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Vudu slashes price--now $149

Vudu cuts the price of its video-on-demand set-top box in half.

John Falcone Senior Editorial Director, Shopping
John P. Falcone is the senior director of commerce content at CNET, where he coordinates coverage of the site's buying recommendations alongside the CNET Advice team (where he previously headed the consumer electronics reviews section). He's been a CNET editor since 2003.
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John Falcone

Vudu BX100
Vudu

Vudu has cut the price of its entry-level BX100 set-top box in half. Effective immediately, the box will retail for $149, down from $295.

It's not the first price cut for Vudu. The product debuted at $399 in September 2007, then dropped to $295 in January 2008. But unlike the $200 movie credit at Best Buy during last year's holiday buying season, the new price cut isn't a temporary promotional deal. Vudu is also axing prices on the Wireless Kit (was $99, now $79) and the Vudu XL (was $999, now $499).

The BX100 was already one of our favorite video-on-demand boxes, delivering more than 13,000 selections--10 percent of that in the best HD video we've seen outside of Blu-ray--and a handful of experimental free streaming services, including YouTube and Flickr. The price cut makes it that more attractive, and undercuts the $229 price tag of the Apple TV. We're still concerned about the company's long-term viability, but the Vudu still delivers a better selection, better interface, and better video quality than, say, the 2Wire Blockbuster OnDemand Box.

What do you think? Does the price cut make you more likely to buy a Vudu box, or would you prefer one of the competitors?

(Source: Vudu via Engadget and Gizmodo)