'Tis the season for giving / sharing, so we're glad to see Auntie Beeb in the festive spirit. Reportedly, BBC HD will be bestowing upon its viewers a whole slew of high-def content for the holiday season, including Shrek The Halls, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and The Chronicles Of Narnia – The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. Onlookers will also be treated to the long-awaited three-part horror story There Was a Crooked House and The 39 Steps, not to mention a handful of other movies you've certainly been waiting eons to see on broadcast TV. Way to step up the game, BBC -- now, how's about everyone else take a note and follow suit?

Well over 1.5 months after parent company iNDEMAND confirmed that MOJO HD was being canned, the day has finally come for it to expire. We know, you were crossing your fingers and summoning all sorts of good fortune in hopes of it magically staying active after the December 1st date with Dr. Death (sorry for the Dr. Danger reminder), but it just wasn't to be. Here's to you, MOJO HD, and all the outstanding (and lackluster) programming you've delivered over the years. Time for a "best MOJO moment" list in comments? We vote yes.

[Thanks, Tom]

Update: Another obituary is after the break -- feel free to send in your own and we'll post! Thanks, Eddie!

Oh, brother. Not this again. Every year it seems that we get wind of a wonky report that explains just how ignorant many first-time HDTV buyers are to HD programming. And in many cases, we'd argue to no fault of their own. The most recent survey from the offices of Frank N. Magid Associates asserts that "among the 12% of US households who purchased a new high-definition television in the past year, 41% still need to arrange for high-definition programming service from a cable or satellite provider." Granted, some of those folks could be perfectly content with pulling in high-def via an OTA antenna (or hooking up a gaming console / Blu-ray player), but that's still a lot of cats and kittens neglecting that sweet, sweet pay-TV goodness. The survey also found that 43% of new HDTV owners "had not looked into HD services from any provider," and that 41% didn't feel that HD services were worth the cost. We've said it before, and we'll say it again: friends don't let friends own an HDTV without any HD content. It's just not right, people.

Now that HD Netflix streaming has finally arrived on the Xbox 360, we have no doubts whatsoever that legions of you have already given it a spin. We've heard mixed impressions right out of the gate, but we're hoping some of the first day glitches have worked themselves out by now. At any rate, how has your experience been so far? Are you impressed with the quality? Are there any aspects that could be improved upon? Break off a paragraph or three in comments below.

One thing's for sure: Verizon is well aware of the importance of online video, and it's doing everything within its power to make sure it stays one step ahead of the curve. Hot on the heels of its recently announced Starz Play deal comes this, a similar agreement with a UK-based digital asset-delivery network provider. The agreement with Velocix puts Verizon in a position to "offer content owners and video distributors a competitive choice in delivering their services to our broadband customers." More specifically, the two have worked together to "offer content owners and video distributors a competitive choice in delivering their services to broadband customers," which leads us to believe that all sorts of new internet-based content could soon be coming to FiOS / FiOS TV customers. It's okay to be a wee bit giddy, we won't tell.

Canadian broadcaster High Fidelity HDTV has just acquired the exclusive rights to a number of IMAX originals, and it's not just keeping them for itself. A total of 20 IMAX films will begin airing in December on its suite of HD channels: Oasis HD, Equator HD, Treasure HD and Rush HD. Among the titles are The Secret Of Life On Earth, Fires Of Kuwait, Hail Columbia, The Nutcracker, T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous, Space Station, Into the Deep, Destiny in Space, China: The Panda Adventure, Blue Planet, Ozarks: Legacy and Legend, Heartland, L5: First City in Space, The Last Buffalo, Skyward, The Dream is Alive, Mission to Mir, Galapagos, Survival Island and Mountain Gorilla. Thank goodness it didn't have to ask the CRTC for permission to add 'em, though.

Election Night 2008 brought about an unprecedented amount of HD coverage, and while we're all in absolute agreement that CNN's "holographic" interviews were the comedy for the evening, we're interested on your take on how networks as a whole did with their high-def presentation. Was CBS' polished graphics set enough to overcome those embarrassing audio gaffes? Did ABC / FOX have the edge? Where did you find yourself tuned to most of the night? Drop your vote (hey, there's a concept!) below.

Now that that Fall 2008 HDTV schedule is well underway, Sound & Vision has had time to investigate which shows are best for showing off your new flat-panel / surround sound system. Sure, we know you're still interested in those far-fetched "plots" and "story lines," but what about tickling your retinas and eardrums with the best TV has to offer? We'd rather not give away any surprises, but after reading through their top seven, why not chime in below with how you agree / disagree?

