Blu-ray sales in the UK didn't keep up their mind melting increases from earlier in the year, but considering the economic slowdown worldwide, a 378% jump from 2007 doesn't seem too disappointing. The British Video Association and Official Charts Company numbers point out a 1.9% lift in DVD sales as a whole in 2008, including 3.7 million on Blu-ray. The Dark Knight finished the year moving 281,000 Blu-ray copies as the UK's best selling HD release. We'll see how things proceed in '09, hopefully with cheaper players on the way.

We'd never doubt our old friend Ken H at AVSForum and his magic 8-ball, so it's no surprise that when Sports Video Group interviewed the VP of engineering at CBS, he confirmed all of the network's NFL games this season will be produced in 1080i. Unfortunately, due to a lack of network capacity, it's possible that the late game of a double header could start out distributed in SD, before switching to a high definition feed later, and halftime highlights will be SD-only. Both of those situations will be resolved by the '09 season when CBS' NFL contract requires it go all-HD, all the time - as the last NFL-free weekend comes to a close, news that the suffering will soon end eases the pain...a little.

[Via HD Sports Guide & AVSForum]

It's certainly strange that with several networks, online video, on demand, cellphone and any other way NBC has provided to view the Beijing Olympic Games, U.S. HDTVs had to wait 13 hours to show Usain Bolt make history in the 100m dash -- and another three hours to catch it on PST. For those frustrated by NBC's arrogant mishandling of its broadcast rights, there exists one slim ray of hope (other than living somewhere lucky enough to get Canadian television so you can actually see the events before reading about them in the paper or on NBC's own website), ESPN. That's right, with Brett Favre finally on an NFL roster, the sports giant has apparently found enough free time to consider taking a run at broadcast rights for the 2014 Winter Games and 2016 Summer Games. While we don't yet know where they'll be, if ESPN gets the Games, VP of content John Skipper pinky swore that it would "never" put an event on tape delay, calling it a disservice to sports fans. Our support for this plan goes without saying, and since it's already too late to give them this year's broadcast rights, our only remaining issue is finding out what it takes to get John Skipper on the '08 presidential ballot.

One look over our 2008 Beijing Olympics guide will tell you that there's just too much content to absorb; even just the NBC coverage is enough to induce HD OD. But DISH customers might be able to drink more comfortably from the fire hose thanks to Ensequence, which is bringing the Interactive TV mosaic to the games. As seen at the U.S. Open, this will montage feeds from six NBCU channels into a single screen. Viewers can then soak all six channels in at once or zoom in on a single channel. Even this six-fold reduction might not be enough, so various news and digest services will also be made available on DISH channel 100 -- especially appealing is the compiled highlights of the day's events. DirecTV has shown that it can play the multi-screen game, too, so don't be surprised to see it there as well.

[Image courtesy ChinaDaily]

Not content to flood customer eyeballs with some 750-hours in HD from the Beijing Olympics starting in a week, Cox Communications has signed a distribution deal with NBC for the upcoming 2010 Winter and 2012 Summer Olympic Games as well. The move makes Cox the first MSO (multiple system operator) to cough up the dough for NBC's "enhanced" packages for the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games. These are whole-enchilada digital and TV packages that include VOD, broadband and linear programming. No word on what kind of value proposition the salesfolk at NBC pitched to seal the deal, but it's good to know that us end-users aren't the only ones that have to buy programming in bundles, isn't it?

Our friends in the Great White North can expect some great HD coverage of this summer's Olympic games, as the CBC recently laid out its broadcast schedule, planning 282 hours of high definition coverage, while TSN promises 150 hours of HD coverage. CBC will also throw in 400 hours of SD coverage, which, may not equal NBC's numbers, but anyone who's viewed both can tell you without a doubt their presentation has trumped NBC's in its ability to satisfy sports fans (with the exception of their curling obsession during the Winter Olympics) with live action for many years. Online streaming of 1,500 hours of event coverage including live events will also be available, so we don't expect Canadians will miss a minute of the action from Beijing.

