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Thursday, February 11, 2010

Watch Out Cable, Vudu Is Here

While I haven't used Vudu, I am intrigued by its capabilities. Too many times there is a movie that I would like to watch, but isn't found on my cable service. Not HBO or Showtime or Starz, not On Demand. And while I am not looking to rush out to Target to buy a copy of the movie, I would love quick and easy access to watch it. Hence, the appeal of Vudu, a service that seems to offer more movie titles than what is currently available through the converter box. "But if you want recent movies on demand (legally), the best bet has been Vudu, a set-top box that connects to the Internet. You can watch any of its 16,000 movies and TV episodes instantly on your TV."

In addition, the article describes the menu, search features, and other trick features of the service. The only thing it lacks is chapters to go forward more quickly. Still it seems to outpace cable's menu options and graphics by a mile. And as TV and blu-ray manufacturers bypass the cable industry to directly connect via the web, it is clear that they will very quickly get the upper hand on cable. Of course, cable companies will start to charge an arm and a leg more for higher speeds for web access. That is where competition is good. With Google talking about being an ISP provider and other companies thinking of ways to enter this market, cable subscription will erode. Hello wireless, hello Google, hello electric companies pushing broadband through its wires. Watch out cable.