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CNBC HD is actually HD for the first time tonight
Looking for something watch once the President Obama press conference is over? If CNBC HD+ is in the channel lineup, click over to check out the channel's first true high definition production Cruise Inc: Big Money On The High Seas at 9 p.m. It's the first of several documentaries apparently planned in HD, and not a moment too soon. Taking advantage of the addition space HDTVs can provide (as pictured above) has been nice, but it's good to know we didn't have to go all Jon Stewart on them to get some real HD.[Via Media Bistro]
boxee releases new "bleeding edge" alpha, inks deal with Pandora
Now that ZeeVee's back in business with its much improved Zinc broadband video portal, boxee actually has some serious competition to keep an eye on. That said, the company is hosting a meetup in NYC tonight in order to launch a new "bleeding edge" alpha that will integrate Pandora radio / RadioTime and showcase a more robust API. Furthermore, you'll find a fresh XUL-based framework for the boxee browser to enable the app to more easily interact with any web-based video, and as if that wasn't enough, there will also be a PBS application baked in. We have to say, we're pretty impressed with the regularity of updates coming to boxee -- now, if only those big networks would allow hit shows to be broadcast online live alongside their TV airings, we'd be in television heaven. The full announcement is after the break.
ZeeVee Zinc TV viewer hands-on and impressions
ZeeVee just let loose its Zinc internet TV viewer, and we couldn't help but give it an install on our Windows XP-based machine. While it can be said that this is a competitor to Hulu, it actually provides access to Hulu material. In that sense, maybe it's infringing more on boxee's territory. Underneath, it really relies on access to public video RSS feeds, so obviously the options are pretty limitless. If you're interested in seeing just how quickly you should download / avoid this new piece of software, follow us past the break for a few impressions.
Vuze brings online video to game consoles, portable media players
Sheesh -- this is dangerously close to getting out of hand. We've got Hulu, boxee, ZeeVee and Vuze (amongst others) all vying for your attention in the wide world of broadband video, but it's the latter dishing out a potent new offering with its latest version. Today, Vuze has announced a new iteration of its online video portal application that integrates playback with iPhone, iPod, AppleTV, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 devices. So far as we can tell, no other competitor offers that much integration (read: direct Mac / PC-to-device transfers) across so many products. Of course, none of this matters if you aren't a fan of Vuze itself, but you can surf on over to download it (gratis, naturally) in order to test the waters.
More proof that Amazon is about to sell high-def TV shows
We've seen sprinkles of hope that have led us to cautiously believe that Amazon was gearing up to start selling high-definition TV shows, and now our hearts are dead set on believing. Here recently, Amazon's Video On Demand service has been expanding onto just about every media playing console / box / etc. out there, but now that Apple has stepped up the game by offering HD movies for sale, it seems that Amazon's about to pop out some new functionality of its own. Long story short, the noodling crew over at NewTeeVee managed to poke around and find some pretty hard evidence that Amazon will soon be selling HD TV shows for $2.99 apiece, and while none of the links they stumbled upon were live, we reckon it's only a matter of time at this point.[Via Boy Genius Report]
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: March 21, 2009
We'll be honest -- Verizon didn't give us much to yap about this week in the world of FiOS TV. That said, we're sure the residents of Clay, New York are elated to hear that FiOS TV will soon be on its way, while unemployed individuals in Roanoke and Richmond, Virginia can try their hand as a Verizon CSR if they so choose. Here's hoping for more on this front next week, but till then, you can dig in to the most recent happenings below.Read - FiOS TV to Clay, New YorkRead - FiOS internet to Windfall, IndianaRead - Jobs in Roanoke, VARead - Jobs in Richmond, VA
HustlerHD launching May 1st: no SD upconverted material
Last summer, Hustler TV and Digital Playground banged out a deal to get the latter company's content on the former's network. Now, all of that is about to get a lot more intriguing to fans of said material and high-definition. Hustler TV has just announced the outfit's forthcoming high-def broadcast service: HustlerHD. Slated to go live on May 1st, the service will not broadcast a single moment of content that's just upconverted standard-def material. Instead, every title will be "filmed, edited and broadcast in true HD." Additionally, HustlerHD will be the exclusive home to shows from HD-producing studios including Digital Playground, Hustler Video and Zero Tolerance.
