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MTV's high-def channel (MHD) coming to Comcast in August?
TVPredictions says yes. Although the network is already available to some Comcast, Time Warner and Charter subscribers, most cable customers don't have the channel yet. According to their source the channel will be added in Philadelphia at the beginning of August, and roll out in other cities shortly afterwards. With the Xbox 360 already available and the PS3 debuting this fall, their 18 to 34 year-old target demographic has an increasing number of reasons to pick up an HDTV and MTV is obviously looking to be at the forefront. MHD getting more exposure on a national level will almost certainly bring more viewers (and subsequently more HD content) than other cable networks making the switch like HGTV and Food Network.A big question is whether this will be in addition to ESPN2-HD or replacing it, with the sports network fading out in many areas post-World Cup the way Universal HD did after the Winter Olympics. While Real World HD would be cool, we need Cribs in high-def so we can look at other people's HDTVs on our HDTVs.
Charter cable adding two high-def stations in the St. Louis area
One of our readers, Mark from St. Louis, woke to a surprise this morning. There was a message on his digital cable box indicating that Charter was adding two new high-def stations on July 18th - TNT-HD and MHD. We are happy for our St. Louis readers. TNT-HD is a nice station even though they play a bunch of up-converted SD stuff, but they are invaluable during the NBA playoffs. MHD is MTV's new high-def station that from what we hear, we don't have it in our areas yet, plays music. Yeah, we know; kind of shocking. Enjoy 'em folks and cable companies, keep 'em coming.
Chicago Comcast subscribers getting new high-def stations?
Rob H. just dropped us a note indicating that he is now getting MHD (MTV's high-def station) and ESPN2HD on Comcast. He lives in the Chicago area so we are wondering, did anyone else just get these station too? Rob indicated that the programming guide doesn't seem to be totally downloaded so if you are running through your guide, you might want to look out for "Promotional Programming." Now we are hoping that the word "promotional" does not mean that this is just a tease. We hate it when Comcast does that.So everyone check out their Comcast line-up once again and look for MHD. Most of you should have ESPN2HD by now but if not you may want to check for it too.[thanks for the tip Rob]
New TV shows in US iTMS
Several new shows have been added to the US iTunes Music Store, including Blade: The Series (the first offering from the Spike network), TV Land's Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg and Viva La Bam from MTV, the show I'm obviously too old to "get." Check 'em out.
Sources confirm Microsoft's work on iPod/iTMS rivals
Remember those "cringingly blurry" photos we published a few weeks back that supposedly depicted Microsoft's long-rumored iPod-killer? Well it looks like our tipster may have been right on the money with his assessment, as Reuters is reporting that "sources familiar with the plans" have confirmed that Redmond is indeed working on a portable media player, along with an iTunes-like service to feed it content. Although the informants didn't give much info on the hardware (none at all, really), the service is apparently looking to differentiate itself from the iTMS by encouraging users to hang out and community-build (how Web 2.0), and while it will offer a subscription option a la other PlaysForSure-powered sites, the main focus will be on the pay-per-download model. A Microsoft-branded service may come as a bit of a surprise to some folks considering past licensing issues the company's had with the labels, along with its recent involvement in launching MTV's Urge, but we know at least one person who's seen this coming all along.P.S. Not that this helps you out much, but we can say that we actually caught a glimpse of whatever this device is, and so far, we like what we see.
Microsoft confirms the 'iPod killer' rumors are false
Yesterday, Engadget posted some less-than-clear images with rumors of an iPod killer coming soon from the Microsoft camp. Today, PC Magazine has confirmation from a Microsoft rep that these rumors were nothing more than hot air. In fact, they were simply the result of a mis-translated Japanese press release about Microsoft's new Windows Media Player 11 software; they had nothing to do with hardware.So for those of you who might have developed a chronic nail-biting habit, worried that Microsoft's new '#1 with a bullet', MTV-infused music service and killer new hardware were going to usurp Apple's iPod and iTunes overnight (ironically, the only time MTV has anything to do with music these days), I think it's safe to say you can give your nerves a rest.[UPDATE: Microsoft was setting other rumors about an iPod killer straight; their announcement wasn't tied to these images that Engadget posted yesterday. Those could be shots of a Gigabeat-S portable media player from Toshiba, for all anyone knows.]
