Vudu is to make its 14,000-plus movie library available on Entone set-top boxes and DVRs.
The deal is the first time Vudu’s content, including around 1,500 HD movies, has been made available on third-party hardware.
Entone supplies set-top hardware to smaller regional US telco video providers, many of whom have limited or non-existent video-on-demand offerings.
Users of Entone units will only require a software upgrade to add the entire functionality of the Vudu BX100, including on-demand access to HD and HDX movies.
While Vudu has cut the price of its entry-level box to USD $149, the possibilities offered by extending its pay-per-view content to a much wider audience are huge.
By moving from being a box manufacturer to a service provider, Vudu could extend itself into network-enabled consumer electronics.
This would allow it to join the likes of Netflix and Amazon Video-on-Demand as a supported feature in everything from HDTVs and Blu-ray players to home theater systems and game consoles.
Entone said Vudu-compatible Entone set-top boxes are expected to get the software upgrade sometime this summer.
It should include all the features available on the existing Vudu hardware, including the Vudu Labs features that include access to YouTube and Flickr.
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