I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

[redwein]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

Maybe I could see your point if I had used some word like "today" or made my comments in a completely different context. As it stands, I didn't. I was talking in a general sense about VOD and used Vudu as a specific example of a product that provides VOD technology. My subsequent comment about saving money compared to compiling my own library is 100% factually true and was really a main focus of my comments. If Vudu had existed when I started making that collection, I never would have done so or would have at least had a much smaller collection. Even today, the number of movies I can choose to rent on Vudu exceeds the number I can watch from my own collection so I feel I am on very solid ground with my statements when taken completely in context.

I honestly don't understand why you refuse to acknowledge the context or insist that the moderators should come in and somehow "moderate" my comments. However, I do respect that you are entitled to your opinions and can disagree with mine. I will simply chime in and provide clarification when my comments are taken out of context to say something that they really aren't intended to.

[rstone]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

I was talking in a general sense about VOD and used Vudu as a specific example of a product that provides VOD technology.

Hardly, you specifically stated "WITH VUDU"... which is hardly a general comment about VOD technology, but a statement of fact about how the VUDU box operates. Now had you said "with VOD, you can watch what you want when you want without ever owning anything.", this wouldnt be a problem, but when you say "with Vudu"...you can watch what you want when you want without ever owning anything.", Exactly how again is that not untrue or misleading? How is that a FACT???? afterall if it is not untrue, then it must be true and everyone on here is missing a feature you seem to have.

[redwein]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

Again, in the context of the discussion, and the general nature of that context, it is absolutely true. I gave a factual example explaining my meaning. Also, you already said that you had no problem with saying "with VOD" but you do have a problem with "with VUDU". There is no VOD solution out there that is any better than Vudu so I don't see your beef. The comments are general in nature and are not intended to imply the exact capabilities of either VOD or Vudu at this exact instant in time, though they do a pretty darn good job of it today. They assume a direction that both would be presumed to progress.

In any event, this particular subplot is getting boring and probably annoying to others. I won't respond any further on it.

Sorry, I had to add one more thing. When I take part of your comments out of context, you say "then it must be true". I'm glad you finally agree.

[JohnA]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

Ok guys let's get back on track here. If you guys want, you can take the discussion to PM's.

[rstone]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

Again, in the context of the discussion, and the general nature of that context, it is absolutely true. I gave a factual example explaining my meaning. Also, you already said that you had no problem with saying "with VOD" but you do have a problem with "with VUDU".

In any context to state "with vudu" you can watch what you want, anytime you want without purchasing is untrue and for you to spin that any other way is just an outright fabrication. I'm glad to see you got one of those special boxes that doesn't require you to purchase anything, maybe someday Vudu will give them to the rest of us.

I have no problem with the VOD comment in the sense of just saying VOD, because you are not specifically stating how a particular product on the market works, but could be speaking of a how VOD could work in a general sense. In contrast when you call out a specific product and call it by name and state something as fact when indeed it isn't, and then claim it is fact, is just ridiculous.

[rstone]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

Ok guys let's get back on track here. If you guys want, you can take the discussion to PM's.

No problem John... read and understood.

[rstone]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

...but I have some reservations:

1.) No Dolby TrueHD sound support. Will this be fixed in the future? That's one thing HD DVD/Blu-Ray has over Vudu, superior sound support.

2.) The library of 1080p movies is fairly small. I see that movies are added on a weekly basis, but when it's HD movies (Mainly what I am interested in) they only come from 3 or 4 major movie studios. Will there be deals made so we can enjoy movies from WB, Fox, New Line, Weinstein just to name a few of the biggies?

3.) Say I drop $300 on a Vudu box and really get my movie library going over a year or so only to have Vudu drop out or get forced out of the market by another media supplier? What happens to all that money I spent on movies? At least with my HD DVD collection I can continue to watch the movies I paid for. Can I get some kind of guarentee? I'm not interested in getting burned twice for being an early adopter.

1) if you want HD DVD/Blu-Ray experience, then maybe you should stick with a real HD DVD/Blu-Ray player, as no one is going to give you that currently, no matter who the manufacture is, with limitations in bandwidth that currently exist for the average users. However, this is the closest you will get from ANY device that allows downloading of HD movies, to the real thing. It just happens that VUDU is better at it currently, so you can't go wrong there.

2) They already have deals with most of the big studios you mentioned already, including WB, Fox, etc, and have an HD selection larger than any other competitor currently offers, to my knowledge. So they are in line with everyone else.

3) USB external storage is on the way...

[redwein]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

Hmmm... I'm gonna have to wait for the HD sales to begin then. I'll keep an eye out.

Spoonard,

I apologize that the other sub-discussion took this thread over. I really am interested in why purchasing is so important to you. I can see why occasionally purchasing a movie might make sense but I am really happy to no longer purchase movies the way I used to. I used to be a heavy purchaser. It is really working out very well for me with Vudu. I was about to need to buy another Terastation (I have 4 already for movies) based on our run rate of DVD purchases. Since we bought Vudu, the number of purchases we make is a trickle compared to what it used to be and I can live with the hardware I already have. It just seems so much easier.

[HeadHodge]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

3.) I'm not interested in getting burned twice for being an early adopter.

Sounds like you're not interested in being an early adopter.

