Vizio VIA Platform Gains Hulu Plus and Blockbuster On Demand Support

    Consumer electronics company Vizio has announced that it will be expanding its Vizio Internet Apps (VIA) platform to include support for Hulu Plus and Blockbuster On Demand.
The new apps will be available on Vizio VIA Connected CE HDTVs and select Blu ()-ray players, including the XVT3SV Series TV, which Mashable () named as one of our must-have holiday gadgets.

    The announcement comes on the eve of CES, where Vizio will be showcasing some ultra widescreen HDTVs and an Android-based smartphone and tablet.
Vizio’s Internet app platform already supports NBA Game Time, Netflix, Pandora (), Amazon Video on Demand and Vudu. In the coming months, VIA-enabled devices will also gain access to apps from BigStar, MOG, OnLive (), Skype () and Vimeo ().

     These apps tie into Vizio’s greater value propostion. With VIA Plus, Vizio plans to create a coherent platform of apps that can be accessed from smartphone, tablet or HDTV, all with the same interface. Vizio tablets and smartphones can act as remote controls for Vizio HDTV sets or Blu-ray players and can be connected to an HDTV set via HDMI.

    This strategy, if well executed, has the potential to pay off. Vizio is at CES and Mashable will be stopping by its booth to check out the tablets, phones, new HDTV sets and new apps.