Blu-ray may be the best way to watch movies in high definition at home, but it certainly isn’t the only way. A number of services such as Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Blockbuster, XBox Live, and the PlayStation Store offer high-def movie downloads or streaming from the internet. Unfortunately, most of these “HD” videos are highly compressed and barely better than DVD quality, if even. In my experience, only the very high bit rate “HDX” format downloads from VUDU approach Blu-ray picture quality.

Last year, I reviewed the VUDU BX100 set-top box, and found it a pretty good source for high-def movie rentals. Since that time, the company has changed strategies a bit to focus efforts on incorporating the service as an embedded widget in Blu-ray players and HDTVs from LG, Mitsubishi, and other manufacturers. (The company was also purchased by Wal-Mart earlier this year, which may give it greater national exposure.)

Regardless of what source you access VUDU from, the thing I find most compelling about the service is more than just the ability to rent movies I don’t find worthy of buying on Blu-ray. VUDU also has a significant number of movies in its catalog that aren’t available on Blu-ray at all. In fact, I dug through the HDX listings and found almost 500 titles that haven’t been released on Blu-ray yet. Mind you, that’s strictly for HDX files. The company has many more titles in lower-quality “HD” files. I didn’t even go through that list.

I’ll post the complete list at the end of this article. Corrections are welcome, if I’ve missed any titles or if I’ve included some that are in fact available on Blu-ray. (I first compiled this list a few weeks ago. Although I’ve tried to keep it updated, I may well be missing some more recent additions to the catalog.)

One of my recurring projects on this blog will be to periodically highlight these VUDU HDX downloads that can’t be gotten on Blu-ray. I’ll rent them, and comment on the quality. Feel free to throw out suggestions for titles you’d like to see reviewed.

Here’s the whole list:

