All you movie addicts who own the PlayStation 3 no longer have to envy Xbox 360 users. Sony and Netflix are teaming up to bring movie streaming to the Ps3. The bonus for those on the PlayStation Network is, since your PSN accounts are free, all you need is a Netflix account to watch movies whereas Xbox 360 users need a $50-per-year Xbox Live Gold membership. The service will launch in November and if you decide to use your PS3 to access your Netflix account (why wouldn’t you?), Netflix will send a Blu-Ray disc that will allow you to access its library. It might seem like a hassle to pop in the disc every time you want to watch movies, but Netflix says it’s working on a software update for the PS3 that will do away with the need for a disc. It looks like you gamers and movie buffs are about to see double the couch time.

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One of our oh-so-trusty ninjas hit us up last night with the above photo. It’s the much-rumored Qualcomm FLO TV personal TV unit. While Qualcomm is mostly known for making processors for mobile devices, it looks like they will be branching outside of their normal work and possibly manufacturing hardware, at least based on what we’ve been hearing about the FLO PTV product. FLO TV is available currently on AT&T and Verizon network handsets (depending on model) and uses a specific frequency separate of cellular signals to broadcast live TV to phones and devices. What the PTV product would do, is work as a standalone device which we’re hearing would also double as a portable media player of some kind. Previous rumors have pegged the device as having a capacitive touch screen, 4GB of built-in storage space and stereo speakers. Those specs fit in line with what we’ve been told. Sorry the picture isn’t a little bigger, but hey, it’s better than some sketches, right?

Ahh, Apple TV. The bastard child of Apple’s portfolio. Some live and die by it, some fall into a deep sleep upon simply hearing its name uttered but most just don’t care about it one way or the other. If you always found Apple’s set top offering somewhat interesting but couldn’t rationalize dropping $229 on the 40GB model or $329 on the 160GB model, a small overnight shake up may interest you. The aforementioned 40GB has now gone the way of the Dodo, leaving but one size to fit all. More importantly, the 160GB version that remains now sits at the $229 price point vacated by the smaller model. It’s nice to see the product priced more reasonably but the fact remains — subscription services like Netflix streaming and integrated options afforded by products like LG’s BD390 pique our interest far more than Apple’s offering will any time soon.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

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File this little guy under gadgets we need ASAP. VUDU has been tearing it up lately as the company wisely broadens its horizons beyond dedicated set top boxes. The HD on-demand content provider recently announced partnerships that bring its service to various LG and Mitsubishi flat-panel televisions, and now VUDU is taking things to a new range of products: LG Blu-ray players. It certainly makes sense — if you’re going to add an on-demand HD streaming service to a line of home theater components, why not make them Blu-ray players? The first LG model that will be graced with VUDU service is the BD390, which is available now with an MSRP of $399. VUDU will go live on the player via a free software update toward the end of the month, though CEDIA attendees will be able to get a preview of the VUDU-enabled player this week at the show. If you have a High Def addiction and you’ve given up fighting it long ago, the BD390 is definitely the 1080p fix you’ve been looking for. Hit the jump for the full release.

VUDU NOW AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY PLAYERS

VUDU Extends Footprint of Industry-Leading HD Movie Service

To LG Electronics’ Network Blu-ray Disc Player

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 9, 2009 – VUDU, Inc.’s industry-leading on-demand high definition (HD) movie service is now available on the BD390 Network Blu-ray Disc player from LG Electronics, giving consumers a whole new way to access the largest on-demand HD library of Hollywood movies in their living rooms, the company announced today.

VUDU continues to work with top consumer electronics manufacturers to become more accessible to customers who want to rent or buy major Hollywood movies in high definition.  The VUDU service, already available on flat-panel HDTVs, uniquely delivers the largest available HD movie library of instantly-viewable movies in 1080p with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound and provides customers with VUDU’s superior user experience for finding and watching movies in high definition.

“Our goal as a company is to offer the best possible HD movie service to the broadest possible audience,” said Alain Rossmann, CEO of VUDU.  “By adding the top-rated LG BD390 Blu-ray player to the lineup of VUDU-enabled products, we’ve made it easier than ever for customers to enjoy the VUDU experience.”

