First up, remember the low-cost Venturer SHD7000 HD DVD player I first mentioned in August? It was rumored to list for $199.99. Well, Format War Central found a pre-order listing for it at Target.com for $249.99, which claims it will arrive in 2 to 6 weeks. So it looks like it isn’t as cheap as it was thought. And the low-end Toshiba HD-A2 lists for $299.99, but sells for closer to $200 online. I think you’d be better off spending a little more for the Toshiba. (Well, a lot better off not buying HD DVD at all, and buying Blu-ray instead.)

On the other side of the war, there is more evidence that a 40GB PlayStation3 will be landing soon with a list price of $399. Engadget received a tip with a couple of internal Best Buy documents which show a 40GB PS3 with a bundled Blu-ray copy of Spider-man 3 for $399 and an in-stock date of 10/28/2007. While it isn’t official, Sony still has a press conference scheduled for the 12th where they’re expected to announce it.

In August I posted about a new way to do image resizing, called Seam Carving, which really impressed me. Watch the video in that post to see what I mean.

Well, today I learned that there is already a free, open source implementation of the algorithm available as a plug-in for GIMP, called Liquid Rescale. I’m not really that surprised, since it seemed like the kind of thing the open source community would be all over in a flash.

The floodgates have been opened, and the TiVo Software Priority Request page for the 9.1 release is now up. See my past post for information on what this release contains, but in short it has Advanced Wish Lists, better handling of EAS messages for the S3 and HD, Crestron support in the S3, some UI look & feel changes for the S2 family (making them more like the S3/HD), and more. This release is available for all Series2, Series2DT, Series3, and TiVo HD units, it is not available for Series1 or DirecTiVo units.

One thing to note for those who use MRV:

For Multi-Room Viewing to work in software version 9.1, your other DVRs must also be running software version 9.1. Please sign up all DVRs on your account and have 9.1 installed before attempting to use MRV.

Next Tuesday, October 9, TiVo will be presenting at the Natixis Bleichroeder The Hidden Gems Conference. There will be a webcast of the presentation.

TiVo has signed “The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison as a celebrity spokesman for the TiVo HD, and they’ve kicked out press release to tout it:

TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital-video recorders (DVRs), today announced that Chris Harrison, host of the popular ABC romance-reality series The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, will serve as matchmaker for one of the most beloved consumer products: TiVo.

He seems to have started already, with this cloying quote from the press release:

How did he find the perfect companion? More important, how can others do the same? “It sounds funny but the best relationship role model might just be your TiVo box,” Harrison says with a laugh. “You should look for the same qualities you’ll find in the TiVo HD in a mate. It’s fun to be with, dependable, smart and sensitive to all your needs. If you can find those, you’re on the right track.”

Words fail me. Yeah, the entire press release goes on like that. I suppose it might appeal to fans of the show - personally I can’t stand them. If I rolled my eyes any more reading this PR, I might be looking at my brain. There is a contest to go along with this:

Harrison has helped many men and women hook up as host of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Now he’s helping TiVo match one lucky HDTV owner with today’s hottest consumer product: a free TiVo HD DVR with TiVo service.

TiVo has launched a nationwide search to find the winner. Contestants will write a personal ad, 400 characters or less, explaining why their HDTV would be the perfect companion for a new TiVo HD DVR. Semifinalists will then be asked to create a 30-second video explaining and showing why their HDTV and HDTV set-up at home will make the perfect companion for a new TiVo HD DVR. For more information about the contest, visit www.hookupwithtivo.com.

And did the meaning of ‘hook up’ change when I wasn’t paying attention? I think that if you ‘hook up’ with your TiVo, you might want to keep that on the down low. It is probably illegal in some states…

Matsushita Electric Industrial is launching four new Blu-ray recorders in Japan on November 1, under their Panasonic brand, they announced at the CEATEC show in Japan. Matsushita is the world’s largest consumer electronics maker. They also plan to offer three DVD recorders which can record HD content onto standard DVDs. (Most likely the ‘BD9′ format which is part of the Blu-ray spec - which is basically Blu-ray codecs, et al, on DVD9 media aka a dual-layer DVD-R/RW.) The Blu-ray recorders will include hard drives, the largest, with a 1TB drive, selling for the equivalent of roughly $2,600. The top end DVD recorder with HD support (not to be confused with HD DVD) will have a 500GB drive and will sell for roughly $1,125.

Also at CEATEC, Matsushita executive Kazuhiro Tsuga said that Blu-ray manufacturers will be cutting prices and going on a ‘promotional binge’ this holiday season. He said that by the end of the Christmas season, or the end of the first quarter, the will be on the wall for the format way and the war may only last another year.

“The BD (Blu-ray disc) companies will try to do our best to promote Blu-ray,” he said. “The studios want us to put money in to promote it.”

He added: “By the end of the year, you will see good products with very good promotion.”

Troy on TiVo found a great deal on 80-hour Series2DT units. If you have a Big Lots store near you (store locator) get over there right now (well, maybe call first) because they’re apparently selling the 80-hour Series2DT for just $70. This is an unadvertised special - not in their fliers or on the website. The best part? There is a $150 rebate on the S2DT, so you’ll *make* $80 on the unit. (Note: Rebates require activation, so buying a bunch of these is no get-rich-quick scheme.)

If you get a new box, the TiVo Rewards Referral is appreciated. Or give it to Troy for finding the deal.

It sounds like stocks are limited, and once word spreads they’ll probably sell out - so don’t wait too long.

EDIT: Looks like it is on the website after all, as a close-out deal.

EDIT: WARNING! READ THIS BEFORE YOU BUY! TiVo is now claiming these boxes do not qualify for the rebate - but they don’t explain why.