Hasta La Gadget!

Sure, the next wave of gaming consoles may be arriving pretty soon, but while we wait for the PS4 and whatever Microsoft has in store for us, why not have yet another Xbox 360 bundle to choose from, right? Today the Redmond-based company released its Spring Value set, which includes that slim console with 250GB of storage space (as well as the accustomed peripherals, of course), one month gratis of Xbox Live Gold and, perhaps to make it all worthwhile, Darksiders II and Batman: Arkham City — although the latter of the two will be available via download code rather than as a physical copy. Folks that call the good ol’ US of A home can snag the fresh bundle starting today for $299, which is on par with similar bundles that Microsoft’s released in the past — granted it’s not as sleek-looking as some of the pricier ones.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft

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Source: Major Nelson

In Sky’s latest bid (after getting Sony and Warner on the hook) to corner premium viewing content in the UK before rivals including Lovefilm and Netflix get traction, it has announced an extension to its 24-year agreement with Disney. Beyond guaranteeing Disney — which means Lucasfilm, of course — Pixar and Marvel flicks will be on Sky (plus Sky Go, and 3D movies on Sky 3D) a year before any other service, it’s also creating a new Sky Movies Disney Channel in its lineup that launches March 28th. In order to reach those not with the typical TV package, the deal also brings Disney’s movies to Sky’s Now TV internet video service for users with a monthly movie pass. We’re sure 24 years ago, such deals didn’t cover so many devices or avenues of access but snagging exclusives to gain a market advantage has stayed exactly the same.

Filed under: HD

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Source: Sky

We’re getting the band back together. After we welcome Ryan Block and Peter Rojas back to the fold, we dig into all the news that came out of the AllThingsD conference last week. Sony, Dish, Microsoft, Intel and others had plenty to say, but did we believe everything we heard? We’re also on the bleeding edge of a new display technology as OLED HDTVs hit the streets, so we’ll make our best guess as to whether mainstream pricing is in the near future. Finally, several connected TV platforms have updates, and the battle for content continues to heat up with customers stuck in the middle — press play to find out all the details.

Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)

Producer: James Trew (@itstrew)

Hear the podcast

00:19:32 Aol acquires gdgt: get those engdgt puns out of your system today
00:25:42 Sony Entertainment’s Michael Lynton praises the DVR for enabling an ‘explosion in creativity’
00:32:55 Dish’s Charlie Ergen on wireless dreams, ad skipping, à la carte programming and more
00:37:13 Microsoft talks plans for premium content production, details Xbox 360’s transition to an ‘entertainment console’
00:39:44 Intel confirms new internet-based television streaming product, ‘working with entire industry’ to launch this year
00:43:33 Eric Kessler announces AirPlay support for HBO Go and Max Go apps, says à la carte HBO access still isn’t economically viable
00:49:50 LG’s 55-inch OLED HDTV ships in Korea next week, has 100 pre-orders so far
00:52:32 LG Display invests $655 million to expand OLED HDTV mass production next year
00:54:45 Samsung Display drops injunction request against LG Display, moves closer to OLED peace
00:56:45 Red sues Sony over patents, wants disputed F-series cameras ‘destroyed’
00:58:14 Vizio Co-Star update brings new Google TV UI, native Amazon and Vudu
01:00:16 TiVo Premiere now loaded with Flingo LaunchPad, nets more than 70 video apps
01:02:49 Western Digital unveils WD TV Play streaming box, directly competes with Roku
01:04:45 Raspbmc 1.0 brings stable media center duties to your Raspberry Pi
01:06:45 Seas0nPass jailbreak and aTV Flash (black) version arrive for Apple TV 5.2, bring Bluetooth keyboard compatibility
01:07:31 Amazon expands CBS content on Prime Instant Video, lands an Under the Dome exclusive
01:09:42 Amazon to spice up Lovefilm with BBC and original content, serve it to Bravias in HD
01:10:10 Comcast grows in Q4, buys the rest of NBCUniversal and rolls out more new DVRs
01:13:04 Netflix and DreamWorks to launch original show for kids in December
01:14:08 Now you too can watch Valve’s Gabe Newell and Bad Robots’ J.J. Abrams talk about storytelling
01:15:00 Must See HDTV (February 18th – 24th)

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Filed under: Podcasts, HD

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After its run on the internet and then cable TV, Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome is coming to Blu-ray, along with the second season of Game of Thrones and Monsters Inc. Sports fans have NASCAR racing to (try to) replace football, while movie buffs can keep an eye out for the Academy Awards on Sunday. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Top Gun 3D
After a short run in theaters, Top Gun 3D is coming home on Blu-ray. We’ve had the chance to watch it already and came away with (mostly) good things to say about the conversion. The 3D conversion is well done and particularly in the action scenes, as one watches F-14s zooming through the air it enhanced the feeling of speed and depth. Now, it’s not all good news as we did notice a slightly different color tint on the 3D version, not necessarily bad, but different. Overall we liked it, so if you’re looking for another 3D viewing option and are a fan of the original, it’s worthwhile, but probably not required viewing. If you’re not a 3D fan, this probably won’t change your opinion.
($19.96 on Amazon)

Daytona 500
NASCAR is back and in full effect. If you like to see cars turning left then this is the series for you, and in a fresh twist, Danica Patrick will debut as the first female polesitter in race history. This race will also see the new Gen6 cars that are designed to not only be safer and faster, but also more closely resemble production automobiles. Whether you’re watching the race end to end
(February 24th, Fox, 12PM)

Filed under: HD

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Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed took over for company founder Ted Rogers in the Canadian communications company’s top post back in March of 2009, and today announced he will step down in January 2014. The news comes along with Rogers fourth quarter earnings announcement, where it noted 58,000 net subscriber additions for wireless and 7,000 for cable. Milestones achieved in the last year include the rollout of NextBox 2.0 features for cable TV viewers and LTE coverage it says reaches 60 percent of Canadians. Meanwhile Mohamed leaves able to note the company becoming Canada’s largest wireless carrier during his leadership. We don’t know yet who will step up in his place, but the press release mentioned Rogers family members Edward and Melinda — currently serving as a Deputy Chairman and Senior VP, respectively — will not submit their names for candidacy. We have submitted the names of Engadget mobile editors (and native Canadians) Myriam Joire and Sean Cooper for consideration, but have yet to hear back from the search committee.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Mobile

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Source: Rogers Q4 earnings