Some of VUDU’s key features include:

• Instant viewing experience:  unlike typical Internet and on-demand video streaming, VUDU movies start immediately, and viewers can fast forward, rewind and browse chapters without the delays or the frustration associated with buffering
• Highest quality video:  VUDU’s unique HDX format delivers true 1080p resolution and TruFilm encoding enhancements, now available for the first time on an instant-start basis
• Immersive sound:  VUDU is the only on-demand service to deliver Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound at all video quality levels
• No monthly fees: customers can instantly buy or rent from VUDU’s extensive library of standard and high definition movie and TV titles without any monthly service charges
• Largest HD library anywhere: over 2,200 titles are available in HD or HDX format
• New releases: Newly-released titles from all major studios are available the same day as DVD release, typically months before they are available on subscription-based service.

LG’s BD390 networked Blu-ray player transforms and personalizes the home theater experience by offering a stellar array of entertainment options.  In addition to its broadband capabilities, the BD390 offers exceptional “Full HD” 1080p video performance and exceptional image quality from standard DVDs with 1080p up-scaling via HDMI output. The BD390 is also equipped for easy connection to the home network and has one gigabyte (GB) of built-in memory for BD Live functionality.

Model BD390 with LG’s “NetCast Entertainment Access” feature is available now at nationwide retailers at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $399. VUDU connectivity will be available at the end of the month via a free upgrade.

File this one under “huh?” According to a report from gdgt this morning, Qualcomm is readying a portable tablet-like dedicated FLO TV device that will provide users with TV on the go. Dubbed a Portable Television, or PTV, Qualcomm’s upcoming device is said to resemble the sketch above and is thought to be about the size of an iPhone. Reported specs include a capacitive touchscreen, 4GB of memory, stereo speakers and battery life to the tune of 300 hours of standby, 5 hours of TV and 15 hours of music. We’re not sure exactly who the device will be marketed toward or what hole it fills that is big enough to warrant a dedicated device, but all will be revealed soon — or at least by early next near at CES. Is anyone into the idea of a dedicated PTV or is convergence still the name of the game?

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We were pretty clear in sharing our feelings where Palm’s Pre commercials are concerned but just in case our headline wasn’t clear enough for you, we don’t like them. In a nutshell, they make us want to curl up in a corner and cry, not run out and buy a Pre. Gary Koepke is the co-founder of Modernista, the agency behind the ads, and he recently defended his work in an interview with AdAge:

We weren’t trying to creep people out, but one thing I have learned now in this digital age is people can be as rude as they want as long as they don’t have to look you in the face. The Pre is probably being talked about more than other phones right now because of the marketing and advertising, and that’s a good thing. Could the ads work harder to show exactly how the phone works? Yes, but we knew it would be polarizing people to have a woman not shout at them and tell an interesting story.

It’s a very different look and feel for this sector. There’s nobody involved in an iPhone ad, and ‘Your life is on BlackBerry’ — isn’t that great? Instead of having a life? We wanted a middle ground between those two places — what about the people who want a really great smartphone?

Fair enough, sir, but allow us to reiterate our stance in the context of the second portion of the quote above. Putting our “Joe Consumer” hat on for a moment, when we see an iPhone ad on TV, we walk away thinking ‘cool, the iPhone can do tons of great stuff because it has so many sweet apps’. When we see a BlackBerry commercial (aside from the horrible U2 spot), we walk away thinking ‘ok, BlackBerry rocks the business world but it can hang in the consumer market, too. It does it all’. When we see a Pre commercial, we walk away thinking ‘crack’.

But let’s face it — money talks. Television advertising exists to drive sales and if Pre sales to date were anything to write home about, Sprint and Palm would have thrown out some numbers by now. With the top two smartphone brands in the US doing gangbusters — BlackBerrys are still burning up the market and Apple hawked over 5 million iPhones last quarter — it’s no wonder they’re keeping quiet.

