MUMBAI: VUDU, Inc., provider of digital on-demand entertainment products and services, has become the first on-demand service to offer high definition movies for download to own on its 1080p Internet Movie Player. HD movies are available for purchase today to all VUDU owners.
Movies are priced between $13.99 and $23.99. Until now consumers have been restricted to renting HD movies from on-demand services, including VUDU’s library of over 1,400 HD movies. Today VUDU unveiled a collection of over 50 HD movies from top independent studios that are available for both rental and download to own. Movies offered in this collection will be available for purchase in both instant HD and VUDU’s industry-leading HDX format at the same price. HDX is the highest quality on-demand format available anywhere on cable, satellite, broadcast, or the Internet.
Magnolia Picture’s Man on Wire, the 2009 Academy Award winning documentary is among the first titles to be offered for purchase in HD on VUDU, along with critically acclaimed Transsiberian and War, Inc. from FirstLook Studios.
"Consumers are clamoring for the ability to own digitally-delivered titles in high definition, especially in our HDX format, and we are excited to be the first in the industry to meet this consumer need. This is a watershed event for the industry as well, signaling the studios’ recognition of and confidence in digital delivery as an increasingly important part of their business. We expect to see a continuing expansion of digital rights in the coming months," said VUDU executive vice president strategy and content Edward Lichty.
FirstLook Studios, Kino, and Magnolia Pictures are among the independent studios offering films for sale on VUDU in HD. VUDU plans to offer every HD release from these studios for purchase as they are added to the service, day and date with DVD release. All current films and subsequent additions to this HD collection will be available to purchase in instant HD and VUDU’s industry- leading HDX format.
"We are thrilled to work with VUDU to offer our new releases for sale in HD when they are released on DVD. We continue to explore every channel for distribution, and the emerging digital platform that reaches consumers in their homes directly on their HDTVs via VUDU is an important new channel for us," said FirstLook Studios COO Dean Wilson.
High definition titles purchased from VUDU can be stored on the consumer’s VUDU box or in the VUDU Vault, a free online storage option for movies and TV shows that enables consumers to free up disk space while still retaining access to all their purchased titles.
