Vizio Steps Up Its Remotes With Vudu And Netflix Buttons [Several Varieties Of Vizio Product, Including Some Blu-ray Players, Are Set To Include One Button Access To Major Streaming Sites]

Posted on TFTS by Steve Anderson on Monday, 23. May 2011 under: Audio,Visual, HD Equipment

It wasn’t so long ago we covered both Vudu and Netflix as part of our list of the best places to find streaming video, and apparently, the folks out at Vizio are not only among our readers but they happen to agree. Starting with some upcoming models, according to reports, both Vudu and Netflix will get one button access via Vizio remotes.

Several Vizio products, including not only Blu-ray players but also televisions in both the regular HD and 3D varieties, are set to offer the one button access, which actually represents an improvement over earlier versions. In previous versions, accessing services like Vudu and Netflix took a little crawling around in menus, but now, you’ll simply be able to activate your streaming accounts from one button press.

This is also reportedly putting some pressure on systems like Apple TV, which are simple set-top boxes geared toward providing streaming access to televisions which don’t already offer it. But considering the growing number of televisions that are including Ethernet ports or outright wi-fi connections, it’s plain to see that television makers–indeed, home theater component makers in general–are counting on streaming becoming the dominant channel for home theater content provision in the future.

And indeed, I’d call that a pretty safe bet. But while the hardware is definitely embracing the concept, the software isn’t quite keeping up. The biggest impediment to streaming as a content channel isn’t the hardware–we’ve been able to stream content over computers for years now, over a decade, really–but rather, the bandwidth. Sending high-definition 1080p video over an internet channel is no simple feat, and as long as internet service providers balk at keeping up, that’s going to restrict the development of the entire concept.

So what do you guys think? Will streaming become the dominant form of media transmission for home theaters in the near future? Or will bandwidth caps choke the life out of the system before it ever really gets going? Hit the comments section below and weigh in!