Just in case you were wondering whether Sony would get down and dirty with the low-priced rabble this year, word from its community blog is the company predictably held its premium brand mantle high, proclaiming during a recent industry analyst meeting that it wouldn't be launching a value-priced Blu-ray player. Still, after turning around and selling TVs bearing its name at Wal-mart of all places, we would be surprised to see Sony flip on this policy and offer price-conscious shoppers a Vizio alternative sooner rather than later.

Are you one of the more than 4,000 people (86%) that answered our poll saying you thought BD-Live was a waste of time, or didn't see any reason to give it a shot? We talked to Sony Pictures recently and were promised that more useful reasons for hooking the internet to Blu-ray discs & players were on the way, and today at a press event it showed why it thinks that will come true. Check out the gallery for a few pics of its new MovieIQ app, quickly described as a "wiki for movies" that can tie into your discs and provide information from Gracenote on demand on nearly anything in the movie or even specific scene being watched, from actors & directors to background music. The first BD-Live discs with it should be available in September, we'll be back with more details shortly, for now just let the images do the talking.

Update: Official press release is included after the break

Tucked in between the "worst kept secret" PSP Go and motion control demos at its E3 press conference, Sony also revealed new content for the PlayStation Network video service, and the ability to download video directly to the PSP, no PS3 or PC intermediary needed. No word on when to expect the new content exactly, but it will include video from Showtime Networks, Starz, G4 & E!, Summit Entertainment, The Weinstein Company, HDNet & Magnolia Pictures, Anime Network, Media Blasters, Right Stuf's Nozomi Entertainment, Starz Media's Manga Entertainment, Toei Animation, Viz Media, WEP, UFC, TNA and Video Action Sports. Looks like Sony will have easy on the go access to video store content up and running before Microsoft gets its Zune integration act together, but whether that compares to 1080p instant streaming promises remains to be seen (Hint: first one with direct Hulu access wins, we're just saying, guys.) Check out Sony's trailer embedded after the break.

The S-LCD joint venture between Sony and Samsung now has a second 8th-generation production line to its credit, as the companies announced the $1.5 billion dollar expansion is now in operation and will be capable of producing up to 70,000 glass sheets per month for 32, 46- and 52-inch HDTV screens by the end of the year. We've seen prices at that size fall sharply since the first line was introduced two years ago, and we can't help but think this bodes well for Black Friday bargain hunters in 2009 and beyond.

[Via AV Watch]

Everybody's getting into the mobile movie sideload business -- just ask Samsung -- and following an MWC unveiling earlier this year, Sony Ericsson is gearing up to launch movie content starting next month as part of its existing PlayNow Arena service. Direct on-phone downloads over WiFi or 3G would be awesome, but as most of these services tend to operate, PlayNow Arena will require that users select and download movies on their PCs, cable up their phones, and transfer the media the old-fashioned way, at which point they'll be playable on the device for 90 days. You'll be able to select from about 15 movies at any given time with content being cycled monthly -- ridiculously meager, yes, but when you consider that the service is bundled with certain phones (up to 60 movies a year), it's hard to pitch a fit. Look for it to launch on the W995 slider in Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK in June; support for Sony Ericsson's newly-announced Satio and Aino (among others) is expected later in the year.

There's no doubt that Sony has a 400-disc Blu-ray Mega Changer on the cooker -- heck, we saw the thing last year at CEDIA -- but up until now, there's been no indication of its nearness to market. According to a vague Swiss product page and a report from Sony Insider, however, the launch date is indeed drawing near. If hunches prove legitimate, the BDP-CX7000ES will allow 400 of your favorite BD flicks to sit within a single console, and we've every reason to believe that this one will support BD-Live and actually load films with some amount of haste. You know, very much unlike the 200-disc HES-V1000 that's already out there. As of now, it's looking like the unit will run right around $2,300, placing it squarely in rarefied air and ostensibly out of reach for the vast majority of home theater junkies.

[Via Sony Insider]

We all love getting new gadgets -- marketing and design departments have honed their crafts to a point that pretty much guarantees a steady release of endorphins throughout the selection, purchasing, unboxing and first impression stages. We've spent about a week putting Logitech's Harmony Adapter for the PlayStation 3 through its paces; long enough that we feel we're safely past the "honeymoon" stage and can put a little perspective on how it fits in with HT setups incorporating a PS3. Follow us past the break to see if we'll be living happily ever after, seeking counseling or filing for divorce.

Just try to wrap your minds around this, Harmony / PS3 owners: this weekend is the last weekend that your otherwise awesome universal remote won't be able to power on your otherwise awesome Blu-ray / media player. Wild, we know. Logitech's heralded Harmony Adapter for PlayStation 3 -- which converts the IR blasts coming from your Harmony-branded remote to Bluetooth signals that the console understands -- is now shipping. You can pretty much take your pick of e-tailers, but the read link leads to a sweet 10 percent off promotion that'll save you a few bones compared to buying from Amazon. Whatever the case, the MSRP is $59.99, so feel free to track down the best deal in all your free time.

