vudu

I regret selling my DVDs

I used to have hundreds of DVDs. They lined an entire bookshelf. I knew I never watched many of them; besides, the future was digital, wasn't it? It was 2006. My iPod Video told me so.

I sold about half my discs to the departed Kim's Video up the street, and then--pressured a bit by my family needs and small apartment--I did the unthinkable: I tossed out the remaining boxes and stuffed the discs in a binder.

It felt like sacrilege for my treasured and somewhat hard-to-find discs--my Canadian version of Cronenberg's "eXistenZ" with a commentary track, my various out-of-print Criterion movies. I gambled that I'd never really play these discs many more times, what with Netflix instant streaming and iTunes movie rentals.

Mostly, I was right. Then came "Kiki's Delivery Service."… Read more

Fanhattan adds popular new services

TV and movie fans: one of the best streaming media and entertainment discovery apps for iOS just got better with three new content providers.

Fanhattan for iOS (download for iPhone or iPad) already let you discover and watch TV and movies on your iOS device from many popular services including Netflix, Hulu Plus, iTunes, Vudu, and ABC. Starting today, Fanhattan has added a wealth of new content from PBS, Crackle, and Lifetime.

The Fanhattan App offers a great layout for entertainment discovery. To get started, you choose between TV or Movies on the home screen. From there, Fanhattan offers several ways to dig in to your favorite shows, letting you swipe to browse related content like reviews from Metacritic, trailers, actor and crew bios, and much more.… Read more

Wal-Mart close to signing with UltraViolet

Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, is very close to becoming the first large merchant to sign up to adopt UltraViolet, the cloud-video platform, sources with knowledge of the talks told CNET.

Ultraviolet (UV) is a set of standards and specifications designed to make approved movies and TV shows play on a multitude of devices. The technology is supposed to lay the groundwork for the next generation of home-video distribution and be the battering ram that crashes into walled gardens--the efforts by some companies to lock up consumers into watching movies on their devices and their video service.

The plan … Read more

Fanhattan review: One app to rule your iPad video

Devices like Apple's iPad are revolutionary for their myriad ways of accessing TV and movies, but discoverability across services is a huge pain. Example: knowing whether any Steven Spielberg movies are on Netflix streaming. Or, is your favorite TV show on Hulu, Netflix, or neither? Is it on iTunes, or maybe even Vudu? Fanhattan is an app that intends to help users tackle this problem by tying together a media-browsing interface and search that doubles as a launcher for those TV shows and movies. The app launched earlier this year, but a recent app update has added more features, including a Facebook connection. Is it the ultimate way to figure out what video to watch on your iPad? Well, it's close.… Read more

Netflix vs. Blockbuster: What's the best service for streaming and DVDs?

Editors' note (September 19, 2011): Since this story was first published, several important changes have occurred. Netflix has initiated new pricing plans and is spinning off its DVD-by-mail program into a separate company known as Qwikster; Starz content will be disappearing from Netflix streaming as of February 28, 2012; a new Blockbuster subscription streaming service is rumored to be debuting before the end of the year. We'll update this story in the future once the details on these new developments are fully revealed.

There are more choices than ever for your entertainment dollar, but Netflix and Blockbuster remain the only two that offer both online streaming and disc-by-mail options. Recent changes to both--a controversial Netflix price hike and a change of ownership for Blockbuster--make this a perfect time to re-examine how both of these vendors stack up against one another.

In the analysis below, we explain how Netflix and Blockbuster stack up against each other on both fronts (discs and streaming), look at the other competitors (including Hulu Plus, Amazon, Vudu, and iTunes), and make an overall recommendation on the best choices for you.… Read more

Apple TV vs. Roku 2: What's the best streaming-media device for under $100?

There are more ways to stream Internet video--Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and the like--than ever before. On that subject, I've laid out my hardware recommendations for a variety of consumers in an earlier blog post ("Which streaming-media device is right for you?"). But looming large in the marketplace these days are the two $99 offerings: Apple TV and Roku 2. It's enough of a horse race that it's worth a separate discussion.

Before we start, a few key points apply to both units:… Read more

Vudu tops Amazon movie store in share, study says

Wal-Mart's Vudu movie service surpassed Amazon's digital movie offering in the first half of 2011, according to a new research report.

As part of its Screen Digest Media Research program, research firm IHS today said that Vudu jumped from just 1 percent market share during the first half of last year, to 5.3 percent by the end of the same period this year in the United States. That number puts Vudu on top of Amazon, which went from owning 4 percent of the market with its movie service last year, up to 4.2 percent this year. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1528: Is Apple killing its own app business? (Podcast)

Amazon and Vudu both launch full-featured Web apps for Apple's iPad to avoid the "Apple tax" and, in Amazon's case, so that they can actually have a link to their store in their mobile experience. Is Apple accidentally driving people toward a device-agnostic tech future? I hope so! Also, Nokia is out of North America, we're planning our visit to the Star Trek resort, and more Bronies than expected listen to BOL!

Vudu jumps to iPad, expands distribution

NEW YORK--Vudu is making itself available on iPad, a move that will help the streaming-video service expand distribution and keep pace with market leader Netflix.

Vudu said in a joint statement with parent company and retailing powerhouse Wal-Mart Stores that beginning tomorrow iPad owners can access Vudu through their browsers. That's right, this is not an app, so don't look for Vudu in Apple's App store.

Wal-Mart and Vudu said they have created a new "navigation experience" for iPad users who visit the service online. Through the new feature, iPad owners can rent or purchase … Read more

Top 5 Netflix alternatives

OK, so Netflix really stepped in it. The company's recently announced price increase for a DVD and streaming plan was at least a presentation disaster if not a true pricing insult.

No matter, a lot of people are making noises about dumping Netflix now (at least when pollsters ask). So Brian Cooley did his own poll - of CNET editors - to pull together our list of the Top 5 ways to say goodbye to Netflix.

Keep up on all the latest Netflix news from CNET.