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We love you Palm, we really do. WebOS is in a small club of mobile platforms that is as versatile and visually pleasing as it is powerful and it has all the potential in the world… If Palm can manage to sell the handsets that it powers. We still don’t know how many Pres have been sold and analyst guesses range from 200,000 to 500,000 and beyond. What we do know however, is that Palm isn’t doing itself any favors with its faux esoteric, new age TV ads starring a mescaline-addicted albino woman. Love the Pre or hate it, do these commercials really want to make anyone run out and buy a Pre? Palm’s latest ad has this creepy lady babbling over an Ulrich Schnauss track about how her phone can read her mind and how people think she’s crazy. The Palm Pre — you know, the phone they’re trying to sell here — doesn’t even make an appearance until 22 seconds into this 30 second spot. Right. We get the point you’re trying to make, Palm, but we don’t walk away from this ad thinking, “Wow, I really want to buy a Pre because it’s remarkably intuitive and I don’t follow the herd!” No, we walk away thinking, “Wow, this chick needs an intervention.” Hit the jump to check out the commercial and hit Palm execs in the head for letting an ad agency convince them that this run was a good idea.

Changeover day came and went this past Friday and while the vast majority of the country likely didn’t even notice, a handful of people were in for a rude awakening as analog broadcasts ended. Over the past week, the FCC’s official help line received about 700,000 calls — 347,450 on Friday alone — regarding issues leading up to and following the changeover. About a third of Friday’s calls were from people still looking for coupons to help pay for digital converter boxes and another third were from people having trouble operating their converters. About 20 percent of the calls were regarding reception issues. Michael Copps, acting FCC Chairman, had this to say regarding the tidal wave of calls:

Our job is far from over. This transition is not a one-day affair. We have known about re-scanning and reception issues for some time and have been doing our best to get the word out.

Re-scanning, as Copps mentioned, is said to resolve reception issues a great deal of the time. So, if Grandma decides to call you for tech support rather than dialing up 1-888-CALL-FCC, that should likely be the first stop on the troubleshooting train. As for BGR readers, we imagine most if not all of you have already been enjoying some kind of digital broadcast for years now. There are always a few stragglers though — anyone caught with their pants down this past Friday? Figuratively, that is.

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Today is the day our grandparents have been dreading for quite some time now — that is, if they even knew DTV was on its way. Today is Friday, June 12th, and the switch from analog to digital TV is upon us. While those of us with modern sets and digital cable/satellite/etc have nothing to worry about of course, the generation of analog signals and Rabbit Ears may not be prepared. Then again, if you’re like some of us here at BGR, your grandparents have way more intense set ups than you and it makes you feel a tad uncomfortable. Moving along, it’s estimated that around 3 million US households are not prepared for the switch so Oprah, don’t be surprised if your numbers drop off for a short while. As for the rest of us, if your grandfather is threatening to cut you out of the will unless you come fix his box so he can watch the talkies again, the FCC’s DTV website is a good place for you to start.

Adobe is bringing Flash and HD content into your living rooms via set-top boxes, Blu-Ray players and other Internet-capable equipment. If you’re thinking it’s going to be a small or niche market participating in this program, think again — content providers already on board include Atlantic Records, Comcast, Disney Interactive, Intel, Netflix and even The New York Times amongst many others. The Adobe Flash Platform for Digital Home is available right now for OEMs and will be hitting System on Chip vendors in the latter half of 2009 ensuring all of your favorite Flash-based web content, videos, applications and services will become accessible to screens beyond just the computer. Of course, we have all been expecting this since Adobe first began moving forward with the Open Screen Project but we’re pretty excited about this coming digital technology and the fact that so many big industry players are involved. Hit the jump for additional details and information.

Flash Platform News

Flash Platform for the Digital Home
A new Flash runtime optimized for Internet connected televisions, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players and other digital home devices.  Brings HD videos, interactive applications and services, new user interfaces and other rich web content to digital living room devices.

Partners
Major System on Chips (SoC) vendors, OEMs, cable operators and content providers are announcing support for the optimized Flash runtime including Broadcom, Intel, Comcast, Disney Interactive, Netflix, New York Times Company, NXP Semiconductors, Sigma Designs, STMicroelectronics, Atlantic Records etc.

