Vudu Runs Into Trouble

It’s not closing its doors or anything yet, but online movie rental service Vudu has laid off some of its staff, including some of the higher-ups responsible for marketing, according to Engadget HD. Not only that, but “rumors are swirling regarding just about every aspect of the company’s future.”

The report said that the company seems to have end-of-lifed its Vudu X100 console, the primary box responsible for making the service work. There don’t appear to be any plans in place for a replacement version in the retail channel. Instead, the company appears fixated on Vudu XL, which only works for high-end, custom home theater installations.

Given that Vudu currently offers no way to stream content to mobile devices the way Sling Media and Apple do, we haven’t been particularly enthusiastic about the company—although, and this is key, Vudu just began offering $1 movie rentals, which is way below what other online streaming services charge. Guess we can only wait and see what happens next.

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