Chalk it up to a lousy economy, or the normal downward progression of price points for new product—or both—but Vudu is halving the price on its HD streaming box to $150. Its key competitor in the standalone HD box streaming category is Apple TV, which currently goes for about $230.
Vudu first offered its STB for $400. That was back in the fall of 2007. A few months later it was cut by 25 percent, to $300, where it's remained until now. For its part, Vudu attributes its huge price cut to a good holiday sales period, and lower prices for its units' components, among other things.
The Vudu player provides imaging in 1080p/24 fps, according to the firm, which says it has the largest HD library available. Currently it boasts more than 1,300 HD titles—which is about 10 percent of its overall inventory of available content.
Vudu has not provided any specific sales figures on its HD/SD box, to date. Its player, however, has been well-received by reviewers in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Wired magazine, among others.
