Hands-on with the pricey VUDU XL

Yeah, we don't exactly envision too many individuals getting hands-on time with the XUDU XL -- you know, considering the $999 sticker -- but we were able to stop by and snap a couple shots of the suddenly luxurious device. In case you haven't noticed, the only difference between the new one and the predecessor is a slick new silver logo, the loss of an RF antenna (replaced with an IR receiver), a 1TB drive within and a price tag pushing four digits. So yeah, the chassis is exactly the same, but feel free to check out a few biggie images below if you're overcome with disbelief.

Hands-on with the pricey VUDU XL

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 7th 2008 5:26AM]

Considering that the general retail consumer can acquire disk space at a rate of less than $200 per Terabyte I would think that this is a little overpriced for what one is getting. Besides, one needs a hefty-size broadband pipe to make it worth it. And how many Blu-ray and or HD DVD movies can be bought for $999 (or how many 500GB hard drives at $90 each)?

If I were a nutty monkey, I would consider buying the Abit AB9 Pro and then attach nine $90 500GB drives and start renting high definition movies to time-shift. I could then use the same storage array with a $50 ATSC Digital OTA tuner for broadcast HD recording as well. Sorry, Vududu.