Vudu adds Pandora to its bag of media tricks
(Credit:
Vudu)
Pandora's free online music service is coming to the Vudu set-top box.
Vudu has announced the availability of "immediate access" to the Pandora service for users of its media-on-demand box. Vudu's iteration will allow on-screen access to the music service (as shown above), as well as the ability to toggle between multiple Pandora accounts (so several family members in a given household can access their individual personalized stations, for instance). Pandora joins the recent addition of YouTube, Picasa, and Flickr to Vudu's movie box.
Vudu is pledging to open its Rich Internet Application platform to developers later this year, which could set the stage for wider availability of integrated services and features from third parties. Pandora, meanwhile, will be available on most Samsung Blu-ray players and home theater systems shipping in 2009.
Read the CNET review of the Vudu BX100.
John P. Falcone covers home theater and network entertainment products. He's been writing for CNET since 2002. 
Login to existing Pandora accounts seems to work too. Internet radio sounds much better on a 5.1 speaker setup than a laptop. :)