Look out, Cisco Telepresence. FaceVsion has an affordable HD video conferencing solution available today for home and corporate users that can stream H.264 video at 720p ($119 solution) and 1080p ($299 Pro solution with HDMI input for HD video cameras). The technology consists of a PC Express Card video encoder and decoder, a FaceVsion HD webcam (TV version available), and a PC software client that can work via IM, SIP, or LAN IP. It’s pretty wild. Check out the demo produced by TechVideoBlog.com from IFA.

Damn, Dell! They’ve got a gag order on bloggers who were lucky enough to preview the Dell Inspiron Zino HD before it’s publicly made available. So far all we’re seeing is glamour shots and exterior close-ups. No specification details. All we know with certainty is that Zino HD has HDMI, eSATA, USB (ports on the front and back), Ethernet, a memory card slot (front), a microphone jack (back), headphone jack (front), and a DVD tray (possibly Blu-ray). Oh, and Dell will be making decorative covers available to customize the look — in case you don’t like the piano black finish. Exclusive pics @ Gizmodo, Engadget, Gearlog. MORE »

Gigabit speeds over powerline? Impressive. Belkin claims that their new Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit ($149.99) adapters are capable of 1000Mbps transmission speeds, which is about 5 times faster than the competition. The new adapters are powered by Gigle Semiconductor’s mediaxtream chip and have been designed to handle multiple HD video streams. The adapaters offer plug-in-play setup, push-button security (128-bit AES), and are compatible with HomePlug AV products. The only limitations are you can only have 8 bridge adapters connected per station and they need to be within a range of 300m. MORE »

Big news today for folks who enjoy renting Amazon Video On Demand content through their Windows / Mac PC, TiVo (Series 3, HD, HD XL), Roku Digital Video Player (now available through Amazon.com), and Sony Bravia Internet Video Link. The service has been upgraded to serve up HD quality TV episodes and Movies in 720p / 2Mbps video (some titles providing Dolby Digital 5.1 audio) [source]. HD rentals will range in price from $2.99 to $4.99 depending on the content type. Also announced: Panasonic VIERA CAST-enabled HDTVs are now part of the line-up of Amazon Video On Demand supported devices. MORE »

Starting today, via iTunes 8.1 and above, users can now purchase HD movies for $19.99 or rent them for $4.99 sometime within 30 days of a movie’s initial debut in the iTunes Store. In addition, users can order movies in advance and have them delivered to their computer as soon as they become available. Some sites are also reporting that customers get a “bonus” SD copy of their purchase for use on the iPhone or iPod; however, I’m not seeing that in the company’s press release (attached below). Please leave a note in the comments, if you find that information to be correct. My guess is that the iPhone / iPod compatible version mentioned in the press release is one that the iTunes software will create for you from the original HD file.

UPDATE: iTunes HD Movies Won’t Play on Older Non-HDCP Monitors MORE »

It appears the Hauppauge has a new digital media streamer in the pipeline. At CeBIT the company showcased the next version of it’s popular MediaMVP called the MediaMVP-HD. The MediaMVP-HD is said to be able to function without the need to connect to a PC, it can stream content from network storage devices, and is – as the name implies – able to processes HD quality video and output the feed via HDMI. The MediaMVP-HD offers Ethernet (I’m guessing Gigabit) connectivity, as well as, Wi-Fi via an optional USB dongle. No word on pricing, but it should be available later this Summer. [via] MORE »

Now another reason to consider picking up a VUDU box for consuming HD content. VUDU today announced that they will begin selling HD and HDX movies to own. The initial selection consists of 50 films from “top independent studios” with the promise of adding additional releases on the same day and date as the DVD release. Movies will be priced at $13.99 and $23.99 and can be stored on a user’s set-top box or in the company’s online vault, at no charge, to leave space available for future purchases and rentals. No doubt major Hollywood studios (who already are partnered with VUDU for rentals) will be keeping tabs on how well the new service works out. MORE »

NBC has re-released the NBC Direct service for a third time. Even though NBC content is still available in a streaming form from HULU and the NBC site itself, NBC Direct changes it up by letting you download the video to your desktop or laptop. This is pretty handy for airplane or train travel, or anywhere else you may want to watch a show without an internet connection. Another bonus is the fact that NBC offers this programming in both HD and standard definition formats. Each video is wrapped with the traditional DRM limitations, the video only runs on the computer it was downloaded to, and at some date and time in the future the video will stop playing back. One more small hurdle for users of NBC Direct is the requirement to download and install the NBC Direct playback application. Unfortunately, this application currently only runs on the Windows platform. DRM or not, I’m just happy to see the major networks offering their content in HD for free. [via]

We’ve known for a while now game consoles have had the lead as the most commonly connected network entertainment device in people’s homes – due in large part to popularity of online gaming. But now analysts like In-Stat are starting to take notice of the current crop of Network Blu-ray Players from Samsung and LG, which provide online content access to on-demand video and music services, and believe that this platform may soon overtake game consoles and traditional digital media adapters as the preferred networked device to drive online entertainment to the TV. MORE »

In an effort to provide Niveus Media Server and Niveus Storage Server – Cargo Edition owners a higher end movie experience, Niveus Media has integrated the ability for people to download HD quality feature films from HDGIANTS’ movie collection directly through the company’s Niveus Movie Library application. The Niveus Movie Library, for those unfamiliar, is a proprietary movie management application that aggregates and displays stored — and now… available — movies along with high-res cover art and detailed metadata. According to the press release attached below, all movies downloaded from the service will be accessible from the system they were downloaded to as well as Media Center Extenders and other network PCs. Unfortunately, there’s no word on pricing for each HD title, but a preview of the selection can be viewed here.

CORRECTION: Just got an email from Niveus stating the following: “The movies are not downloaded via Niveus Movie Library (or any medium for that matter). The customer orders the movie package from the dealer and HDGIANTS sends the dealer a hard drive with the content. The dealer then loads the content onto the customer’s server and it is integrated into the Movie Library.” Sorry, folks. The press release gave me a different impression after reading it. However, now that we’re getting clarification on how the process works… too bad it’s not the case as previously thought (in regards to downloading HD movies directly through the Niveus Movie Library application).

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