Wish you could watch YouTube videos on your Apple TV? Sometime in June, all Internet connected Apple TV boxes will accept a free software patch that will enable wireless streaming of YouTube videos. YouTube is making thousands of clips available each week until thier full catalog is accessible later this fall.

You’ll be able browse the YouTube content on your Apple TV in a variety of ways including: featured, top viewed, recently viewed, history, and even by search. I’m dreading the search option. If you haven’t used the Apple TV yet, there’s a USB port in the back of the device, but you currently can’t use a keyboard for some reason. Entering text on the Apple TV is the equivalent of typing in your initials for the high score screen in an arcade game. Very painful without a keyboard.

So how chewy will these compressed YouTube videos look on your HD TV? I’ve already ripped a bunch of music videos off YouTube, converted them to MPEG-4 videos and saved them in iTunes. Honestly, the Flash encoded YouTube videos look like crap on a HD TV. YouTube doesn’t even look good when stretched out to its default 480 x 360, let alone 640 x 480 or HD. But YouTube does have thousands of clips and can provide endless hours of entertainment. Fuzzy, but fun.

Apple also announced a new Apple TV model with a 160 GB hard drive for $400. You’ll still be able to buy the old 40 GB version for $300, but personally, I think $100 for 4x the storage is a great deal.

You can read more about the Apple TV here: Apple TV Review

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No longer are our magnificent Monday night ‘Heroes’ going to be confined to merely mortal NBC TV (and SciFi Channel reruns). Our favorite Heroes and villains are coming to DVD this August with tons of bonus features.

The 7-disc set, available on DVD and HD DVD on August 28, 2007, will include the never-before-aired 73-minute premiere episode and over 50 deleted scenes.

The Heroes Season 1 DVD set is priced at $59.98 and is available for preorder on Amazon.com for $38.99 until July 24, 2007.

Here are some of the Heroes Season 1 DVD extras:

• Unaired Pilot: The Tim Kring cut with audio commentary — A full 73 uninterrupted minutes of the original, unaired, extended pilot episode, as Heroes’ creator Tim Kring first envisioned it, with a character never seen.

• The Making of “Heroes”: From concept to pop culture phenomenon, a behind-the-scenes look at the hottest new series on television.
• Special Effects: The secrets behind the eye-popping visuals that give the Heroes their amazing powers.
• The Stunts: A backstage look at the show’s hair-raising stunts.
• Mind Reader: Matt Parkman’s mind reading abilities reveal your inner Hero with a series of simple tests.
• Profile of Artist Tim Sale: A look at the Eisner Award-winning comic book artist (Spiderman, Batman, Daredevil) behind much of the Manga-influenced artwork used in the show.
• The Score: Go behind the scenes with Wendy Melvin and Lisa Coleman (of Prince’s The Revolution) as they create their ASCAP Award-winning musical score.
• Extra Scenes: 50 deleted and extended scenes.

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Ex-Have I Got News For You? Host Angus Deayton is to return to the BBC in a new prime-time panel show. The show is called Would I Lie To You? and will feature comedians David Mitchell and Lee Mack as team captains and Angus Deayton will host the show.

Angus Deayton left “Have I Got News For You?” in 2002 after admitting to taking cocaine and having sex with a prostitute. The team leaders Ian Hislop and Paul Merton had too much “dirt” on him to make his role as host viable.

According to the Daily Mail, despite being “pretty nervous” about his return, the star has proved typically well-rehearsed in his trademark comedy during filming.

Speaking to the newspaper, executive producer Peter Holmes said categorically: “When it comes to hosting a panel show, there isn’t anyone better.”

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

Sky One don’t really do quiz shows. Terrestrial channels are the domain of the quiz show. But Sky One may be onto a winner with its upcoming new quiz show, “Are you Smarter Than a 10 Year Old?”

The show pits adults and kids in a quiz to answer questions that any 10-year old should be able to answer, as the grown-ups work their way up the cash prize ladder. It is based on the new hit US show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”

The show will be hosted by Noel Edmonds who is still committed to Deal Or No Deal on Channel 4.

The UK series, produced by TwoFour Productions, begins filming in the summer with a debut scheduled for this autumn.

I saw a bit of the US version when I was in the states a couple of months ago and did find it entertaining. Lets hope they can recreate it for a UK audience.

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

After months of hype, we finally get to see Michelle Ryan in NBC’s new remake of the Bionic Woman. In this clip from Vmix.com, we get to see Jamie Sommers (Michelle Ryan) find out she has bionic parts and freak out. Those are some sexy bionic toes by the way.

It’s tough to tell from just a few scenes, but Bionic Woman looks like it’s going to be a fun show. With the success of sci-fi shows like Heroes and Lost, Bionic Woman might just be the next big hit. Plus David Eick from Battlestar Galactica is the Executive Producer. Here’s another clip of Eick talking about the strong women characters in his shows.

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Did you watch the 2007 season finale of The Office (US)? Want to print out your own Schrute Bucks?! A $1,000 Schrute Bucks will you get an extra 5 minutes for lunch. I wonder how many Schrute Bucks it takes to get the Dwight bobblehead from nbcstore.com?

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There was a bit of a surprise when Katee Sackhoff told reporters that her time on the new NBC series “Bionic Woman” went from “one episode” to “recurring.” But all of that can be explained in one simple sentence: Sackhoff simply wowed network executives.

“She absolutely steals the screen in ‘Bionic,’” Angela Bromstad, president of NBC Universal Television Studio, told TV Week’s James Hibberd.

