We had a sneak peek at ASUS' BR-HD3 just a week few back, and rather than holding out on us any longer, it looks as if the company has come forward to make things official. The O!Play Air HDP-R3 isn't a tremendous update from the previous edition, though the addition of 802.11n WiFi and a multimedia card reader are certainly appreciated. Reportedly, the media player packs an HDMI 1.3 socket, support for just about every file format known to man and a respectable price tag of around €90 ($133). Too bad the Yanks in attendance are left in the lurch.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

ASUS has been toying around with wireless transmissions to displays for a hot minute now, and it sure looks as if the outfit is fixing to pick up where the Belkin FlyWire left off by introducing the BR-HD3. Currently in testing, the wireless HDMI streamer is said to pass along 1080p content "with no lag," though there's currently no official range to speak of. The real kicker, however, is the price. The aforesaid FlyWire -- which worked amazingly in the trade show demos that we saw -- was priced at $1,499, which is obviously far too much for most consumers. This box? £399 ($654), and it could be out as early as next month. Unfortunately, the device only supports a single HDMI input (so you can forget about connecting your Blu-ray player and Xbox 360 at the same time), but ASUS is planning to introduce a three-port version in June 2010 as well as a niche spinoff in Q1 that'll wirelessly stream one source to three HDTVs.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Media Center Extenders -- remember those? Yeah, those things were all the rage at CEDIA 2008, and right around four hours after the show closed up, you and the whole world forgot about 'em. Honestly, the concept and execution was flawed from the start. These standalone boxes provided exactly what media loving consumers didn't want: yet another set-top-box crowding their space. Furthermore, most were priced at or above the cost of an Xbox 360, which -- lo and behold -- could be used as an MCE as well as a darn good gaming console. See the holes in this plan yet? Furthermore, most of 'em, particularly those that relied on WiFi, were utterly unreliable and offered disappointing streams. High prices plus lackluster results yields low demand, who woulda thunk it?

Essentially, manufacturers were hoping that those with loads of media on Windows-based PCs would jump at the chance to get all of that material on their HDTV with the addition of one little box. And in theory, at least, that does sound somewhat attractive. Unfortunately, only a few of these were announced in Denver, and almost all of them suffered from inexcusable delays. By the time they hit the market, all of the buzz generated at the trade show was extinguished, and early reviews were less than positive. It didn't take long to see prices begin to plummet, all while fence sitting companies realized that avoiding this niche would likely be most beneficial to their longevity.

Today, we're seeing Linksys' DMA2100 and DMA2200 listed as "Discontinued" at a number of legitimate e-tailers, and while D-Link's DSM-750 and HP's MediaSmart Connect seem to be hanging around at near-full price, we can't say the same for Samsung's discounted MediaLive Digital Media Adapter. Heck, Niveus Media doesn't even list its Media Center Extender - EDGE as a product on its website anymore. It shouldn't be any real shock that hardly any other companies have jumped in since these first few, and we're having serious doubts about the future of the dedicated MCE. Are you getting the same vibes? Do you think these things could thrive at the right price? Let us know in the poll and comments below!

[Via GeekTonic]

Update: Turns out HP is axing its MediaSmart HDTV / Connect lines as well. It's full statement sent to us is after the break.

You know what's most annoying about wireless HD solutions? Two things, really. First off, 95 percent of 'em only come out to play at trade shows. Secondly, the other 5 percent require you to refinance your now-worthless home to even procure 'em. Sewell, a company known for delivering unexpected treasures when it comes to adapters, has just pumped out its very own wireless HDMI media extender. The good news is that it's shipping right now and it relies on 802.11a/n technology rather than WHDI, UWB or any other less ubiquitous option. The bad news is that 15 to 30 feet of cord-free AV goodness will set you back $1,199.95. You can weigh the pros and cons yourself, but we'll be begrudgingly sticking with coat hangers cheap-o interconnects 'til it becomes just a touch more of a bargain.

Tired of getting snubbed, are ya Canada? Perk up, as your very own CTV has just launched an online portal to bring content to Canucks in glorious HD. With the launch of the CTV HD Beta Player, CTV becomes the very first Canadian network to deliver high-def content on the web, and speaking of that content, viewers can look forward to seeing Corner Gas, Flashpoint and Malawi's Sony (amongst other programs). Oh, and given that both Microsoft and Akamai are involved, we'd say CTV definitely has the appropriate amount of backing. The trial is set to run through the end of August, and after that, only a strange herd of caribou off in the wilds of British Columbia know.

[Thanks, Nick]

Months after Amazon Video on Demand HD began "testing" on TiVo, we're being told that, um, testing is still ongoing. After Sir Dave Zatz openly questioned where this long awaited addition was, he received confirmation from multiple undisclosed sources that TiVo's implementation was still being honed. He also suspects that the real hang-up may be with Amazon, though we are told that image quality is nothing short of spectacular. Sadly, there are no clues as to when this will all go live, but we're totally kosher on waiting for something to be perfected. Just not for long, is all.

Seeing as this editor isn't from Canada, we figured it best to shoot this question out to the masses tuning in from the Great North in order to get their opinions. While America enjoys a rather large selection of streaming options, it seems that Canada (and much of the world) gets left out. We'll let Lawrence explain:

"Listening to the Engadget Podcast, I am constantly bombarded with news and exciting tidbits about the TV set top movie streaming options available in the US of A. What, if any, option do we Canadians have available to us for streaming pictures shows to our televisions? I've searched, but can't seem to come up with anything, Netflix definitely doesn't do Canada."

So, Canada -- what gives? Is this fellow missing something, or is all of Canada just missing out?

Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.

Netgear isn't kidding around here at CES, and if you thought three new routers was the extent of it, you're sorely mistaken. The company is also debuting its new Internet TV Player (ITV2000; pictured), which is essentially an internet set-top-box that brings online media to the TV with all sorts of elegance. It'll be able to stream content from CNN, ESPN, NBA, TMZ, YouTube, Google, Yahoo and MetaCafe, though we're going to need a little Hulu mixed in before we take it seriously. We're also being reintroduced to the Digital Entertainer Elite (EVA9150) box, and in slightly less interesting news, we've got the XAV1004 Powerline AV adapter with 4-port Ethernet Switch holding it down within you walls. Lastly, we've got the MCAB1001 MoCA coax-Ethernet adapter kit and the WNMR834 Wireless-N MoCA router, both of which enable users to rely on their existing in-home cabling to distribute signals over Ethernet. All the gory details (minus price and availability, naturally) are just past the break.

Now that HD Netflix streaming has finally arrived on the Xbox 360, we have no doubts whatsoever that legions of you have already given it a spin. We've heard mixed impressions right out of the gate, but we're hoping some of the first day glitches have worked themselves out by now. At any rate, how has your experience been so far? Are you impressed with the quality? Are there any aspects that could be improved upon? Break off a paragraph or three in comments below.

As the multimedia hard drive market continues to quietly swell in the shadows, Iomega is making sure it keeps pace with the competition by giving its long-standing ScreenPlay HD a few attractive extras. The unit has certainly come a long ways since its 60GB days, now packing a full half-terabyte of space, an HDMI port and component / composite connections to boot. Furthermore, the drive understands WAV, WMA, MPEG-1/2/4, MP3, OGG, AC3, AVI, DivX, XviD and JPEG file formats, upconverts SD content to 720p / 1080i and even comes bundled with a remote to keep your hindquarters firmly planted. Not too shabby for $218.45, but just make sure you've got a place laid out to hide this thing from straying eyes.

[Via EverythingUSB]