Availability
The optimized Flash runtime is available immediately to silicon vendors and OEMs.  SoC platforms, televisions and other devices are expected to be available with support for the new runtime in the second half of ’09.

Data points:

• Close to 420 million televisions, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players and other connected digital home devices are expected to ship with the next 3 years.  (Source: Strategy Analytics: Digital Media Devices Global Market Report December 2009)
• Adobe Flash Player content reaches over 98% of Internet-enabled desktops.  According to data from independent research firm comScore (Feb ‘09), approximately 80% of online videos worldwide are viewed using Adobe Flash technology, making Flash the #1 platform for video on the web.
• Flash Player 10 was installed on more than 55% of computers worldwide in just the first two months of its release, and is expected to surpass 80% in Q2 ‘09, far outpacing the installation rate of past versions. (Source: Third-party survey by Millward Brown that determines these stats, the survey methodology, breakdown by version, etc at http://www.adobe.com/products/player_census/flashplayer/ )
• The mobile Flash runtime has shipped and delivered Flash technology based content on close to 40% of all new mobile phones and devices in 2008.  More than 1 billion mobile phones and devices have shipped with Flash by the end of Q1 ‘09.  (Source: Strategy Analytics Forecast, Jan 2009)  Flash Player 10 for smartphones is on track for OEM avail in second half of ‘09.  First platforms to be supported: Symbian, WiMo, Android and Palm webOS

Flash Platform for the Digital Home – Partner Quotes

Comcast: “Comcast is constantly working to deliver richer user interfaces and services to our customers,” said Labeeb Ismail, vice president, Technology at Comcast. “As an active participant of the Open Screen Project, we are working closely with Adobe to integrate the optimized Flash runtime with tru2way technology, enabling a new range of engaging, interactive services to consumers.”

Disney: “Disney and Adobe share the vision of extending HD video and rich, engaging experiences across multiple screens,” said Bud Albers, CTO and senior vice president at Disney Interactive Media Group. “Adobe Flash technology plays an important role in delivering the latest Disney content via the web, mobile phones and other consumer electronics. As a leading innovator for media and entertainment, we are excited about the opportunities of Flash based applications and services coming to televisions.”

Intel: “Intel and Adobe have a long history of collaboration and have worked together to optimize Flash technology for the digital home on the Intel® Media Processor CE 3100, the first in a new family of purpose-built Intel System-on-Chips (SoCs) for CE devices,” said William O. Leszinske Jr., general manager of Intel’s Digital Home Group. “As an active participant of the Open Screen Project, we recognize the value of extending rich, Flash based Internet content and applications to a broad range of devices in your pocket, on your lap, at the office and now in your living room. We are excited to integrate the optimized Flash runtime into digital home platforms featuring Intel’s SoC, such as advanced set-top boxes, high-definition digital televisions, Blu-ray Disc players and other connected AV devices.”

Netflix: “As the world’s leading online movie rental service, Netflix always seeks new ways for subscribers to find and enjoy the movies they’ll love,” said Bill Holmes, vice president of Business Development at Netflix. “Adobe’s Flash Platform for the Digital Home offers great promise as Netflix continues its expansion directly to the television with our consumer electronics partners.”

New York Times: “The New York Times is pleased to work with Adobe on the Open Screen Project,” said Michael Zimbalist, vice president of Research and Development Operations at The New York Times Company. “The extension of Flash technology to digital home devices is an important step in delivering applications consistently across screens and will help the Times Company better deliver our high quality news, information and multimedia to the digital living room.”

Sigma Designs: “Sigma Designs has long recognized that IPTV is the future, and has been a constant innovator of SoC solutions for IP-connected set top boxes and Blu-ray players,” said Ken Lowe, vice president for Business Development and Strategic Marketing at Sigma Designs. “Consumers clearly want to access Flash based HD videos and other rich web content on their televisions. We are working closely with Adobe to integrate the optimized Flash runtime into our SoC solutions to enable a better, more interactive user experience on connected digital home devices.”

