In case you’ve never heard of RT, it’s kind of the be-all, end-all of movie review sites, which compiles dozens of reviews per movie to come up with a sort of meta-score, which, more times than not, is in the right ballpark. Vudu’s movie selection interface is now littered with tomatoes: tomatoes with the combined “Tomatometer” score at each film’s selection screen, tomatoes with individual review excerpts in each film’s selection screen, tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes tomatoes.
Both upgrades will just sorta happen: LG BD390 users should expect an upgrade prompt any time now, and all Vudu users should keep an eye out for the new ratings system. [Vudu]

LG ELECTRONICS ADDS VUDU HD MOVIE SERVICE TO WIRELESS ‘NETCAST’ NETWORK BLU-RAY DISC PLAYER

Streaming Movie Service Brings Largest Library of HD Movies to Consumers’ Fingertips

ATLANTA, Sept. 9, 2009 – LG Electronics today announced the addition of the high-definition streaming movie service from VUDU, Inc. to the LG Wireless Network Blu-ray Player (model BD390). With VUDU, consumers can instantly buy or rent from an extensive library of movies and TV titles, including an industry-leading catalog of more than 2,200 high-definition (HD) movies. The BD390 with VUDU will be demonstrated here this week at the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) EXPO 2009 (Booth #2623).

The addition of VUDU service to the BD390 adds yet another content provider alliance to the “NetCast Entertainment Access” family of features, which already includes access to hundreds of hours of Netflix, Roxio® CinemaNow®, and YouTube™ streaming content*. Available later this month through a free automatic upgrade, consumers will be able to enjoy VUDU, as well as other exclusive entertainment options at the click of a remote.

“Our alliance with VUDU exemplifies LG’s commitment to delivering the ultimate HD viewing experience, by providing instant access to more 1080p movie content than ever before,” said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing, LG Electronics USA, Inc. “VUDU is the latest enhancement to our NetCast Entertainment Access feature and we are excited to now provide consumers with one of the most extensive on-demand, high-definition entertainment options on our Wireless Network Blu-ray Player.”

The BD390 with NetCast Entertainment Access is available now at nationwide retailers at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $US399. VUDU connectivity will be available at the end of the month via a free upgrade.

VUDU Service and Functions

VUDU’s streaming movie service delivers a near-instant viewing experience – movies start quickly, including high-definition HDX movies, and viewers can fast forward, rewind and browse chapters without the delays or the frustration associated with slow buffering.

Its unique HDX format, with Full HD 1080p resolution, allows for a crisper, clearer picture, while Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound makes it feel like the action is unfolding in consumers’ living rooms.

The VUDU catalog is updated weekly, and newly released movies from major studios are typically available months before they are available on subscription-based services. With no monthly fees and without the hassle of having to buy, install, or connect any additional hardware, it has never been easier for consumers to watch their favourite movies.

“Following the recent launch of VUDU on LG HDTVs with NetCast Entertainment Access, LG’s BD390 Network Blu-ray player provides the perfect opportunity for anyone in the market for a Blu-ray player to enjoy VUDU’s extensive HD movie library in superior 1080p video quality and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound,” said Alain Rossmann, CEO of VUDU. “Through our alliance with LG, VUDU is breaking new ground in delivering high definition Hollywood movies to consumers’ living rooms.”

Connectivity and Storage

As LG’s first-ever wireless Network Blu-ray Player, LG’s BD390 transforms and personalizes the home theatre experience, by offering a virtually endless array of entertainment options. In addition to its broadband capabilities, the BD390 offers exceptional “Full HD” 1080p video performance and exceptional image quality from standard DVDs with 1080p up-scaling via HDMI output. The BD390 is also equipped for easy connection to the home network and has one gigabyte (GB) of built-in memory for BD Live functionality.

[LG]

Both 1080p HDTVs include wired and wireless internet connections and a crazy-sounding 16-speaker “sound projector” to really blast those rented flicks. Plus, the Vudu support includes support for YouTube, Flickr, Picasa and Pandora. Like Mitsubishi’s previous deal, the purchase of one of these sets comes with a $US50 Vudu credit for the first two months. Full press release below. [Mitsubishi]

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Ships VUDU-Enabled 1080p Flat Panel LCD Televisions

Unisen™ Diamond Line of Immersive Sound TVs With Integrated VUDU Service, Delivers Extensive HD Library In Full 1080p and Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound

IRVINE and Santa Clara, CA – September 3, 2009 —- Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. (MDEA) today announced it has begun shipping two new models of the Unisen Diamond 249 series that are VUDU-enabled out of the box. The Unisen Diamond models, LT-46249 and LT-52249, both 1080p flat panel HDTVs with integrated 16-speaker integrated sound projector and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound, combine the incredible sensory experience of the Unisen Diamond series with the excitement of VUDU’s industry leading user experience and extensive on-demand HD movie library delivered instantly over the Internet.

