Vudu's Movie Rentals Come To LG's Networked BD390 Blu-ray Player

Vudu has certainly come a long way during its brief existence in the world of home entertainment. Starting out as a company peddling standalone movie boxes, the outfit has morphed into a software solutions provider that puts its iconic software and UI onto devices that people are already looking to buy. No extra mess, same great content.

Shortly after announcing that its movie rental services would be coming to LG HDTVs and Mitsubishi HDTVs, Vudu has now made the move into the realm of Blu-ray. Starting later this month, a free software update will enable LG's NetCast-capable BD390 Blu-ray Disc player to access Vudu's library of films. From there, users will see the same UI present on Vudu's own box, and renting movies on-demand in HD/surround sound will be as simple as navigating to your favorite flick and punching in your credit card information.

The BD390 has been shipping all summer, but until now, the $399 price point just seemed a bit steep. Of course, if you're really into Vudu, that same MSRP now seems a lot more attractive.

VUDU NOW AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY PLAYERS
VUDU Extends Footprint of Industry-Leading HD Movie Service To LG Electronics' Network Blu-ray Disc Player

SANTACLARA, Calif., Sept. 9, 2009 – VUDU, Inc.'s industry-leading on-demandhigh definition (HD) movie service is now available on the BD390Network Blu-ray Disc player from LG Electronics, giving consumers awhole new way to access the largest on-demand HD library of Hollywoodmovies in their living rooms, the company announced today.

VUDUcontinues to work with top consumer electronics manufacturers to becomemore accessible to customers who want to rent or buy major Hollywoodmovies in high definition. The VUDU service, already available onflat-panel HDTVs, uniquely delivers the largest available HD movielibrary of instantly-viewable movies in 1080p with Dolby Digital Plus5.1 surround sound and provides customers with VUDU's superior userexperience for finding and watching movies in high definition.

"Ourgoal as a company is to offer the best possible HD movie service to thebroadest possible audience," said Alain Rossmann, CEO of VUDU. "Byadding the top-rated LG BD390 Blu-ray player to the lineup ofVUDU-enabled products, we've made it easier than ever for customers toenjoy the VUDU experience."

Some of VUDU's key features include:

* Instant viewing experience: unlike typical Internet and on-demandvideo streaming, VUDU movies start immediately, and viewers can fastforward, rewind and browse chapters without the delays or thefrustration associated with buffering
* Highest quality video: VUDU's unique HDX format delivers true 1080presolution and TruFilm encoding enhancements, now available for thefirst time on an instant-start basis
* Immersive sound: VUDU is the only on-demand service to deliver DolbyDigital Plus 5.1 surround sound at all video quality levels
* No monthly fees: customers can instantly buy or rent from VUDU'sextensive library of standard and high definition movie and TV titleswithout any monthly service charges
* Largest HD library anywhere: over 2,200 titles are available in HD or HDX format
* New releases: Newly-released titles from all major studios areavailable the same day as DVD release, typically months before they areavailable on subscription-based services

LG'sBD390 networked Blu-ray player transforms and personalizes the hometheater experience by offering a stellar array of entertainmentoptions. In addition to its broadband capabilities, the BD390 offersexceptional "Full HD" 1080p video performance and exceptional imagequality from standard DVDs with 1080p up-scaling via HDMI output. TheBD390 is also equipped for easy connection to the home network and hasone gigabyte (GB) of built-in memory for BD Live functionality.

ModelBD390 with LG's "NetCast Entertainment Access" feature is available nowat nationwide retailers at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of$399. VUDU connectivity will be available at the end of the month via afree upgrade.

About VUDU

VUDUis a leading provider of digital technologies and services that deliverInternet entertainment to consumers' HDTVs. The VUDU entertainmentservice supports native instant start HD and, for the first time,instant-start HDX, which, with 1080p resolution at 24 frames persecond, the cinematic gold standard, is the highest quality on demandformat available anywhere. Through relationships with every major U.S.movie studio and more than 40 independent studios and distributors,VUDU offers a vast array of on-demand choices at the highest quality.The VUDU collection is constantly updated, and newly released moviesfrom major studios are available on the same day as the DVD isreleased. Consumers can finally watch great movies without the hasslesassociated with traditional services: no driving, no mailing, and nomonthly fee. For more information, visit http://www.vudu.com/.