Posted 09/03/09 at 08:00:40 AM by Paul Lilly

Onwers of LG's LH50 LCD series and PS80 plasma series can now access VUDU's library of on-demand 1080p movies via LG Netcast.

"LG is proud to lead the charge on delivering high-quality streaming movies for the high-def family-room experience," said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing, LG Electronics USA. "VUDU offers content in 1080p resolution with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound, enabling the ultimate streaming movie experience on premium LG HDTV models."

After applying the automatic software update (if applicable), owners of the above mentioned models will be able to rent the first HD or HDX movie free of charge. After that, normal rental charges apply, which ranges from $0.99 to $5.99 per movie with no subscription or monthly fees.

Full press release here.

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Posted 08/25/08 at 12:17:02 PM by Paul Lilly

On the surface, things aren't looking very bright for Vudu, the IP-based streaming movie service. The company laid off 15-20 percent of its workforce, including Patrick Cosson, former VP of marketing. And if that weren't enough, dealers have been complaining that Vudu stopped answering voicemails and would only provide tech support through email.

But not to worry, says Mark Donnigan, national channel manager for Vudu. According to Donnigan, most of the allegations are wrong or misleading.  Donnigan claims that the layoffs were normal for a startup that has seen such rapid expansion, adding "we just have to figure out how to get back on track in terms of spending." And while dealers are complaining of email-only support, Donnigan insists that isn't the case.

CEPro has three pages worth of allegations and rebuttals, leaving it anyone's guess as to what's really going on behind closed doors. What's yours?

Update 8/25/08

Vudu just announced the hiring of Chris Watts, former Ebay financial exec, as Vudu's new CFO.

"Chris is going to play a critical role in developing financial strategies as we extend our retail presence, deepen relationships with AV resellers across the country, and expand the functionality of VUDU’s e-commerce platform,” said Mark Jung, CEO of VUDU. “Chris brings deep experience in translating business strategy into financial and operating plans and that will be immensely valuable to our company going forward.”

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Posted 04/16/08 at 05:00:24 PM by Michael Brown & Will Smith

Vudu delivers more HD content than any other service, but achieving that image quality requires you to purchase a $300 box that can’t be truly integrated into the rest of your home network (meaning you can’t stream the content downloaded to it from one room to another). And the company currently has HD licensing deals with only Lionsgate, Paramount, and Universal; the rest of its offerings are limited to standard definition.

Click Read More for more. 

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