Both models come equipped with an Ethernet port, which allows for wired or wireless connection to the Internet. Once the TV is connected to the Internet, the VUDU service is immediately available to consumers without the need for an additional device.

For a limited time, owners of Mitsubishi’s VUDU-enabled TVs will receive two months worth of free movies*, including SD, HD, and HDX movies, allowing them to experience the extraordinary 1080p image quality and immersive Dolby™ Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound of the VUDU Service running on Mitsubishi HDTVs.

“We are always looking to elevate the large screen experience for consumers, and the Mitsubishi VUDU-enabled TVs will combine unprecedented HD program choice with unparalleled picture performance,” said Frank DeMartin, vice president of marketing, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America. “Owners of Unisen Diamond Immersive Sound TV’s will now have convenient access to high quality entertainment content.”

With over 2,200 HD titles and 16,000 titles overall, VUDU offers the most extensive HD movie library available today. In addition, starting later this month, the VUDU service on Unisen Diamond 249 LCD TVs will offer popular Internet services such as YouTube, Flickr, Picasa and Pandora®, as well over 80 channels of on-demand TV to choose from.

“VUDU’s extensive HD library of newly released Hollywood titles provides the perfect entertainment solution for the Unisen Diamond LCD TVs,” said Alain Rossmann, CEO of VUDU. “Through this collaboration with Mitsubishi, we are expanding the reach of the VUDU Service to a broad new segment of consumers, providing an outstanding movie watching experience with true 1080p and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound.”

Unisen Diamond 249 Features

In addition to the VUDU streaming capabilities, the Unisen 249 line of premium flat panel TVs combine ultra compact design, immersive sound technology and advanced video performance to deliver a complete sensory experience without the hassle of complex setup. Each model features an UltraThin Frame™ design delivering a frame measuring less than one inch, fully integrated 16-speaker Dolby Digital 5.1 channel surround sound system, Variable Smooth 240 Film Motion for viewing of fast and slow moving programs, and Enhanced colour. Unisen LCD TVs feature wide colour gamut backlight technology to reproduce approximately 25 percent more colour than most LCD-TVs and both models are EnergyStar™ 3.0 qualified.

Availability and Pricing

MDEA plans to ship Unisen Diamond 249 models to authorised retailers in the United States by September 2009. Estimated retail pricing for the Unisen Diamond products will be $US2,799 for the 46″ model, LT-46249 and $US3,299 for the 52″ model, LT-52249.

About Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc.

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc., the Official HDTV Sponsor of The PGA TOUR, manufactures and markets a comprehensive line of premium quality 1080p Home theatre TVs and Unisen™ Flat Panel TVs along with the world’s first laser TV: LaserVue™. recognised as a world leader and innovator of large display high-definition televisions, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America builds products that lead the industry in quality, performance and ease-of-use. For additional information about MDEA, visit www.mitsubishi-tv.com.

About VUDU

VUDU is a leading provider of digital technologies and services that deliver Internet entertainment to consumers’ HDTVs. The VUDU entertainment service supports native instant start HD and, for the first time, instant-start HDX, which, with 1080p resolution at 24 frames per second, the cinematic gold standard, is the highest quality on demand format available anywhere. Through relationships with every major U.S. movie studio and more than 40 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 http://www.vudu.com/.

AU: Obviously this won’t happen for Australian customers, but reading about it is like gazing into a crystal ball and seeing what the future holds. Although knowing our luck, it’s probably decades into the future…

So what gets this? It’s a decent spread of 42-inch-and-up plasma and LCD TVs, including the 47-inch LCD 47LH50 and 50-inch plasma 50PS80, available now for $US1,699 and $US1,799, respectively, and the forthcoming 42-inch LCD 42LH50, and the 60-inch plasma 60PS80, which should land outside the price spread of the current sets on both ends.

