Battle of the Internet Video Boxes: Netflix vs. Apple TV vs. Vudu

We pit the leading digital-delivery TV boxes and services from Netflix, Apple and Vudu against DVD and Blu-ray. Who will reign supreme?

By Sean Captain Posted 06.04.2008 at 5:21 pm 9 Comments

Vudu: A Looker

Value: Netflix's main competitors cost a lot more. Take the Vudu box. It sells for $295, and pricing varies for each film, from as little as $0.99 for a back-catalog rental to $19.99 for a recent-flick purchase. Furthermore, many films are offered only for sale. (I'd be willing to spend $3 to check out National Treasure 2 on a slow evening, but not $20 to own it.) With only 6,000 titles currently available the choices are fewer. And many of Vudu’s 122 HD offerings are older flicks such as Once Upon a Time in the West and the original The Italian Job.

Watchability: After watching about a dozen movies and TV shows, I found Vudu to offer slightly better quality than its competitors. Colors looked richer, and I saw less of the fuzz and fewer of the splotches that result from digital video compression. The same dinner scene from The Motorcycle Diaries that the Netflix player had trouble with looked much crisper on Vudu. Truth be told, you’d have to be a videophile to notice these differences. But some people are, and Vudu caters to them.

High-Def Smackdown: Against Apple's 330 HD downloads and Netflix's 600+, Vudu has some serious strikes against it. But so much for quantity; what about quality? To judge, I set it against the $350 BD-P1400 Blu-ray player from Samsung. This test was the most surprising. I expected Blu-ray, with its 50-gigabyte discs and pricey player, to trounce both the Vudu and Apple TV. But the differences ranged from extremely subtle to nonexistent.

Joan Allen looks great in The Bourne Supremacy, for instance, whether on Vudu or Blu-ray, but she had an even better complexion in the Vudu version.

Ease of Use: Vudu was good from the start, and it remains a smooth operator. The remote's clickable scroll wheel makes sliding through menu options simple. And it’s the most intuitive method for jumping forward or back while a title is playing.

Apple: Jack of all Trades

Value: The math is similar with Apple TV, which costs $229, plus between $3 and $5 per rental or $10-$15 per purchase. (Its catalog has about 1,500 films and 600 TV episodes—including some HBO programs.) While the other catalogs are technically bigger, Apple’s downloadable high-def offerings are far richer, with about 330 titles vs. Vudu’s 122 (Netflix only has high-def films on Blu-ray). Many hot recent films—including There will Be Blood, I Am Legend, No Country for Old Men, Atonement, The Golden Compass and Juno—were offered in HD by Apple TV but not by Vudu.

Another point for Apple is that it's not just a movie player. It streams videos from YouTube, and with a decent TV, they are quite watchable. I’m addicted to Battlestar Galactica. At my Season 4 premier party (yep, I'm a nerd), I streamed the 8-minute Battlestar Galactica primer: What the Frak is Going On? to get my newbie viewers up to speed before the main feature.

Apple TV also streams music from iTunes to a stereo, which I’ve done at my less-nerdy parties. And you can view photos from Flickr. (Although, much as I love Flickr, I don’t get the point of watching it on TV.)

Watchability: Though better than the Netflix Player, the Apple TV was could also be noticeably fuzzy in dim scenes.

High-Def Smackdown: Apple TV underwent the same Blu-ray faceoff as the Vudu, and proved just as promising. I stared at the beautifully-shot movie Training Day on both Blu-ray and Apple TV and saw the exact same details—down to individual hairs in Denzel Washington's beard and bits of pixilation in Ethan Hawke's face.

High-def Blu-ray offerings still outpace Internet versions. But if HD downloads can catch up (and Apple’s coming pretty close), I’m not sure anyone will need to buy a Blu-ray player.

Ease of Use: When I first started playing with Apple TV back in February, the experience was rough. Downloads frequently froze or failed, rewinding or fast-forwarding often crashed the player, and Wi-Fi connections often dropped—causing music streams, for example, to cut out.

Things are a little better now. Both standard-definition and HD downloads were flawless. And skipping forward or back in a video—though sometimes still a little choppy and sluggish—didn’t bring the device down. But, eerily like a Windows PC, the Apple TV would occasionally freeze up or crash for no apparent reason and require a restart.

