Ordered a Vudu box from Bestbuy

[gadgtfreek]

Right now they are running a deal, $299 for the box and $200 in free movie rental/purchasing.

My orginal plan was to buy the Panny BD35 in March to replace my BD30, but I started thinking:

The current 1080p Directv test movies look very good, and the new HDX format from Vudu is getting rave reviews, so why not try that over optical media for a few months. D* is a ways away from 1080p/24 content, but Vudu's HDX quality is supposed to come out alongside every standard HD release movie, so that should make it interesting.

Being that I only watch movies one to two times, I had already made up my mind to sell the ones I own and quit buying them. I later decided to sell the BD30 too. I plan to test Vudu/D* PPV against Blu-ray Netflix/BB online renting. If Im happy when March rolls around, no BD35.

If VOD is not what I thought it would be, then Ill drop the Vudu and buy the BD35.

It appears Vudu's last studio holdout (MGM) has started giving them movies, so thats a good sign. There are also some studios that allow day and date VOD SD/HD/HDX with the DVD/BR release, this is also a good thing. On the flip side, some studios still require up to 30 days after optical release, but this should not be a problem for me because I stay about that far behind anyways.

Ill try and keep you guys updated on what I think PQ wise. It wont have the hd audio of Blu-ray, but the HDX is greatly improved over the HD movie audio. Hopefully the PQ is as good or better than the D* 1080p test movies. I have a hard time seeing a difference in the D* 1080p Bucket List vs the Blu-ray version, BUT the standard HD PPV movies are obviously lacking when compared to Blu-ray.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Box was an easy install (has hdmi out along with optical and coax audio). You have to put $20 credit onto the account to activate, then my total showed up as $220 because the best buy rebate is added automatically (pretty cool).

Im using powerline adapters with Cox HSI, so I only can get about 2.5 mbps with the box, therefore it limited me to 2mbps down instead of 4. Not a big deal, but the HDX movies take 7.5 hours instead of under 4. I've been wondering why the Directv 1080p downloads have been taking awhile.

Figuring on a download average of 2.0mbps, compared with 7.6 hours it takes, that puts HDX file size around 6.84 gigbytes, give or take a few megabytes.

Standard HD movies are about half the time.

Downloaded Rambo HDX (already seen on BR) and Bucket List HDseen on BR and Directv's 1080p test) for PQ comments. Also downloaded the Forbidden Kingdom for enjoyment tonight.

So far, box is easy to use and the Vudu support forum is very friendly. They appear to take customer comments to hear in FW updates and you get replies from both marketing and engineering guys there.


After talking to an engineer about the box, it contains the broadcom chip we've all known from Dish and D* dvr's. I asked about heat because its a very small box. The engineer stated that it was designed to be enclosed in a cabinet, and has a multi speed fan to compensate.

 

[Bigguy]

I have thought about buying one. I like the review you have given so far. Will be interested how it goes in a month or so.I have already sold my movies and don't plan on buying any more.I Watch everything on my HR20. I would like to have another option and I think VUDU would fill the bill.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I have thought about buying one. I like the review you have given so far. Will be interested how it goes in a month or so.I have already sold my movies and don't plan on buying any more.I Watch everything on my HR20. I would like to have another option and I think VUDU would fill the bill.

I was asked by someone else here to post my thoughts, so ill keep it up. If you think of any questions, ask away.

Have you done the Directv CE and watched the 1080p bucket list? To me, it looked VERY good, I cant wait to get home and see what the Vudu HDX Bucket List looks like. If it looks as good or better than Directv's 1080p, then I'm sold. As long as Vudu keeps up their HDX promise.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Vudu engineer just commented on HDX filesize.

Encoding bitrate averages around 9mbps and can spike up to 20. File size is anywhere from 8 to 10gigs depending on compression and movie length(with 640 kbps Dolby audio).


They also seem to have kicked in gear with HD and HDX ads this week:

33 HDX
153 HD


One of the HD's was Casino Royale, which confirms MGM is now giving movies to Vudu(last holdout).

 

[steve615]

Thanks for providing the info and updates on this product.
Is it possible to get some screen shots of the product,etc?

 

[vurbano]

Right now they are running a deal, $299 for the box and $200 in free movie rental/purchasing.

My orginal plan was to buy the Panny BD35 in March to replace my BD30, but I started thinking:

The current 1080p Directv test movies look very good, and the new HDX format from Vudu is getting rave reviews, so why not try that over optical media for a few months. D* is a ways away from 1080p/24 content, but Vudu's HDX quality is supposed to come out alongside every standard HD release movie, so that should make it interesting.

Being that I only watch movies one to two times, I had already made up my mind to sell the ones I own and quit buying them. I later decided to sell the BD30 too. I plan to test Vudu/D* PPV against Blu-ray Netflix/BB online renting. If Im happy when March rolls around, no BD35.

If VOD is not what I thought it would be, then Ill drop the Vudu and buy the BD35.