Adobe Dynamic Media Organization (DMO) News

Strobe:  New software framework, code-named Strobe, which aids in the development of an open industry standard for media players and accelerates the creation and delivery of high-quality video and interactive experiences for web audiences. Strobe will offer production-ready software components for media players, reducing the time content publishers spend creating their own playback technologies.

Preview of Adobe Story:  Collaborative online scriptwriting for use in film, broadcast, and rich media. Adobe Story captures metadata in the script, the earliest part of the production chain, and will enable users to collaborate on scripts and expand their ideas.  A public beta is expected to be avail on Adobe Labs in late ‘09.

Premiere Pro CS4 version 4.1:  Free update for existing customers. Includes compatibility with RED R3D content for users of laptops and lower-powered systems, and support for an updated RED plug-in.

This freshly leaked little guy from LG isn’t exactly a marvel of modern design, but word on the street has it making its way to North and South America in the near future. Pogo Flipster* anyone? Apparently positioned as an update to the LG HB620T TV phone, the GM630 maintains the same look and shape but thankfully ditches that annoying little antenna. As far as known specs go, they certainly aren’t going to knock you out of your seat: GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth, FM radio, microSD slot, 2 megapixel camera and, of course, TV accessible via a dedicated button. Assuming it does in fact hit the US and it falls into the very affordable category, we can see some people snagging one as a cheap option for a MediaFLO-ready handset. Not any of you of course, but some people. Hit the jump for a few more shots.

*Two points if you knew what that was without looking it up.

[Via Unwired View]

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According to NewTeeVee, RIM may be launching a new service that will allow BlackBerry owners to download TV episodes to their handsets. The service, possibly announced as soon as next week at CTIA, would require a monthly subscription fee and would provide unlimited downloads from a catalog of TV episodes licensed from several broadcast and cable companies. Once an episode is selected, the video content will supposedly be downloaded via Wi-Fi to the handset and stored locally for viewing on the go. Since the service uses Wi-Fi and not the cellular signal to download content, all Verizon Wireless and most Sprint Blackberry owners need not apply. Crazy…

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It looks like Xboxers might not be the only gaming console owners who will be able enjoy Netflix streaming in the future, provided customers show interest that is. A new survey currently being conducted by Netflix asks users a variety of questions surrounding the idea of streaming Netflix content directly to their Wii consoles. The survey also questions what the requirement to purchase a $10 “Netflix Instant Streaming Disc” would do to Wii streaming desirability, leading us to believe Nintendo has absolutely no interest in making the service available any time soonvia a firmware update. $10 to stream to the Wii and avoid purchasing and setting up yet another hardware device? Count us in. Reports also suggest a similar survey covering PlayStation 3 is currently being circulated. What do you guys think — would you pay $10 to add Netflix streaming to your Wii or PS3?

Thanks, Jon Jon!

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Official word that VUDU jazzed up its service offering with the addition of Pandora came through this morning but now some less-than-official news is creeping out that may be even more interesting. As you can see in the leaked screen shot above, VUDU is currently working on a new feature called Home Movies. According to Zatz Not Funny!, Home Movies will provide a Slingcatcher-like PC to TV streaming experience. It will reportedly allow users to stream H.264 video from a PC to the VUDU box, plugging yet another hole hole as the team continues to add value beyond HD movie rentals and purchases. It looks like the advent of the RIA platform was indeed a pretty effective catalyst for VUDU — let’s hope it can continue to add new features and services as the company makes its best effort to weather the storm.

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Since the announcement of VUDU’s Rich Internet Application (RIA) platform, we’ve been waiting for some new big news to come down from the Santa Clara-based set top box-based movie distributor and this morning it looks like we’ve got it. Pandora, perhaps the most popular among a new wave of intelligent internet radio services, is now available via VUDU hardware. Pandora represents the first music application to hit the VUDU box and owners will have full access to just about all of Pandora’s great functionality. VUDU’s implementation also allows for multiple log-ins, allowing each member of a household to easily access his/her custom stations. The Pandora application is integrated seamlessly into VUDU’s sexy UI, as seen above, likely making it the most attractive Pandora-streaming option currently available. The addition of Pandora is awesome of course, but we’re still waiting for a monthly subscription option in addition to a la carte movie rentals/purchases before we get too excited about the service in general.

