Big News for Vudu Owners!

[Liqwid]

Big news for Vudu fans this morning as yet another barrier to the digital download world is knocked down. Buena Vista has shown over the past year or so that it is willing to try new things and today that means you'll be able to buy HD and HDX titles via Vudu. This is the first major studio to make this type of commitment to digital purchases via Vudu and although we're not the biggest fans of the model due to limited viewing windows etc, we have to admit that having access to 60 HDX quality movies like No Country for Old Men is intriguing. No mention of animated features in the release though, which is a concern, but even so, we like knowing that there are higher quality digital downloads than Apple available for sale.

Source: http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/06/04...-with-blu-ray/

[HiDeFJunKie]

Originally Posted by Liqwid

Source: http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/06/04...-with-blu-ray/

This is great new for all movie lovers. The more options we have for movies in high definition, the harder it is for the BDA to stick it to us with outrageous prices. Competition=Good!

[ack_bak]

Hmm. No mention of pricing. I know that SD newer releases cost $19.99 to own on Vudu, anyone know what an HDX title costs to own?

[Liqwid]

'Doubt' costs $19.99 - $24.99 to buy. Sadly, I don't own a Vudu box, so I wouldn't know the specifics.

From the FAQ section:

One-time movie rentals range from $.99 to $5.99. Purchased movies range from $4.99 to $24.99. This price for the hardware is comparable to consumer electronic devices built around a hard drive or to high-definition DVD players. The rental prices are competitive with video stores and VOD services.

I'll say that it's $24.99.

[Gunyaga]

I can confirm the $24.99 price point.

[HiDeFJunKie]

What I wonder about is that if BluRay is doing so great, why does Beuna Vista even bother with these download services?

[Grubert]

From the press release:

a collection of over 60 titles featuring recent hits, such as Doubt and High School Musical 3, as well as past favorites, such as No Country for Old Men, The Sixth Sense and National Treasure.

All of those listed are available to own on Blu-ray, with higher bitrate and lossless audio across the board, and extras and subtitles. (edit: and from posts above, cheaper!)

And when I say 'own' I mean really own, as in hold the disc in your hand and being able to move it from one room to the other, lend it or even sell it.

Tell me, what is "intriguing" about this?

[tmn72182]

Originally Posted by HiDeFJunKie

This is great new for all movie lovers. The more options we have for movies in high definition, the harder it is for the BDA to stick it to us with outrageous prices. Competition=Good!

In more than a few cases the BDA may be putting downward pressure on VUDU prices....

Originally Posted by Liqwid

'Doubt' costs $19.99 - $24.99 to buy.

Originally Posted by Gunyaga

I can confirm the $24.99 price point.

Doubt is $23.99, or $1 cheaper on Amazon than via VUDU.
http://www.amazon.com/Doubt-Blu-ray-...4128034&sr=8-1

Hard to believe, for you, I know. But I bet I can find more than a few HDX titles on sale on bluray for cheaper than I could buy them with VUDU.

With the added bonus of actually having a physical disc to sell or let someone borrow, and more likely than not lossless audio and extras. With superior bitrates.

So maybe you should also direct some anger towards the "outrageous prices" of Vudu content.

[HiDeFJunKie]

Originally Posted by Grubert

From the press release:



All of those listed are available to own on Blu-ray, with higher bitrate and lossless audio across the board, and extras and subtitles. (edit: and from posts above, cheaper!)

And when I say 'own' I mean really own, as in hold the disc in your hand and being able to move it from one room to the other, lend it or even sell it.

If you can't make a backup or play the movie in another region, you don't really own anything.

[tmn72182]

Originally Posted by HiDeFJunKie

What I wonder about is that if BluRay is doing so great, why does Beuna Vista even bother with these download services?

Because they are a business and most good businesses diversify.

Couldn't I ask the same question of DVD and these download services?

[tmn72182]

Originally Posted by HiDeFJunKie

If you can't make a backup or play the movie in another region, you don't really own anything.

That sounds like an idiotic definition for ownership.

If I can lick the physical disc in my own home where it lives on a daily basis, I am pretty sure I own it.

I can't make a backup of my backyard either, but I am pretty sure I own that too.

You can't make a backup of those VUDU titles you "buy" for $24.99 either.

[GizmoDVD]

In one quick swoop Buena Vista just released more titles on VuDu today than they and Disney have released on Blu-ray all year

Not big news unless you want to pay $20 for a digital download...which I never will. Great for rental people. I'll stick to XBL and AppleTV for my HD rentals.

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by HiDeFJunKie

If you can't make a backup or play the movie in another region, you don't really own anything.

Heh. I am in region B and I play region-A movies all the time.

Whereas even if I imported a US Vudu box I wouldn't be able to access any of those great HDX downloads from Europe.

[tmn72182]

Originally Posted by GizmoDVD

In one quick swoop Buena Vista just released more titles on VuDu today than they and Disney have released on Blu-ray all year

Because most of them were already released on bluray last year, or the year before, etc. Did you forget that little fact?

As far as I can tell Disney has released 104 discs on bluray. 104>60. Especially when all 104 have lossless audio and superior quality.

http://www.blu-raystats.com/Stats/Stats.php

[HiDeFJunKie]

Originally Posted by tmn72182

That sounds like an idiotic definition for ownership.

If I can lick the physical disc in my own home where it lives on a daily basis, I am pretty sure I own it.

I can't make a backup of my backyard either, but I am pretty sure I own that too.

You can't make a backup of those VUDU titles you "buy" for $24.99 either.

True but I didn't claim that a VUDU download means you own it.