Vudu slashes prices for video-on-demand boxes

Vudu, under stiff pressure from Netflix's popular "Watch Instantly" streaming video service, has cut the price of its BX 100 set-top video delivery box in half, from $295 to $149. Vudu also cut the rate of its premium STB, the Vudu XL, from $999 to $499.

While Vudu's offering is now a lot less expensive, it still faces the barrier to adoption of a large initial investment that Netflix has avoided by partnering with all sorts of CE device manufacturers. The Vudu device has more selection than Blockbuster's offering, the 2Wire Blockbuster OnDemand Box, but the Blockbuster video-on demand box costs only $99 and offers more new releases than Vudu's.

Vudu has taken steps to diversify the content it offers on its box to make the offering more attractive, adding YouTube and Flickr compatibility. But the price of buying the box is still off-putting to many consumers, especially during what looks to be a significant and prolonged economic downturn. See our special report section for a look at the obstacles to Vudu's success. 

For more:
- Cnet.com has an article here 

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