Some of the clips featuring Sackhoff, best known to genre fans as Kara “Starbuck” Thrace in SciFi Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica,” have been released to the Web by NBC Universal as a way to promote the series, which will make its debut this fall. In it, Sackhoff plays the original bionic woman who gets in a rooftop bionic battle with Jamie Sommers, played by series tar Michelle Ryan.

Sackhoff’s character originally was slated to be offed in the pilot, but executives liked her so much that she is now going to be pulling double duty between both shows which are filmed in Vancouver and produced by NBCU.

Sackhoff apparently isn’t the only BSG alum to be making the show either… two more actors familiar to “Battlestar” fans who have some type of role in the pilot.

[Via syfyportal.com]

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Less than a week after American broadcast network, CBS, pulled the plug on its post-Apocalyptic sci-fi series “Jericho,” fans have apparently been making contact with the network in droves, demanding that if nothing else, CBS find closure for the cliffhanger left at the end of Season 1.

That campaign has included letter writing and even the delivery of peanuts to the network, highlighting one of the final words of the series when Skeet Ulrich’s character of Jake Green tells the sheriff of the neighboring town of New Bern that is at war with Jericho, paying homage to a World War II story by his grandfather.

The campaign may have paid off, with CBS making an announcement on the official “Jericho” message boards that there could be plans in the works to at least wrap up the story.

“We have read your e-mails over the past few days and have been touched by the depth and passion with which you have expressed your disappointment,” wrote Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment.

“Please know that canceling a television series is a very difficult decision. Hundreds of people at the network, the production company and the incredibly talented creative team worked very hard to build and serve the community for this show — both on-air and online. It is a show we loved, too. Thank you for supporting ‘Jericho’ with such passion. We truly appreciate the commitment you made to the series and we are humbled by your disappointment. In the coming weeks, we hope to develop a way to provide closure in the compelling drama that was the ‘Jericho’ story.”

While the series had a strong run of episodes early in the season, by the time it returned several weeks after its first part of the season, “Jericho” had stiff competition against “American Idol”- fueled programming on Fox among other places, but was still generating decent ratings for CBS.

[Via syfyportal.com]

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Here’s a YouTube video showing off a new Apple TV plug-in called “A Series of Tubes.” The plug-in allows you to browse YouTube videos on your Apple TV. Sure, the Flash encoded YouTube videos look like crap on a HDTV. YouTube doesn’t even look good when stretched out to its default 480 x 360, let alone 640 x 480 or HD. But YouTube does have thousands of clips and can provide endless hours of entertainment.

Not ready to start tinkering around with plug-ins for your Apple TV? You can still save videos off YouTube and convert them for your iPod/iTunes. Check out this tutorial: How to Copy Videos Off YouTube.

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The person who packed up and shipped this TV must have been a professional… idiot. They might as well have shipped this HDTV using bowling balls or, I dunno, hammers as padding.

For future reference, here’s a photo tutorial on how NOT to ship a Plasma or LCD HDTV.

More Photos: How NOT to Ship a HDTV

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It premiers in 10 weeks, but the writers, animators and director of “The Simpsons Movie” are still working out the basics… including the storyline. It’s hard to believe, especially since they first started working on the screenplay in late 2003. The deadline is going to be pretty tight, but the writers and animators of “The Simpsons” have assured audiences that “The Simpsons Movie” will be released on July 27 (US) no matter what.

What can we expect to see in the movie? Judging from snippets of movie trailers, news releases and Internet chatter, the plot seems to involve the town of Springfield dealing with an environmental disaster that Homer accidentally starts. Further details are scarce, but look for a giant mob scene that will include every Simpsons character ever. Also, apparently Homer has a pet pig in the movie.

It will be interesting to see what they come up with before July 27th.

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Fox is bringing out a spin-off for the hit show “American Idol”. The series is currently going under the name “The Search for the Next American Band” though you expect this to change.

The spin off series was created by “Idol” creator Simon Fuller and will be executive produced by “Idol” veterans Mr. Fuller, Nigel Lythgoe, Ken Warwick and Cecile Frot-Coutaz though it will not feature Simon Cowell as a judge.

Similar to “American Idol,” the show will feature a nationwide audition process where hopefuls will try and earn a spot in the top 10. Contestants will be challenged to perform various musical styles and genres each week in front of a live audience. Viewers will vote by phone or text message to keep their favorite bands in the competition.

There is no official air date for the show but according to published reports, producers are aiming for early Autumn.

Reference for posting: http://www.tvweek.com

as James Caan departs after four seasons, Tom Selleck will be taking his place. The moustache sporting actor will become a regular cast member in the drama set in Vegas.

James Caan will appear in one episode of the 2007-08 season having previously announced that he will be leaving the show after the 2007 season finale.
Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

Wish you could get sports scores while you are gassing up your car? According to LA Times.com, now you can.

ESPN, the American sports news network, announced a partnership with Gas Station TV (GSTV) to provide 45-second broadcasts for thousands of TV screens located at gas pumps across the United States.

“It’s another opportunity for fans to be able to watch us,” ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys said.

ESPN will slowly ramp up production of the gascasts. The network will initially just produce one segment per day for GSTV. But eventually ESPN hopes to produce multiple segments everyday.

Where can you see these gascasts? Right now only in Atlanta, Dallas and Houston. But next month GSTV hopes to install more screens at gas stations in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

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If you are a regular reader of Entertainment Weekly, then you might have seen the first photo of the upcoming Iron Man film they published last week. The picture got such a huge fan reaction in the blogosphere that Paramount decided to release a high resolution version of the photo.

Jon Favreau (Swingers) will direct Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. (Less Than Zero) has the lead role of Tony Stark/Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges have also been cast in the film. Iron Man is slated to hit theaters on May 2nd 2008.

The high rez photos are definitely worth checking out.

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