Vudu has promised a smattering of improvements on their side of things, from video quality tweaks to a snappier user interface—mostly due to these HDTVs’ more substantial hardware, I’d assume. But the most important part of this announcement isn’t even about Vudu:

With LG’s NetCast Entertainment Access, consumers have instant access to millions of streaming movies, TV shows and web videos through an Ethernet connection. These models, ranging in screen size from 42- to 60-inch class sizes*, also include access to content from Netflix, Yahoo! Widgets, YouTube and more

This “choose your widget” scenario is an increasingly common scenario for new HDTVs right now, which is fantastic news for customers, and not so fantastic news for whatever poor companies got roped into manufacturing the various standalone streaming set-top boxes we’d just started to get used to. (Sorry, Roku!) Without the hardware entry cost, these video services can fight it out with the features that really matter: Netflix’s monthly subscription vs. Roku’s per-movie rentals and purchases; Vudu’s 1080p HDX streaming vs. Netflix’s 720p VC1AP video; etc. Open platform TVs and Blu-ray players are the new battlefield, and they won’t be a forgiving one. [LG, Vudu]

LG ELECTRONICS FIRST TO BRING VUDU HD MOVIE SERVICE
TO BROADBAND HDTVs

VUDU’s Unique Streaming Movie Service, Largest Library of HD Movies,
enhance LG ‘NetCast Entertainment Access’ LCD and Plasma HDTVs

NEW YORK, July 29, 2009 — LG Electronics will be the first to introduce broadband HDTVs with the instant-access high-definition (HD) movie service from VUDU Inc., a leading provider of digital on-demand entertainment services, the companies announced today. VUDU on-demand movies will be available on LG’s LH50 1080p LCD series and PS80 Plasma 1080p series with “NetCast Entertainment Access,” beginning next month.

“Our alliance with VUDU further demonstrates LG’s commitment to delivering the ultimate HD viewing experience, by providing instant access to more 1080p movie content than ever before” said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing and strategy, LG Electronics USA. “VUDU highlights the superb video quality of our ‘Full HD’ sets with NetCast Entertainment Access, while providing consumers with access to thousands of HD movies with the touch of a button.”

The VUDU service allows consumers to instantly buy or rent from an extensive library of movies and TV titles, including an industry-leading catalog of more than 2,000 high-definition movies – with no monthly fees and without having to buy, install, or connect any additional hardware. Consumers will enjoy movies in VUDU’s unique HDX format, with Full HD 1080p resolution, plus Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound.

VUDU’s streaming movie service delivers a near-instant viewing experience – movies start immediately, including high definition HDX movies, and viewers can fast forward, rewind and browse chapters without the delays or the frustration associated with slow buffering. The VUDU catalog is updated weekly, and newly released movies from major studios are typically available months before they are available on subscription-based services.

“Together, LG’s Broadband HDTVs and the VUDU service set the industry standard for easy access to on-demand HD movies,” said Alain Rossmann, CEO of VUDU. “VUDU is blazingly fast on LG’s Broadband HDTVs and makes discovering and watching new HD movies a truly exciting and fun user experience. With this partnership, VUDU is raising the bar on delivering Hollywood movies to this new class of Smart TVs.”

With LG’s NetCast Entertainment Access, consumers have instant access to millions of streaming movies, TV shows and web videos through an Ethernet connection. These models, ranging in screen size from 42- to 60-inch class sizes*, also include access to content from Netflix, Yahoo! Widgets, YouTube and more. With this enhanced connectivity, LG’s Broadband HDTVs transform and personalise the home theatre experience by offering a virtually endless array of entertainment options.
LG’s 47-inch class* LCD HDTV (model 47LH50) and 50-inch class* plasma HDTV (model 50PS80) with NetCast Entertainment Access are available now at national retailers with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $US1,699 and $US1,799. LG’s 42-inch class* LCD (model 42LH50) and 60-inch class* plasma (model 60PS80) will be available and existing LG Broadband TV owners will be able to add the VUDU service next month.

Remote access to their catalog is nice, but I don’t see anything about a wish list or rating system in here —so let’s hope that feature becomes part of a future update. [iTunes]

As of today, a new Vudu Labs area on standard Vudu boxes will offer access to Flickr, Picasa and YouTube. In addition, the Labs’ new “On Demand” area opens free streaming from ABC, CBS, MSNBC, Nickelodeon, Discovery, and ESPN—among lots of other web-available media.