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By now you’ve no doubt heard of the recent Hulu on Boxee situation. Three sentence recap for those who haven’t: Boxee is a media management/viewing/streaming application for Mac and PC that became a popular way for users to enjoy Hulu content on computers or on an Apple TV. Hulu told Boxee to stop serving its content. Boxee complied.

With that out of the way, Boxee released a new early build today and a quick look at the screen shot above reveals that, umm, Hulu content is back. Huh? No, Boxee and Hulu haven’t struck a new deal — Boxee decided to get a little sneaky and add Hulu feeds. Previously, the Boxee team had used some grade A hackery to present Hulu content but now it apparently hopes to circumvent issues of the past by serving up content through publicly available feeds. Why did Boxee do it despite agreeing to remove Hulu content? We imagine the majority of Boxee users had been drawn in by Hulu content and once it disappeared, many of them likely vanished along with it. We understand the need for Boxee to bring Hulu back to its app of course, but we also imagine this little stunt will do more harm than good as the company continues its attempts to hold more meetings with Hulu. What’s done is done though, and it will be interesting to see how Boxee vs. Hulu plays out.

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While there’s nothing more than a rogue screen-shot to go by at the moment, we wouldn’t rule this one out as a possible feature of the upcoming Roku software revision. Currently in private beta, Roku is testing its new Amazon VOD integration into what was previously a one-trick Netflix streaming pony. The integration with Amazon Video was a boon for anyone looking to extend the functionality of their little Roku and if the shot above is to be believed, we might see that value extended even further. Sounds good, right? While it’s still quite a ways off from being a direct competitor to the Apple TV, the price is far more appealing for anyone looking to add a bit of streaming VOD to their home theater setup and it’s becoming more and more viable as a legitimate option for serious movie and video enthusiasts. Now all we need is a little Hulu support and we’ll consider ourselves more than happy. You listening Roku? Mmmmk, thanks.

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From what we have seen it looks like webOS is an all-new environment, so it would need an all-new SPM which would not be a small task. At this time we’re taking a wait and see approach to webOS. When it ships we’ll watch the adoption rate and decide if it warrants developing SPM for webOS or not. Keep in mind it has currently been announced for one device (the Pre) on one carrier (#3 and currently falling) so it remains to be seen if and when it appears on additional devices and carriers for the worldwide market and achieves a significant market share.

Burn! Whether his view on Sprint, Palm and its webOS is shared by other member of Sling Media remains to be seen but if it is indeed the consensus, then a mobile version of Sling Player for webOS may be a long time in the making.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

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If you’re an avid BGR reader, you’re probably all set to go for the switch to digital TV but if you’ve been slacking for whatever reason, there could be some good news for you. After a lot of bickering, the US Senate has just passed a bill to extend the switch from February 17 to June 12. Even though there was plenty of warning, lots of folks felt that February was just too soon and so the proposal for a delay is one step closer to being passed. Of course the bill still must make it through the House and the desk of the the President. For those who received a $40 coupon (to aid in the purchase of a digital converter box) that expired or is soon to expire, a new coupon can be requested should the bill pass. Seriously though, with the June 12 deadline and tax refunds on their way… Well, you know what we’re getting at. Now that the ultimate relief may soon be given to the nation’s biggest procrastinators, it’s time to get on the digital bandwagon folks.

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Well, Sling has gone and done it again. This time they’ve got some iPhone app nonsense for your TiVo-addicted souls. You might remember the initial “concept” version, but the new actual application was created within Apple’s SDK guidelines, thus making it App Store friendly. Sling is aiming to get this out in Q1, so let’s hope they make it this time. Pricing will most likely be the same as their other SlingPlayer Mobile applications — $29.99 — though they haven’t announced that yet.

