It still may not be as cheap as most of would like, but Rocketfish’s WirelessHD Adapter for $599.99 is the least expensive solution on the market currently to provide a wireless HDMI solution for your HDTV. According to Best Buy, the Rocketfish WirelessHD Adapter provides one input, one output HDMI connection capable of outputting 1080p video (60fps, 120Hz refresh rate) with 7.1-channel surround sound audio. The product’s wireless range is stated to work up to about 33 feet over a 60Ghz fequency. Rocketfish even throws in a couple of mounting brackets to keep the adapters out of sight. MORE »

Terrible news today. Michael Arrington posted on TechCrunch that the CrunchPad Internet Tablet is DEAD. The product’s demise is due to a falling out over IP rights and equity stakes with their hardware development partner, Fusion Garage. It’s all a big shame, really, since the CrunchPad, we’re now learning had a 12-inch capacitive touchscreen and would be able to run Chrome OS and Windows 7, was set to debut on November 20th of the this month and begin taking pre-orders. MORE »

If you have $62 to spare and a Windows PC you’d like to control from a distance, you should definitely consider picking up the USB Wireless Handheld Keyboard and Touchpad at USB Geek. The product design makes so much sense, it’s surprising no one has come up with it yet. It kind of reminds me of the Peek email/twitter handheld or the Palm Treo — but with the display swapped out for a touchpad. As you’ll see in the video below, this RF controller is a lot easier to handle than a traditional wireless HTPC keyboard, which usually takes up most of your lap while typing. [via] MORE »

If none of the current crop of digital media adapters haven’t gotten you excited, check out the latest LaCie product called the LaCinema Classic HD. The $249.99 device has 1TB of built-in storage (2TB model planned), is certified DLNA/UPnP compatible (runs Twonky Media Server), supports all the latest codecs and video formats (including MKV, DVD ISO), can output 1080p video over HDMI, and can double as a SMB client/server for sharing files back and forth with networked Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs. Demanding digital home enthusiasts, though, may find the lack of Gigabit Ethernet a problem. However, an optional 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter is available. MORE »

You may have noticed lately that VUDU has been rolling out new features on a regular basis — today they announced the integration of Wikipedia — and on a variety of platforms (i.e. VUDU Box, Networked Blu-ray players & HDTVs). What you may not have known is that VUDU’s interface is essentially a web app hosted in the “Cloud” now, according to VUDU Blog. As such, VUDU is able to provide users with instant updates that don’t require a firmware upgrade like competing products (cough… Roku Player). If you think about it, this is a huge advancement — especially for third party services running on a CE device.  No more waiting for a CE device manufacture to roll out a new firmware update just to add a handful of features to their platform.

Related update: We have received word from Roku that the latest Channel Store firmware update will allow the company to push new content channels to players instantly without additional downloads as well. Woot!

What’s this…? AOpen USA has added a new barebones mini HTPC to their lineup that should grab everyone’s attention. The company’s new XC Mini (GP7A-U/HD/BDR) is capable of playing full 1080p HD video via its integrated NVIDIA ION (GeForce 9300M) graphics chipset and supports Intel’s Socket P Penryn Core 2 Duo or Celeron M processors. The HTPCs include 2 x DDR3 memory slots (4GB max), HDMI, 5.1 channel audio, Gigabit Ethernet (wireless 802.11n kit available), 1 x slim Blu-ray or DVD drive (U model has no drive), 6-in-1 card reader, 6 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x eSATA port, and provides room for one 2.5-inch SATA HDD. Price and availability have not yet been listed.

The day that many of you Roku Player owners have been waiting for has arrived. Roku is announcing the launch of the Roku Channel Store and its first 10 free channels to compliment its existing premium offering from Netflix, Amazon OnDemand, MLB.TV. The new free channel lineup includes: Pandora, Facebook Photos, Revision3, Mediafly, TWiT, blip.tv, Flickr, FrameChannel, Motionbox and MobileTribe. Of course, Roku expects more channels to roll out as content owners and publishers get wind of Roku’s free software developer kit (additional details). MORE »

With help from Adobe, Condé Nast is showing off a concept “iTablet” app that may soon power a new generation of multimedia tablets and large touchscreen devices. Attached below is a video taken at the Wired Store in NY showcasing what a digital magazine from the publisher may look like — in this case on the rumored Apple Tablet with a 10 to 12-inch screen. MORE »

Oh, boy… YouTube is pulling a Hulu. According to Syabas Technology COO, Alex Limberis, the company has received notice that Popcorn Hour’s media streamers will no longer be able to access YouTube’s API due to a change in the Terms of Service. What’s interesting is that Alex says Syabas tried to negotiate a deal with YouTube to avoid disrupting the service, but the company was not successful. Makes you wonder: Is Google just being picky or are they charging an outrageous licensing fee? Current YouTube hardware partners (not a complete list) include: Sony, Nintendo, Netgear, TiVo, Samsung, and Panasonic. Alternative workaround solution: PlayOn. [via]

Related: Neuros Technology — Google Should Stand on the Side of Making Web Video More Free, not More Restricted

I was lucky enough to attend Cloud Engine’s launch party for the second generation Pogoplug on Thursday night and came away impressed by the device’s potential. The new direction, we were told, for the Pogoplug is for it to become more of a Internet media streaming and sharing storage device with social networking features. MORE »