MTV pimps branded MP3 players in Europe
Just a few weeks after the launch of their Microsoft-supported music service Urge, MTV has tapped European company Mini Media to produce two MP3 players emblazoned with branding from Viacom franchises such as South Park and Pimp My Ride. The lower-end MIVI-P1GB sports 1GB of storage (expandable with SD), WMA playback, an FM tuner and a voice recorder, while the higher-end MIVI-P1GBV1 adds photo/video playback on a 1.5-inch CSTN screen. Yeah, the specs are nothing special but MTV is hoping the wacky rubberized finish and cheesy graphics will be enough to separate consumers from their cash after the European release slated for September. No word on price or plans for a US release yet, but we're betting we'll see these before we ever see that other MTV player again.[Via I4U]
Miyamoto: Yup, you can slap your face on there
In an interview with MTV, Shigeru Miyamoto directly says that players will in fact be able to slap their mugs onto a digital counterpart in the simplistically-fun Wii Sports. This was said when he was asked which new titles he's working on for the launch of the Wii."This isn't [a new original game, but] I'm directly involved in "Super Mario Galaxy." Apart from that, I am involved in the "Wii Sports" series. Although these really aren't new characters so to speak, the "Wii Sports" series features these little models which you can put your own faces on ... and then you may start to see those characters, with faces you've created, appearing in different games on the Wii system. Beyond that, it's true that I am working on some different ideas. It's just a little bit too early for me to show those off yet."Faces you've created appearing in different games? What different games? Is there going to be some built-in tool kit or camera add-on? Bueller?Let the speculation begin![Via Digital Battle. Thanks Armin!]
MTV wants Joystiqers who'll dish on camera
We received a request from a producer working with MTV titled, simply, "MTV Gamer show needs your stories!" His request: "MTV is doing a video game project and wants to hear your most memorable gaming moment. From victory to heartbreak or anything related to your passion, this is your chance to tell your ultimate trial and tribulation. Please email us a brief paragraph describing your most vivid gaming related experience. If chosen, you'll get a chance to tell it to our cameras! Please respond to mtvvideogame[AT]gmail.com. We are shooting on June 3rd and will get back to you immediately. *all submissions become property of MTV Networks, please respond only if you are available on June 3rd and can appear at MTV in Santa Monica, California."While it's no secret we're fans of some of MTV News' segments (like that designers roundtable), and even that Gears of War special wasn't that bad (except the forced Lamborghini scene ... ugh), we make no claims regarding the caliber of this production; however, we can authenticate the veracity of it, despite the dubious Gmail account. Got a hankering for television and a tendency to wax poetic about World 1-1? Drop 'em a line and tell em, "Large Marge Joystiq sent me." We're imagining a half hour of a Real World-esque video diary, but instead of a drunk girl talking about her dead grandmother, it'll be unkempt gamers talking about destructible environments. Do us proud!
MTV hosts game designers roundtable
MTV News' Stephen Totilo somehow managed the Herculean task of getting four major game designers -- Harvey Smith (aka Witchboy; Deus Ex), Will Wright (The Sims), David Jaffe (God of War), and Cliff Bleszinski (aka CliffyB; Gears of War) -- to sit down and talk to each other ... during the week of E3. The roundtable took place at Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight amidst the backdrop of their currently running I AM 8-BIT art show. Though it begins with more input from host Gideon Yago, it quickly evolves into a conversation between the four designers, running the gaming gamut from design to violence in games to the art question, all with a healthy sprinkling of (the outspoken) David Jaffe's trademark pottymouth.While MTV only ran an edited version, MTV's online-only Overdrive channel is hosting the whole shebang. It's unfortunate that MTV decided this didn't deserve to be aired on television even though they've managed to make room for another half-dozen airings of the Gears of War promotional special. But seriously, if MTV's doing this, what does G4 do nowadays?[Warning: Ever attuned to the pulse of the younger generation, MTV had the foresight to recognize that nobody under the age of 34 uses Mac OS and, accordingly, they've made their Overdrive site only compatible with Internet Explorer running on Windows.]
