VUDU today added movies from Disney's various studios to its catalog in a significant expansion of its catalog. The initial roster includes about 60 titles and focuses more on mature titles such as No Country for Old Men but also includes children's titles like High School Musical 3. In a first, the device and video provider also claims to be the first to offer permanent, purchasable versions of these movies in HD. Competitors like iTunes are currently limited to renting in HD and purchasing in standard resolution.

All the videos will be available both in regular 720p encoding as well as VUDU's own HDX format, which strategically reduces the bitrate in screen areas with little detail to allow for reasonably-sized 1080p delivered online with 5.1 surround.

The move is a surprise blow to iTunes, which for now doesn't permit buying HD movies outright and yet which is indirectly linked to Disney through Apple chief Steve Jobs, who sits on Disney's board of directors.