Though we suspect this is totally normal judging by the fact that not all HD flicks available via Apple TV have 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound, it is a wee bit disappointing. One particular tipster wrote in to express his frustration with Sony's recently launched PlayStation Video Store, noting that his HD movie rental featured only stereo sound. When contacting Sony on the matter, a Store specialist informed him that no refunds were allowed and there was no way to determine how audio was packaged prior to downloading. So yeah, if multi-channel audio is paramount, you may want to think twice about emptying your wallet in the PS Store.

While we fortunate Americans have been renting Blu-ray Discs from Blockbuster for a good while now, citizens of Taiwan haven't had the same privilege. Thankfully, all that's getting set to change, as the rental chain has committed to offering up 50 BD titles in each Taiwanese location before the end of this month. A new partnership between it and Samsung will also place Sammy's BD players (the BD-P1500, in particular) in-store for patrons to experience the 1080p difference, and it's said that Samsung manager Li Je-rong believes that "with strong channel assistance from Blockbuster and Tsann Kuen, consumers will become more familiar with Blu-ray." As for pricing, expect to pay NT$150 ($4.93) for each Blu-ray movie versus NT$100 ($3.29) for traditional DVDs.

Given Netflix's blatant plunge into the world of online content delivery, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the outfit's execs understand that physical media is at risk. Sure, DVD rentals far outnumber online rentals today, but Netflix is assuming that its DVD business could peak in around five to ten years. In a brief interview this week, CEO Reed Hastings told investors that "everybody peaks sometime," but he did note that Blu-ray was apt to make the "DVD ecosystem stronger." Even though the company is definitively moving at least some of its attention to online streaming, it's still quite aways from delivering a "standalone streaming service." On a slightly different note, we also learned that Intel-based Macs would be able to tap into the firm's "Watch Now" service "later this year," but unfortunately, it didn't get any more specific than that.

[Image courtesy of ANPark]

We're not exactly sure what Blockbuster's saying here outside of what's already been said -- after all, the rental chain chose to back Blu-ray eons ago -- but nevertheless, a new release from the company is trumpeting the expansion of Blu-ray all across the US and Canada. As of this week, BD Discs will be available in every single corporate store in the US and Canada (along with select franchise locations), and to entice you further, it's setting up more Blu-ray kiosks featuring a 42-inch HDTV and a PlayStation 3. Additionally, the firm's by-mail service has had a BD preference option added so users can "automatically indicate that they want to receive all available movies in the high-definition format." We certainly dig the sound of that last part.

[Image courtesy of Portfolio]

Granted, Netflix did warn us that renting HD DVDs from it would become a lesson in futility in due time, but we're receiving multiple reports that the company has already began switching queued HD DVD titles to vanilla DVDs. If this is going on en masse, that's a pretty quick changeover, to say the least. So, dear readers, have any of your HD DVDs mysteriously morphed into regular DVDs overnight? Sound off below!

[Thanks, Chris and Aaron]

We've had our fun, now it's your turn. Considering that Apple just beamed out its (long-awaited) v2.0 software to Apple TV owners, we're quite interested in finding out what you love / hate about take 2. Head on over to Engadget Classic to give the world a piece of your mind on the matter, won't you?

In the aftermath of yesterday's blockbuster (ahem) move by Netflix to only stock Blu-ray titles in the future, we heard quite a bit of ranting that contained words like "finished" and "canceled." Still, we're interested in utilizing our super-duper scientific polling mechanisms to truly get a gauge on how many cancellation e-mails Netflix can expect thanks to its decision. Don't be left out!

Just a day after VUDU started pushing out its long-awaited v1.2 software update, a kind user has whipped up a spreadsheet documenting all 65 HD flicks that are now available (or will be shortly) for renting. Truth be told, we're not exceptionally impressed with the list, but hey, to each his / her own. Hit up the read link to take a peek at what you're missing out on (or what you're about to have access to).

[Thanks, Brian S.]

Although the MacBook Air sucked the proverbial wind out of the Apple TV relaunch sails, we here at Engadget HD still find that aspect of Steve's keynote quite intriguing. At first listen, we were blown away by the promise of "HD downloads with Dolby 5.1 audio," but after digging in a little further, we found quite a bit of red tape stuck to those lofty claims. Still, many HD aficionados didn't give the original Apple TV a passing glance due to its general disregard for high-definition content, and while the so-called Take 2 effort isn't an HD junkie's dream, it's far and away more appealing than what we were dealing with just last week. So, dear readers, now that Cupertino has taken the first step and recognized the desire for easy to obtain downloadable HD content, are you biting?

It wasn't exactly crystal clear during Steve's keynote today, but apparently, there's a fair bit of red tape attached to these movie rentals. First off, since the Apple TV hardware is remaining the same, users can still only expect 1,280 by 720 resolution on the high-end, and although 100 HD movies are reportedly ready to be viewed, not a single TV show can say the same. Furthermore, a note at the bottom of the Apple TV's revised tech specs points out that "Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound is not available with all HD rentals," so there's that. We've also learned that HD movie rentals will be available exclusively through the Apple TV, and considering that only rentals made from iTunes can be moved to other devices, any downloads originating from the Apple TV (including everything in high-definition) won't be making their way onto your iPod, iTunes library, etc. Depressing, we know.