LG isn’t the only one souping up their HDTV models, Samsung is getting in on the act too. While LG is partnering with Netflix for streaming video, Samsung is partnering with Yahoo! for a wider variety of web content. Samsung will be embedding the Yahoo! Widget Engine into some of their new 2009 HDTV models. This enables the TV’s to run ‘TV Widgets’ written with XML and JavaScript, branded as ‘Internet@TV – Content Service’.

The TV’s can be networked with their built-in Ethernet ports or via a USB WiFi adapter. The TV Widgets will come from Yahoo! properties such as Flickr, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Weather and Yahoo! Finance as well as third parties like USA TODAY, YouTube, eBay and Showtime Networks. They claim it will be extended to include video streaming and other content.

The most interesting piece of this, I think, is that the platform is open to 3rd party developers to create their own TV Widgets. It sounds like interested developers will be able to create their own widgets and provide them to Samsung TV users with an open market. And I suspect Yahoo! will be looking to license this platform to other vendors as well.

In addition to the features reported in their press release, last week Electronista spotted a post in AVForums.com that Samsung’s new HTDVs would also have some very interesting network content support:

# Now supports playback of movies in the following formats upto 1080p: MKV/ WMV/ VOB/ AVI/ TS/ 3GP/ MPG/ ASF

# Now supports the following video codecs:

* XviD
* DivX 3.11/4.x/5.1/6.0/
* H.264 BP/MP/HP
* MPEG-1
* MPEG-2
* MPEG-4 SP/ASP
* Motion JPEG
* Windows Media Video V9
* VC1

That’s quite extensive format support. Models in the 7, 8, and 9 series will also be DivX Certified with support for DivX Video On Demand.

Press release:
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One of the benefits touted by HD DVD supporters had been the capability of the format to support both HD DVD and DVD content on a single side. Though, with only two layers, this meant a HD DVD15/DVD5 was the result – providing limited capacity on both formats. I repeatedly pointed out that the Blu-ray camp had the capability for the same kind of single-sided hybrid disc, and they had been demonstrated by JVC but not commercialized. Since Blu-ray, unlike HD DVD, uses a different layer depth than DVD it is theoretically possible to have higher capacities – in theory a BD50/DVD9 is possible. JVC demonstated a BD25/DVD9, which provides enough capacity on both formats for a lot of content. However, producing the hybrid discs is more complex and costly, and I didn’t really expect to see them move beyond the lab curiosity phase. What we’ve seen to date are some vendors simply packing a standard DVD in with the BD release to support both formats.

Well, color me surprised. On February 18, 2009 Pony Canyon will release the first BD/DVD hybrid discs, in Japan. It is a box set of the TV series Code Blue. It is a multi-disc set, with the discs being hybrid BD25/DVD9 – a single Blu-ray layer ‘over’ two DVD layers. So it is like having a standard dual-layer DVD and a single-layer Blu-ray disc on one physical disc. The DVD’s red laser sees through the BD layer to see the DVD data, while the Blu-ray’s blue laser reflects from the BD layer and never sees the DVD ‘below’.

The discs are produced by Infiniti Storage Media Ltd. and they’re very similar to the hybrid discs demonstrated by JVC back in 2004. Infiniti is also apparently working on a BD50/DVD5 (2-BD layers, 1-DVD layer) standard with the BDA. A BD50/DVD9 isn’t mentioned, though I’d be surprised if that wasn’t the next step, JVC was talking about that in 2004.

It’ll be interesting to see if this catches on or is just a bit of a gimmick. If it is successful we might see more titles using hybrid discs, which would eliminate the BD vs. DVD purchasing decision. Though I’m not sure it will catch on, since they are more complex to make than BD or DVD alone. Still, as a geek I love the elegance of the solution so I kind of hope it will.

Spotted via Blu-ray Stats News Log, which took me to Electonista, and thence to Impress AV Watch. Images from Impress.

As with the Slingbox PRO-HD two weeks ago, since I work for Sling Media now it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to review it, but the SlingCatcher officially shipped yesterday. Instead of reviewing it, here’s a roundup of coverage I’ve seen:

Sling Community – Blog
Sling Community – Review
Sling Community – Review: SlingPlayer for TV
Sling Community – Review: MyMedia
Sling Community – Review: SlingProjector
ZatzNotFunny
Engadget
EngadgetHD
Gizmodo
CNET – Crave
CED Magazine
Obsessable
SlashGear
NewsFactor Network
HD Update
SFGate
Wired
Register Hardware
TG Daily
Stuff.tv
TechWhack
Electronista
Silicon Alley Insider
Electronic House
Pocket-lint
PC World
BLORGE
BroadcastNewsroom
Sci-Tech Today
Gearlog
TrustedReviews
Coolest Gadgets

Both the Slingbox PRO-HD and SlingCatcher MSRP at USD$299.99, but the best deals I’ve seen on both are from PROVANTAGE – currently Slingbox PRO-HD for $241.70 and SlingCatcher for $240.47.

Normally I’d review something like this myself. But I not only work for Sling Media, but I’m the Beta Manager on the Slingbox PRO-HD. So that really wouldn’t be appropriate. Instead here’s a roundup of coverage I’ve seen so far:
SlingCommunity – Blog
SlingCommunity – Review
Zatz Not Funny
EngadgetHD
Engadget
PC Magazine
CNET Crave
CNET – Review
Washington Post
Ecoustics

EDIT: And more coverage:
The Gadgetress
Engadget
EngadgetHD
jkOnTheRun
Gizmodo
Obsessable
TG Daily
TWICE
Silicon Alley Insider
TVPredictions
TechSpot
SlashGear
Multichannel News
ZDNet – The Mobile Gadgeteer
TheStreet.com
Electronista
Electronic House
Boy Genius Report
eHomeUpgrade
ZDNet – The Toybox
Obsessable – Product Page

Ever since the Apple iPhone hit the market, people have been asking for a version of SlingPlayer Mobile for the platform. To date Sling has only expressed their desire to support the platform when it is possible to do so. But with the Apple WWDC kicking off this week, they’ve been showing off a bit of what they’ve been up to, and a number of blogs have coverage:
Engadget (video)
Gizmodo (video)
Zatz Not Funny (video)
PVR Wire @ TV Squad
Ars Technica
Macworld
NewTeeVee
Electronista
jkOnTheRun
The Mobile Gadgeteer
Crave
CrunchGear
AppleInsider
Mobility Today
Gizmos for Geeks
9 to 5 Mac
I4U News
Gear Diary
Download Squad
Unwired View
GottaBeMobile
Nerd Beach
Brighthand
Geek.com
SlingCommunity

And I’m sure there others that I haven’t spotted.

Dave Zatz posted this video to YouTube:

Note that this is a proof of concept, a technology demonstrator, and not the SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone that will eventually be released. This was an engineering project written for jail-broken iPhones to characterize the performance of the platform and ensure that Sling could deliver a high quality customer experience on the iPhone & iPod Touch platforms. This allowed Sling to gain experience with the platform while waiting for the SDK to be released. The official SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone will be written using the SDK and sold through the iTunes App store like other official iPhone/iPod Touch applications. At least that is currently the intent.

If you’re attending the Apple WWDC this week you can get a look at the proof of concept application first hand. Sling Media Product Manager Vicky Shum will be at the Starbucks at 120 4th Street, San Francisco (across from the Metreon) between 10:00 and 16:00 (10am and 4pm) on Monday, June 9th running demos.

Disclaimer: I am currently employed by Sling Media.