Microsoft is busy announcing a slew of upgrades to Xbox Live, and the biggest news so far is relaunch of the video service, now Zune-branded with 1080p instant-on streaming content in 18 countries. XBL is also now integrated with Facebook -- your Facebook account can be linked to your Gamertag, and games will support Facebook Connect for sharing content online. That's pretty huge -- but if that wasn't enough, you're also getting Twitter and Last.fm in the deal. Want more? Netflix users will now be able to browse the entire catalog instead of simply loading their queue, and Microsoft has also gotten its Party Watch system in order, so you'll be able to heckle videos with your online friends. Last but not least, there's now live TV streaming for UK and Ireland gamers, who'll get Premier League soccer live from Sky. All in all, a solid set of updates for XBL -- but we'll wait and see how that "1080p" video looks before we pronounce Blu-ray dead. PR blurb after the break.

With Akihabara, mobile TV that works and games like this, does Japan really need another nicety to remind us of how awesome it is? Starting this week, Yahoo Japan has started to deliver free video services to loads of Sharp AQUOS HDTVs. The so-called Douga Channel currently offers some 3,000 videos gratis, and absolutely no member registration is required to tap in. At least initially, the service will target Sharp's AQUOS DS6 family of products, which are equipped with a revised Sharp GUI and an 'Ex System' for handling the video processing. Better still, the material coming through can be viewed in SD or HD, which has to make local cable companies cringe. At any rate, the company is still trying to hammer out a business model before delving into pay-TV, and it's hoping to service at least one million TV sets in the not-too-distant future. So... any news for North America?

In one of the more unexpected developments from NAB 2009, Qtv is pushing its streaming media player platform for consoles. Not an altogether radical idea we know, but what's different here is a plan to launch first on the PlayStation 2 and move to newer hardware later. From the makers of the Qcast technology behind the GameShark Media Player, Qtv includes YouTube and access to streaming video from other sources, plus pictures, music and video (DivX, h.264, XviD & more) from USB devices or networked computers. The PS2 may not be the first HD set-top box we thought of, it does have the highest installed base. The Qtv player launches later this year and will be available on Mac and PC as well for "less than $50," although thanks to the free 30-day trial the hardest part may be remembering where we left our PS2s.

Don't know why the Motorola rumors are flying hot and heavy today, but right on top of that connected GPS whisper comes word that the struggling device manufacturer is being tapped to build a new version of KDDI's multifaceted Au Box set-top unit that runs Android instead of the previous custom Linux build. The Au Box, if you'll recall, is a trick little IPTV box with a DVD drive that can rip audio and video and transcode it for transfer or streaming to your cellphone -- kind of like a more flexible Slingbox that costs $3/month for KDDI subscribers. Definitely interesting, especially since Android could make browsing and email extremely easy to implement as well -- hey Moto, maybe you want to ditch your current garbage Stateside cable box lineup and start shipping these things at home?

Update: Turns out there's no Android here at all, according to Moto. Instead it's running on KreaTV platform. Is it just us or did this thing just lose about 50 megafonzies on the cool-o-meter?

[Via CNET]

Remember Xbox 360 IPTV rollout? Though the wonderful fantasy of replacing our stodgy cable DVRs with an all-in-one Left 4 Dead playing / channel surfing beast has dried up like a raisin in the sun, Dave Zatz confirmed with Microsoft booth reps that BT is (still) planning on deploying the service, and despite the NXE the UI will retain the look of the current Motorola boxes pictured above. Now that U-Verse has delivered Total Home DVR and upgraded beyond 1 HD stream at a time, maybe they can get to work on this deployment next?

Throwing some more features towards your local IPTV provider (U-verse this means you), Microsoft's upgraded the Mediaroom platform with Restart Anytime, Live Anytime and Download Anytime network DVR features, making sure silly things like "when something comes on TV" or "whether or not you remembered to schedule the DVR recording" get in between you and your content. Restart shamelessly copies StartOver, restarting a show at any point in its progress, even if you just turned the box on, while Live lets you scroll backwards through the program guide and pull down previously aired TV from the provider's VOD server. Finally Download Anytime pulls in shows or movies ahead of time satellite VOD-style so they can be watched later, despite potentially limited bandwidth. Beyond that, various interactive TV apps will be on demo in the booth this week including Visual Voicemail and TopGear.com but really, we've seen what we need to see.

