Just got the box this week. Some thoughts after watching a couple movies.
- Setup is polished and is a consumer electronic level appliance. My wife could set this up. Obviously a future hardware revision should have wireless N built in rather than an adapter, but the wireless kit appears to work well.
- Like the remote. I have one of the compatible universals, but I am finding I really like the scroll wheel for the interface, and I'm willing to allow the Vudu remote to be the 2nd remote at the table...for now.
- Interface is pretty great. Everything works acceptably fast. It would be nice if Vudu made more relevant recommendations based on the 50 films I have in my wish list. I'm sure there are titles in the catalog, particularly older films, that are available that I would like that I just haven't found.
- Video and audio quality are definitely good enough for me to enjoy the product. Honestly, given the bandwidth constraints, I think they've done an impressive job in this respect. Comparisons to Netflix streaming are really a joke, imo.
- Content selection I would give a B+. It's the best out there, but just a little more would make it an "A." I realize it's all studio licensing issues, but this is really where Vudu is going to live or die. Several recent films are purchase only, which is frustrating for me as I'm really a renter. Also, perhaps more aggravating, is the older titles that go out of rotation. Everyone here says, "they'll rotate back in eventually." Where is 300? Where is Gladiator? I mean, that was year 2000. Where are LOTR. Which films have rotated out and are now back?
- As an aside, what would make Vudu even more amazing, is if the release tier got pushed up
. I know I might be dreaming there, but what if you could Vudu a film prior to DVD release. Now we're talking. It's a closed system, might be feasible. Charge me more for it.
- Pricing. I think it's fair. My local hollywood video is $4.49 for a 5 day new release DVD, Vudu is $3.99. I just wish there was a 30 hour viewing window, just in case you couldn't finish your rental the first night. I realize there is the extended rental window for some, but not all, films, and that this detail is likely due to more licensing restrictions.
- The other price. I've said this on other forums, but I don't think this will sell well at $299. I bought over the $99 Xmas special. $100 is a good price, possible up to $199 would be tolerated by a lot of people, but $299 is tough to swallow for a box no one knows about. Obviously I'm not privy to your sales numbers, so maybe I'm way off base.
Some other thoughts -
- external storage and the ability to buy HD/HDX is really required if this is going to be a serious purchase medium.
- how about a usage guage in info/settings to show us our used Vudu traffic now that a bunch of us are subject to bandwidth caps?
- Hulu for vudu labs? I see that SageTV is working on this.
- Netflix for vudu labs? I know you'd be supporting a competitor, but we can dream. Until Vudu has 100% releases available for rent, and items dont' rotate out of the catalog, we're going to be forced to have other rental options.
- Improved www.vudu.com page that would allow us to add films to our wish list. I'm often browsing at work, and would be great if they showed up when I got home (without actually renting them, just so I didn't forget to add them later)
- Rate movies directly through the Vudu interface - this is only useful to me if Vudu is taking these ratings and building me a "You might like list..." like netflix does.
I'm sure I will think of more as time goes on, but for now I'm initially mighty impressed with this little box. I have to say this is probably the most interesting thing I've purchased in the last few years. It's really a must have for any serious home theater enthusiast. I wish Vudu well and I really hope you succeed, you have an outstanding product on your hands. I just wish more people knew about it....
-bald
Oh yeah, people keep saying "watch instantly" - my first few movies have all started after a 30-45 second delay? Does that go away after the box has been hooked up for a while?
- Setup is polished and is a consumer electronic level appliance. My wife could set this up. Obviously a future hardware revision should have wireless N built in rather than an adapter, but the wireless kit appears to work well.
- Like the remote. I have one of the compatible universals, but I am finding I really like the scroll wheel for the interface, and I'm willing to allow the Vudu remote to be the 2nd remote at the table...for now.
- Interface is pretty great. Everything works acceptably fast. It would be nice if Vudu made more relevant recommendations based on the 50 films I have in my wish list. I'm sure there are titles in the catalog, particularly older films, that are available that I would like that I just haven't found.
- Video and audio quality are definitely good enough for me to enjoy the product. Honestly, given the bandwidth constraints, I think they've done an impressive job in this respect. Comparisons to Netflix streaming are really a joke, imo.
- Content selection I would give a B+. It's the best out there, but just a little more would make it an "A." I realize it's all studio licensing issues, but this is really where Vudu is going to live or die. Several recent films are purchase only, which is frustrating for me as I'm really a renter. Also, perhaps more aggravating, is the older titles that go out of rotation. Everyone here says, "they'll rotate back in eventually." Where is 300? Where is Gladiator? I mean, that was year 2000. Where are LOTR. Which films have rotated out and are now back?
- As an aside, what would make Vudu even more amazing, is if the release tier got pushed up
. I know I might be dreaming there, but what if you could Vudu a film prior to DVD release. Now we're talking. It's a closed system, might be feasible. Charge me more for it.- Pricing. I think it's fair. My local hollywood video is $4.49 for a 5 day new release DVD, Vudu is $3.99. I just wish there was a 30 hour viewing window, just in case you couldn't finish your rental the first night. I realize there is the extended rental window for some, but not all, films, and that this detail is likely due to more licensing restrictions.
- The other price. I've said this on other forums, but I don't think this will sell well at $299. I bought over the $99 Xmas special. $100 is a good price, possible up to $199 would be tolerated by a lot of people, but $299 is tough to swallow for a box no one knows about. Obviously I'm not privy to your sales numbers, so maybe I'm way off base.
Some other thoughts -
- external storage and the ability to buy HD/HDX is really required if this is going to be a serious purchase medium.
- how about a usage guage in info/settings to show us our used Vudu traffic now that a bunch of us are subject to bandwidth caps?
- Hulu for vudu labs? I see that SageTV is working on this.
- Netflix for vudu labs? I know you'd be supporting a competitor, but we can dream. Until Vudu has 100% releases available for rent, and items dont' rotate out of the catalog, we're going to be forced to have other rental options.
- Improved www.vudu.com page that would allow us to add films to our wish list. I'm often browsing at work, and would be great if they showed up when I got home (without actually renting them, just so I didn't forget to add them later)
- Rate movies directly through the Vudu interface - this is only useful to me if Vudu is taking these ratings and building me a "You might like list..." like netflix does.
I'm sure I will think of more as time goes on, but for now I'm initially mighty impressed with this little box. I have to say this is probably the most interesting thing I've purchased in the last few years. It's really a must have for any serious home theater enthusiast. I wish Vudu well and I really hope you succeed, you have an outstanding product on your hands. I just wish more people knew about it....
-bald
Oh yeah, people keep saying "watch instantly" - my first few movies have all started after a 30-45 second delay? Does that go away after the box has been hooked up for a while?
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