Bottom Line

I’d love to keep all these boxes in my living room and continue to download movies for free as part of my evaluation process. But after I ship them back and have to pick up the bill myself, I’ll go for the Netflix Player. There are downsides to be sure. For one, there's a gym membership guilt-trip aspect to the service (If you use it every week, you get your money’s worth; if you slack off, you’re throwing cash away). For another, its monster catalog has a serious dearth of new releases—but for those, there's always good ol' fashion DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Overall, Netflix's Roku box is a winner. It offers fine quality and great convenience at a price I can afford. And though I'll miss streaming YouTube classics like Battlestar Galactica vs. Star Wars in my living room, it seems like a worthwhile tradeoff.

For comparison screenshots, launch our review gallery here.

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9 Comments

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Taio

06/06/08 at 6:03 am

I agree hands down Netflix Roku is what i have and what i love. Anything else would be unsatisfying and i dont need to worry about the hi def portion u use my PS3 for that :)

~Taio~

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drutonic

06/06/08 at 1:18 pm

I'm sort of confused on how a standard definition only streaming box can dwarf a high definition box's movie offerings. Not only can the Vudu box deliver HD titles, it starts playing them within seconds of ordering (thanks to the peer-to-peer 'torrent'-style topography). With Netflix, you have to order and wait several days for delivery of HD content and use a player that is different from the Roku (which is the 'internet video box' actually being reviewed here) to view these titles. And because there is no monthly service charge with Vudu, you're not stuck paying for a service you may not be using but once or twice a month.

If you're all about working you're way down a list of movies, Netflix works. But if you're like me and you're never really sure what you or you're guests are going to be in the mood for come movie night, Vudu is the front runner.

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thomasroche

06/06/08 at 3:35 pm

"For about $150 upfront and $9 bucks a month, you can watch virtually anything ever filmed, anytime you want." -- I think you are mistaken; Neflix on-demand viewing options are actually a pretty small percentage of what they carry on DVD, which does not in any way represent everything ever filmed -- just what's on DVD.

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piedog94

06/06/08 at 5:14 pm

I have had my Apple TV for over a year now and i never had one problem with it crashing. I don't know what this guy is talking about...

My advice...... if you own an ipod\iphone there is no choice.... Apple TV is the way to go. Sure you can watch movies and rent them, but the fact that your entier itunes account will be on your TV is the biggest selling point. I have a bunch of movies and music on my computer and now i have everything on my TV. Including all my pictures.

Plus you can control your apple TV from your computer... I can listen to music in my office, then tell my itunes to sync the same song\playlist in my living room. And while Apple TV is playing music in the living room speakers, the TV has a great slide show playing from my iphoto libray.

Plus it's an Apple, so the menu's are great and easy to use. And when they redesigned the software it was a free update via the web.

I do agree their movie collection could use some beef'in up, but it hasn't been a major, or even minor, problem for me.

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Invester08

06/08/08 at 4:09 pm

Netflix all the way cheap but good overall.

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jimmypopscience

from San Jose, CA

06/09/08 at 6:04 pm

I am kind of surprised that you didn't include the TiVo boxes in your comparison.

I have been downloading movies from Amazon unbox to my series two and series three TiVos for over a year now and I find the service to be very good. They don't have HD movies yet, but they eventually will.

In addition, with many of the movies you can choose to rent if you don't want to buy.

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imaduck

06/10/08 at 8:11 pm

Yeah, I'm seconding thomasroche's comment that Netflix online selection isn't anything near "every movie ever." They have a lot of old movies, and a lot of full collections of TV shows (all the law and orders, both the Brit and American Office, etc.) and the flat rate is nice, but if you want to watch a new movie, you're going to have to wait. I'm still a big fan of the service, but you shouldn't mislead people into thinking that they can download everything or even a significant portion of their movie collection.

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mawrazen

09/23/08 at 8:41 am

Vudu is now offering a $200 credit on all new activations through the holidays! As of 8/23/2008, Vudu boxes are NOW SHIPPING to Best Buy stores in select markets. For the "Adults" out there, Vudu boxes are the ONLY set top boxes to offer 1080p and ADULT CONTENT! (I can only assume you can get both at the same time, that might be nice) :)

Unlike Roku, Vudu set top boxes also have a 250GB harddrive for storing your movies or rentals!

It may be time to give Vudu another look. $295 for a box that includes a ($200) credit toward content makes the box less than $100. Thats dinner and movie for you and your date.

Netfix/Roku is only offering SD as an internet stream which can cause problems. I have also heard that the Apple TV can get hot and lock up is this true?

With the evolution of media servers and compact flash, it seems that CDs and DVDs will be going down the same road as the record player, 8 track and cassette. "CDs and DVDs with your jewel cases and scratches" RIP. I guess they will start to clutter up the shelves at the Good Will with all those VCRs. OUCH!