If you’re a Mac user, they have also got somethin’ cooking for as well. Look forward to HD streaming through Sling.com. It’s essentially a web-based Mac SlingPlayer that links up just perfectly with your brand new PRO-HD box. Good stuff all around, guys.

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As is always the case, we can all expect plenty of home entertainment-related news to come this week as CES kicks off. New TVs, new Blu-ray players, new set top boxes and plenty of new technology will be showcased later this week and among the first to press release a big announcement is Intel. Alongside Adobe, Intel has announced plans to bring its new Media Processor CE 3100 to market along with a new optimized version of Adobe Flash. These efforts, according to Intel, will “provide consumers with richer and more seamless Web-based and video viewing experiences through advanced Intel-based cable set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players, digital TVs and retail connected AV devices.” Coincidentally, we want more seamless Web-based and video viewing experiences, so this new allegiance should work out perfectly. 2009 is looking to be the year of the multi-source set top box which is plenty interesting to say the least. Set top technology has hardly gone mainstream but manufacturers of all shapes and sizes are incredibly eager to make it happen. Of course they are, as set top boxes and video-on-demand services make spending money about as easy as buying insurance from Geico – even easier, perhaps.

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Samsung is expected to unveil a new LED-backlit LCD TV at CES that is a mere 7mm thick at its greatest width. For perspective, take a gander at the 7mm drill bit in the image above. That is one crazy thin and presumably ultra-fragile TV. Keep this beauty away from children, flying Wiimotes and people that sneeze with force. Samsung claims that this is the thinnest LCD TV on display at the present time and at 7mm we doubt anything else will come close. No other details about the TV has been released so we will have to wait until Wednesday to see what goodies Samsung has packed into this ultra-thin frame.

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Yeah we’ll take seven, thanks. LG is all set to unveil its latest creation at CES next week and we have to say, it looks like a doozy. The LH95 is poised to be announced as the world’s slimmest LED-lit LCD television and slender it is. With a profile of just 24.8mm, the LH95 is liable to snap in half in a light breeze. No worries though, we’ll keep ours inside and away from the elements. Beyond the slender form, the LH95 is no slouch when it comes to specs – 240Hz TrueMotion Drive technology and a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio fill out the package nicely. We’re still in the dark as far as pricing and availability are concerned but here are our educated guesses: 1H 2009, and too much.

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As BlackBerry users sit patiently and wait for the official BlackBerry beta program to FINALLY get under way, Sling Media has just cranked out a new build of its Windows Mobile application with a host of improvements. Most notably, SlingPlayer Mobile now supports 16 additional handsets sporting a range of display resolutions that had previously been unsupported. Is your weapon of choice among the list of newly-supported phones? Look no further:

• AT&T HTC Fuze
• AT&T LG Incite
• AT&T Pantech Duo
• AT&T Samsung Epix
• HP iPAQ 910
• Palm Treo Pro
• Sony Ericsson X1
• Sprint HTC Touch Diamond
• Sprint HTC Touch Pro
• Sprint Samsung ACE
• Sprint Treo 800w
• Verizon HTC Touch Pro
• Verizon Samsung Omnia
• Verizon Samsung Saga
• Verizon XV6900
• Motorola Q9h

The folks over at Sling sure have been busy lately but you know we’re never satisfied… What’s up with an iPhone app fellas? Oh well, hopefully we’ll get there soon enough. In the meantime if you’re a Slingbox owner with one of the devices listed above, definitely click through to the download page and get slinging.

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Remember those Friday nights when you’d rent video tapes by the bundle and watch them all as fast as you can because they were due back in two days and you knew it would take an eternity to rewind each one? Though we’ve come a long way from finely tuning the tracking knob on VCRs for better picture quality, we’re still going to miss these giant cassettes, if not for nostalgia. These days, it’s all about high-definition, Blu-ray and digital sound, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It was bound to happen sooner or later, and Distribution Video Audio in Burbank, CA, the last large-scale distributor of VHS tapes, has shipped its last batch. Anything left over will be given away or thrown away. Farewell, large, black, and cumbersome video tapes! We won’t forget you, until we do of course.

