Vudu: You Can Download HD Movies, Then Buy Them

Vudu offers a 1,080p high-definition movie player; the standard edition costs $149 and comes with access to more than 13,000 movie and TV titles. A higher-end model, designed for home theaters, is available through authorized resellers and is tagged at $499.

To purchase a movie, a viewer will pay between $4.99 and $19.99; rentals range from $.99 to $5.99. Vudu already offered a library of more than 1,400 HD movies for rental. Now, high-definition titles that have been bought from Vudu can be stored on the consumer's Vudu box or in the Vudu Vault, a free online storage option for movies and TV shows.

Vudu is in direct competition with online provider NetFlix and Blockbuster, which came from brick-and-mortar roots and is playing catch-up in the video-on-demand world. Last month, Blockbuster partnered with Sonic Solutions to build video-on-demand capabilities into a variety of consumer electronics devices. The partnership's video-on-demand technology is expected to be built into DVRs, Blu-ray disc players, set-top boxes, mobile phones, Internet-connected television sets and other devices. Netflix also has deals for putting video-on-demand capabilities into TiVo boxes, Xbox game consoles, Blu-ray players and more Blockbuster offers about 10,000 movies direct to TV, while Netflix offers approximately 12,000.

Under agreements with such independent film companies as Magnolia Pictures, FirstLook Studios and Kino, Vudu will begin by offering 50 HD titles, including this year's best documentary Oscar winner, "Man on Wire," for purchase. Other titles include FirstLook's "Transsiberian" and "War, Inc."