If price was the only thing separating your living room from a Sony DMX-WL1 wireless HD unit, maybe news that SonyStyle is unloading them for $499 (down from $799) is enough to initiate a purchase. Maybe having a pricing edge over the Gefen EXT-WHDMI setup is enough to separate the two, but Sony's pair is still limited to 1080i as opposed to 1080p streaming, so we'd take a careful look at the reviews before laying down green for either one, though we may just stick with our old school wired-HDMI lifestyle for now.

The tiny HD hits keep coming today -- first we saw eASIC's $5 integrated H.264 codec chip, and now Sony's crowing about the new MCB1172 HD camera module it claims is the "world's smallest." There's some pretty impressive tech packed into that tiny package: you're looking at an 8.3 megapixel sensor that can shoot 720p/30 video with image stabilization, face detection, high-ISO mode, and 120fps slow motion. Not bad for a piece smaller than a quarter -- hopefully we'll see this thing pop up all over soon.

Toshiba's Cell-based SpursEngine HD video co-processor has made plenty of appearances within monstrous gaming machines, but this marks the very first time where it has stepped out of the laptop chassis and into a portable enclosure. Granted, the language barrier is killing us here, but it seems as if the Leadtek WinFast HPVC1100 wraps a SpursEngine encoder into an on-the-go solution that can be lugged around with a standard laptop in order to churn through video while on set, in the field or on the road. Other specs include 128MB of RAM, a PCI-Express slot and a weight of 1.54 pounds; there's no word just yet on pricing or availability. One more shot is after the break.

[Via Akihabara News]

Yeah, sure, we knew the Harmony IR-to-Bluetooth remote adapter was coming down the pike, but even with FCC filings and official confirmation of the device from Harmony, the PS3 owners among us are breathing a small sigh of relief now that we've got our hands on a unit that prove it will make it to market. We have a love/hate relationship with the PS3's Bluetooth remote control -- the range and total non-directionality of it are great, but having a separate remote control just for the PS3 is a real stick in the eye of our couch potato lifestyles. There are a few choices for solving the PS3 remote control conundrum, but on first blush this unit has three things going for it: support from a big name like Logitech (of course including codes in the Harmony database), it does not eat up one of your PS3's USB ports, and it handles switching the PS3 on and off (not unique, but some other solutions don't). We'll give the IR-to-Bluetooth converter a full rundown in due course, but follow us past the break for our initial impressions, an official fact sheet and a link to a Q&A section on the Logitech blog.

One of our tipsters spotted Sony's latest Blu-ray player on a local Best Buy shelf sporting a $299 price tag. The BDP-S360 adds the DTS-HD MA decoding you were missing from the previous model, plus improved DVD scaling and out of the box BD-Live support. Of course one has to ask themselves if, in 2009, a player lacking the Netflix streaming or Amazon VOD features of competing hardware, or the DLNA streaming and integrated WiFi of the upcoming BDP-S560 is really worth braving these H1N1-infested streets, but we'll leave that choice up to you.

[Thanks, RyanD]

And the hits just keep on comin'. Shortly after Sony introduced its connected BRAVIA W-Series to the world, in flies yet another trio: the Z5500 line. Arriving in 40-inch, 46-inch and 52-inch models, the set boasts Motionflow 200Hz technology, DLNA certification, the outfit's BRAVIA Engine 3, its own 'draw the LINE' design concept, a 1080p panel and a CI Plus interface, which only those parked overseas will truly understand. Furthermore, there's an integrated MPEG-4/AVC HD tuner, BRAVIA Sync (HDMI-CEC), an auto shut-off function, a dedicated 'Energy Saving Switch' and -- for the first time -- AppliCast. If you're curious, the latter feature enables users to access a range of online services (RSS feeds and all sorts of other widgets) via the built-in Ethernet jack. Sony didn't bother to share a price, release date or any hope of a US debut, but we'll be keeping our eyes peeled.

[Via TrustedReviews]

Despite the trickle down of advanced features on many manufacturers' lower-end receivers, there's still plenty of room for their upper-echelon offerings as well, and the UK's AVReview put four £1,200 - £1,500 ($1,750 - $2,200) receivers in a matchup. Entering the ring were the Onkyo TX-NR906, Pioneer SC-LX71 (SC-07 in the US), Sony STR-DA5400ES and Yamaha RX-V3900; we only wish models from Denon and Marantz would have made it to the contest as well. That said, matching up four receivers is not to be taken lightly, and it sounds like each of the contestants would serve you well in both features and absolute performance. We won't spoil the ending for you, but even though only one receiver snagged the overall crown, at this price point you should know that things are more nuanced than a single "winner;" your personal priorities are going to be the biggest variable in choosing the best model for you.

[Boxing glove image courtesy germes-online]