Sony BDP-S790 pre-order starts for $250

Sony on Sunday announced that it will soon start shipping ‘its most advanced Blu-ray player’ to date. The BDP-S790, one of the most anticipated devices of CES 2012, is Sony’s first of its kind dual-core Blu-ray player that is capable of “upscaling” videos to 4k resolution.

Netflix Offers “Just for Kids” Programming for PS3

Playstation 3 owners can now gain control over their kids tv program and movie choices with the Netflix “Just for Kids” option. Kids ages 12 and below, are sure to have a lineup of kid-friendly programming. Parents for sure, will heave a sigh of relief because they can be sure that their kids won’t be able to watch violence or sexually themed programs. Programs are shown in menu style. Rather than being descriptive in text, it shows a screenshot of the selection so even kids below the reading age can easily pick what they want to watch.

Netflix for Kids was already made available to PC, Mac, Nintendo Wii and Apple TV users, August last year. It Will be available to Xbox users soon as well.

Google Working on ‘Home Entertainment’ System for Wireless Music

Google is working on a ‘home entertainment system’ that will stream music and other media throughout your house, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The device, which WSJ calls ‘Google Android Entertainment System’, is Google’s first major attempt to enter the home entertainment market and will be carrying its own brand name.

The ‘Google Android Entertainment System’ is currently being developed by Google’s Android unit and is said to launch before the end of the year.

Transform your ordinary HDTV to a Smart TV with Samsung Intouch

Samsung has recently launched the latest accessory for your HDTV, the Samsung Intouch. The Samsung inTouch is an extraordinary device that allows you not only to access the web just like any ordinary internet enabled  TV, it also allows your HDTV to access a web browser and built in apps such as Youtube, Skype, weather and Google news.

The Samsung inTouch unit also comes with a qwerty keyboard/remote, 3 megapixel camera. It also boasts of a built-in Wi-Fi, 720p HD video, and a USB port for photo uploading.

It will go on sale on March 2012 and will retail for $199.99.

Hulu Plus Obtained More Than a Million Subscribers this Year

Hulu was reported to have more than one million customers who’s willing to pay for the company’s $8/month subscription. Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu, is said to make a prediction earlier this year that their Hulu Plus app would get one million subscribers before the 2011 ends. However, the said executive confirmed that the goal was reached before the end of the summer.

Jason Kilar also boasted at the Goldman Sachs investor conference that the company is preparing itself to spend over $375 million for content this year. The range of TV shows and movies is expected to continually expand.

Regardless of the apparent successes, Hulu – which is jointly owned by News Corp, Walt Disney Co., NBC Universal and Providence Equity Partners – is still trying to find a buyer . Unconfirmed reports claimed that Google is one of the potential suitors, even if several other companies are said to have put up bids of up to $2 billion.

Hulu Plus Expands Its List of Supported Devices

Hulu is continuing to widen their list of Android devices that are supported by their Hulu Plus app. The latest release adds support for a variety of smartphones. These includes HTC’s Incredible 2, EVO 3D and Sensation; Motorola’s Droid 3, Bionic and X2; and LG’s Revolution and G2X.

Aside from the handsets, the said app can also be accessed from HTC’s Flyer tablet. Expanded support looks like to be the primary feature of the recent update, though it also promises to improve playback performance.

The Hulu app is currently available as a free download from the Android Market, but users must still have a paid Hulu Plus subscription to view its streaming content.

Samsung Smart TV Gets Blinkbox Streaming Service

Samsung recently announced that Blinkbox, a video-on-demand service, with be joining the company’s other offerings for its web-based Smart TVs. These includes Lovefilm, Acetrax, BBC iPlayer and Box Office 365. Blinkbox will be available via download from Samsung Apps; so Samsung Smart TV, Blu-ray player and home theater system owners will be able to access the service.

Blinkbox offers more than 9,000 streamed movies and TV shows on either free or paid basis. The latter will enable subscribers for an uninterrupted viewing. The video-on-demand service caters to wide market, providing foreign language movies, documentaries and new releases often available on the same day of its DVD launch. Initially, Blinkbox will be exclusively available to Samsung Smart TV — with an exemption to Sony PS3 owners.

LG Dual Play Brings Multiplayer Game in Full Screen

With LG’s latest 3D TV technology, Dual Play, the days of sharing split TV with your opponent in now numbered. With Dual Play, each gamers can view their section of the multiplayer game in full screen. How?

Instead of transmitting different images to the left and right eyes of a single player, LG’s Dual Play TV sends different pictures to the left and right player. The left player will wear polarized glasses with two left-eye lenses, while the right player dons the one with two right-eye lenses. This allows players to view their own in-game perspective in full screen. However, each gamer has to settle with a 2D image.

According to LG, players can toggle between the split-screen view or Dual Play. The said 3D TV is also compatible with LG’s Cinema 3D TVs, including the upcoming LW980.

Check LG’s Dual Play TV in action by hitting the play button at the video after the cut.

Orbitsound Announces T12v13 Soundbar and iPod Dock

Orbitsound rolled out its new version of T12 soundbar, the T12v3.

It features an integrated iPod dock that comes with subwoofer and improved sound quality. The T12v3 is designed to improve your TV’s sound without filling your room with speakers. It can play music and video straight from a docked iPod or iPhone, and it also has new remote with greater functionality. Moreover, the T12v3 still delivers Orbitsound’s “spatial stereo” technology which spreads better sound around your room. It also has digital and audio connections, enabling you to connect various music sources like TV, laptop or game console.

Orbitsound’s T12v3 will be out on September for £299.

Digital TV Switchover in East Yorkshire and More Begins

Digital TV switchover in East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Scarborough has begun, as BBC Two’s analogue transmission at Belmont was permanently turned off. The Scarborough TV region also completed the first stage of its digital TV switchover last Wednesday morning, when BBC Two turned off its Oliver Mount’s transmitter.

The switchover means that TV viewers from Grimsby, Lincoln and Weaverthorpe can now have Freeview channels for the first time.

Both switchover will be completed on August 17 by tuning off all the remaining analogues. Additional Freeview channels from ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 will then be available from the region’s local transmitter.