If you were curious as to why Boxee suddenly became available for OS X 10.4 users, here's your sign. The underpinnings of the Apple TV are indeed based on Tiger, thus paving the way for Scott Davilla, a developer for the aTV-bootloader project, to announce that Boxee and XMBC can now be installed on Apple's set-top-box. In order to take advantage, you'll need the aTV Flash bootloader on a bootable USB drive, an Apple TV and the software in the links below. Currently, things are setup to run on Mac only, though PC / Linux versions are promised for next week. After signing up for a Boxee invite, jump on past the break for the step-by-step guide to getting this going.

We hadn't heard from struggling content-delivery service Akimbo in over a year, so it's not really surprising that the latest news isn't exactly cheerful: the company is shutting down, leaving only a "skeleton crew" behind to find a buyer for its remaining assets. Akimbo seemed like it was searching for a viable business model from the start (eventually leading the company to drop its hardware offerings entirely), and like other would-be set-top box vendors, it looks like the economics of content delivery were simply too skewed to wrestle into profitability. Any bets on who's next?

[Via GigaOM]

After slipping past their original spring release date, Panasonic's PZ850 series of plasmas are no longer the only ones with YouTube support, but those desiring internet features, high contrast ratios and easy-access calibration settings can expect them on shelves this summer. The 46-, 50- and 58-inch versions should all be available in mid-June, with the 65-incher rolling out in August. Other than the IP features (Picasa access is also part of the package) the THX-certified PZ850s support h.264 playback from the SD card slot, RS-232C, 24p native playback, and a variety of display modes and settings to get the picture just the way the director intended, the way you like it, or anywhere in between. Check after the break for a list of prices, and our video hands on from CES 2008.

One of the things most people fail to realize about being sick is that sitting in a hospital bed all day can be really, really boring. Luckily, a company called Lincor Solutions has realized that people need something a little more engaging than plain-jane television these days, thus the MEDIVista was created. The basic premise is quite simple: a touchscreen, LCD display is mounted to the side of a hospital bed which the hospital staff can use to display x-rays or medical information, and the patient can use for entertainment. Users can watch IPTV, listen to the radio or audio books, make VoIP calls, surf the 'net, check email, as well as play web and network based games. The system also logs activity and allows users to view billing information, though at this point it doesn't look like it can play Doom, will blend, or is due to become our overlord.

[Via OhGizmo!]

Being an HBO subscriber is about to get a lot more appealing, as the Time Warner-owned pay channel giant is set to roll out a new service that allows subscribers to both download select content as well as view live feeds on their PC. "HBO on Broadband," as the feature is called, will give HBO on Demand customers on Time Warner's Roadrunner network access to both the live east coast feed along with numerous TV episodes and Hollywood films, although downloads expire after 12 weeks or less, and you can't natively transfer any of this video swag to a portable device. Mac support is also conspicuously absent here, but seeing how the offer is confined to Time Warner cable and broadband subscribers only in Wisconsin for now, anyway, it's quite possible that an OS X client (and 64-bit Windows one) will become available as more regions get switched on. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, Judith]

Just in case you weren't reading along to our liveblog of Bill Gate's twelfth and final CES keynote – in which case, what were you doing? – we wanted to share some Xbox 360 IPTV news. Last year, Microsoft was talking up their IPTV initiative but when Fall '07 rolled around, there weren't any set-top Xboxen to be found. During last night 's keynote Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division, announced that British telecom giant BT Group would be the first "to provide that capability." But when will they provide it and in what markets? As always, answers as we get 'em, but in the meantime read the rest of the Microsoft keynote by clicking the read link.

While HD DVD and Blu-ray have both lost key supporters recently, Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace seems to just keep adding new content providers, this time bringing MGM and Disney-ABC Television Group to the fold. Conspicuous in that bothare exclusive Blu-ray supporters, Xbox 360 owners will -- later this month -- have access to ABC hits like Lost, Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives in HD the day after they air. So far, MGM's announced just classic and catalog flicks like the Rocky series and The Usual Suspects, with "most" available in HD. Still looking for a Blu-ray add-on or built in HD DVD?

Don't look now, but it seems that three rivals in the UK have found enough love in their hearts (or promise for profitability) to team up for the good of the consumer. Reportedly, the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 will be joining hands in order to deliver an on-demand service that hopes to "bring together hundreds of hours of television programs in one place" -- a collaborative effort once known as Project Kangaroo. Of course, the grand idea still has to be approved by the BBC Trust and other broadcasters' boards, and an official name for the service still has to be thought up, but at least the wheels are apparently turning, right? We're hearing that content from the trio will be available for "free download, streaming, rental and purchase via the internet, with expansion onto other platforms planned," and just in case you were curious, the iPlayer, ITV's catch-up service and Channel 4oD will indeed coexist with the new aggregator. Hang tight UK, the to-be-named service is set to go live sometime next year should things pan out nicely.

[Via Yahoo / Reuters]