Hooray! The chains of platform discrimination have been cast away in the latest iteration of XMBC. The dev crew has announced the very first cross-platform Beta version of XBMC media center for Linux, Mac OS X (Leopard and Tiger), Windows, and Xbox in preparation for the upcoming stable release of XBMC (which is code named Atlantis). A few notable additions to this version include XMBC Live -- a "bootable CD which gives users the opportunity to try XBMC on their computer, without touching their hard drive" -- and initial support for integrating iTunes and iPhoto media into XBMC... for Mac users, anyway. The final release is currently on track for an October launch, and if you'd like that to remain true, we'd recommend giving the beta a whirl and submitting any bugs to the gurus behind the scenes. So, what exactly are you waiting for again?

Read - Atlantis Beta 1
Read - iPhoto / iTunes integration

When Stage6 slipped six feet under, DivX Connected users were largely out of luck when it came to fetching online content. Now, however, a v1.4 of the Connected software has been released (at least in beta form), which reportedly provides support for a svelte Hulu Player plugin (among others). The app provides users with the ability to queue on Hulu.com and watch on Connected, and you can also watch recent videos and search, the latter of which was impossible on Stage6. Interested, are you? Check the read link for all the downloads you need to get going.

[Thanks, Karolis]

With its indie roots, online video site Jaman is a good fit for "established, but not megaplex-only" kind of studios like Lionsgate, and now the two are on best friends status. Based on the initial offerings, this looks like it could work out great for you internet video junkies out there -- titles include "Dogville," "Girl with a Pearl Earring," "Gods and Monsters" and one of our all-time faves, "Reservoir Dogs." Even if the picture quality isn't Blu-ray and some titles are ad-supported, we're happy to see more content being tossed (legally) around the interwebs, so we'll be rolling up that task chair, and lending an ear to some "Reservoir Dogs."

Last time we heard from Jaman, it was giving viewers the choice between watching downloaded HD video with or without ads. The decidedly indie offerings on Jaman are about to get a big dose of Hollywood, though, thanks to a distribution deal with Paramount Digital Entertainment. Slated for release are some big titles, too. Certainly, Paramount likes the security offered up by the Jaman service. But we think there's more to it than that -- film aficionados like those who frequent Jaman are a great set of eyeballs to grab. Even if titles like Beowulf don't strike us as necessarily appealing to this crowd, the Kite Runner and There Will Be Blood, for example are a pretty good fit. Now we just hope that Jaman and Paramount decide to really cinch things by making these premium titles available in HD quality.

We've got this sneaking suspicion that we'll be forced to digest bucketfuls of Olympics news as the run-up to August continues, and Wavexpress is making sure our thoughts are accurate. Said outfit has just announced a partnership with NBC that will see the former "develop, host and support a service for viewing NBC's coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Microsoft's Windows Vista Media Center." The NBC Olympics on the Go will utilize Wavexpress' TVTonic internet video application to enable Media Center users to "watch channels of NBC's coverage of Olympic events in up-to-HD quality on the go on their laptop." As expected, the service will be free to all who choose to take advantage, but this time you'll actually need to download the TVTonic application (versus just logging in via the web portal).

There's just something about a new firmware update that brings a smile to ours faces. Maybe it's the rush of not knowing what new features are just a click away. Maybe it's the anticipation of that nagging quirk finally vanishing. Or maybe it's a healthy mix of both. Either way, Panasonic DMP-BD30 owners can go ahead and get excited, because the outfit just loosed the v1.8 update. Curiously, Panny didn't bother telling us what the upgrade was for, and without a changelog in sight, we're really at a loss as to what alterations are in store. For you brave souls willing to give it a go, be sure and let the rest of us know what all goes right / wrong.

[Thanks, Jerry]

Thanks to the fiber optic connections that connect nearly 12 million of Japan's 48 million households, video rental giant Tsutaya is probably laughing at Netflix's silly set-top box as it launches its Tsutaya TV HD download-on-demand rental service. Based on the acTVila service (a joint venture supported by Sony, Matsushita (Panasonic), Sharp, Toshiba and Hitachi, movies can download directly to connected HDTVs. Transformers, Heroes, Lost and Desperate Housewives will be among the first titles available in a library expected to grow to 2,000 titles by year-end, targeting older customers between their 40s and 50s, as opposed to the company's main in-store customers in their 20s. Full-length flicks run 735 yen (about $7), with a 48-hour rental period. Sure would be nice to have a standard feature set for digital downloads on this side of the Pacific, our jealousy threat level is: high.