The company soon to be known as JVC Kenwood Holdings is kicking off its six month long summer road trip this month to show its wares to the masses. There are 30 pushpins on the "JVC Hi-Def Experience" map, spread across 19 states. That's a lot of ground to cover, so there are two teams -- one for the East and another for the West. The stops will coincide with local events, such as NASCAR races, fairs and festivals. This looks to be a JVC-only event -- Kenwood car stereos which seem like a natural fit for NASCAR events aren't featured. Check out the event web site and see where to go to get some quality time with Everio camcorders, P-series LCDs (with iPod docks and no longer available in Japan), or the Pioneer Kuro doppelganger HD100 projectors. If you catch it, share the details in the comments below!

[Via TWICE]

The MTR700 tuning adapter wasn't all that Moto was showing off at The Cable Show. Also getting introduced was its SmartStream Terminal Data Collector (STDC) software that gathers up diagnostic info from your Motorola STB and sends it to the helpful cable representative at the other end of the line. The idea, of course, is that field service (requiring a truck roll) will be replaceable by phone service (requiring hold time). Better still, the software is installable on-demand, so there won't even be a truck roll required to inject the code to your STB. We wouldn't expect cable companies to necessarily waive service fees for remote assistance, however. Just be thankful that help with your cable service may force you into tying yourself to the house between the hours of 10AM and 4PM.

Considering that we've already asked you for general tech predictions in 2008, as well as taken the time to peer into your mind about the most anticipated HD innovations, it seems only fair to dedicate a prediction post to the still-raging format war. Of course, if you listen to the analysts, you'll find an incredibly varied selection of responses, but we suppose that follows logic -- you know, considering that we're all really in the dark here. Nevertheless, we figure there's no better way to kick off 2008 (and CES) than to toss out a few outlandish (and we mean outlandish) guesses as to where the format war will be this time next year (if it's still around by then, that is).

1) Warner will indeed go Blu-ray only at CES, sending the HD DVD camp into horrific fits of panic.
2) Warner will throw us all a curveball, confess its unending love for HD DVD and bid adieu to Blu.
3) Combo players will experience an unexpected and completely welcome drop in prices, both formats maintain their edge.
4) DVD forms a militia, overthrows both high-definition formats.
5) Blu-ray finally undercuts HD DVD in the hardware price department, red withers away.
6) Online 1080p movie rentals become the norm, sales of both formats sink.
7) HD DVD woos a major BD studio (or two), steals away Blu market share.
8) A major television manufacturer begins mass marketing sets with either HD DVD / Blu-ray drives within, the excluded format loses ground.
9) Blu-ray figureheads offer Toshiba a grotesquely large sum of money to bow out, BDA celebrates for weeks.
10) Despite incessant rambling from fanboys the world over, sales remain fairly steady throughout 2008 -- we find ourselves in this very spot as 2009 commences.

That's it for our surmising, now let's hear what you all think. You know the drill, drop in your wildest speculation below -- but don't be afraid to mix in a little intelligence, okay?

[Thanks for the idea, Tom!]

Believe it or not, it's that time of year again. You know, the time when it ends. But thankfully, it's also time to look ahead to the next 12 months and dream big about the technologies you hope hit the mainstream. So as 2007 comes to a close and 2008 sneaks up on you, we're interested to know what HD technologies you're most excited about. So go on, take a peek at the options below and toss in your vote, but don't be scared to drop in any we forgot in comments below.

Chinese engineers have been working on homegrown disc format EVD since 2003 with little to show for it, but today 20 firms -- representing 97 percent of the DVD manufacturers in the country -- displayed 80 players and announced plans to switch from DVD to the new format exclusively by 2008. EVD joins VMD as a low cost alternative to Blu-ray and HD DVD, using conventional red lasers combined with advanced compression technology to put high definition movies on discs. This "Red-ray" HD approach promises to support resolutions up to 1080p without a need to increase disc capacity significantly, and will allow them to launch with players at the same price as current DVD -only models. EVD is just one of several recent Chinese initiatives to decrease reliance on outside standards and licenses, but is doubtful to catch on elsewhere. That's really too bad, because with players priced at only $87, we're interested in the group's ideas and would like to subscribe to their newsletter. Additionally, the format's backers plan to sell movies at download-and-burn kiosks and allow users to rip movies to their hard drive -- no hacking necessary.

Read - China firms unveil new video players
Read - EVD Substituting DVD Basically in 2008