Link: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/08/18/google-tv-not-a-hit-with-major-networks

This is not really much of a surprise, Google's got it's work cut out if they think the networks are just going to hand them the keys to their own demise.

Content owners . . . are skeptical that Google can provide a business model that would compensate for potentially cannibalizing TV owners' existing broadcast businesses.

Link: http://www.betanews.com/article/Virtual-cable-TV-service-GenosTV-seeks-beta-testers-worldwide/1281447179

Go and sign up if you are looking to test out an IPTV offering -

GenosTV, a company billing itself as the first "virtual cable TV provider" is looking for beta testers for its IPTV platform. The service will differentiate itself in three ways: by not requiring a dedicated set-top box, by offering complete à la carte pricing, and by not being an on-demand service like Hulu and its competitors.

Sounds promising - but being a non set top box I'm guessing you'll need a laptop or TV converter.

Link: http://gizmodo.com/5609038/netflix-will-stream-paramount-lionsgate-and-mgm-movies-starting-september-1

Netflix instant watch is just getting better and better -

This deal with Epix will make Hollywood movies available to Netflix subscribers far more quickly, and in far greater numbers, than they are currently. And they're good ones! Think, potentially, the new Star Trek, Indiana Jones, and so on.

Awesome news !

Link: http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Norco-BIS6620III/?kc=rss

Norco announced a fanless, Linux-ready mini PC with support for 1080p video. The 4.7 x 4.7 x 1.6-inch BIS-6620III incorporates the Intel Atom Z510 CPU and Intel SCH US15W chipset, and offers an HDMI port, SD and CF slots, a gigabit Ethernet port, five USB 2.0 ports, and extended temperature support, says the company.

The BIS-6620III was shown at Computex in Taipei in early June, but is now making its formal debut, says Norco. The mini-PC is suitable for HD media player, kiosk, proximity, digital signage, POS, thin-client and "build your own embedded system" applications, says the company.

Link: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/06/hulu-plus-debuts-999mo-with-ads-but-on-more-devices.ars?comments=1

We all knew this was coming... one major downer is that you still get all the ads...

Hulu has finally announced its long-rumored subscription service, Hulu Plus, though it won't be ad-free as some expected. Instead, Hulu is treating the new service as an extension of the Hulu website for TV-lovers—those who want to take Hulu's content outside of the browser sandbox and onto their mobile devices or, even crazier, onto their TVs.

For $9.99 per month, Hulu Plus subscribers can watch streaming content on Samsung Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players, and on the iPad, iPhone 4 or 3GS, or third-generation iPod touch.

not exactly what was predicted though, so for now there are no new limits on watching shows for free.

Link: http://www.criticalpast.com/

Awesome HTPC fodder and it's educational too - Images as well, but you have to pay to download the images.

Link: http://www.retrojunk.com/

Feeling a little bit nostalgic today? Looking to kill some time? Try Retro Junk out for your retro fix.

Link: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/06/09/hulu-subscription-service-launch-said-to-be-month-or-two-away

Rumored for some time - it appears it's coming true, but it's not as bad as it could be.

Reuters talked to several people who opted not to have their names printed, and the good news is that not everything is supposed to be locked behind a pay wall. Hulu "will continue to offer newer episodes of shows like Fox's 'Glee' free of charge, but it will also charge viewers a monthly fee to see older episodes and other content, two of the sources said."

And some bonus news....

The more interesting info is the "month or two" timeframe, then, and a tidbit about the subscription service being "rolled out on multiple devices," including the Xbox and iPad.

I'd like to see it on the Wii as well - guess that's a bit more of a wait tho.

Link: http://www.hulu.com/watch/153580/the-three-stooges#http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hulu.com%2Ffeed%2Frecent%2Fmovies%3Frd%3D0

We all love the three stooges - but do you know how they got their start? How the film company cheated them? How it all played out? This movie has the goods.

A biography of the Three Stooges depicts their careers and rise to fame as seen through the eyes of their leader, Moe.

Link: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3179594

It's on the table - but will it be held up by legal issues?