Gears of War special on MTV2 2nite
As promised during Microsoft's keynote, the inside look at the production of Gears of War is airing on MTV's more music oriented (but, but, but) sister site MTV2 tonight. Sure, we all remember the disappointment of the Xbox 360's MTV debut, but Gears of War: The Race to E3 has the right idea. According to the media alert, production is being handled by LivePlanet (the Project Greenlight guys) and Geoff Keighley (who actually knows a thing or two about games), so you can start setting your expectations unreasonably high now. The show airs tonight at 10PM Eastern/Pacific on MTV2. Don't worry about missing it, it'll air again and again and again. Check out an additional clip from the show of CliffyB meeting world's richest gamer, Bill Gates (embedded after the break.) Apparently Bill likes the chainsaw/gun combo. [Via Gamerscore]
MTV to broadcast Gears of War: The Race to E3
You know the game, you know its creator, and now you're about to get the chance to see it all come together for the biggest videogame gathering in the world. MTV2 is going to be showing Gears of War: The Race to E3 tonight at 10PM EST. Not unlike the other reality stuff you see on the channel, this is also guaranteed to have drama, angst and outlandish acts of geek life. Actually, this show will feature all of the behind-the-scenes action from one of the most badass development houses in the industry. Backed by CliffyB, it will follow the six-week road to LA and all the development from the inside. Speaking with IGN, Cliff had this to say: "MTV captured the essence of us making the game. They caught us going to the airport, me getting nervous backstage at the news conference, they caught me with talking with Bill Gates, givin' each other s&^%, all sorts of stuff. It's pretty amazing." His hopes are that it will give everyone, not just fans, a taste of life behind the game. This will be a rare sight to see, including some game elements that we haven't had a chance to look at yet (like the sidekick Anya).
MTV and Microsoft launch URGE
Some six months after first announcing it, Microsoft and MTV have launched their URGE music service. The new service will be fairly similar to other subscription-based services that rely on Microsoft's PlayForSure DRM, and will offer 2 million songs, and have a monthly fee of $9.99, or $14.99 for a "to go" version that will work with PlaysForSure-compatible audio players. Of course, URGE will have one advantage that will inevitably help it make up for its late entry to the market: integration into the next version of Windows Media Player. That may cause some grumblings from the likes of Yahoo and Napster, though Microsoft has already settled with Real, so we suspect we're not going to hear them crying foul (besides, Real has been focusing most of its ire on Apple lately, something we think Microsoft will be perfectly happy to support).
MHD - Birds
HDTV owners like it when content providers go the extra mile, and that's pretty much what MTV did with these station ID spots for their high definition station, MHD. This cool animation which is entirely black and white was created by Psyops for the channel and also has 5.1 surround sound. Check out their page to see what kind of challenges they faced when animating for HD, maybe that's the reason we're not seeing prime-time animated shows like The Simpsons in high-def yet.[Via the SD loving heathens @ AdJab]
Pimp My Ride, now with 33% more iPod
I have heard, from good sources, that the kids enjoy watching the MTV. Furthermore, they enjoy watching Pimp My Ride, a show in which a lucky person's vehicle is tranformed from 'old and busted' to the 'new hotness' almost as if by some wonderful magic. It now appears that Pimp My Ride will be adding iPod connectivity to about a third of their projects, something that I am sure Apple is happy about.[via the Ubergeeks]
Xfire joins MTV family [UPDATE 1]
Combining instant messaging with games seems to be a magic formula for Xfire. The popularity of the program hasn't gone unnoticed, and today Viacom -- which operates the MTV brand -- announced the acquisition of Xfire, Inc for $102m. Not bad for a company with a free product and "no desire" to advertise. Xfire joins Viacom's other gaming assets Neopets and GameTrailers, both of which continue the "gaming community" theme, which means we can guess at MTV's plans for the future. They want gamers, whole communities of 'em, to extend their reach to those disaffected generations who shun the TV for games. Either that, or they've a nefarious plan that involves an evil robot gamer clone army -- you decide.[Update 1 - fixed typo, thanks SeNiLe]
The one and only MTV show that needs to be HD
You need to no something before you read anymore: I have never seen MTVs new high-def station, MHD. Truthfully, I have no desire to. MTV used to be a great station, but two things happened. One, the station started moving away from its roots and became a cultural station instead of a music station. And two, I grew up. There is still one show that I love to watch though and that is Cribs.I don't know what exactly I like about the show. But I think it has something to do with the program giving us a glimpse on how the other half lives. Sometimes it is funny to count how many cheap plasmas the rappers have but yet they are so proud of their flat screens. Side note: most impressive HDTV was Brad and Jens 40-inch Sony XBR sunk in the wall of their kitchen. This type show is just meant for high-def. Imagine seeing everything from Nelly's fish to Hugh's little bunny's, all in beautiful HDTV.