Vudu’s Rich Internet Application platform will be opened to developers in Q1 of 2009. And it seems like a pretty good way for Vudu to stay competitive against the likes of Netflix, Blockbuster and AppleTV.

VUDU Brings the Web to TV with Breakthrough Internet Application Platform

Company Launches More than 120 Channels of Web Based Content and Applications, Announces Rich Internet Application Platform Open to All Developers in 2009

Santa Clara, CA – Dec. 16, 2008 – VUDU today took a major step forward in bringing the Web into the living room by launching the VUDU RIA (Rich Internet Application) platform, a standards-based platform that brings Web-hosted rich applications and services to consumer appliances
such as the popular VUDU Internet movie player. VUDU RIA combines the openness and ease of development of Web applications, lightweight hardware requirements compatible with today’s consumer Internet appliances, and a lean-back user experience optimised for television.
To demonstrate the power and flexibility of VUDU RIA, VUDU has created an initial set of applications and services in a new area of the VUDU home page, called VUDU Labs. Available today to all VUDU owners, these applications include casual games, implementations of Flickr, Picasa and
the entire YouTube library, as well as a new “On Demand TV” area with more than 120 channels.
Today, VUDU customers can access a broad selection of free on-demand shows provided by major network television and on-line specialty sites spanning news, food, music, sports, and more. Programs include daily highlights from shows such as “Today”, “The Rachel Maddow Show”, “Anderson Cooper 360″, “Fantasy Focus NFL”, “MTV News”, as well as full programs, some in HD, from Nova, National Geographic, PBS and others. VUDU plans to add more applications and services throughout 2009.

“VUDU RIA enables us to quickly open up huge libraries of web based content to TVs in living rooms around America,” said Edward Lichty, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Content. “We are excited to
deliver both high quality TV shows as well as Web applications which enable our customers to share their photos and watch the tens of millions of YouTube videos on their HDTV’s.” VUDU RIA Brings Web Application Development to CE devices VUDU RIA allows developers to take advantage of the most advanced RIA techniques such as asynchronous Web queries, local scripting, and persistent client-side storage, along with unique TV-centered technologies such as VUDU’s acclaimed user interface, one-wheel remote control navigation, and VUDU’s TruFilm-powered video rendering for
maximum visual quality. VUDU RIA enables the development of responsive, rich applications
optimised for display and use on high definition televisions that bring the wealth of data and content of the Internet to the living room without needing to deploy new software on the consumer appliance, a
first in the consumer electronics world. VUDU RIA is targeted at today’s low power set-top boxes and Internet appliances and delivers a lightning fast user experience on a 300 MHz embedded processor with 128MB of RAM. Applications developed on the VUDU RIA platform are as responsive as native applications but have the added advantage of being able to pull from the vast and growing reservoir of
Internet content and services. They can also be updated anytime without modifying any software in the consumer’s appliance, creating a dynamic experience heretofore unavailable in the living room. VUDU RIA
will be opened up to third party developers in the first half of 2009.

“Our goal in creating VUDU RIA was to allow anyone with Web development skills to easily author Web-driven applications for the TV,” said Prasanna Ganesan, VUDU’s Chief Technical Officer. “We are very pleased with the results and look forward to opening up VUDU RIA to the developer community.”

While Netflix offers 24fps movies in their native frames per second, their other content peaks at 30fps. The company researched the 60fps content found on Blu-ray discs, they realised that they’d be better off reserving that sort of quality for another era. Good call.

While it’s a bit unfair to compare bitrates across codecs, Vudu’s premium HDX material is still the top dog in streaming, supplying encoded rates ranging between 9Mbps and 20Mbps. Then again, most of us can’t watch that footage in real time. [Netflix via CNET]

VUDU DEBUTS MOST ADVANCED ON-DEMAND BOX EVER

Available Exclusively Through Professional Home Theatre Installers, 1U Rack-Mountable Box Features Aerospace-Grade Aluminium Bezel, On-Demand Access to More HD Titles Than Any Other Service

Santa Clara, CA – Nov. 18, 2008 – VUDU debuted today the VUDU XL2, a new Internet movie player designed specifically for professional home theatre installations that demand the highest quality picture and a product that occupies just one rack unit (1U) of space.

In addition to providing access to hundreds of titles in VUDU’s proprietary HDX format and with the largest HD library available on-demand, the XL2 will allow the most discerning home theatre owners to
choose from more than 10,000 titles for instant viewing. The exterior of the new rack-mountable VUDU XL2 sports an aerospace-grade aluminium bezel that features a glowing VUDU logo. Inside, the XL2 is built from the highest quality components, delivering the best picture available.

