Sony Adds Subscription-Free Movie Streaming Service to PS3

If you don’t want to pay for Netflix, you can still stream HD movies to your PlayStation 3 with VUDU.

Following up on the recent announcement that Hulu Plus will be available on the PlayStation 3, Sony has added yet another media streaming service to the system called VUDU. VUDU is a movie portal that doesn’t require a subscription, so users can pick and choose the movies they want to spend money on when they want them, just like like those brick-and-mortar movie rental stores of the prehistoric age.

If you don’t want to buy a Netflix subscription and can’t find the movies you want on the PlayStation Store, VUDU could be another movie streaming choice to look at. VUDU’s claims to fame are its HD movies, particularly in the “HDX” format which displays movies in true 1080p HD and is said to mimic the quality of a Blu-ray movie over broadband. HDX also includes the ability to use Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound.

VUDU users can rent or buy movies in lower quality HD and SD formats too. The company says it has the largest selection of HD titles available anywhere, with many movies becoming available the day they’re released on DVD and Blu-ray. According to Sony, VUDU will be available on the PlayStation 3 (but not the Xbox 360) next week.