• 11th Hour
• 2 Days in Paris
• 21 Hours at Munich
• 24 Hour Woman
• 3 Tales: The Telling
• 48 Hours
• 50 Dead Men Walking
• 8 Mile
• About a Boy
• Accidental Tourist
• Adam
• Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
• After Dark, My Sweet
• Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
• Alfie (1966)
• Alice in Wonderland (1993)
• All Dogs Go to Heaven
• Alpha Dog
• Amazing Grace
• Ambush Bay
• Amelia (2002)
• American East
• American Pie (Theatrical or Unrated)
• American Wedding (Theatrical or Unrated)
• Anastasia
• The Andromeda Strain
• Angel Unchained
• Angel Wars: The Messengers
• Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
• Anna and the King
• Another 48 Hours
• The Art of War
• Arthur and the Invisibles
• At Close Range
• At the Earth’s Core
• Audrey Rose
• August
• The Avengers
• Babe
• Bad Influence
• Bad Lieutenant (1992)
• The Bad News Bears (1976)
• Bait
• Bandslam
• The Bannen Way
• Barber Shop 2: back in Business
• Barfly
• Barton Fink
• Baseketball
• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
• Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
• The Battle of El Alamein
• The Beach
• Beach Kings
• Beat Street
• The Bed Sitting Room
• Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil
• Behind Enemy Lines: Columbia
• Being John Malkovich
• Below the Belt
• Benny & Joon
• Betrayed (1988)
• The Betrayed (2009)
• Beverly Hills Cop
• Beverly Hills Cop II
• Beverly Hills Cop III
• The Big Lebowski
• Big Top Pee Wee
• Billy Madison
• Bionicle: The Legend Reborn
• The Birds
• Bitch Slap
• Black Mask
• The Black Stallion
• Blacula
• Blade II
• Bless the Child
• Blind Dating
• Blindness
• Blood Simple
• Blown Away (1994)
• Blue Crush
• Blue Velvet
• The Blues Brothers
• Bonneville
• Boomerang
• Boot Camp
• Booty Call
• Borat
• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
• The Boys are Back
• Brannigan
• Breach
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s
• The Breakfast Club
• The Breed (2007)
• Brideshead Revisited (2008)
• Bright Star
• Bronson
• Brothers at War
• The Brothers Bloom
• Bug
• Bull Durham
• Bulworth
• The Burning Plain
• The Butterfly Effect
• Cadillac Man
• Cannonball
• Caramel
• Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!
• Carriers
• Catch That Kid
• Chaos Theory
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Cheech & Chong: Still Smokin’
• Cheech and Chong: Up in Smoke
• China Doll
• Chinatown
• Cinderella Man
• City of Industry
• Climate of Change
• Club Dread
• Coal Miner’s Daughter
• Code Name: The Cleaner
• Coffy
• Cold Souls
• Command Performance
• Conan the Barbarian
• Conan the Destroyer
• The Constant Gardener
• The Conversation
• Cool World
• Count Yorga, Vampire
• The Cove
• Crips and Bloods: Made in America
• Crossing Over
• Cry Baby
• Cube
• Curious George (2006)
• Curious George 2
• Curse of the Pink Panther
• Cutter’s Way
• Damage
• Dances with Wolves
• Darfur Now
• The Darjeeling Limited
• David & Layla
• Daylight
• Dead Like Me: Life After Death
• Deadline
• Death of a President
• December Boys
• The Deep End
• Delgo
• Detroit Rock City
• Die Monster Die!
• Direct Contact
• Dirty Work
• Distant Voices, Still Lives
• Dolls
• The Donner Party
• Double Identity
• Double Jeopady
• Double Trouble
• Dr. Doolittle (1998)
• Dr. Doolittle 2
• Dracula: Dead and Loving It
• Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
• Dragonheart
• Dreams (Akira Kurasowa)
• Driving Miss Daisy
• Drugstore Cowboy
• Dumb & Dumberer
• Earthquake
• The Eclipse
• Eddie Murphy Raw
• The Edge
• Elephant Tales
• Enemy Mine
• Enter the Ninja
• Epic Movie
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind
• Everybody Wants to Be Italian
• Executive Decision
• Experience HDX
• Extreme Movie
• Fanboys
• Fatal Beauty
• Ferngully: The Last Rainforest
• Fido
• Final Destination 2
• Finding Amanda
• The First Wives Club
• Flashback
• Flawless
• For Those who Think Young
• Forbidden Planet
• The Fox and the Child
• Freddy vs. Jason
• Free Style
• Frequency
• Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
• The Frighteners
• From Beyond
• From Mexico with Love
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
• FX
• FX 2
• Garden State
• Garfield: The Movie
• Get Carter (2000)
• Get Shorty
• Ghost in the Machine
• G.I. Blues
• Girl with a Pearl Earring
• Glengarry Glen Ross
• The Good German
• Good Hair
• The Good Heart
• The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
• Gosford Park
• Grave of the Vampire
• Grease 2
• A Great Wall
• Hair
• Hairspray (1988)
• Hamburger Hill
• Hank and Mike
• Hannibal Rising
• Happily N’Ever After 2
• Happy Endings
• Happy Gilmore
• Happy Tears
• Happy Go Lucky
• Hard Promises
• Harlem Aria
• Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man
• Harold and Maude
