any word on service or hardware pricing? Seems like that would be the make or break of a device like this. Also if they added streaming capabilites from a computer this thing could be sweet

My opinion is that there are too many existing devices that can do this already... I can get on-demand movies from my Tivo, my Xbox 360 or my cable company. I can't find a good reason to run out and buy another box to do the same thing.

" I can't find a good reason to run out and buy another box to do the same thing."

Extra crap that you don't need is what Gizmodo is all about, fool. I'll take one of these, an AppleTV, a Tivo, Digital cable, a home media server, and ..uh.. can you throw in a VCR just in case.

Ethernet cable? have they seen back there? It really needs wi-fi.

I can't imagine a standalone movie box doing terribly well, but there is definitely still plenty of room for growth in downloadable/on-demand movies. I haven't tried the Amazon Unbox thing on Tivo yet, but the 360 offerings are meager to say the least (though the service works very well), and cable's on-demand movies vary widely depending on which provider you're stuck with. What we need is for someone to step in and just do it right, much as Tivo did with the DVR, but chances are the IP owners will find a way to ruin any truly innovative approaches that might find their way to market.

I've tried the Amazon Unbox on Tivo (cuz I had a $15 free credit), and it worked well. Basically you pick the movie and a few hours later it's on your Tivo.

However, services like Amazon Unbox are convenient but you still have to pay... and one thing I really dislike is the 24-hour watch period before the movie expires. I don't mind paying for the convenience, but the 24-hour expiration and not being able to watch the film on different platforms like I can with Divx is pretty annoying for me.

For now, unless P2P sites are shut down I will not go with these pay services.

Apple, Netflix, I love you guys, really, but if this thing lives up to its promise, I'm afraid I have found my new love.

As long as I can get an "all you can eat" plan at a decent price (under $25 a month) and there's a Netflix-size selection, that is.

It's my vid in a box!

Call me crazy, but I'm just not impressed. Unless they have the funding to stay in the red for 5 years I just don't see this winning many hearts and minds.

Someday soon someone is going to stand atop a building somewhere and shout "Get your lazy asses off the couch and DO something!" Seems like all the tech coming our way these days is all about entertainment. Anyone remember the days when personal computers were purchased for actual 'work', like design, writing, and even some math? Today its all about mind-numbing music, movies, web surfing and games. Seems a waste of technology if you ask me (and even if you didn't).

doesnt the 360 already do this, and won't the whole streaming thing be included with the upcoming IPTV version of the 360 firmware?

What does the HD upscaled MPEG-4 actually look like? Because I'm not going to even consider spending $500+ on any of these things until the picture quality lives up to what my TV can display, or at least comes very close. Otherwise its just two steps forward and one step back.

I don't even use the video on-demand service from my cable company because of the non-HD quality, and thats free.

can I put it in my car with one of those mobile routers???

Damn son, this thing just bitch slapped the Apple TV. Now what about specs? HD size, GUI. Too bad I already got an Apple TV. =S

Gizmodo’s got the scoop on Vudu, an upcoming video-on-demand box. Supposedly the device will launch in June at a higher price point than Apple TV with 7 studios signed as content partners.

This looks really promising and intrigues me much more than the underwhelming Apple TV. Now, if only they didn't style it after a Mac mini found among the remains of a scorched building.

The hidden potential of AppleTV is a subscription service for all the TV content. I would replace my cable in a heartbeat and never look back.

I think that would make all the cable companies shake in their boots.

You have seen the future and it'll start with Vudu.

No one really seems to be addressing the fact that we'll all have 17 boxes in and around our TVs still...but us rubes will keep buying so I guess it's the market's fault.

@schrosa is so right on the money. I loathe paying for cable in that I feel like I'm spending so much money and getting very little that I use out of it. Sure I don't have a very expensive package, but still for the amount of money cable companies charge us you think we could get more out of them. But a subscription based service for TV content via AppleTV? Sign me up now, I'd love to come home and see that the latest episode of whatever show I wanted to watch had already downloaded to my system so I could watch at my leisure... wouldn't matter what time they were on either!

A friend of mine (who knows a good bit about video streaming issues) got a live demo of this thing about a month ago (at least I think it was this one). He was impressed by the quality of HD this thing produces and how fast it kicks in once you pick "play" (dynamic buffering and packet handling or some such thing).

I hope they kick butt - Apple needs some competition.

This is really what consumers (like me) need. An on demand box that doesn't depend on a computer back end. I currently have a TiVo Series 3, and with Unbox it is SO close to what I would need. If this carries TV shows as well, in HD, I'll be sorely tempted to just use this instead of all of what I have now (Blockbuster, TiVo, iTunes, CD player).

But what's with the funky form factor?? I wish "new media" boxes would have a standard electronics component width and depth, for stacking ease.

Just what I need - another box to clutter my entertainment center. I don't think so...it needs to offer more than just play movies

Any word on the P2P technology used to power this thing? Is it using any of the regular technologies (Red Swoosh, Kontiki, BitTorrent, etc) or something entirely new?

Can anyone read the labels on the back of the box - the silver/black RCA-looking jack on the far left. I can't make out the label under it and the symbol above it doesn't look familiar to me. I thought it might be coax, but it seems to be the same size as the RCA jacks.

Over on the right is a two position switch - can anyone make out the options?

Hmm... on closer inspection, I think it *is* coax. The center hole looks smaller than RCA. Would this have an RF modulator for output?

if i'm not mistaken it says, "remote"

The remote jack is for the RF antenna. The remote control is RF based so you can put the box in a enclosure and still operate it.

Who is going to bear the cost of the STB? It's all very well being priced competitively with the AppleTV, but the AppleTV lets me do more than just rent a movie for 24 hours. I can imagine this co-branded with Blockbuster (set up a two year subscription and we'll give you a box), or if they let you do more than just rent a movie. $300, or there abouts, requires more than just convenience over Netflix I'm afraid.