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mawrazen

12/27/08 at 10:54 am

VUDU upgrades its software! Now offers Vudu Labs....

VUDU now adds free access to Flickr, Picasa, YouTube and ABC, CBS, MSNBC, Nickelodeon, Discovery, and ESPN online streams.

HI, I have played with the VUDU Media Box and have watched Picassa and Youtube on a 42" HD Display at a relatives home. We very impressed with the video quality and the user interface. The You Tube Videos looked even better on the HD display than on any computer. The HDMI cable was our only connection to the TV. Also another customer said the HDX 1080p Demo was the best quality he ever saw! I love the VUDU Media Box!

The $200 credit ends on Dec. 31st.

At $99 bucks definately a 'MUST HAVE' media source!

Press Release:

http://gizmodo.com/5111309/vudu-offering-120-channels-of-free-media-with-new-app-platform

VUDU Offering 120 Channels of Free Media with New App Platform

Vudu has announced a plan of expansion for its formerly closed set top box. The company has initiated a platform for developing web applications while expanding free content on Vudu boxes immediately.

As of today, a new Vudu Labs area on standard Vudu boxes will offer access to Flickr, Picasa and YouTube. In addition, the Labs' new "On Demand" area opens free streaming from ABC, CBS, MSNBC, Nickelodeon, Discovery, and ESPN—among lots of other web-available media.

Vudu's Rich Internet Application platform will be opened to developers in Q1 of 2009. And it seems like a pretty good way for Vudu to stay competitive against the likes of Netflix, Blockbuster and AppleTV.

VUDU Brings the Web to TV with Breakthrough Internet Application Platform

Company Launches More than 120 Channels of Web Based Content and Applications, Announces Rich Internet Application Platform Open to All Developers in 2009

Santa Clara, CA - Dec. 16, 2008 - VUDU today took a major step forward in bringing the Web into the living room by launching the VUDU RIA (Rich Internet Application) platform, a standards-based platform that brings Web-hosted rich applications and services to consumer appliances
such as the popular VUDU Internet movie player. VUDU RIA combines the openness and ease of development of Web applications, lightweight hardware requirements compatible with today's consumer Internet appliances, and a lean-back user experience optimized for television.
To demonstrate the power and flexibility of VUDU RIA, VUDU has created an initial set of applications and services in a new area of the VUDU home page, called VUDU Labs. Available today to all VUDU owners, these applications include casual games, implementations of Flickr, Picasa and
the entire YouTube library, as well as a new "On Demand TV" area with more than 120 channels.
Today, VUDU customers can access a broad selection of free on-demand shows provided by major network television and on-line specialty sites spanning news, food, music, sports, and more. Programs include daily highlights from shows such as "Today", "The Rachel Maddow Show", "Anderson Cooper 360", "Fantasy Focus NFL", "MTV News", as well as full programs, some in HD, from Nova, National Geographic, PBS and others. VUDU plans to add more applications and services throughout 2009.

"VUDU RIA enables us to quickly open up huge libraries of web based content to TVs in living rooms around America," said Edward Lichty, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Content. "We are excited to
deliver both high quality TV shows as well as Web applications which enable our customers to share their photos and watch the tens of millions of YouTube videos on their HDTV's." VUDU RIA Brings Web Application Development to CE devices VUDU RIA allows developers to take advantage of the most advanced RIA techniques such as asynchronous Web queries, local scripting, and persistent client-side storage, along with unique TV-centered technologies such as VUDU's acclaimed user interface, one-wheel remote control navigation, and VUDU's TruFilm-powered video rendering for
maximum visual quality. VUDU RIA enables the development of responsive, rich applications
optimized for display and use on high definition televisions that bring the wealth of data and content of the Internet to the living room without needing to deploy new software on the consumer appliance, a
first in the consumer electronics world. VUDU RIA is targeted at today's low power set-top boxes and Internet appliances and delivers a lightning fast user experience on a 300 MHz embedded processor with 128MB of RAM. Applications developed on the VUDU RIA platform are as responsive as native applications but have the added advantage of being able to pull from the vast and growing reservoir of
Internet content and services. They can also be updated anytime without modifying any software in the consumer's appliance, creating a dynamic experience heretofore unavailable in the living room. VUDU RIA
will be opened up to third party developers in the first half of 2009.

"Our goal in creating VUDU RIA was to allow anyone with Web development skills to easily author Web-driven applications for the TV," said Prasanna Ganesan, VUDU's Chief Technical Officer. "We are very pleased with the results and look forward to opening up VUDU RIA to the developer community."