Is MTV's The Real World going high definition?
MTV announced today that the next season of their granddaddy of reality TV will be shot in Denver, CO. Where is MTV's high definition station MHD based? Colorado. It makes complete sense to me for them to use one of their longest running and most popular series (especially since they don't show music videos anymore) to promote their new station.
Emmy handheld award nominees announced
Let's face it, with more and more content being created for the third screen (i.e. your cellphone, handheld, portable, multimedia device, etc. -- whatever you want to call it), it was obviously time for the Emmys to create yet another award for a new kind of small screen: the award for outstanding original programming for computers, cellphones and other hand-held [sic] device (or that's what we understand it's called, anyway, they didn't officially acknowledge it on their site so far as we could tell). So whose programming's up for an Emmy? You've got Fox Mobile's 24: Conspiracy, MTV's mtvU Stand In, AOL's Live 8 on AOL, Orrin and Jerry Zucker's It's Jerry Time!, CB Films' Sophie Chase, and interactive puzzle program Stranger Adventures. To be announced April 22 with the Daytime Emmies, the Academy will be reviewing and voting on the nominees with what we can only hope is the utmost reverence and sincerity for the category, similar to how we imagine they vote on the Emmy for Sound Mixing - Nonfiction Programming or Outstanding Game Show Host.
HUDs up! A look at GRAW's next-gen interface
Stephen Totilo has written another excellent article for MTV, continuing his streak of wearing away at my natural, innate aversion to all things Music Television, be they neither about music or on television. This time he looked at GRAW from a unique perspective. Yup, we're talking about the Head-Up Display, or HUD. While it's something that might seem simple or inconsequential, this feature is an example of how gaming can benefit from the increased power of next-gen consoles. Totilo writes, "During the development of GRAW it turned out that one extra window wasn't enough. Another one was added to the screen's upper right corner to provide talking-head mission briefings. Like a computer desktop running a couple of programs and an IM window in the corner, the game supplies a lot to keep track of." What's impressive is how capable the 360 is of handling the added load of the picture-in-picture HUD as well as the game's praiseworthy graphics. Totilo explains, "The multi-windowing doesn't sap the 360's strength, and [Production Manager Adrian] Lacey pointed to other graphical achievements that were pulled off in the main window. Each character onscreen is rendered by 15,000 polygons, the same number of polygons used to render an entire level of 2002's PS2 Ghost Recon."Nintendo's Revolution is often singled out as a lone console carrying the torch of innovation for next-gen gaming. While we won't besmirch Nintendo's system, or their concept, the argument that increased computing power is only valuable for prettier graphics, and that graphics add nothing of substance to gameplay is erroneous. It's not a couple months in and one of the first killer apps for the 360 is already using that power to deliver real next-gen gameplay. Be sure to read Totilo's article and also check out MTV's GRAW "Peep Show."