Rumors are spreading around the Internet that Microsoft is planning to announce a Hulu application for the Xbox 360 as one of their big E3 surprises. While we can't confirm whether that'll actually happen, here's what we can confirm: a Hulu application for the Xbox 360 definitely exists. A source close to Microsoft told 1UP that Microsoft does have the software for a Hulu application on the 360 fully up and running -- the only thing holding them back now are rights issues to Hulu programming.

If you ask me all these rights issues are stupid - it's not like a 360 owner couldn't watch all these shows on their laptop anyway. Sigh.

Link: http://tv.blinkx.com/show/beavis-and-butt-head/DlSPnIwcQ80AY7ZC#s7e40

I found 40 or so episodes of Beavis and Butthead last week, and it was a pretty good time watching some of 'em again... thought I'd share.

Link: http://www.hulu.com/nfl/football-follies

The football follies are fun for everyone- ok, everyone that likes football at least. And I was surprised to find a whole ton of 'em on Hulu. If you're looking for something to go with your coffee and frosted sugar bombs this morning - you could do a lot worse than this.

While that might not sound like a ringing endorsement - it's all I've got as I'm still not fully awake after playing the Beatles rock band last night (which is awesome)

oh yeah and it was tough playing the game as the whole time I could not go to the bathroom.

That's right, there is no John....

I apologize to Beatles fans everywhere - tip your waiters, I'll be here all week.

Link: http://www.history.com/shows/america-the-story-of-us/videos/america-the-story-of-us-civil-war#america-the-story-of-us-civil-war

I keep missing this, so it was a nice surprise to find that the History channel has a couple full episodes online with presumably more coming.

The resolution is great - so if you missed it too you can catch up at your convenience.

Link: http://www.hulu.com/the-bounty

This remake (1984), starred Anthony Hopkins as William Bligh and Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian. This film is generally considered the most historically accurate with some of the scenes reenacted directly from William Bligh's own log.

Awesome flick - and free to watch on Hulu.

Link: http://blog.hulu.com/2010/05/13/pardon-our-dust/

Everyone's favorite free TV and Movie site is improving.....

Some of the new features include a new player, adaptive bitrate streaming for slow connections - and holy cow - an Ad volume normalizer ... (cough) - seeing they put in the ads you'd think they would do this like they used to....

Still, there's a bunch more new features ... some are really cool, and at the end of the article they discuss HTML5.

We continue to monitor developments on HTML5, but as of now it doesn’t yet meet all of our customers’ needs. Our player doesn’t just simply stream video, it must also secure the content, handle reporting for our advertisers, render the video using a high performance codec to ensure premium visual quality, communicate back with the server to determine how long to buffer and what bitrate to stream, and dozens of other things that aren’t necessarily visible to the end user.

Link: http://www.hulu.com/voltron-defender-of-the-universe

Set the wayback machine to 1980 Sherman! Gather the kids and pour some big bowls of sugary cereal - it's time for Voltron.

Link: http://mashable.com/2010/03/09/hulu-nfl-network/

Just in case some of you are suffering from Football withdrawl - don't forget all the cool stuff heading over to Hulu....

eight shows and highlights from every team in the National Football League. The network has been adding new content to the site ever since, and this week Hulu has posted an impressive 400 hours of NFL-related videos.

Fierce Online Video reports that Hulu plans to add 600 more hours before the next football season starts.

Link: http://mashable.com/2010/03/05/top-10-web-series-february/

Just in case you needed something online to watch - now you have 10 ideas.

If you’re looking for some video entertainment to watch on your lunch break, this chart is a great place to start. Find a show you’re interested in and click the play button to the right to check it out.

February’s numbers contain quite an upset — long-time chart-toppers Fred and Happy Tree Friends gave way to a newcomer on the chart: The Annoying Orange. They still hold the #2 and #3 spots, respectively, however. Key of Awesome cracked the chart only recently, but it has already propelled itself to #4 with 300% growth since last month. Impressive!

Link: http://mashable.com/2010/03/04/boxee-funny-or-die/

Which is cool cus Funny or die makes stuff like this video

Link: http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/03/05/mini-wireless-keyboard-with-touchpad-and-laser-pointer/

This wasn't nearly as cool till the laser pointer part was mentioned.

