We're pretty big fans of AT&T's U-verse (though, alas, we're not lucky enough to live in an area where we can have it!), and we sort of figured a few days back when the company rolled out some new tweaks to its Total Home DVR that something like this might be on the horizon, and here it is. AT&T's rolled out a free app for the iPhone app store that allows users to access the entire program guide, search for specific shows, and schedule, manage and delete programs and settings. The Mobile Remote Access App -- as it's not-so-creatively called -- sounds like a real winner for those with both U-Verse service and an iPhone... but then, we still communicate primarily with quills and parchment, so what would we know? One more screenshot of the app (plus a video!) after the break.

With another WWDC behind us and again no Blu-ray playback announcement from Cupertino or even any notable rumors. Leopard, and now Snow Leopard, have skipped out on the infamous "bag of hurt," but with AACS finalized, maybe things can be different. So let us know, by the time WWDC comes around next year do you think that Apple will put that BDA membership to use, or will disc-based HD playback on computers stay a PC affair?

[Image from the What Would Jobs Do? 3 photoshop showdown]

OS X Slingbox users can finally enjoy HD streams, now that the web based SlingPlayer for Mac HD originally planned to launch in Q1 has been released. It's still carrying the beta tag, and SlingCommunity users have noticed some issues with audio and picture quality at this time. Another downer? A lack of access to older SlingPlayers, you'll need a PRO, PRO HD or SOLO and Intel based Mac to come to this h.264 encoded party, but if the requirements meet your setup, fire up Safari or Firefox and head on over.

Read - Sling.com Enables OS X Slingbox Streaming
Read - Sling.com HD access for Macs (finally!)

After what has become one of the longer (and certainly one of the highest-profile) App Store approval delays, SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone has finally gotten Apple's blessing -- with some serious changes under the hood. Most importantly, 3G access has been disabled, meaning you'll only be able to get your Sling on over WiFi -- a serious blow to the app and a huge change from the way SlingPlayer Mobile works on other platforms -- and likely a verification that either Apple or AT&T took serious issue with the bandwidth load imposed by this type of app on the HSPA network. Despite the restriction, Sling will be charging a whopping $29.99 for the download; in exchange for your troubles, though, they've decided to lift the ban on older Slingboxes, with the caveat that they won't be officially supported if you run into trouble.

We've had a chance to play with the app, and it certainly gets the job done -- we just wish it worked a little better. Even on WiFi, control feels laggy, and there's no native guide (though there's an icon to quickly pull up your set-top box's guide). When you're in letterbox mode, you've got black bars around all four sides of the image, meaning that the app isn't taking full advantage of the phone's display; we're hopeful this'll be fixed in a future release, though. Happily, we think Sling really nailed the app's UI -- the on-screen translucent controls are pretty cool and generally work well without obscuring the view. Look to grab your own copy some time between 12:01AM and 6:01AM EDT tomorrow morning, and in the meantime, check out our gallery.

OS X aficionados looking for a media center alternative to streaming Netflix movies through boxee can now look to Plex. The just launched app plugs into Plex's frontend and (with Silverlight) installed) adds a slick front end that compares well to, and may even best those offered by other Instant Watch hardware and apps, though we can't tell from these screens if users can add movies to the queue through it. We're hoping Microsoft picks up a designer or two from this team to upgrade the Xbox 360 frontend, but meanwhile we'll give the latest beta version (0.7.14) of Plex Media Center a shot.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

HP's MediaSmart Server ex487 (1.5TB) and ex485 (750GB) both received copious amounts of praise when launched late last year, but considering just how many issues the original two had (the ex470 and ex475), it wouldn't take much to best 'em. Today, HP is issuing its second firmware update of the year for the series, but the first ever for the newest duo -- and make no mistake, it's a big one. The v2.5 update adds in loads of new features, far too many to cover in this space, in fact. If you're interested in hearing more, follow us past the break for all the details.

Alright, Steve may have called Blu-ray "a bag of hurt" but Microsoft's Laptop Hunting mom & son duo (ad embedded after the break) looked pretty happy to see it in their new VAIO laptop. The Apple / Blu-ray rumors flying since the format launched have amounted to very little and for now it's up to iTunes to take care of ones legit HD movie fix, so we've just got to know, is that enough to send you running to XP, Vista or Windows 7? Vote, then let us know why in the comments.

