Filed under: ESPN-HD, Sports, New content

As scheduled, ESPNews HD is broadcasting to approximately 3.2 million people, the question for today is if you’re one of them. So let us know, do you have the channel, and in the comments note what provider and where you are. Comcast, DirecTV and Time Warner all have carriage agreements for the channel, if you don’t have it yet don’t forget to check ESPN2 HD at 11:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. today for the simulcast.

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Via [Engadgethd]

Popularity: 10% [?]

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Filed under: Industry, Blu-ray

Although adult film powerhouse Digital Playground originally supported HD DVD, ended up format agnostic and finally chose Blu-ray (on its own will, mind you), it’s safe to say its founder is quite happy with how the merry-go-round has played out. According to head honcho Joone, “Blu-ray sales [of its productions] are growing every month,” and most interestingly, he’s “seeing consumers accept Blu-ray much faster than they accepted DVD.” In the end, he feels that BD winning out will be best for his firm, as the extra 20GB gives the studio a lot more breathing room to flesh out, so to speak, titles. Potentially most intriguing, however, was Joone’s assertion that Digital Playground will be adding BD-Live features to its material towards the end of this year — no, we aren’t even going to guess what that addition could hold, but we won’t attempt to stop you from letting your mind wander.

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Via [Engadgethd]

Popularity: 10% [?]

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Filed under: Blu-ray

When SlySoft announced last week that it’d finally unlocked BD+ content, it got a lot of news coverage — even some in the mainstream media. But what didn’t get discussed was the fact that SlySoft didn’t get it done by the end of 2007, as previously promised. Well Ars took the story one step closer and among other things uncovered the real reason — no it wasn’t because it was so ‘hard’ — it took so long. Peer van Heuen, SlySoft head of HD technologies said in a post that “it was decided for strategic reasons to wait a bit for the outcome of the ‘format war’ between HD DVD and Blu-ray.” We bet Macrovision wished it’d waited a bit longer before dropping $45 Million purchase on another piece of useless DRM.

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Via [Engadgethd]

Popularity: 11% [?]

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Filed under: Industry, Cables

Custom installers and everyday consumers don’t always have the same requirements for A/V gear. As we’ve mentioned before, HDMI has had some problems, but it is taking off. Follow the “read” link to get CE Pro’s suggestions on what HDMI can do to help win over installers; we’ve got a feeling the proposed changes would make Joe and Jane Six Packs alike happy, too. We’ll start off with our biggest HDMI pet peeve — captive/locking connectors! Simply put: HDMI needs ‘em. Next up, the major teething problems associated with HDMI versions 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 seem to be behind us and 1.3 seems to be a stable spec; the task at hand is to spread this info among installers (especially ones who were bitten by earlier version problems). To CE Pro’s list, we’d add that all the various flavors of HDMI-CEC need to be brought under control — when units like the Onkyo TX-SA606X get singled out for interoperability, it means lots of consumers aren’t enjoying any ease of use. What would you like to see in the HDMI spec?

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Via [Engadgethd]

Popularity: 11% [?]

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Filed under: Industry, Regulatory, Set-top boxes, Tuners, OTA

Did you get a DTV converter box yet? If so, Microtune, a company that makes tuners used in some of the boxes, may have some bad news for you. In a test of five different boxes (off the shelf) that did not employ its tuners, all five showed interference problems. Unfortunately, there’s no detailed description of the observed problems, but in a letter to the NTIA, the company’s President said that the units did not meet the FCC requirements for coupon-eligible converters. Sure, the fact that Microtune is the only U.S. manufacturer of tuners used in any of the DTV converters puts an air of skepticism over the whole matter. But we’re in agreement with the company’s contention that trouble-free operation is well worth a marginal cost increase to the consumer. Hopefully the company will come forth with a more detailed description of its findings so we’ll know whether to add “has a Microtune tuner” to the list of criteria for DTV converter selection.

[Via TVSnob]

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Via [Engadgethd]

Popularity: 17% [?]

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Filed under: Media PCs, Others

Those on the hunt for a pre-fabricated HTPC can’t complain about a lack of choices these days, but if you’ve yet to be taken aback by anything out there, why not give Mesiro’s Merium a glance? The standout feature here isn’t the 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500 processor, 250GB internal HDD, dual-layer DVD burner, GMA950 graphics accelerator, WiFi, 5-in-1 multicard reader or the bundled MCE remote — oh no, it’s the interchangeable chassis covers (weird, right?). Yep, you can swap out the covers on this rig whenever you feel the urge, ensuring that there’s a case for every occasion. Unfortunately, those in America who’d like to get in on this won’t appreciate the €999 ($1,578) price tag, and those €55 ($87) faceplates aren’t any easier to swallow.

[Via MoCo Loco]

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Via [Engadgethd]

Popularity: 9% [?]

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Filed under: CBS, The CW, Fox, HBO-HD, Listings

What we’re watching tonight:

• CW (1080i) has WWE Smackdown! at 8 p.m.
• CBS (1080i) continues NCAA Sweet 16 action at 7 p.m.
• Fox (720p) leaves Canterbury’s Law in its new time at 9 p.m.
• HBO (1080i) has the season finale of In Treatment at 9:30 p.m.
• Sci Fi (1080i) gets ready for the return of Battlestar Galactica with two specials at 10 & 10:30 p.m.

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Via [Engadgethd]

Popularity: 11% [?]

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Although we’re still one shy of the three promised earlier this month, ATMC Cable subscribers in North Carolina can kick back and enjoy two more newcomers. Effective immediately, subscribers of the mini-carrier can find Animal Planet HD and Science Channel HD on slots 931 and 964, respectively, and per usual, neither will cost HD customers anything extra. Curiously, the release fails to mention the still missing PBS HD, but hopefully it too will surface sooner rather than later.

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Via [Engadgethd]

Popularity: 9% [?]

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Filed under: Speakers, Others

Looking for the perfect match for your JBL Cinema Sound CSS10W wireless subwoofer? Worry no more, as the aforementioned outfit has just announced that its ES Series of loudspeakers are getting boxed up and shipped out as we speak. The family includes the ES10 wall-mount / bookshelf monitor, the ES20 / ES30 bookshelf speakers, ES80 / ES90 floorstanders, the ES25C center channel and a pair of subwoofers (ES150P / ES250P) for those rolling without an earth-shaker. The whole gang can be had for around $239 to $1,198 per pair — hit up the read link for all the nitty-gritty, and peep the gallery below to see if the ES Series is really your style.

[Via Widescreen Review]

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Via [Engadgethd]

Popularity: 13% [?]

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Filed under: Industry, Blu-ray, Sony

Our favorite database of Blu-ray statistics has gone above and beyond the call of logging data and has detailed the forthcoming rollout of BD-Live titles. Granted, we already knew of — and played with — some BD-Live-enabled films, but this list goes beyond Saw IV and War and touches on flicks landing anywhere between next week and later this summer. Let’s just hope designers come up with something a touch more riveting than Yakuza Fighter. Hit the read link and dig in!

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Via [Engadgethd]

Popularity: 12% [?]

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