Although the PlayStation 3 is quite the lovely Blu-ray player in most respects, one issue has nagged remote junkies from day one: the absence of IR. Now, however, the highly-anticipated IR2BT Infrared-to-Bluetooth converter is on the market, and sure enough, it promises to transmit "all 51 Sony Blu-ray remote codes including the PS button for Power On / Off." The unit itself measures in at 4.5- x 3- x 1-inches, operates on a pair of AA cells or a mini-USB connector and doesn't even require you to own a soldering iron. Ready to control your PS3 via a universal IR remote without getting a degree in electrical engineering? Hit up the read link and hand over your $55, bub.

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Although it's likely being overshadowed by the Queen's recent HDTV spending spree, the UK's BT Vision has quietly launched its own set-top box (dubbed V-Box) and IPTV service in hopes of carefully gauging response during the first few months. The company asserted that it wanted to avoid the manufacturing backlogs and "embarrassing supply delays," so it was waiting until "next Spring" to hit the ad campaign in full force. Nevertheless, the V-Box and its subsequent services are live and ready to go, and the pricing structure is quite desirable indeed. The IPTV package brings the entire suite of Freeview channels to the viewer at no cost, and the V-Box (capable of holding "about 80 hours" of content) is also delivered gratis save for £90 ($178) of connection / installation fees. The business model relies on users not being satisfied with the free programming at their disposal, and instead indulging in the plethora of on-demand movies, music videos, sports, and TV shows / replays at their fingertips. While we doubt this launch will steal too many customers away from Sky and NTL (soon to be Virgin Media), this price is most definitely right if you're content with free.