Hasta La Gadget!

Things are about to go from bad to worse for Blockbuster. The once powerful video chain is getting ready to close the doors on a number of retail locations, according to a regulatory filing by the company this week. Blockbuster is getting ready to close down 810 and 960 brick-and-mortar stores by year’s end. That’s more than one-fifth of its US locations.

The chain, which currently operates 4,356 locations in the US initially planned to close 380 to 425 by the end of the year. The company has largely struggled to compete with the explosion of services like Netflix and video on demand.

Apple TV has long been a bit a black sheep in the company’s lineup. With that in mind, it’s not exactly a surprise that the death of one of the models came quietly in the night. Apple has killed off the entry level 40GB model, and dropped the price of the 160GB version down to $229, down from $329.

Apple TV never really took off, and the company hasn’t really gone out of its way to nurture the device. Some expected the company to announce new multimedia refreshes for the device at the most recent Apple event, though nothing surfaced. From the looks of it, Apple is either getting ready for an update to the device, or just killing it off altogether.

One thing no one’s ever said about CableCard: how easy it is to install the darn thing. In fact, only a tiny fraction of the millions of CableCards currently in use are plugged into computers. That’s because CableCards can only be used in “cable-ready PCs,” meaning a certain class of new systems sold by manufacturers and blessed by Cable Labs. Enthusiasts couldn’t build their own, nor could they add the tuners to existing computers. At least, not until yesterday, when Microsoft announced that the regulators of CableCard will decrease the severity of digital rights management from the television tuner and widen the pool of PCs that can take advantage of them.

Great news, but how will you, an enthusiast, ever get your hands on the darn things? According to Ken Plotkin, CEO of leading tuner manufacturer Hauppauge Computer Works, his company will sell a TV tuner at retail by the end of the year. This probably means that other manufacturers will be quick to join; watch for CableCard tuners from AVerMedia and DViCo, and the crazy multichannel CableCard from Ceton Corp, which Engadget recently spent some quality hands-on time with.

Until then, keep in mind that you can always install one of the OEM units yourself, provided you can track one down on eBay.
Image © Ben Drawbaugh/Engadget.

On Tuesday, Netgear launched the Digital Entertainer Live (or EVA2000), a small set-top box that connects an HDTV to a local USB or networked hard drive or to Web video services like YouTube or Hulu.

The EVA2000 went on sale today for $149.99, and a complementary USB wireless adapter (the EVAW111) is priced at $39.99. However, there are also some hidden fees you may need to be aware of.

The EVA2000 looks quite similar to the Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player, which is priced slightly less, at $129.99. In fact, the two remote controls look nearly identical. (Disclosure: I purchased a WD TV box about six weeks ago.) Both boxes also use an HDMI cable to connect to an HDTV, although neither includes it. There’s one key difference, however: the WD TV outputs up to 1080i video, while the EVA2000 supports up to 720p.

The Netgear box supports a nice array of video formats (WMV 7/8/9, VC1, VP6, –
H.263, H.264, MPEG 1/2/4) and file types, including AVI, DivX 4.x, DivX 5.x, Xvid, MOV, MP4, MPEG2-PS, MPEG2-TS,
DVD VOB, FLV, Matroska, and ASF.

The one drawback to the WD TV, obviously, is that it lacks any sort of network access, either to the home LAN or to the Internet at large. The EVA2000 rectifies both deficiencies. Since it lacks a true network browser, however, the EVA2000 requires some intermediary software to access popular Web video sites, and this is where the additional fees come in.

Mitsubishi is now shipping several of its flat-panel 1080p LCD TVs with an integrated Vudu app. Users who purchase the Diamond Unisen models, LT-46249 and LT-52249, will be able to access Vudu content directly from the TV via an Ethernet connection. They can also add an optional Vudu wireless accessory bridge to link their TVs to a wireless home network.

Vudu now offers about 2,200 HD titles and 16,000 titles overall, which you can rent or purchase. Later this month, Diamond Unisen Immersive Sound TVs will also add access to content from YouTube, Flickr, Picasa, and Pandora, as well as an “On Demand TV” area with more than 80 channels.

The 46-inch LT-46249 will cost $2,599, and the 52-inch LT-52249 will retail for $3,099. For a limited time, buyers will get $50 worth of free movie rentals or purchases from Vudu.

In other Vudu news, LG announced Tuesday that Vudu streaming is now available on its broadband HDTVs. The company first announced plans for Vudu-enabled TVs in early August, and the service is now live for LG’s LH50 1080p LCD series and PS80 plasma 1080p series with “NetCast Entertainment Access.”