I caught this on Engadget this morning. VUDU is having a Christmas sale where their VUDU player is just $99 ($200 off). You have to buy $50 in credits, but I figure you're going to spend that anyway on rentals. VUDU has received rave reviews from the likes of David Pogue and others.
I did a bit of research and it seems their HD+ falls between DVD and BluRay -- but a cut above AppleTV. Browsing looks real easy and they lead the pack in the amount of available movies.
If they go under, it could become a doorstop. Although it's got a 250GB hard drive, so someone will figure out a use for it.