VUDO Who has it - Please Dish

[popcorn97]

Who ever has it can you please post a review or just tell us the pros and cons about it. And are they still running that Bourne Movie Special? You get the idea. Thanks alot. - Yes Voodoo has been on my mind, Just wondering if its worth it. (I do think the whole apple rentals is a rip off) is vudo the same thing?

[azcardsfan]

Originally Posted by popcorn97

Who ever has it can you please post a review or just tell us the pros and cons about it. And are they still running that Bourne Movie Special? You get the idea. Thanks alot. - Yes Voodoo has been on my mind, Just wondering if its worth it. (I do think the whole apple rentals is a rip off) is vudo the same thing?

Why would you consider Apple TV a rip off compared to this?

[popcorn97]

hahaha i have no clue. i dont know it just seems like vudo is a bit better.
least the PQ is better. And the good thing with vudo is you get the choice to own it not just rent it like apple tv.

[azcardsfan]

Originally Posted by popcorn97

hahaha i have no clue. i dont know it just seems like vudo is a bit better.
least the PQ is better. And the good thing with vudo is you get the choice to own it not just rent it like apple tv.

You just get to own it until you delete it because your hard drive is full. I think Apple TV has way more features and bang for the buck personally as a media extender. I would go with the company that has been around forever as opposed to the newbie but thats just me. PQ are you talking about 1080i vs. 1080p? I think that is all in your one's anyway. Unlike most of the fan bois on here I think downloads would rule for rentals.

[Rishi]

Originally Posted by azcardsfan

You just get to own it until you delete it because your hard drive is full. I think Apple TV has way more features and bang for the buck personally as a media extender. I would go with the company that has been around forever as opposed to the newbie but thats just me. PQ are you talking about 1080i vs. 1080p? I think that is all in your one's anyway. Unlike most of the fan bois on here I think downloads would rule for rentals.

Apple TV is 720p max.

[azcardsfan]

Originally Posted by Rishi

Apple TV is 720p max.

720p vs. 1080i is a debate. I've seen Blu Ray and HD DVD rips in 720p and they look damn good. I think a lot of the time people get caught up in the 720p vs 1080i vs 1080p stuff and if they weren't told what it was they wouldn't know the difference. For rentals, 720p would be just fine IMO. But whose to say that in 6 months they don't have another firmware upgrade and they deliver in 1080p? Like I said, the biggest difference between VUDU and Apple is that one is delivered by an established electronics powerhouse and the other could be out of business in 6 months. Its like Directv vs. Voom. To me, for the money, its not even comparable.

The ability to get HD movies on demand is pretty tempting. I can't tell you how many times I go to Blockbuster and the Blu Ray I want is out. I also believe owning movies that you watch a few times at best is overrated, especially at $30 per.

[tranzparentl]

I've been wondering about the Vudu as well. And almost started a thread on it yesterday.

Does Vudu go up to 1080p or only 720p/1080i?

Also can you use Vudu as a Media Extender to play videos from your PC (or at least send them to Vudu from your PC).

If it can play files from your PC what formats?

[ngars125]

With vudu are you allowed to use an external hard drive to save movies you have downloaded?

[Kikar]

Originally Posted by ngars125

With vudu are you allowed to use an external hard drive to save movies you have downloaded?

Yes, You can use an external hard drive. I have been using it for two weeks now (and I am impatiently waiting for Apple's update for the Atv, so I can if there are any changes in quality, performance, and ease of use.)

....now back to Vudu. In a nutshell it is the best "non disc" experience on the market at the moment. (as I said waiting on Apple's update) They are supposed to update their HD movie selection this week to add 70 movies. The picture quality is solid 1080p, the sound is encoded DD= but as of now the box transcodes it to DD. As I said you can add hard drives, but also they allow you to re-download any movies that you own and had deleted. I say "had" deleted because until the next firmware update (from what I hear) you can not delete purchased content, you have to call to have it deleted.

