Vudu: The Gift The Keeps On Giving

After drinking far too much at our company Christmas party (those Big Picture Big Sound guys sure know how to party!), I settled in for a weekend of rest, relaxation and recuperation. And since we are in the holiday season, I took the time to soak it all in and give thanks for the things that continue to make my existence enjoyable. Of course there is the obligatory list with friends, family, and other non-replaceables, but I think that I have two lists. It is on this second list where my Vudu unit continues to climb.

Several weeks after my full Vudu review, the sleek black box continues to be a big part of my home theater system, and I have even delayed the purchase of a PS3 due to Vudu's ease of use and accessibility.

Just a few short days ago, Vudu began offering HD content with the trilogy "The Bourne Identity," "The Bourne Supremacy," and "The Bourne Ultimatum." I have been a fan of the series so I was more than a little interested to check them out in High Definition. The downloads were lengthy (not instantaneous like standard definition downloads), but nowhere near the four hours the unit warned me it would take.

The 1080i quality looks great on my 50-inch Plasma HDTV, a noticeable improvement from Vudu's already excelent video quality. The first two movies are holiday gifts (free rentals!) but "The Bourne Ultimatum" will set you back about 25 bucks to purchase. This makes it no more cost effective than picking it up on HD-DVD (assuming you have one of those), but certainly more convenient since you never need to leave the house. Of course your downloaded version lacks the extras included on the HD-DVD set, including the "Be Bourne Spy Game!" But kudos to Vudu for coming through on the promise of HD content.

Another much less touted addition to the Vudu system is the TV show rentals. For $1.99 you can now own your favorite shows such as "Family Guy," "24", "Arrested Development," "Prison Break" and others. Now if I could just find a way to use my Harmony remote with the unit, it would be a very happy Christmas indeed.

That's it for now; I am back to vudu-land to watch "The Simpsons Movie." Sure, this one's not HD, but that's OK - I'm not sure my stomach is ready yet for Homer in High Def.