Vudu Boxes Now Stream 1080p Movie Rentals

By Nick Mokey Updated October 2, 2008

Owners of Vudu set-top boxes got a little more out of their systems on Thursday when the company opened up availability of movie rentals in full HD, allowing users to view on-demand movies and other content in 1080p resolution. Vudu calls its new format HDX, a form of compression that shrinks files enough to offer HD content without download times, but also without the artifacts and quality sacrifice typically associated with high compression.

The company employed a number of new technologies to make streaming 1080p video through home Internet connections possible. Pyschovisual processing, for instance, preserves detail in the darkest parts of an image where quality is typically lost, while variable bitrate technology allocates more data to scenes with the most motion and detail.

Vudu’s initial offering of 65 HDX titles includes new movies like 21 and Speed Racer alongside classics like The Jerk and Saturday Night Fever. Although the movies range in rental price, the HDX versions carry no price premium from the versions offered in 720p high definition.

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Fandango buys Vudu because movie theaters are dead (for now)

where and how to watch 4k uhd content vudu user interface web

What do you do when you're a business that derives most of its earning from movie ticket sales, now that the movie theater business has been mothballed for the foreseeable future? If you're Fandango, the answer is you buy Vudu, a movie streaming service with millions of potential viewers, from its current owner, Walmart.

The cost of the Vudu acquisition has not been released, but we do know a fair bit about Vudu itself. Unlike subscription streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or even Disney+, which offer an all-you-can-eat model for a monthly fee, Vudu is a movie rental business that has quietly grown over the years into an impressive streaming platform. It reaches more than 100 million living room devices across the U.S and its mobile app has been downloaded over 14.5 million times, according to TechCrunch.

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There’s a rare deal on the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones today

Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones seen in black.

The massively popular Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones rarely appear in headphone deals, so if you've had your eye on them for quite a while, you're in luck because they're currently $51 off on Walmart. From their original price of $400, you'll only have to pay $349, but only if you hurry because we don't expect stocks to last long. You're going to miss out on the offer if you take too long, so don't hesitate -- add the wireless headphones to your cart and check out as fast as you can.

Why you should buy the Sony WH-1000XM5
The best headphones that you can buy right now are the Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones, and it's not even close. At the heart is their outstanding wireless sound, supported by top-quality active noise cancellation that uses two processors and eight microphones to block all unwanted sound, as well as crystal-clear hands-free calling using four beamforming microphones and advanced audio signal processing. The wireless headphones also offer Bluetooth multipoint connection so that you can quickly switch between different devices, touch controls for functions like adjusting volume and calling your digital assistant, and Speak-to-Chat and Quick Attention features to stop your music and let ambient sound in without having to take them off.

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Sony’s premium soundbars will finally get support for VRR, ALLM

Sony HT-A7000 Dolby Atmos soundbar close-up of top panel.

It's been a long time coming, but the wait is almost over. Sony's premium home theater soundbars are set to receive a software update that will add support for variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low-latency mode (ALLM), two HDMI 2.1 gaming features that have been absent since these products launched.

The soundbars in question are the Sony HT-A5000, HT-A7000, and the multi-wireless speaker HT-A9 system. All three are scheduled to receive the update this fall, but Sony has declined to share specific timing, saying only that there will be more information closer to the rollout date.