FiOS adds Turner, Sony content to VOD library
Good news FiOS heads, now there's even more video on-demand for you to enjoy. Say hello to VOD from eight Turner networks including TBS, TNT and CNN, plus Sony's lineup of recent flicks like Pineapple Express and Hancock. Only the Sony movies are specifically mentioned as including HD, but if anyone at Verizon and Turner knows how we feel about The Closer, they'll make sure we can catch up on past episodes as they were intended to be watched.
Sky suggests UK homes could see 3D TV by the end of the year
Sky has already successfully tested its 3D broadcasting capabilities, and hinted that the 2012 London Olympics could be comin' at ya like never before, but it now looks like the broadcaster could be set to roll out the service even sooner than many expected. According to Sky's Chief Engineer Chris Johns, Sky now has the "capability for homes to see 3D by year-end," although he unsurprisingly didn't offer any firm timeline for an actual rollout, or even a confirmation of the exact type of 3D system that'd be used, saying simply that they're continuing to test different systems and that he envisions it to be "glasses-based in some form." He also added that Sky is focused on building a content library "over the coming year," so that would seem to suggest that an actual launch would come very near the end of the year, if not later.[Via Register Hardware, thanks SK]
Epix (and it's Hollywood backers) looking to shake up premium cable
Now that it finally has a name, the Viacom / Lionsgate / MGM backed Epix can finally be a bit more forthcoming about its plans as a premium movie channel to rival HBO, Starz and Showtime. Now the question is whether the new channel will get the $1.50 per subscriber fee it's asking from potential cable and satellite providers, which could make that planned fourth quarter launch dicier than first imagined. Still, the studios seem entrenched behind the idea of improving their prospects for profiting from their newest, hottest movies like Cloverfield, even in these economic times, so we wouldn't be surprised to see a very Big Ten Network-style standoff in the making.
Hulu blocks boxee browser entirely, gloves get ripped halfway off
As a wise man once said: "Damn, that's just cold, son." Merely hours after boxee announced its latest alpha build along with RSS feed support for Hulu, said video portal has now blocked off boxee's browser entirely from accessing its content. If you'll recall, boxee saw a huge increase in interest when it first added easy access to Hulu, and once Hulu demanded that it be removed, boxee sadly complied. The latest move just seems "cold blooded," as now boxee users who attempt to surf over via a Hulu RSS feed link will be greeted with an infinite amount of nothing. boxee is quick to point out that its browser doesn't access Hulu content "any differently" than IE, Firefox, Opera or any other browser, which does a good job of explaining just how deliberate this move is. Needless to say, we get the feeling this bout is just getting started.[Image courtesy of ZatzNotFunny]Update: boxee now says things are working. For the moment, anyway. Feel free to join us as we throw our hands in the air and give up on understanding this mess.
Lots of Hulu content comes to Dailymotion
See this sense of friendship? We admire it. Rather than keeping all of its content to itself, Hulu has decided to shake hands with online video portal Dailymotion in order to give its viewers access to loads of Hulu material. A newly reached distribution agreement will give Dailymotion's audience "access to an additional 40,000 premium videos from Hulu's online video library, including full-length episodes from major television studios, full-length feature films from major film studios, as well as news and other content from more than 130 content providers." The new videos from Hulu will be slotted into Dailymotion's channels (Funny, Film & TV, Music, Sports & Extreme), and by using the company's own Videowall, Videozap or Jukebox, viewers will also be able to program Hulu content into their own channels and playlists. No wonder pay-TV providers are hastily trying to get in while the gettin' is good.
AT&T's U-verse: now with 100+ HD channels in every market
Look out, pay-TV providers -- AT&T just broke out the big stick and announced that it's now beaming at least 100 high-def channels in every last one of its markets. In fact, that's more HD channels than any local cable competitor in any existing U-verse market. Just in case you were wondering, customers won't be dinged any extra for the new additions, with HD service being included with the U450 tier and available for $10 per month with any other U-verse TV package. So yeah, we're stoked as can be for those with access to this stuff, but can we get a little market expansion going on now that the century mark has been passed?
