Archive for February, 2010
Wal-Mart Buys VUDU – OTT in Every Home?
Wal-Mart Adds Its Clout to Movie Streaming – NYTimes.com.
In what seems to be a bet on the future of Over-The-Top (OTT) services, Wal-Mart acquired the VUDU online movie service in a deal estimated at $100M. The VUDU service is used in HDTVs and Bluray Players from LG, Samsung, Vizio, Sharp, etc… and is adding more vendors this year. VUDU is similar to the NETFLIX online streaming service, but is a Pay-Per-View service, offers up to 1080P HD movies, and usually offers a more recent catalog of movies.
Wal-Mart is one of the leading retailers for DVDs as well as HDTVs, so will be hedging their bets on the transition from packaged media to online media distribution. VUDU might also help increase sales of Internet-enabled HDTVs and Bluray Players, as well as the services to install them. Even longer term, Wal-Mart might also use VUDU to offer other online shopping services through the TV from digital music to household items from Walmart.com.
Whatever the future holds for Wal-Mart, VUDUs marketing power just increased exponentially and consumers will see and hear the VUDU brand a lot more. Since VUDU offers the highest 1080P streaming quality of any online movie service (up to 10Mbps), a MoCA home network will ensure that perfect quality throughout the house. Wal-Mart currently sells MoCA bridges on it’s website and with a VUDU-enabled HDTV, consumers will be the big winners in the end.
15 Million Cable STBs Expected to Offer MoCA Support by 2014, Says ABI Research
15 Million Cable STBs Expected to Offer MoCA Support by 2014, Says ABI Research.
Your cable and satellite TV provider will soon be adding a MoCA network to your home in the form of new Cable DVRs. Calling MoCA “one of the most widely-supported home media networking technologies”, ABI Research estimates 15 million next generation set-top boxes will have MoCA by 2014. The network will be used for both “communication between multiple service operator boxes” and “communicating with third-party devices”. MoCA is gaining a lot of traction in North America, and consumers are figuring out that they need more than just a wireless network in the home – they also need a wired network for the new digital entertainment services being offered. With more MoCA networking products being introduced, consumers will have a choice of how they want to connect their home theater equipment whether it’s using a MoCA Ethernet-to-Coax Bridge or with a MoCA DVR.
Stay tuned for more MoCA product announcements. Read the article here.
D-Link MoCA Spotted at Fry’s!
Another sign that MoCA is gaining momentum, recently spotted at the local Fry’s, the D-Link DXN-221 MoCA Bridge Kit aka Mediabridges ! Located right next to the NETGEAR MCAB1001 MoCA Kits as well as competing powerline and 11N bridges, the D-Link MoCA kits give users another option for building a high speed entertainment network for HD movie streaming, gaming and entertainment. MicroCenter will also be carrying the D-Link products and since they are all MoCA compatible, you’ll be able to choose different brands to add to your MoCA network.
Look for more brands and new MoCA products coming later this year!
