Over-the-Top-TV Company, Vudu, to Offer First-Ever Download-to-Own Disney HD Titles

Over-the-top-TV specialist, Vudu (note: the company claims to have relationships in place with every major US movie studio and over 50 independent studios, enabling its OTT service to offer over 15,000 on-demand movies and TV episodes, of which around 1,800 are available in HD; the service is delivered via the company's 1080p-enabled Vudu BX100, Vudu XL and Vudu XL2 set-tops, which it says support native instant-start HD, as well as Vudu's own HDX format, and "automatically upscale" standard-resolution video), announced Thursday that its service will be the first to offer HD titles from Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment on a download-to-own basis. At launch, Vudu's deal with Buena Vista sees the Disney subsidiary offering around 60 titles on the Vudu platform, including new releases such as "Doubt" and "High School Musical 3," and library titles such as "No Country for Old Men" and "The Sixth Sense."

Buena Vista movies will be available for purchase in both instant-start HD and in Vudu's HDX format, and the number of movies available will increase as new titles are made available, Vudu says. The company says that it plans to offer every HD release from Buena Vista for purchase, as those titles are added to its service, day and date with their DVD release. End-users will be able to store the titles they purchase on their Vudu box. "Buena Vista Home Entertainment is showing its continuing leadership in the creative community by embracing digital delivery and ownership of HD," Vudu EVP, Edward Lichty, said in a prepared statement. "Our customers have shown a strong interest in buying HD films. We are pleased to expand our HD ownership options by adding these top-quality films to our collection and offering them for both HD and HDX viewing to our users."