Verizon FiOS announced the launch of WFN HD (World Fishing Network HD) in the New York City metropolitan area. The network will be available on channel 597 in parts of the five boroughs area, Long Island, the suburbs just north of the city, and northern New Jersey.  Pro anglers Charlie Moore, Bob & Wayne Izumi, Angelo Viola, Dave Mercer and J.P. DeRose provide an in-depth look at the sport of fishing. Full Story »

Too Human was released for Xbox 360 today. The third-person action game puts you in the role of Baldur, the cybernetic son of Odin. It is his duty to protect humans from a rising ancient machine presence set on ending human life. The game can be played individually or cooperatively on Xbox LIVE with Gold Membership. Full Story »

Toshiba has released its first attempt at getting near HD quality when viewing standard-definition DVDs. The XD-E500, now available from select retailers, up-converts to 1080p, and gives you three modes to improve the quality of your DVD image. In a preliminary spec sheet, Toshiba outlines how this new player will improve your viewing experience. Full Story »

A new guide to the digital transition coming in February explains how the transition will affect current television transmissions and how you can be prepared. “DTV Transition 101: A Video Guide,” brought to you by Broadcasting & Cable, also gives an overview of digital TVs and antenna, and tutorials demonstrate how to set up your digital-to-analog converter boxes. Full Story »

Warner Bros. Digital Distribution is celebrating Warner Bros. Entertainment’s 85th anniversary by releasing 85 of its classic films in HD VOD (High-Definition Video-On-Demand). Movies from the library already available on-demand include “Superman: The Movie,” “Casablanca” and “Full Metal Jacket”. Some of the titles are being offered for the first time in high-definition. Full Story »

Cable television provider Comcast increased its HD (High-Definition) channel offerings yesterday by adding nine new networks. The new HD channels are Disney HD, ABC Family HD, TLC HD, AMC HD, Science Channel HD, Animal Planet HD, Sci-Fi HD, TMC HD and Showtime 2 HD. The company also stated it is on its way to offering 1,000 HD VOD choices by the end of the year. Full Story »

DIRECTV added 4 new HD channels yesterday but may have disappointed many customers who expected 30 new HD channels. The additions of ABC Family HD (Ch. 311), Planet Green HD (Ch. 286), Showtime Showcase HD (Ch. 541) and Showtime Extreme HD (Ch. 542) are welcome additions to the lineup but don’t bring the satellite provider’s HD offerings up to 130 as was promised. Full Story »

Amazon is having a sale on selected Blu-ray Discs that discount the retail by 40-45%. The discount really puts Blu-ray at an affordable price, and for the most part these are not your discount bin titles. The best deal they have going is Ocean’s Thirteen for $19.95. The retail price of this Blu-ray Disc is normally $35.99, a savings of $16. Full Story »

Verizon has added 16 new HD channels to its FiOS TV lineup in Richmond and Virginia Beach areas. Customers in the area now have 45 HD channels as well as 400 HD VOD titles to choose from. HD channels now available include Animal Planet, TLC, Science Channel, Smithsonian Channel, CNN, Lifetime, Bravo, TBS, Cinemax, HBO, History Channel, Weather Channel and SCI FI. Full Story »

Kill Bill Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 on Blu-ray will simply be what is was when it was released on DVD, a two-pack of the individually discs, except this time in high-definition. The Blu-ray Disc set is priced at $69.98, and individual discs priced at $34.99. No discount on the 2-pack, but you would expect retailers to drop the price. Here are some extras that may entice you to pick these up. Full Story »

Paramount Home Entertainment announced Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc October 14. Although it was given one of the worst film titles in a long time, except for the ‘Indiana Jones’ part, this film is a refreshing throwback to the 80’s films. Full Story »

Batman: Arkham Asylum, what is described as a “haunting, action detective game,” is coming to Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Windows in 2009. Batman: Arkham Asylum puts you in the role of Batman as he battles the Joker and other Gotham villains. I’m looking forward to this release, as the original script for the game was written by Batman writer Paul Dini. Full Story »

New Jersey residents in the northern part of the state now get 100 HD channels if they are subscribed to Verizon’s FiOS fiber-optic service. The additional high-definition channels were announced yesterday, and southern New Jersey residents are expected to get the upgrade soon. Full Story »

Cable television provider Comcast will be rolling out a new action based VOD channel with studio MGM this week, The Associated Press reports. The channel named “Impact” will have 20-30 titles every month featuring action movies and TV shows. MGM will pull titles from its 1,000+ library of action films and shows. Full Story »

Verizon has added additional channels to its FiOS TV lineup in the Pittsburgh area which includes 18 new HD (High-Definition) channels. The new HD channels include Animal Planet, TLC, Science Channel and Smithsonian Channel, CNN, CNBC, Lifetime, Bravo, TBS, USA, Cinemax, HBO, History Channel, Weather Channel and SCI FI. Full Story »

Hitachi Home Electronics has announced a new HD hybrid camcorder (DZ-BD10HA) that functions in three formats and improves upon Blu-ray Disc recording capabilities from last year’s DZ-BD7HA hybrid camcorder. The new DZ-BD10HA has also improved upon power consumption and noise in the 8cm BD/DVD drive.

The three format hybrid camcorder is able to record HD video onto Blu-ray Disc, hard drive, or SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) card. It allows recording up to 4 hours and 20 minutes of 1920×1080 resolution video, or 8 hours 40 minutes of 1440×1080 onto the built-in 30GB hard drive. Full Story »

DivX announced today the HD DivX Certification of Broadcom’s BCM7405 system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution. The BCM7405 provides advanced IP functionality and improved video/audio performance for satellite, cable and IP provider set-top boxes. The BCM7405 will support the playback of DivX 1080p content as well as features used in DTV including recording, time-shifting and trick modes. Full Story »

Folks in Wichita, KA will now have another choice for High-Definition (HD) television, as well as voice and internet services. AT&T launched its U-verse in the area, giving customers at least 45 HD channels to choose from, and a combo package combining television, internet and voice service. Full Story »

Canon introduced three new HD camcorders to its VIXIA brand. The VIXIA HF11 (Dual Flash Memory,) the VIXIA HG21 (120GB Hard Drive) and VIXIA HG20 (60GB Hard Drive) add expanded high definition capacity at 1920×1080 resolution. The HD camcorders also incorporate 24Mbps bit rate recording for high quality images in AVCHD format. Full Story »

DISH Network announced earlier this week it would add two HD (High-Definition) channels dedicated to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In an agreement with NBCU, The NBC Olympic Soccer Channel (Ch. 99) and NBC Olympic Basketball Channel (Ch. 98) will carry the Olympics coverage 24-hrs a day during the games. Full Story »