The article fails to mention that component output is an option, which is important to those of us with DVI or otherwise non-HDMI sets. Will it still upscale to HD via component?

@MegaZone: That switch looks like it toggles between interlaced and progressive output. The S2 TiVos have them (480i/480p).

If that USB port is to support external storage drives, I'll be curious to see whether that option is supported at launch.

BTW, Gizmodo, nice to scoop NYT's Brad Stone on this by a full day!

It seems a "little" weak. I think if you can whip up some SLINGBOX connectivity, you are going to get some bites, but then again, I said the same thing about APPLE TV.

RIght now, nothing really beats my comcast DVR with ON DEMAND (tv shows, movies, special programs). To top it off, I can watch it anywhere with my slingbox. I just wish the interface were a little slicker.

If this thing is pronounced like voodoo, I can see alot of people not buying it because of that!

donlphi says:
"--I said the same thing about APPLE TV."
Well, you didn't know what you were talking about then, this is different. AppleTV has an established userbase behind its content ALREADY, and the content can be moved around freely between it and other devices in an ecosystem. For that alone (and the fact that other iPod-to-TV solutions have been out, AppleTV was more than a "weak" offering. If I had the cash and an HDTV, I'd definitely have one.

Vudu? Meh. Sounds more like "Dudu" to me. I was astonished when I read about MovieBeam, and how people were supposed to pay hundreds of dollars for a device with the sole purpose of having them spend even MORE money on a regular basis... in a HIGHLY proprietary and non-reusable way. Yikes.

Now, along comes Vudu. There are things that would spark my interest... like say, $9.99-$14.99 all you can eat movie rentals, 3 downloaded at a time (like Netflix). Perfect! No waiting for people to return DVDs a-la-NetFlicks, good price, as fast as your connection. That'd be nice. Maybe the device only costs $99 or maybe $149.95. Doable. Very doable.

But is this that? I mean, I use RedBox from time to time. Stop in at a Stop & Shop and grab a DVD for $1 per day. I always return it the next day, so its very convenient. They even send me an e-mail confirmation of my purchase.

I agree with one comment I read that this DOESN'T compete with AppleTV. Wouldn't for me. I doubt it'll do podcasts. AppleTV will be upgrading its software overtime. Will Vudu? Probably not. Can Vudu let me rip my DVD's into a jukebox?

the pitch on their website is this:
"VUDU is thousands of movies delivered directly to your TV. VUDU is freedom-it doesn't require a PC and is independent of your cable or satellite TV service."

Meh... NO THANKS. It sounds like paying for a device more expensive than your average cable box and then using the basic "on-demand" services for probably the same price points.

Revolutionary. God that word is starting to SUCK.

I'm amazed that nobody has mentioned Akimbo yet. It's a box that seems very similar to this, but also downloads plenty of free stuff too like Rocketboom, etc. If you don't want to buy a new hardware to use Akimbo, you can use a Media Center Edition PC instead. I've had an Akimbo box for about 2 or 3 years now and it works great. I got a lifetime subscription for it.

This Vudu is an early adapter model just like the first HD-DVD and Blu-ray players. The thing lacks Wi-Fi for crying out loud. I do like the HDMI connector in the back.

I don't see them offering HD for awhile since HD storage is at such a premium. My Dish DVR only allows up to 30 hours of *cough* lower-end HD programming. (True HD is 1080P.) How many days would it take to download a full length 1080p DVD over most broadband connections?

It has potential for people who like movies but hate making trips to the video store or waiting for Netflix. However, it's price point needs come down to $150 or so (just like HDDVD/Blu Ray players) before we can see a good influx.

I'll wait for generation 2 or 3 before considering it as yet another component under my TV.

Firstly, everyone shd put out of their minds the notion of a digital Netflix style subscription at least one with content from major hollywood studios. The studios all have pay TV agreements that prohibit eletcornic transmission of titles on a subscription basis prior to the HBO/Starz/Showtime window, which shows up 90 days or so past DVD. So that is absolutely out of the question and will not be part of this box. Note that Netflix itself has a digital subscription to only library and independent films.

Secondly, I really question the claim that they will have instant start on 5,000 titles. If you have sustained 6+ mbps you can have instant start on any service with progressive download (Amazon Unbox, Movielink, whatever) just as you can have insta-start on cable VOD. But to have instant start for most customers, including those sad people who have 1.5 mbps (or less) dsl, for 5,000 titles in SD, it would require pre-caching of a substantial buffer for all of the instastart titles. If you want a 30 minute buffer (do the math -- still not enough to guarantee a smooth experience for people suffering with a low mbps connection if files are being delivered in high quality) on say 5,000 titles, you would need a 2.5 TB hard drive. This assumes no HD. SO I would take all that with a grain of salt.

Finally, if you think about the A/V stack, there are 5 slots: DVD player, legacy VCR (optional/vestigal), Game, cable box/dvr and slot 5, also known as the slot of death, the slot no customer wants to fill, the graveyard of efforts like Akimbo. As another slot 5 device, I expect this one not to gain wide adoption. It just won't be able to compete on any large scale with cable boxes, which also deliver movies on demand all of which do start instantly.

But I do want to hire their publicity person.

PC-TV convergence is a hot topic. And we're going to be in the fray with TVMama.com, the only website that covers the emerging TV-PC convergence space. From AppleTV to streaming porn on your 52-inch HD Plasma set, if it's about getting content from your computer to your TV it will be on TVMama! So come visit your TVMama - TVMama.com - coming soon!

Apple TV snagged much of the fortune and fame as a stylish, no-fuss way to transfer web content to your television screen. (How very Apple.)