There’s the “dazzling bright LED” backlighting, the world’s first touchpad that can be used in both the horizontal and vertical positions complete with advanced “capacitive sensing technology, comparable to a real notebook touchpad,” and the “innovative design of the navigation keys” that’ll make you “feel the thrill” of being able to play games wirelessly.

Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/viacom-gutting-hulu-by-yanking-daily-show-and-colbert-report-2010-3?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Falleyinsider%2Fsilicon_alley_insider+%28Silicon+Alley+Insider%29

Viacom just pulled the Daily show and Colberts show. (The Daily show was the third most popular show on Hulu)

This hurts everyone - I like Hulu's player and site way better, it dilutes both audiences... But what worries me is if more shows get pulled, people will have less and less reasons to go to Hulu.

Well, I'll cross my fingers that everything works out.

Link: http://gadgetynews.com/lenovo-mini-wireless-keyboard-shocker-being-sold-by-brando/

Another one from the big pile today - this one looks a bit different.

Pretty much ideal for use with Windows Media Center, Boxee, or just about any other PC-based media center application and saves having to get up off your sofa

It’s powered by two AAA batteries and the USB receiver neatly right inside the controllers battery compartment.

As well as ordering from Brando you could, if you so wished, order it directly from Lenovo and save four bucks – and perhaps a little more as Lenovo always seems to have a variety of coupon codes floating around.

Link: http://dvice.com/archives/2010/02/tiny-fanless-pc.php

Something for everyone in this box -

The big plus of this minuscule Habey BIS-6620 ultra-compact PC is its total silence, playing back 1080p video with no fans. For that price, though, you don't get a hard drive, but there's a place to plug CompactFlash and SD cards in the front, and there's a 1.8-inch internal hard drive bay inside. You can load up any flavor of Windows or Linux, too.

Link: http://www.redferret.net/?p=18877

I'm kinda into these tiny full keyboard/touchpad HTPC controllers. This one's not only incredibly small - it's alpha geek looking cool as well.

The RedFerret takes it for a spin in review if your curious.

It'll set ya back $120 - but alpha geek never comes cheap does it?

Link: http://wwitv.com/

Can't have enough channels to view during those exploratory HTPC days eh? Here's a site full of channels.

Link: http://www.hulu.com/adzone

Got a jonez for commercials after the big game? Hulu now has a channel where you can watch all the commercials that you want.

Link: http://www.ghacks.net/2010/02/04/tv-gorge-offers-restriction-free-online-tv-experience/

Can't have too many of the free TV sites right? Here's a new one to try out.

TV Gorge is an online TV viewers dream come true. The service streams episodes of popular English TV shows such as Dexter, Criminal Minds, 24, NCIS or Numb3rs to users from around the world.

Even better s the fact that those tv shows are offered in high quality and do not only offer the latest episodes that have just aired but also previous episodes.

Link: http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=7123&tag=wrapper;col1

With a respectable HTPC case no less - this is the way to go if you want HTPC goodness but don't plan to play the latest games on it.

What I’m going to outline here is an entry-level system that’s going to be able to handle all the basic tasks that you’d expect of an HTPC system. It’s going to be able to handle HD resolution video (1080p and 720p), cope with streaming video, upscale DVD, ad will even be good for playing games, as long as you’re not too greedy when it comes to resolution. It’s also going to have plenty of storage space so you’ve got plenty of room to store your ever-growing library of media.

Link: http://mashable.com/2010/01/29/nfl-hulu/

Before you get too excited - you won't be seeing this weeks game.... BUT you can see a bunch of NFL network stuff and that in itself is pretty darn cool.

- America’s Game: The Super Bowl Champions: Documentary series on the journey to the big game.

- Hard Knocks: Popular training camp reality show.

- Greatest Games: 90-minute show on some of the NFL’s most famous and historical games.

- Game of the Week: The NFL picks a few of the top games from the week and re-airs them with all of the gaps and waiting around edited out. There are over 70 episodes up now on Hulu.

- Live Wire: A weekly NFL recap show.