• Haunting Hour
• He Said, She Said
• Hearts in Atlantis Heaven Can Wait
• Henry V (1989)
• Her Best Move
• Hey Arnold: The Movie
• High Plains Drifter
• Hit and Run
• The Hitcher (2007)
• Home
• Home Alone 3
• Honey
• Hoodwinked
• House (2008)
• House of D
• House of the Dead
• Howard the Duck
• The Hudsucker Proxy
• Humble Pie
• Humboldt County
• The Hurricane
• Hurt
• I Heart Huckabees
• I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
• I Think I Love My Wife
• Ice Castles
• The Ice Harvest
• If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
• Illegal Tender
• The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle
• In Bruges
• The Infidel
• In Good Company
• The Incredible Shrinking Man
• Internal Affairs
• The Interpreter
• Into the Blue 2: The Reef
• Intolerable Cruelty
• Invincible (2002)
• The Iron Giant
• Is Anybody There?
• The Jackal
• The Jerk
• Jesus Christ Superstar
• Jetsons: The Movie
• Jimmy Hollywood
• The Job
• Joshua (2007)
• The Keeper
• Killshot
• Kindergarten Cop
• The King and Four Queens
• King Kong (1976)
• Kings of the Sun
• Kiss the Girls
• Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
• Labou
• Lair of the White Worm
• Lake Placid
• Leaving Las Vegas
• Legally Blondes
• Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers
• Let’s Go to Prison
• Liar Liar
• Lilies of the Field
• The Limits of Control
• The Longest Yard (1974)
• Lorna’s Silence
• Love and Death
• Love Story
• The Lover
• Lust, Caution
• Mad Dog and Glory
• Mad Max
• Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
• Malcolm X
• Malice in Wonderland
• Mallrats
• Mama’s Boy
• Man on Wire
• The Man Who Knew Too Much
• Manufactured Landscapes
• The Marc Pease Experience
• Masters of the Universe (1987)
• Meet Bill
• Meet Joe Black
• Mercury Rising
• The Merry Gentleman
• Midnight Run
• Midway
• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
• The Missing
• Mister Foe
• Moby Dick (1956)
• Monkeybone
• Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
• More than a Game
• Must Love Dogs
• My One and Only
• Mystery Men
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
• The Naked Gun
• The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear
• Nascar (IMAX)
• National Lampoon’s Animal House
• The Neanderthal Man
• Network
• New York Minute
• Next Day Air
• No Impact Man
• Notes on a Scandal
• Number One
• October Sky
• Once
• Out of Sight
• Outlander
• Paths of Glory
• Peaceful Warrior
• Peacock
• The Perfect Sleep
• Personal Effects
• Peter Pan (2003)
• The Pianist
• Picture This
• Platoon
• Poison Ivy: The Secret Society
• The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
• Preacher’s Kid
• Pretty in Pink
• Pride
• Primary Colors
• The Prince & Me: The Elephant Adventure
• The Producers (2005)
• Psycho (1960)
• Pufnstuf (1970)
• The Rage: Carrie 2
• Rails & Ties
• Rain Man
• Raising Arizona
• Raising Cain
• Reality Bites
• Red
• Red Dawn
• Red Dragon
• Red Planet
• Redacted
• Rendition
• Reno 911: Miami (Theatrical or Unrated)
• The Return
• Return of the Living Dead Part II
• Right at Your Door
• RoboCop 2
• RoboCop 3
• Robots
• Romulus, My Father
• Rosemary’s Baby
• Runaway Jury
• Scarlett Street
• Scary Movie 4
• Scent of a Woman
• School for Scoundrels
• The Science of Sleep
• The Sea Inside
• The Secret of the Magic Gourd
• The Seeker
• The September Issue
• Sex Drugs Rock & Roll
• Sexy Beast
• The Shadow
• Shine
• Sin Nombre
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
• The Skulls
• The Skulls II
• The Skulls III
• Slap Shot
• Slow Burn
• Smother
• Snow Angels
• Solaris (2002)
• Soul Power
• Soul Survivors
• Spawn
• Special
• St. Trinian’s
• Startup.com
• State of Grace
• Staying Alive
• Steel City
• The Sting
• Stir of Echoes 2: The Homecoming
• Stranded
• Supernova (2000)
• Swimming with Sharks
• Talk to Me
• Teeth
• Tenderness
• Thank You for Smoking
• That Thing You Do!
• The Thin Red Line
• Thirst
• Thirteen
• THX 1138
• The Tiger’s Tail
• Titan AE
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Torn Curtain
• Touch of Evil
• Treeless Mountain
• Trucker
• Twilight in Forks
• Twins
• The Two Jakes
• Uncle Buck
• Under the Same Moon
• Undercover Brother
• Undiscovered
• Up the Yangtze
• U.S. Marshals
• The U.S. vs. John Lennon
• Vanity Fair (2004)
• The Vans Warped Tour: 15th Anniversary Celebration
• Vertigo
• A Very Long Engagement
• Videodrome
• Vision Quest
• Volcano
• Waist Deep
• Waitress
• The Warlords
• Way of War
• Weird Science
• Wendy and Lucy
• What Dreams May Come
• What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
• Wild Child
• Wild West Comedy Show (Vince Vaughn)
• The Wiz
• The Wizard
• Wolf Creek
• The Wolf Man (1941)
• Wooly Boys
• Wrong Turn at Tahoe
• X Games Movie
• Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love