I stream and watch physical discs about equally. I'm not going to downgrade though because I hardly ever purchase blu-rays (the only ones I ever buy are Pixar and Disney, I know you are all shocked) but love watching them.

However, I do send back less discs per month than I used to, so it works out well for Netflix!

Vudu to the rescue?

Like everyone else, I'm a bit peeved at Netflix. So I decided to try Vudu on the Mooncave's PS3.

Vudu promises on demand streaming of movies the same day they come out on DVD/Blu-ray. Unlike Netflix which makes you wait.

Sound and picture quality are important given the full blown home theater setup in the Mooncave. So I went right for the Gold standard:

War of the Worlds. A suckie movie with truly awesome bass. No luck, Vudu did not carry it.

LoTR - Fellowship of the Rings - Nope.

Iron Man 2 - Only available in standard def.

Grrrr...

There seems to be a lot of movies missing from Vudu. No James Bond movies at all for example.

I finally settled on "The Dark Knight". It was on par with the Blu-ray in terms of picture and sound quality so that was impressive but until they fill in the holes in their library I'm don't think I'm dumping Netflix.

Still, If you compare what's available via streaming on the two sites Vudu wins in a walk for new releases but of course Vudu is a pay-per-view service not a streaming buffet like Netflix.

Is Vudu hi-def any higher than iTunes store hi-def rentals? If so, do Vudu rentals cost more? Will my soon to be purchased Xbox 360 allow me access? (I'm sure I could research these questions on my own, but if Moonie knows the answers off the top of his head, then yay.)

Vudu is blocked from work. What's their pricing?

It varies depending on the film and the quality you want. Usually between $4-$7 per rental for big ticket movies.

Do they have a back library. Admittedly, I don't have much need for a home source for "new releases" (I show Netflix et al who's boss by paying $12 to see them in the theater) but at $4 my same viewing pattern would be several times more expensive than Netflix.

I don't know about the iTunes store, but most movies on VuDu can be streamed at 1080p with 5.1 Dolby digital+ sound. On my 102" screen Dark Knight looked as good as the blu-ray and the sound was crisp an clear two floors up. Always a good sign.

The Xbox does not seem to be supported, but many Blu-ray players with an Ethernet port are.

Cost wise movies run from the $0.99 special of the day up to $5.99 for 1080p versions of new releases. I think it varies but for Dark Knight Vudu gave me 24Hours to watch it.

Note: To watch in HD you will need a steady download speed of around 6MB/s


There is also a purchase option for movies but I've not looked into the details of that.

So it looks like Starz may be disconnecting from Netflix.

That could be, where the price increase wasn't, a breaker for me as a very large percentage of the movies I watch start with the Starz logo.

I am definitely looking at dropping netflix inthe future. Once Ryan starts working we'll be able to afford Fios, which will keep me busy enough I suspect to drop the netflix. Or drop back to just the DVDs. I might still want access to classic movies and such.

If HBO and Cinemax continue to show movies before Netflix streaming does I will reevaluate their value and may dump Netflix for one, or both of those movie channels,