Here's some perspective: when MCE first released its internal Mac Pro Blu-ray burner, it boasted 2X speeds for a hefty $699 price tag. Cut to present day, when the new generation of the drive that's a noticeably faster 8X Blu-ray read / write and 16X DVD±R/W, all for a hair under $400. Works with Adobe Premier Pro, Final Cut Pro and Roxio Toast 10 Pro ... but if you want to play studio Blu-ray movies, you'll have to either dual boot Windows or wait until some indeterminant time when Apple adds BD support for OS X. Them's the breaks.

[Via Macworld]

Consider the "where are the HD rentals in iTunes?" question partially answered, now that 8.1.1 has brought the advertised functionality to the desktop according to its own release notes. Some iPod and iPhone sync issues have also been addressed, but we know what the people want. Unfortunately, even after installing the update none of the $5 rentals in high definition are anywhere to be found, only SD. The wait continues.

Well, wouldn't you know it -- there is a DirecTV iPhone application. The cats over at DBSTalk have had the privilege of toying with it, and they even assembled a lovely PDF with setup instructions and images of the show search, recording and show cards functionality. For iPhone lovers with DirecTV, there's absolutely no excuse to not check this out. Sadly, we're no closer to figuring out when it'll be available, but we're just relieved to know it'll be here someday.

Rumor has it that AT&T's gearing up for yet another door-busting, riot-inducing summer filled with new iPhone hardware, which would certainly jibe with everything we've heard in the past few months (never mind the fact that June is officially Apple's iPhone release cycle these days, and indeed, AT&T's apparently saying that the June cycle is becoming "a tradition"). That's not terribly interesting at this point -- what is interesting, though, is how AT&T plans to play it. Apparently, the carrier wants to ramp up its -- ah, how should we put this in a politically correct way -- "integration" with Apple's hardware, including a U-verse app that we're guessing will approximate the functionality to be offered by Verizon's FiOS. What really has us worried is not so much the U-verse app specifically, but the possibility that AT&T's sick and tired of having its crapware left out of its highest-profile device, leading to non-removable garbage like Cellular Video on a future iPhone's home screen. It's still a bit early to sound the alarm there, but you know, we're paranoid types around here. Meanwhile, it sounds like the new device is once again begin said to rock higher 3G speeds than the outgoing model, implying that 7.2Mbps HSDPA to match AT&T's latest infrastructure upgrades is plausible, if not probable. Finally, it's said that a $99 netbook running something other than Windows (don't suppose that'd be Linux?) will be launching this summer, following on the 3G-enabled Aspire One that hit Radio Shack late last year. Heads up, though, AT&T: give us an iPhone with your Mobile Email app on the home screen, and let's just say we can't be held accountable for our actions afterwards. We know you wouldn't do that, but just sayin'.

Sheesh -- this is dangerously close to getting out of hand. We've got Hulu, boxee, ZeeVee and Vuze (amongst others) all vying for your attention in the wide world of broadband video, but it's the latter dishing out a potent new offering with its latest version. Today, Vuze has announced a new iteration of its online video portal application that integrates playback with iPhone, iPod, AppleTV, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 devices. So far as we can tell, no other competitor offers that much integration (read: direct Mac / PC-to-device transfers) across so many products. Of course, none of this matters if you aren't a fan of Vuze itself, but you can surf on over to download it (gratis, naturally) in order to test the waters.

Apple's flood of announcements this month continues apace today with the addition of high-def movie purchases to the iTunes Store. Although HD TV shows were previously available to buy, HD movies were rental-only until now. HD flicks will cost you $19.99, and we're guessing they're the same H.264 compressed 720p quality as usual, so videophiles will probably want to stick to Blu-ray. Purchases will come with both an HD file and an iPod / iPhone-ready SD file, which is a nice touch, and Apple's also promising that HD rentals will now be on the store within 30 days of retail release -- better, but not perfect. It's all going live today with exclusive pre-orders of Quantum of Solace and Twilight, but honestly, we're still wondering when Apple will implement subscription video and really take it to Netflix.