Vudu Boxes Now Stream 1080p Movie Rentals

Vudu customers will be able to rent movies in 1080p resolution for the same price they currently pay.

Owners of Vudu set-top boxes got a little more out of their systems on Thursday when the company opened up availability of movie rentals in full HD, allowing users to view on-demand movies and other content in 1080p resolution. Vudu calls its new format HDX, a form of compression that shrinks files enough to offer HD content without download times, but also without the artifacts and quality sacrifice typically associated with high compression.

The company employed a number of new technologies to make streaming 1080p video through home Internet connections possible. Pyschovisual processing, for instance, preserves detail in the darkest parts of an image where quality is typically lost, while variable bitrate technology allocates more data to scenes with the most motion and detail.

Vudu’s initial offering of 65 HDX titles includes new movies like 21 and Speed Racer alongside classics like The Jerk and Saturday Night Fever. Although the movies range in rental price, the HDX versions carry no price premium from the versions offered in 720p high definition.