The early adopters have a crave for the new and different and they may not do it intentionally but play an important role in the evaluation process of new tech and if the tech is good they also spread the word to others and drive it to the mainstream.

I would suggest if you have cold feet in taking a chance with VUDU and think that you're investment may turn into a door stop or boat anchor, that you might want to wait it until the fat lady sings one way or the other for the results.

I bought, a few years ago, both a Blu-Ray and HD-DVD player knowing full well that one or the other or both would die as a viable medium, but as an early adopter, I don't regret for a minute the decision to do so.

[NA9D]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

Let's look at things this way:

Vudu is not a replacement for all forms of video entertainment in your home. It is a supplement or an addition to enable you to have additional choices. Vudu is not designed to be a replacement for the DVD player. It is not meant to be the only thing you use to watch video.

If you are a guy who wants all the new DVD releases on DVD Tuesday and you enjoy driving to Blockbuster to get them and if this is all you care about - the Vudu is not likely for you. With the exception of Warner Brothers, we can't offer new releases for rent the same day the DVDs are rentable. So we can't satisfy that marketplace demographic - at least not at this time.

If you want to own HD content and listen to it in DD7.1 or TrueHD or whatever it is, then Vudu can't provide this right now.

If you want a device that gives you instant access to over 5000 movies and TV shows with about 85 titles in HD, then Vudu is for you. It's never been designed or marketed with the concept of it being your "only" video device.

That's the real choice you have to make: What is your viewing lifestyle. What is it you want and when do you want it? Do you want the convenience and choice? Maybe you can't watch every possible choice when you want to watch it, but perhaps being able to watch 70 or 80 percent of what you might want is all you need. So that's the big thing. What fits with your lifestyle and your viewing habits.

Vudu is not a static product and is going to be continually updated and improved on over time. 12 months from now it will be a very different experience from what we have today. Just as today is a very different experience from what we had 3 or months ago. So perhaps the box doesn't offer everything you want today. But it may at some point in the future. If you want to wait - great. If you want to jump in the pool now - better yet!

[redwein]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

Vudu is not a replacement for all forms of video entertainment in your home. It is a supplement or an addition to enable you to have additional choices. Vudu is not designed to be a replacement for the DVD player. It is not meant to be the only thing you use to watch video.

While I clearly won't speak for everyone, Vudu today is what my family mostly uses to watch movies at home (not TV shows, Tivo is what we use for that). We also do go to the theater occasionally for new movies that we can't wait to see. We really watch or buy very few DVDs these days, directly as a result of Vudu. We have not bought a Blu-Ray or HD DVD player and really don't intend to. I can honestly see a time when it is all we use at home and it will essentially replace our DVD player. This would be very much like iTunes is all we use for music these days.

[NA9D]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

And redwein, you are the correct demographic for Vudu. But I don't want any of my statements to be construed in a way that I am promising more than what can be delivered. The box clearly is not for everyone. And if for whatever reason, you want to purchase HD content and more than simply one movie, then this box is not for you right now. And if owning is really something you want you may be more comfortable purchasing physical media. So it's all in what you want and how you want to view it...

[Rusdude]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

Oh, it seems I missed the first fireworks since the thread on open-source attributions, lol.

Anyway, Jon is right -- Vudu box is not for everyone and, like Rstone noted, Vudu should attempt to create reasonable expectations so customers would be satisfied. Personally, when I talk about Vudu right now, I qualify my statements by saying it's not a complete replacement for Netflix or a high-def player.

I don't think either fact is going to change anytime soon (although it'd be sweet!), but there are other things I expect Vudu to address: better TV experience (more shows, discounted season purchases, better management), more HD content, HD purchases, storage management, etc.

[NA9D]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

Anyway, Jon is right -- Vudu box is not for everyone and, like Rstone noted, Vudu should attempt to create reasonable expectations so customers would be satisfied. Personally, when I talk about Vudu right now, I qualify my statements by saying it's not a complete replacement for Netflix or a high-def player.

Vudu does not want to create an unreasonable expectation about the player and they are right to not do so. The Vudu is arguably the best at what it does. It has a larger movie library than any other VOD competitor. It has outstanding picture quality and sound. And it delivers content instantaneously. And the box is going to get better. But all this is not meant to construe that Vudu is flawless or has all the movies you could ever possibly want. It doesn't. And correct - it's not a complete replacement for traditional DVDs or High-Def discs.

[Rusdude]

Re: I am this close to buying a Vudu box...

Vudu does not want to create an unreasonable expectation about the player and they are right to not do so. The Vudu is arguably the best at what it does. It has a larger movie library than any other VOD competitor. It has outstanding picture quality and sound. And it delivers content instantaneously. And the box is going to get better. But all this is not meant to construe that Vudu is flawless or has all the movies you could ever possibly want. It doesn't. And correct - it's not a complete replacement for traditional DVDs or High-Def discs.

I don't think Vudu has claimed anything outrageous, but I am sure they are trying hard to keep those marketing guys in check, lol. FWIW, I recall a few people coming on this boards whose expectations were not met, but I don't think it happens too often. Perhaps everyone is now pacified by all the HD content

And by Vudu not being a Netflix replacement I meant that it's not a perfect match to people who watch a ton of DVDs every month. There are people who go through 10-20 DVDs in a month so for them Vudu (or AppleTV, or Xbox 360) would turn out an expensive proposition.