| VUDU Launches HDX, New Benchmark for Picture Quality in On-Demand Content | ||
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By Shane Sturgeon Publisher & Chief Technologist Posted on October 1, 2008 Category: Internet HD Video |
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Register Now to receive notification of HDTV Bulletins via email as soon as they are published. VUDU LAUNCHES HDX, NEW BENCHMARK FOR PICTURE QUALITY IN ON-DEMAND CONTENT
Santa Clara, CA, October 2, 2008 -- VUDU Inc., a leading provider of digital technologies and services that deliver Internet entertainment to consumers' HDTVs and Home Theaters, today unveiled HDX, a groundbreaking video format that for the first time enables the viewing of Internet-delivered movie content in full High Definition 1080p format that is optimized for 40 inch and larger HDTVs and Home Theaters.
HDX delivers the highest quality available from any Internet, broadcast, cable, or satellite on-demand service, offering consumers a true cinematic experience with a vividly detailed and virtually artifact free picture accompanied by high-resolution, immersive sound. HDX movies are available today to all VUDU customers and the new HDX format does not cost VUDU viewers a penny extra - since HDX films are offered at the same price as standard HD titles.
VUDU has already compiled a library of more than 50 films available now in the new HDX format and will be offering every newly released HD title in the new format. VUDU will also be encoding into HDX many of the HD movies in the existing VUDU catalog, offering consumers a quickly growing library of HDX content. With this new offering, VUDU is the only Internet movie delivery service offering consumers a choice between an instant-start HD experience and a high quality HD download version.
"VUDU HDX truly raises the bar on picture quality for HD movies delivered on demand, over the air, satellite or Internet and across the entire video landscape," said Mark Jung, CEO of VUDU. "Accelerating consumer adoption of large screen HDTVs has fueled strong demand for the kind of viewing experience and picture quality only HDX can deliver."
VUDU HDX is being introduced at a time when technology advances and rapidly declining prices have driven explosive growth in the larger than 40 inch HDTV segment. The same forces have led to rapidly increasingly penetration of 1080p full high definition TVs. Consumers who buy these large screen HDTVs and Home Theaters are demanding higher and higher picture quality and want the convenience of Internet delivery.
HDX displays content in the true cinematic gold standard of 1080p at 24 frames per second. Content in HDX is displayed at twice the resolution of other Internet HD formats and offers an ultra-detailed and virtually artifact free picture on any size screen. HDX also offers the best available surround sound quality for Internet delivered movies with immersive, high resolution sound at a 40 percent higher bit-rate than standard surround sound DVD's.
VUDU's unique TruFilm™ technology is at the core of the HDX's groundbreaking picture quality. TruFilm technology optimizes the encoding, transmission, and display of HDX movies on HDTVs and larger Home Theater screens using the following technologies:
HDX movies are available to rent at the same price as VUDU's instant HD movies. Consumers can order HDX movies directly on their VUDU or online at www.vudu.com/movies with delivery times expected to take a few hours, depending on content. VUDU will continue to offer HD titles in both HDX and instant HD formats, affording consumers the choice of ordering ahead the highest available quality movie or renting HD movies that are delivered instantly to their TV.
About VUDU:
VUDU is a leading provider of digital technologies and services that deliver Internet entertainment to consumers' HDTVs and Home Theaters. VUDU's first product, the VBX100, is a 1080p Internet Movie Player designed to deliver over 10,000 on-demand movies and TV shows directly to HTDV's. The VBX100 supports native HD movies and automatically upscale standard resolution movies. Thus, all movies are displayed in 1080p resolution at 24 frames per second, the cinematic gold standard.
Through relationships with every major US movie studio and more than 25 independent studios and distributors, VUDU offers a vast array of on-demand choices at the highest quality. The VUDU collection is constantly updated, and newly released movies from major studios are available on the same day as the DVD is released. Consumers can finally watch great movies without the hassles associated with traditional services:-no driving, no mailing, and no monthly fee. For more information, visit www.vudu.com.
Posted by Shane Sturgeon, October 1, 2008 09:00 PM
Reader Commentary Oct 2, 8:51am Has anyone looked at this to see how it compares to Blu-Ray? I went to Vudu site and could not find any HDX labeled videos. Oct 2, 10:07am This has way too much marketing BS language around it. I assume it's an alternative codec to MPEG4. It's not supposed to be better than Blu-Ray - just better than the other "real time" HD sources (does not include downloading). There is no way it's b Oct 2, 10:37am my impression also - although I am really looking for a good down load service. Xstream HD is vaporware so far and vudu is a struggling start up. I am hoping that someone will do a face-off with blu-ray on this new offering Oct 2, 10:47am I've been testing it out for a few weeks now. It is quite good. I'm not sure if it would hold up to a side by side test, but you would be hard-pressed to find any compression artifacts in the resultant PQ. It's equivalency to Blu-ray refers to the 1080 More on Internet HD Video
About Shane SturgeonShane Sturgeon is the Co-Publisher and Chief Technologist of HDTV Magazine, an industry publication with HDTV roots going back to 1984, when Dale Cripps founded The HDTV Newsletter. Today, HDTV Magazine is a leading online resource for HDTV news and information and captures the eyes and imaginations of over 3 million visitors annually. Mr. Sturgeon has a background in information technology and has served in various consulting capacities for Fortune 500 companies such as J.P. Morgan Chase, Verizon Communications, Proctor & Gamble and Nationwide Insurance. He has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Wright State University. |
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