“The introduction of the XL2 reflects our unwavering commitment to the custom installation market,” said Tony Miranz, Executive Vice President, Sales and Business Development, VUDU, Inc “VUDU XL2 is designed for easy and secure integration into rack-mounted systems and delivers the world’s largest HD library as well as the highest-quality on-demand 1080p HD making VUDU XL2 an installer’s weapon of choice.”

Designed from the ground up to seamlessly integrate into custom theatres, the XL2 offers a terabyte of storage, enough to store more than 500 films at your fingertips. XL2 also offers IP and IR control
that allow it to b integrated into most high-end home control systems, 1080i HD output over component, and the ability to route and switch HD signals through the home with the use of off-the-shelf video switchers.

These numbers, however, rely on some pretty shaky sources — Vudu’s PR people and the clumsily organised online directory of BD titles — so don’t be surprised if the Blu-ray Disc Association shoots back a hasty “yeah, no” in the next few days. No matter what, the encoding-happy company is bound to end up with a massive library, as Vudu encoding HD movie at a rate of about 150 a week. [Vudu via Crave]

HD releases:

All the President’s Men [HD]

An American Haunting [HD]

Be Kind Rewind [HD]

Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club [HD]

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 [HD]

Chaos Theory [HD]

CSNY / Deja Vu [HD]

Death of a President [HD]

Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights [HD]

Dirty Harry [HD]

Doctor Strange [HD]

Fatal Attraction [HD]

Fido [HD]

Full Metal Jacket [HD]

Funny Games [HD]

Ghost [HD]

House of 1000 Corpses [HD]

Invincible [HD]

Kickboxer [HD]

Mama’s Boy [HD]

Mistress [HD]

Mr. and Mrs. Smith [HD]

My Fellow Americans [HD]

Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow [HD]

Patriot Games [HD]

Saturday Night Fever [HD]

Saw [HD]

Saw 2 [HD]

Signs [HD]

Speed Racer [HD]

The Naked Gun [HD]

The Prestige [HD]

Timeline [HD]

Training Day [HD]

Ultimate Avengers 2 [HD]

Ultimate Avengers: The Movie [HD]

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape [HD]

Xmas Tale [HD]

xXx [HD]

HDX Releases:

The Breakfast Club [HDX]

Pitch Black (Unrated Director’s Cut) [HDX]

Field of Dreams [HDX]

Casino [HDX]

The Chronicles of Riddick (PG-13 Rated) [HDX]

The Fast and the Furious [HDX]

Happy Gilmore [HDX]

Lord of War [HDX]

Requiem for a Dream [HDX]

The Last Samurai [HDX]

Troy [HDX]

Unleashed (Unrated Director’s Cut) [HDX]

Stop-Loss [HDX]

21 [HDX]

The Jerk [HDX]

Uncle Buck [HDX]

Weird Science [HDX]

Death of a President [HDX]

Fido [HDX]

Witless Protection [HDX]

Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll [HDX]

The Bad News Bears [HDX]

Boomerang [HDX]

Chinatown [HDX]

Harold and Maude [HDX]

Bless the Child [HDX]

Up in Smoke [HDX]

Fatal Attraction [HDX]

G.I. Blues [HDX]

Ghost [HDX]

Patriot Games [HDX]

Saturday Night Fever [HDX]

Staying Alive [HDX]

The Longest Yard [HDX]

The Naked Gun [HDX]

The Two Jakes [HDX]

Tommy Boy [HDX]

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape [HDX]

The Italian Job [HDX]

Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier [HDX]

Drugstore Cowboy [HDX]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind [HDX]

Resident Evil [HDX]

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder [HDX]

Over Her Dead Body [HDX]

Darfur Now [HDX]

Mama’s Boy [HDX]

Semi-Pro (Unrated) [HDX]

Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days and 30 Nights [HDX]

Fool’s Gold [HDX]

The Bucket List [HDX]

Snow Angels [HDX]

Speed Racer [HDX]

Run, Fat Boy, Run [HDX]

Step Into Liquid [HDX]

The Spiderwick Chronicles [HDX]

In Bruges [HDX]

Signs [HDX]

The Prestige [HDX]

Invincible [HDX]

Cube [HDX]

Shaun of the Dead [HDX]

The Recruit [HDX]