With no real announcement Microsoft has dropped the price of its Zune HD 16GB and 32GB models by $20. The Microsoft online store, as well as Best Buy, have the media players priced at $199 and $269 respectively. Amazon and Walmart have dropped the 32GB model by $40, offering it at $249 (Reg. $289). The 16GB model is currently $188 (Reg. $219). Full Story
For the first time Cox Communications will provide all its Winter Olympics coverage, approximately 835 hours of it, in high-definition. Cox says it is also providing the content online and On Demand, at no additional cost to subscribers. For online distribution, the Cox/NBC Universal agreement includes 1,000+ hours of digital content which will be available to customers with at least Expanded Basic service. Full Story
Endeavour’s 13-day, STS-130 mission is scheduled for liftoff at 4:39 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 7. HDNet will start covering the lift off at 4:00 a.m., with a re-broadcast the launch on Sunday, February 7 at 11:00 a.m. ET. This is the last scheduled night time launch for the Space Shuttle Mission. (See remaining launch dates below.) Full Story
V Network (V HD) has been added to the Shaw Direct lineup in Canada, where the cable provider offers French programming in both standard and high definition. The addition will allow Shaw Direct to provide more coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, as well as movies and live events. Full Story
If you subscribe to Charter Communications you’ll soon be able to get Epix HD, a premium movie channel launched in Oct. ‘09 by Viacom Inc., its Paramount Pictures unit, MGM and Lionsgate. Epix is currently running films like Star Trek, GI Joe, and Paranormal Activity, as well as comedy and concert programming. Full Story
There are lots of re-released Academy Award Winning films on the on the Blu-ray shelves this week. The packaging on these releases will be different than the originals, with a gold background to indicate an award winning film. Some other re-releases, like Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, boast digital re-mastering and audio upgrade to DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1.
The Godfather (Coppola Restoration) Parts I and II have been released as single Blu-ray Discs under the Sapphire Series label. Although they were already available in giftset form along with Part III, some of you may have held out for only the first two films. Full Story
Last night, on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, 2k Games premiered the launch trailer for their newest title Bioshock 2. Full Story
Netflix has announced the addition of 300 titles from several independent film distributers including The Criterion Collection, Gravitas Ventures, Kino Lorber, Music Box Films, Oscilloscope Laboratories and Regent Releasing. If the titles aren’t available for streaming now, Netflix says they will be available early next year. (Next year? Your guess is as good as mine.) However, some deals with the distributors include new releases as they become available while under contract. Full Story
Sony has launched the official website for The Last Guardian which includes screenshots and videos. The Playstation 3 game, known as “Hitokui no Ōwashi Trico” in Japan, was developed by Team Ico (Shadow of the Colossus) and is set to release sometime this year. The Last Guardian is a third-person perspective game (announced at E32009) that combines action with puzzle solving. Check out more screenshots and videos on the game’s official website.
This Tuesday, Feb. 2, the first two episodes of the final season of Lost will premiere. The ABC show, which started in 2004, will continue the story of the fictional crash of Flight 815 and promises a shocking finale this year. “We felt that this was the only way to give Lost a proper creative conclusion,” said ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson. Full Story
Mass Effect 2 is, without a doubt, one of the most impressive games that I have ever had the pleasure of playing. The fidelity of the graphics engine, the cinematic story telling and the rich universe that BioWare has created are light years ahead of anything else on the market today. However, as I play Mass Effect 2, I can’t help but question whether I am witnessing the evolution of the modern roleplaying game or the modern shooter. It’s an identity crisis that continually jolts me from my immersion in the story and makes me concerned about the homogenization of one of my favorite gaming genres. Full Story
Parts of Connecticut are now getting MSNBC and MSNBC HD through AT&T’s U-verse service. The standard-definition version can be found on channel 215 (as part of the U100 package), and the high-definition version on channel 1215. Full Story
One of Sony’s most eagerly awaited games, God of War III, finally has an official release date. Hungry Kratos fans can get there hands on this PS3 exclusive starting Tuesday, March 16th. Full Story
Verizon says they will launch MSNBC throughout the New York metropolitan area on Feb. 2, however, they will not be providing the HD simulcast which is available in 1080i. Well, the 480i feed is at least a start. Previously Verizon, along with AT&T, was in a carriage dispute with area cable provider Cablevision, preventing them from broadcasting the channel. Full Story
Today Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs finally unveiled the iPad, an HD tablet designed to fill the space between the iPhone and the home PC. Not only will this new tablet run HD movies, iWorks and Safari, but Jobs also boasts that it was built to run iPhone apps and games, full screen, at two times their native resolution. Full Story
With yesterday’s release of their latest and greatest game, BioWare’s project director Casey Hudson has been fielding an awful lot of interest from Hollywood. The subject of interest is, not surprisingly, the epic, character driven world of Mass Effect. Full Story
Comcast has added 36 HD channels for customers in Pittsburgh, PA, according to TVPredictions.com. The new high-definition channels include Travel Channel HD, Comedy Central HD, Nickelodeon HD and Weather Channel HD. Full Story
The BBC will broadcast every match of the RBS Six Nations Championship in HD this year, a first for the rugby series. The Six Nations will start off Feb. 6, 2010 on BBC One and BBC HD with Ireland versus Italy. In the US, the game appears on the BBC America schedule, although it is not clear whether it will be in HD or not. Full Story
What are the current top selling Blu-ray Discs? According to Home Media Research, the top selling BD for the week ending Jan. 17 was The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), followed by The Hangover (Warner) and District 9 (Sony Pictures). In fourth and fifth place positions were Inglourious Basterds (Universal) and Halloween II (Sony Pictures). Full Story
Oppo has released the BDP-80 Blu-ray Disc player, their cheapest player yet at $289. The BDP-80 features 1080p24 at 24Hz, SACD & DVD-Audio/Video, and BD-Live (w/1GB memory). For audio the BDP-80 supports Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, 7.1 Channel output, and comes with digital optical and coaxial outputs. Full Story
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