Walmart launched its own streaming stick to compete with the rest. The new VUDU Spark is just like the Amazon Fire Stick, the Roku Stick, and all the others, where it connects to your TV via an HDMI input and powers itself via USB (also on the TV). Inside the box, you will also find a basic wireless remote that allows you to control it with, a USB cable and batteries for the remote.
The Spark is only $25 and comes with $5 in free credit a month for the first five months. This is their way of virtually making the gadget-free to you. It supports up to 1080p and 7.1 digital sound.
What makes this different than the others is that it only allows you access to the VUDU network (owned by Walmart). It’s missing the additional apps for Amazon, Netflix, Hulu and so forth. This means you aren’t really getting much for your money in the end if you’re a fan of those other networks. In fact, it’s not much of a deal at all when the competition can be just as cheap for the unit AND offers an app for VUDU on it.
We don’t really get the purpose of this device as we got bored with looking into it pretty quickly. They may have a lot of content on their network, but most consumers want flexibility and a wide selection of options to choose from. If you are going to get rid of cable, why limit yourself to just VUDU in the process. They might as well be handing these out to you for free (ie, with any purchase above $50) as you leave the store if they want more users on VUDU that badly.
UI wise, it operates as to be expected and doesn’t fall behind any of the competing sticks when it comes to speed, user-friendliness, and design. There is no learning curve for the remote as it is small and simple with only a few buttons you need (outside of a qwerty keyboard) to make your way around with. There is no skipping in the programming during streaming (of course this is also dependant on your connection as well).
Our Conclusion
We wound up waiving the scorecard of 3 out of 10 for this one. A star for being functional without lag, a star for being virtually free and a star for supporting full 1080p and 7.1 digital sound. Beyond that, it feels like a gimmick more than a popular item, unfortunately. Walmart might have already realized this as we can no longer find it listed on the website (at the time of this article). It just doesn’t hold up to the Amazon Fire or the Roku Stick in value. Hopefully, they offer a firmware update in the future to take it to the next level, else we cannot recommend it.
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