Andre Yoskowitz
30 May 2010 13:15
Vudu, the movie streaming service, has announced that Toshiba and Sanyo have begun shipping HDTVs and Blu-ray players with Vudu-support built-in, meaning the service has now followed through on their promise of being available on a plethora of players and TVs from different manufacturers.
The service will be available on the Toshiba BDX2500 and BDX2700 Blu-ray players, which will also give access to CinemaNow and Netflix. Vudu movies can stream in up to 1080p resolution. The player is BD-Live, has analog and HDMI-based 7.1-channel surround, and can playback locally stored media, including H.264, says Electronista.
Toshiba's BDX2500 costs $180, and has Internet connectivity via Ethernet or an optional Wi-Fi dongle that costs extra. The 2700 costs $230 but has built-in Wi-Fi.
Additionally, the service will be available via the Sanyo DP55360 55-inch HDTV, which has Internet connectivity via Ethernet. The display is LED-backlit and has a 120Hz refresh rate.
There is still no pricing set for the TV.
The company says Vudu-enabled players and TVs are now available through LG, Mitsubishi, Samsung, SANYO, Sharp, Toshiba and VIZIO, with only one company left to make a deal with; likely Sony.
The Blu-ray players are available at a number of retailers, and the Sanyo is available at Wal-mart, which recently purchased Vudu.