Rest assured, Canadians -- your tax dollars are hard at work. So long as you consider the delivery of more HD hockey "work," that is. Believe it or not, the taxpayer-funded CBC has thrown down nearly $24 million on a pair of broadcasting trucks "so it can show hockey games and cultural events in high-definition." According to CBC spokesman Jeff Keay, it decided to purchase them because doing so provided "better value for the taxpayers" given that it would "cost more to lease them." Granted, it does cost around $55,000 total to broadcast a hockey matchup in high-def, but still, $24 million is a lot of cheese. Ah well, one more reason to buy into HD, right? Wait, you sort of already have if you're Canadian...

[Image courtesy of Flickr]

If you really needed proof that the statement "crime doesn't pay" had at least a semblance of truth behind it, here's your sign. Known satellite TV pirate Glenn White has been sentenced to a 14 month stint in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegally rebroadcasting DISH Network's programming. As the story goes, Mr. White was doing business in Wagram, North Carolina under the name Wagram Cable, but rather than distributing material in a legal manner, he chose to crack DISH's encryption and then monetize it. Big mistake. Oh, and DISH Network actually put this out on a press release in order to let the public know it "will continue to fight those who aid or participate in illegally breaking into encrypted DISH Network TV channels and set-top boxes." Don't say it didn't warn you.

[Image courtesy of FlatPanelTV]

More HD is always good, but it's not always free. AT&T just gifted many of its markets with eight high-def newcomers, but it seems that some future HD additions may fall into a newfangled "HD Premium Tier." A number of California-based U-verse subscribers have received a postcard notifying them that beginning on November 10th, Universal HD (1104) will be moving to the aforesaid tier. It also informs users that if they wish to continue receiving the channel, they'll need to "upgrade their current package." The plan is so new that some CSRs weren't even aware of what subscribers were referring to when they called to investigate, but suffice it to say, it looks like you'll soon be paying more to keep all of those HD channels around on U-verse.

[Thanks, Anthony]

It's official, folks. tru2way is live -- in Denver and Chicago, at least. As is the first official tru2way-compatible HDTV. Now, the only question remaining is this: are you planning to buy in? Be it a tru2way set or just a set-top-box of your own with tru2way support, we're curious to find out how many of you are really planning on ditching that cable company-provided set-top once this technology really starts to take off. Converse below -- after all, that's what comments are for.

It was inevitable, really. G4 clearly targets the young male, and young males clearly prefer their TV to be aired in high-def. After a recent falloff in viewership during Q3 of this year, G4 President Neil Tiles is looking to make moves to get those numbers back up. In fact, he outrightly stated that "as of December, we'll be moving towards an HD offering that will allow us to bridge that gap." Unfortunately, no more details beyond that were given, but suffice it to say, we'll be pretty dismayed if December comes and goes without nary a mention of G4HD. Look, if Spike can go HD, you guys can to. Game on!

[Thanks, longhairbilly]

Update: Seems G4HD is expected by Comcast on December 8th. Thanks, Jeremy!

Don't even think about saying we didn't warn you. Just as we expected at the first of the year, Comcast is gearing up to hike rates on unsuspecting cable customers, and it's consoling us all by stating that the increase is still well below the rate of inflation (wait, for real?). Beginning on November 1st, the carrier will be raising rates on most cable TV services, DVRs and HD STBs on the average of 4.6%. Interestingly, we're told that high-speed internet and digital home phone services won't see bumps, and neither will bundles. You know what that means? Bundle up or switch out.

[Via ABC, image courtesy of Flickr; thanks Garst]

We pinged MOJO HD's parent company, iN DEMAND, in an attempt to hear that some of our favorite high-def programming wouldn't be vanishing forever with the dissolution of the channel. Thankfully, we heard back, and while the news isn't fantastic, it at least gives us room to hope. When we asked what would happen to the programming currently on MOJO HD, we told that "individual producers would be working to find other homes for the series," and that "announcements would come from those networks." Additionally, the MOJO MIX HD video-on-demand service will continue to operate into 2009, giving users another venue to fetch most of the original MOJO programming. In all seriousness, we can't imagine a Travel Channel HD (for example) not picking up Three Sheets, but we suppose only time will tell.