Most devices come with wireless capabilities, whereas the Vudu broadband video-on-demand box requires an Ethernet connection. As of today, that’s no longer the case as a wireless option is available for Vudu. The Vudu Wireless Kit is a pair of transceivers that creates an 802.11g wireless connection between the Vudu and your broadband router.

Those who already own Vudu can get the kit for $79. The other option, for new customers, is to buy the Vudu Wireless Kit bundle for a price of $349. It’s what many have been waiting for, but we’d like to see it at a slightly lower price.

Vudu is making some moves to keep in strong competition with the yet-to-be-released second version of AppleTV, this time offering a software update and more high-def content. This software update to version 1.2 comes not much more than a week after Vudu gave their system a 25 percent price cut bringing it down to $295 and closer to AppleTV’s $229. AppleTV had recently announced the “take 2″ version will add on features that will allow users to download video content to the appliance without the need of a computer in between, which is a feature that Vudu possessed and AppleTV did not.

The recent software upgrade for the Vudu video system brings some new features to improve user experiences with choosing videos to download. A new indicator will evaluate the current broadband speed and indicate if the selected video will download and show well without any skips or extended delays. When searching for a video it can also recommend titles for instant start based on the connection speed.

It just keeps getting better for consumers looking for on-demand set top boxes. In response to the new firmware upgrade and price drop announced by Jobs for the Apple TV, Vudu has given its own demand box a 25 percent discount. This brings the price of the Vudu system down to $295 from $399.

Apple recently discounted the Apple TV with prices as low as $229 for the 40GB model and they’ve also are scheduled to move into a space where Vudu had an upper hand - movie downloads without a PC. Apple TV not only is going to match that point of service but can also bring in YouTube videos AND content from your computer into your living room, which Vudu cannot.

Netflix is set to launch their set-top box with the help of LG electronics. The union will allow subscribers to watch movies directly from the Internet to their TV’s. Netflix presently has upwards of 7 million subscribers, many of which have been waiting for this service. They are hoping to launch the set-top box by mid 2008. The price will range between $4.99 to about $16.99 a month, all inclusive of rates. Apparently, LG would embed the receiver into its $799 dual-DVD player, which supports the competing Blu-ray and HD-DVD high-definition DVD formats.

Vudu Inc, which already offers a set-top box for $399 lets consumers buy or rent movies from a selection of about 5,000 titles. Netflix on the other hand has about 90,000 titles available through their online mail order service. Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings sees it as a huge opportunity and said the LG partnership was the first of many such deals for the company.

A new set top brick…er, we mean box, is now available for sale today. VUDU, with lots and lots of movies to rent and download, is priced at around $400 for the box plus one-time rental fees ranging from $0.99 - $3.99 and prices for purchased movies ranging from $4.99 - $19.99.

The VUDU is designed to be connected to a high speed broadband connection at home so you can enjoy your choice of more than 5,000 titles from every major U.S. film studio and more than 20 independent and international film distributors. This box lets you watch movies instantly by streaming them for viewing as they are downloaded and stores the movies you rent or buy. It’s also equipped with HDMI outputs for connecting to a HDTV.