Rdio Beats Spotify To Video Streaming, Launches Vdio

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Screen Shot 2013-04-03 at 1.08.24 PM

Remember how word came down the pipeline the other day that Spotify wanted to start a video streaming service? Guess who just beat them to the punch? That’s right, Rdio — the better of the subscription music streaming services in the United States — and their new service is called, coincidentally enough, Vdio.

Launching today for Rdio Unlimited subscribers in the United States, Vdio is designed to be as beautiful a way to discover, watch and share video content as Rdio is at discovering, listening and sharing music:

he first thing you’ll notice about Vdio is that it’s designed to solve the “what to watch” problem. It’s not just that we’ve got amazing content, but that the experience is now geared to get you from searching to watching faster. We’re introducing the notion of Sets ­— playlists for TV shows and movies — so anyone can make and share lists of their favorites, making it easier than ever to discover new stuff. Or, you can just check out what your friends are watching in the moment and jump in. Beyond that, Vdio has the beautiful design and social features that people love about Rdio, with plenty more to come.

The interface is definitely as slick as I expect from Rdio, and there’s already a host of content on the service, from major Hollywood films like Skyfall, The Hobbit and Life of Pi, to award-winning television shows like The Walking Dead, Downton Abbey and Homeland.

Another plus about Vdio? It works in-browser, just like Rdio, no app required. It’ll even play on iPad as a web app.

Sadly, Vdio is not a Netflix-like service: it’s more like iTunes or Amazon Video, in that you purchase or rent content. Rdio Unlimited subscribers get a $25 credit to play around with on Vdio, but after that, you’ll have to spend money for every video you want to watch.

Source: Vdio.com

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