes prices

Vudu has cut the price of its set-top movie-on-demand box in half, to $149 (down from $299). In addition, the professional grade Vudu XL box drops to $499 (down from $999), and the "no-hassle wireless kit" drops to $79 (down from $99).

With a successful holiday season and lower component prices, Vudu can afford to drop theses prices and bring its products within consumers' reach. The VUDU Labs feature (streams web-based content directly to the box) has also been quite successful.

For more information, visit http://www.vudu.com/

Internet Movie Service Expands to Web Videos

The Internet movie service, Vudu, uses a set-top box to deliver on-demand movies and TV shows to TV sets, is now expanding to include free videos available on the Web.

Vudu RIA (Rich Internet Application), new software which allows users to search and view free Web videos from sites such as YouTube. Currently, the applications under Vudu RIA are only available through the Vudu set-top.

Vudu plans to release a software kit in early '09 to enable outside developers to create third-party applications for this service.

Will Vudu benefit more from selling a retail box for $299 or creating partnerships to be included with cable set-top boxes and televisions?

To view more information, please visit Glen Dickson's article on Broadcasting & Cable.

Vudu is a past speaker of the CONNECTIONS Conference. Last Summer, Patrick Cosson, VP of Marketing spoke on the "BROADBAND VIDEO: Millions Watch but Nobody Pays?" panel at CONNECTIONS 2008 in Santa Clara, California, USA.

Vudu CEO Mark Jung has left the company

Vudu, the online TV box, has lost its second senior executive in the last three months: first the CFO, layoffs, and now CEO Mark Jung has left after exactly a year, we have confirmed from the company.

Reported by PaidContent.org

VUDU Unveils a Wireless Kit

When I got my VUDU hooked up at the house, I had to run to Best Buy to purchase some powerline adapters (in this case, the D-Link Powerline Ethernet Adapter Kit). Now, VUDU provides a wireless option about about half the cost. They announced their Wireless Kit - two ASUS 802.11g adapters - available for $79.

When we find the time to watch a movie, I really have liked the VUDU experience. For all of its great features, Verizon FiOS TV service is frustratingly slow in bringing up the DVR and VoD menus. We wanted to watch Juno last weekend, so it was a simple matter of using VUDU's unique remote control, finding the movie, and selecting it. The movie played instantly, in great quality. I'm excited, because it looks like National Treasure 2 is available to rent this weekend. Hey, we don't get out much ... we've got a two-year-old! One more benefit - Juno cost $1 less than with Verizon.

VUDU's vice president of marketing - Patrick Cosson - will be at our CONNECTIONS(TM) 2008 conference in a couple of weeks. He'll be appearing on a panel titled BROADBAND VIDEO: Millions Watch but Nobody Pays? This panel will be moderated by my colleague Michael Cai, and will take place on Wednesday, June 25, from 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Written by Kurt Scherf