Read - Japan's top film rental chain offers high-definition downloads
Read - Tsutaya To Offer 2,000 Video Titles On Demand Via Internet TV

We can't imagine Nick is the only one out there who struggled with getting PowerDVD to handle Blu-ray Discs correctly, so if you've been letting said application collect digital dust while longing for it to function as advertised, take note. CyberLink has just shot out the latest update to the program, and according to our resident tipster, it's a game-changer. It enables hardware acceleration for H.264 encoding, enhances disc load time, reduces memory consumption and makes playback a good bit smoother overall. For PowerDVD 8 Ultra users, this one seems like a surefire download. Hit the read link to get it on!

[Thanks, Nick]

Here it is, BD-UP5000 owners -- the file you've been waiting for. If you were somewhat underwhelmed by the fixes in firmware v1.2, you'll probably be a-okay with what v1.3 is packin'. Released today, this update takes the combo player to Profile 1.1, adds in "HD audio bit-stream output" and "improves playback compatibility in some movies." 'Nuff said, right? Hit the read link to get that download rolling, and do let us know how wonderful your life becomes when it finishes installing.

[Thanks, Harmin]

Guess what, loyal Windows Home Server users? A fix for that completely obnoxious data corruption bug is on the way. According to an email beamed out by the WHS team, the final release of Power Pack 1 is still aways out, but the public beta is all set to be loosed on those who willingly accept the associated risk(s). Said download is slated to launch in "early June," but those who want to get in on the pre-release fun are being encouraged to sign up now. Needless to say, those who toss their name in the ring better be sure their data is backed way up -- after all, the whole point of this test is to find any remaining holes that could render your files unusable. Keep an eye on that inbox for an invite, and if you're content with just getting the end product, the wait is growing ever shorter.

[Thanks, Drew]

Jaman is no newcomer to the internet video biz, but it has put a new spin on its offerings. An initial slate of 100 films will be available via the internet in HD-quality, and you get a choice of how to view them: either free, ad-supported in-browser streaming; or as a download without ads for $1.99. Downloads will play back on Windows, Mac and Linux machines as a 7-day, unlimited viewing rental. We like the choice, and those are pretty good terms to boot. But as always, content is king. Luckily for us, Jaman has a good-sized library of indie and foreign offerings -- if it can expand this model to more of its catalog, we think it might be on to something. Since IFC partnered with Blockbuster, we're happy to see some more channels open up for indies.

Folks possessing a Hauppauge HVR-1250, HVR-1600, HVR-1800 or HVR-2250 -- have we got an interesting tidbit for you. A fresh new beta plug-in has surfaced, which promises to give the aforementioned cards ClearQAM support within 32- and 64-bit Vista Media Center environments. Initial reports are somewhat disappointing, but encouraging nonetheless. Those with nerves of steel can hit the read link and proceed to download the beta -- but only if you promise to tell us how it goes in comments below.

[Via Chris Lanier's Blog, thanks Will]

For those feeling too locked down by Xbox Live and Apple TV's restrictive DRM policies, there is a ray of hope, as the LA Times notes the PlayStation 3's yet-to-debut but still due in '08 online video service could be based on "open standards" with an eye towards multiple device compatibility. Sony might not usually be the name we'd associate with relaxed copy protection, but with several standard (Bluetooth, SATA, DivX etc.) technologies already finding a home on the PS3, we're cautiously optimistic. Now, Sony, tell us what we want to hear about all HD downloads and background transcoding for copy to portables.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Remember that Niveus Movie Library we got a chance to check out in-person at EHX? Yep, it's finally ready to break away from the show floor and into your home. Starting today, any user piddling around on Niveus Media Center Vista can test out the Beta version of the software. Put simply, the application is a "movie management tool that aggregates an entire movie collection into one distinct and intelligent interface," and better still, it'll play nice with material from nearly anywhere. Click on the read link [Warning: PDF] for the full release, check out the images below and get your download on if you're so brave.

Online movie distributor HungryFlix recently bumped up their maximum file size to 1-GB and made it clear that part of the motivation was the growing demand for HD video from both content creators and consumers. No surprise, then, that the company is also hopping on board the train that is Apple TV, touting compatibility with the little box. Okay, we'll bite -- HungryFlix's download model (as opposed to streaming) is a good fit for these kinds of devices, especially as the Amazon S3 storage system doesn't provide for any sort of edge- or peer-networking needed for HD streaming. But that 1-GB cap is going to seriously restrict the length of MPEG4-encoded HD offerings (or worse yet, picture quality), and we'd really like to see a more integrated solution. Still, we're all for giving independent HD content creators a way to keep things indie, and HungryFlix's pricing structure is attractive, too. Let's hope this catches on in large enough numbers to grow the service beyond its best fit for now -- portables.