- Season in Review: Yes, it’s a review of the last season’s big events.

- Sounds of the Game: The NFL Network mics up players and coaches and turns that into a surprisingly awesome show.

- Super Bowl Highlights: Exactly as it sounds.

Actually it's darn close to awesome.

Link: http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?s=c3511ef5f4744db689549ac655074c37&t=14197

What do I think about the beta?

Well, I installed the alpha and I didn't get too far - it was plagued by any number of issues. I suppose I could have dealt with 'em but the deal breaker for me was the Windows alpha didn't integrate with Netflix.

The Beta is worlds apart from the Alpha. Basically - It ROCKS.

Go get it and start having HTPC fun ... you'll find a whole 5 minute setup to get going and if you want to get fancy then expect to spend maybe 20.

** Bonus hint - go install some apps - specially Clicker.

Link: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/12/boxee-beta-first-look/

I tried the alpha and while it had potential it just didn't have the features for me to get into it too far. Luckily the beta has come a long way,

The Boxee beta, which is currently invitation-only but will be made available to all as a free download during the Consumer Electronics Show the first week of January, improves the stability and the usability of the alpha significantly.

The company will be offering a dedicated set-top box next spring, but the software — which runs on almost any computer — is almost fully cooked. I’ve been testing the new Boxee beta on an Intel Mac Mini hooked up to my HDTV for a little over a week. Windows and Linux versions are also available.

While I’m not ready to tell the cable guy to stuff it (as much as I’d love to), my evenings have been filled with hours of streaming video pulled down from literally scores of online sources. The quality ranges from watchable to spectacular.

I'll give it another try for sure - one thing no one has said is if it's integration with Netflix has been fixed.

Link: http://www.global-itv.com

I was just recently going through my older HTPC links and found Global ITV still working and serving up goodness just like it used to.

This site is a very cool platform that will burn endless hours of boredom and give you 3000 or so channels of live TV worldwide - and that's just for starters.

Anyway thought I'd pass it along - Enjoy!

Link: http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/search/search.php?q=christmas+cartoons&theme=guide

If you're looking for some rather classic Christmas shows - and by classic I mean truly retro - look no further.

To me it's always a trip looking into how the holidays were celebrated 40 years ago. (or more)

I like Television (good htpc site) has 9 beauties for your perusal.

Enjoy!

Link: http://www.uberreview.com/2009/12/fit-pc2i-tiny-desktop-runs-windows-7.htm

This right here is the perfect machine for a media controlling beauty - I only wish it had a 7.1 output ...

Intel Atom Z530 1.6GHz, or Atom Z510 1.1GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM with a 2GB upgrade option, 4GB of on-board flash memory and a 2.5-inch drive bay.

So, what can it do? If you look at the back there are 4 USB ports, a pair of Ethernet ports and a mislabeled HDMI port. If you get the WLAN option it would be a great way to stream 1080p video to your TV and if you shell out the dollars for an SSD you can have a totally silent system. I liked the DVICE idea of mounting it on the back of the screen, but the form factor is such that you can hide it away just about anywhere.

Link: http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/New-Products/RUVO-MiniCap-7-Tiny-Fanless-1080P-HDMI-PC.html

Small - Pre built - and ready to serve up TV and Media Goodness right outa the box.

The Ruvo 's 1.6Ghz Intel ATOM 230 is a single core CPU compared to the ASRocks Dual Core 330, but with the same ion GPU doing the real work, it runs XBMC pretty much the same way The RuVo is HDMI only where the Rock is HDMI and VGA - but this should be ideal for its purpose - an inexpensive 1080P HiDef streamer. The ASRock also has the advantage of an integrated optical drive, however its fan means its not silent like the Ruvo.

The Ruvo has a 533MHz front side bus and ships with 2GBs of DDR2-667. Despite its size and the fact you'll want to stream data from your server, rather than store locally, storage is impressive in the form of a 2.5” 320GB SATA hard drive. In fact when you think about it this gives you the opportunity to fill the machine to throw in a suitcase and take with you on holiday. The specs continue with HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, 6 USBs, audio in / out and microphone.

Holy goodness- I want!