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Here it is folks, it’s what you’ve all been waiting for (or not): The very first Blu-ray / DVD hybrid disc. With permeable layers for DVD and Blu-ray, and different thicknesses between those layers, the lasers penetrate to certain depths allowing for either the DVD or Blu-ray to be read. There is one huge benefit to this new hybrid disc – backward compatibility. Instead of buying two copies of the same movie (we doubt you actually do that) on Blu-ray and DVD, you only need one disc to play in your Cadillac Escalade, portable DVD player or PS3. Get the picture? For now, it’s only available in Japan, but we suspect this technology will make its way to the States sooner or later. It would only make sense, right?

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We can’t hate it when we find out that something interesting is going to be unveiled at CES 2009 since all signs are pointing to the fact that it doesn’t look like it will be commonplace this time around. That won’t stop Sharp from showing up with a sweet arsenal, though it’s hard to call two new sets an arsenal. According to a Sharp executive, Sharp will be debuting two new Aquos HDTVs at CES that come packing integrated Blu-ray / DVD / CD players. There will be a 32″ model and a 42″ model unveiled and both will become available for sale shortly after the show. As far as pricing, Sharp will wait for the show to make anything official, though rumor has it the 42″ model will come in somewhere around $2,000 and will also feature 1080p HD resolution and a 120Hz frame-rate processing. We definitely can’t wait to check out these new Aquos sets along with what will hopefully be a few surprises from Sharp at CES next month.

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VUDU swings for the fences and connects! Big news from California-based set top box provider VUDU this morning, as the company announces a huge new addition to its arsenal — the VUDU RIA (Rich Internet Application) platform. Last time we covered VUDU, it was beefing up its 1080p offering and doling out generous $200 download credits for new customers (which is still available until the end of the year, by the way). This time around however, VUDU has something entirely new and different up its sleeve. Its freshly announced RIA platform is a tremendous step for set top boxes and a sharp deviation from the norm. In a nutshell, it is an open platform that paves a direct path to your television for an endless amount of internet-based content. To start things off, VUDU has a few new services that showcase the potential of its RIA platform: over 120 completely free on-demand TV channels with standard and high definition content, access to the entire YouTube video library, a handful of casual games and a portal into picture services such as Flickr and Picasa. Yeah, big time. VUDU will continue to add new content throughout 2009 and will open its platform to third party developers sometime in the first half of 2008. From the looks of things, 2009 is the year of VUDU. Hit the jump for two more screen shots.

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Sometimes you just have to sit back and wonder what TiVo is thinking. Apparently the biz dev team there doesn’t think the unending onslaught of television commercials is enough to drive the average television watcher completely insane, so it seems to be doing everything it can to place ads over every last square inch of the TiVo UI. TiVo users may have thought that every possible screen was already laced with advertising banners but it looks like there’s at least one spot that hasn’t been covered yet – the pause screen. That’s right folks, now you can’t even escape TiVo’s ads when you pause your set. Great. For the time being, only Series 2 box owners get this extra little bit of spam to enjoy but Series 3 owners can expect it soon enough. So let’s see. TiVo upfront costs: $150 – $600. Typical cable company DVR upfront cost: $0. TiVo monthly cost: $13. Typical cable company DVR monthly cost: $7 – $10. TiVo: ads everywhere. Typical cable company DVR: minimal or even no ads. But hey, at least with TiVo you can order fast food without even having to reach for a phone…

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Listen up, couch potatoes! It looks like NetFlix and Vudu might not be the only streaming services that will offer up a high definition content. Opening up Amazon Video On Demand on your TiVo now shows a tab called “Available in High Definition,” but apparently clicking on it does nothing. A teaser, maybe? Or a slip up? We get the feeling that we’ll all find out very soon, but it seems as though it’s a done deal. Blockbuster is going to have to do something about the “DVD quality” streams they’ll be doing via set-top boxes in order to keep up with the game. So, if you subscribe to Amazon’s video service and would like to do us a favor, keep clicking it every five minutes and tell as soon as it works, thanks. Otherwise, we’ll keep you all updated as soon as we find out ourselves.

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