It appears Vudu's last studio holdout (MGM) has started giving them movies, so thats a good sign. There are also some studios that allow day and date VOD SD/HD/HDX with the DVD/BR release, this is also a good thing. On the flip side, some studios still require up to 30 days after optical release, but this should not be a problem for me because I stay about that far behind anyways.

Ill try and keep you guys updated on what I think PQ wise. It wont have the hd audio of Blu-ray, but the HDX is greatly improved over the HD movie audio. Hopefully the PQ is as good or better than the D* 1080p test movies. I have a hard time seeing a difference in the D* 1080p Bucket List vs the Blu-ray version, BUT the standard HD PPV movies are obviously lacking when compared to Blu-ray.

You may abandon BluRay?

 

[gadgtfreek]

I can try to get some decent pics. Just watched parts of Bucket List and Rambo HDX, looked very good to me. Cant see any difference from the Directv 1080p Bucket List which is more than enough for me. If they can keep up the HDX offering, this may be a winner.

 

[gadgtfreek]

You may abandon BluRay?

Will let you know in March

 

[tigerfan33]

This sounds pretty cool. What is the price per movie?? (hd 1080p and hd1080i).

There is a wireless kit so you can watch on any hdtv in the house.VUDU - Wireless Kit for VUDU Internet Movie Players - VAC105

Can you keep the movies on your hard drive as long as you want??

 

[gadgtfreek]

You can keep the purchased ones as long as you want. The $299 box I bought has 250 gigs of storage. When you download a rental, its on the HDD for 30 days afterwards, until you start to watch it, then the 24 hour kicks in. I might need to try the wireless to see if itll get me up to 4mbps down.

HDX and HD rentals are $5.99.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Here's some HDX shots, some are better than others (had trouble pausing on low movement scenes). As I stated before, any of you directv guys, the Bucket List looks just like D*'s 1080p version, which is very good.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Loss of shadow detail and slight grain is camera and iso setting. Shot in a dark room with ISO 200

 

[tigerfan33]

Thanks for the pics!!

 

[gadgtfreek]

No problem, like I said Im not a professional

 

[SatinKzo]

I was asked by someone else here to post my thoughts, so ill keep it up. If you think of any questions, ask away.

And I'm sure that person is going to be following this thread closely.

Thanks for the screenshots.

Anyone else here with a vudu, please chime in (wasn't it branchbouncer that had one a while back?)

 

[gadgtfreek]

Im watching Forbidden Kingdom tonight in reg HD, will post some comments. I halfway expect it to look like Directv's HD PPV, which aint bad, but aint Bluray for sure.

88 Minutes and Journey to the Center of the Earth are out on the 28th, I hope theyll be HDX.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Just got done with Forbidden Kingdom in HD, definitely not as good as HDX, but not bad. I'd compare it to the FXHD weekend movies and HBOHD. Looks much better than upconverted DVD, but still lacking. You can see the PQ loss more in darker and night scenes. The bright and daytime scenes of F. Kingdom looked suprisingly good and colors were very vivid. The costumes and details were also very sharp.

Still, not up to BR or HDX standards.

If I had to rent a title on HD every now and then, it wouldnt break my heart, would be just like getting stuck with an upconverted dvd every now and then.

Using some of my free money and downloading a few HDX titles to check out next weekend:

Chronicles of Riddick Unrated
CETK Dir Cut
Fast and the Furios
Pitch Black Unrated
Speed Racer (saw in theater)

 

[vurbano]

Will let you know in March

Im sure BD movie prices affect your decision. IMO, they are just too high right now. How much does Vudu service cost?

 

[gadgtfreek]

You buy the box upfront ($299 right now, $200 in free movies) and then the HDX and HD titles are $5.99 for a 24 hour rental (just like other VOD). Thats what nice, once you buy the box, you only pay when you rent. You can also buy movies (a lot are SD) and store them on the drive. Supposedly they are coming with EHD for extra storage. Since HD and HDX are the same cost, most feel HD will come down $1 when HDX is more out there.

It was a few things, one was the wait for movies I just want to watch and not buy. Then I started thinking, why even buy the damn things because I only watch them 2-3 times. Hell I can rent an HDX vudu move 4-5 times and itll cost the same as owning one. 2-3 times is realistic (once to watch the first time, once if family comes over, once if Im bored) and its stull much cheaper than owning.

I honestly never bought a lot of dvds, I had almost equaled half my dvd collection with BR's because I decided to try buying movies. After 1.5 years of buying, it aint my thing.

If I dont like Vudu, Ill buy the BD35 in march and go back to renting, but my owning days are most likely over. But I do agree, some of the recent releases are a little steep, but one of the insiders at Bluray.com stated movies would be high this fall, guess they werent lying. Iron Man for example, I spent $25 seeing at the movies, then spent another $25-30 on the BR. So I watched the movie twice, sure Id watch it again before Iron Man 2 comes out, and it cost me $50. With Vudu, I could have seen it at the theater and then watched it on Vudu 4 more times, thats more what I want.