I would not consider it a rip off. It is a good supplement to disc. I enjoy how easy it is to rent movies and I will use it to view movies I can't get on BD or HD and to watch movies that I am unsure if I want to purchase.

The downside is that it is a closed system and can not be used as a media extender.

The SD PQ is excellent and puts ITMS content to shame. I compared the Bourne titles in HD to their HD DVD counterpart and the discs win hands down, but it is close. If you have any specific questions about Vudu I will gladly answer them if I can. I will try not to ramble when giving specific answers.

[popcorn97]

So about how long does it take for movies to download. and about how much money is it to buy a movie HD like?

In all of this Blu/Itunes/HD-DVD/Ipod new wave of movies (and i know we all use all such things) was it worth the $295 to own or try out for 30 days?

Because we all do not know if DL is the future

[Kikar]

I would say it is worth 295.00 w/ the Bourne Identity and Supremacy in HD for free. The Bourne Ultimatum is 24.95 and I can't see myself purchasing it as I already own the HD DVD. What I like is that you can start watching the movies right away. Once you click on either rent or purchase it ask you if you want to watch the movie now or later.

Nobody knows if DD is the future but it is a great way for a movie buff like myself to consume movies. My theater has the HD DVD and Blu-ray Player, my bedroom gets the Vudu and Apple TV along with the 360 w/add on. I like being able to browse the movies and click on similar movies to find something that might interest me. I also like to click on one of the actor's photos and see a list of their other movies that Vudu has available. I have found several movies that I had missed that starred actors that I liked and with one click I was able to rent them.

Vudu has also started grouping classic movies by theme (comedy, mystery and this week action) and offering them for free. It is a great way to watch some classic cinema e.g. Topper Returns w/Cary Grant or His Girl Friday.

Vudu is great for movie lovers and geeks. It is great for those that either don't care about the format war (me), or those that are sitting it out but want HD movies and high quality SD movies. My wife has purchased a couple of movies that Vudu had for purchase only and she wanted to watch, but I plan on using it for rentals only.

[popcorn97]

Okay I would have this set up in my room. Yet the internet cables and what not are all downstairs. would i still be able to use vudu in my room? or do i just hook the box down stairs to download a movie and then bring it up to watch

[Kikar]

The biggest complaint I have against Vudu is no built in wireless. I can move my Apple tv freely to any room but with Vudu I moved my cable modem and router to the bedroom. I have watched one movie in the HT and with that I downloaded the movie disconnect from the LAN and brought the Vudu to the HT.

I brought it over to my parents house the other day to show them and I found out that the database that it downloads and stores on your box contains the Trailers. I was able to watch trailers for the movies as I was showing my parents how Vudu works and it was offline.

[popcorn97]

weird. how you said it it works when its not pluged in but then i got the idea it did not work at your parents house. And i was reading the message boards over on the site and someone said if you have an airport card (yes i have an apple) that it would work though that wireless. i dont know. its temping to get vudu but then i kind of get mixed feelings.

but it does look like it would be better then a blu ray player (more money for a blu ray player anyways)

[Kikar]

There is no built in Wifi so you would need a wireless bridge to get it to work with your airport. I love my BD player and my HD DVD player but the ease of use that Vudu offers can't be beat at the moment.
To clarify I took it to my parents house and we watched the Bourne Supremacy in HD on it but since Vudu doesn't have built in Wifi, and I did not feel like moving my parent modem and router, we could not rent any other movies. But I was able to show them the menu system and how user friendly it is. What suprised me was being able to view trailer for the movies because I thouht those were streamed like on the Apple TV but I guess they are stored on the box.
If you have a good av setup that allows you to enjoy uncompressed or next gen codec (DD+, TrueHD, DTS-MA) then a BD player or HD DVD player is your best bet for the money.
If you are a heavy renter, want quality that is better than cable, are not a stickler for uncompressed sound, and just want something that works well and is VERY user friendly, then Vudu if for you.
Hell it has made me skip going to BlockBuster for BDs these last few weeks because it is just to easy to find something I want to watch on Vudu.