U2 music video & concert collection hitting Comcast HD VOD
While we wait for someone to figure out how to squeeze the U2 3D experience down a coax wire, Comcast has gone ahead and put a few dozen of the band's concerts and videos on video on-demand and in high definition. The new album doesn't hit until next week but the video for the newest single Get On Your Boots is one of the available selections. Comcast claims users already watch 50-60 million music videos per month on VOD, and the prospect of pulling out an Irish flag and reliving the Vertigo tour's Chicago stop one more time is probably enough for us to join them.
Study shows Europe slow to bite on internet TV viewing
Given just how few Europeans are actually biting on pay-HDTV, we suppose we're not too surprised to see the results from Parks Associates Research's latest study. In looking at a number of European nations, the firm found that some 80 percent of broadband households "prefer a more traditional option for viewing video, including going to the cinema or watching a DVD." John Barrett, director of research at the company, noted that it "will be difficult for companies to sell video streams and downloads to consumers in Europe when there is this undercurrent of reluctance." Of course, we're not sure we believe all this doom and gloom -- surely it's just a matter of time before Euro cable companies are pulling the same trick as Comcast and TWC are looking to do. Or, so we hope.
ION scared off by the DTV transition, postpones debut another month
Seriously, ION, this is getting ridiculous. With a healthy dose of spin, ION TV is delaying its planned February 16 HD launch by a month so it will not coincide with the confusion around the DTV transition. We'll admit that the state of the analog shutoff is a real mess, but somehow we think that any money-making enterprise would want to sweep in with advertiser-loved HD content to put before viewers' eyes. Anyhow, the service is now planning to pull the HD trigger in 20 markets on March 16, and then 25 more markets on what we assume will be perfectly normal, nonconfusing days later in the year.EDIT: reworked a murky sentence for clarity.
The Simpsons goes HD tonight, new title sequence revealed
Switching to high definition isn't the only change for The Simpsons tonight, with the first permanent new intro since its debut in 1989 making its appearance. Fox uploaded the new opener on YouTube in widescreen, but not HD (embedded after the break.) Lined up with the Daytona 500 and newly refreshed King of the Hill we're liking all the Sunday HD on Fox all of a sudden.
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: February 14, 2009
Verizon's FiOS TV expansion team evidently took the week off, but the golfers sure showed up en masse. The Golf Channel HD landed in four separate FiOS markets, while Verizon's video-on-demand is expecting to keep lovebirds entertained today should they choose to "stay in." We'll see you right back here next -- here's hoping some good news hits your neighborhood within the next seven days.Read - Golf Channel HD in Richmond, Hampton RoadsRead - Golf Channel HD in Maryland, VirginiaRead - Golf Channel HD in Southeastern Pennsylvania and DelawareRead - Golf Channel HD in New York Metro AreaRead - Cupid Home-Delivers Romance on Valentine's Day With Help From Verizon's FiOS TV Video on Demand
MyNetworkTV changing programming, again
After abandoning its launch "all telenovelas, all the time" model MyNetworkTV made a turn for reality TV and a few new dramas, but you can kiss that plan goodbye as its switched up styles yet again. The new strategy focuses on syndicated content and less original programming, including a two hour Law & Order: CI block. Since WWE SmackDown is the only thing people really watch you can be sure it will stick around but really, who wants to bet we're just one more cycle from the first(?) "all Law & Order, all the time" network?[Via TV Squad]
Dragonball Z refreshed & renewed in HD for 20th Anniversary
Avoiding the obvious solution of gravity training, the original Dragonball Z TV series is getting remastered for HD, in honor of its 20th anniversary. According to this Shonen Jump scan, the reworked episodes will begin airing in Japan April 5, with footage extended (we're hoping that doesn't mean stretched, it doesn't seem like it) for 16x9 displays, with remastered sound effects and, where available, re-dubbed vocals by the original cast. The remastered edition will only consist of 100 episodes or so, but we're sure DBZ fans are already preparing to import this one on Blu-ray.[Via OKP]
