You've got to have some serious firepower to attract eyes in Las Vegas -- after all, there's already enough neon in place to keep the average tourist distracted for hours. That being said, Samsung thinks it has what it takes, as it's teaming up with Outdoor Promotions in order to install eighteen 70-inch 1080p LCD panels "on prominent bus shelters spanning the Vegas strip from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino on the south side to the Rivera Hotel and Casino at the north end." The units will all be sunlight-readable and boast 2,000 nits of brightness along with localized audio. We're told that advertisements put up on the beastly sets will shuffle every 7.5- to 15-seconds in a continuous loop, and while the initial 18 are slated to go up in October, another 20 are planned for early 2009 (pre-CES, pretty please?)

[Image courtesy of IntelligentEconomy]

Following other MMA action, WWE and boxing to HD, The Ultimate Fighter 7 will broadcast its finale in high definition on Spike HD June 21. The three hour event kicks off at 9 p.m., featuring a main event of Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove, as well as the middleweight tournament finals from the show's latest season and other bouts. Broadcasting live from Las Vegas, we don't know if they'll be sharing camera equipment with The View, due in town the same week, but we figure the winner should stop by the couch to have a chat with Babs & Co. afterwards.

Just after hearing that the Ellen Degeneres Show would be going HD in a few short long months, another daytime favorite (or not, depending on perspective) will also be dipping its toes in the wondrous waters of off-site high-definition. Reportedly, the infamous chit-chat show is set to tape a week of episodes from Sin City next month, as it swoops in on Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from June 23rd through 27th. The excursion will mark the first time The View has broadcast in HDTV while on location, though no details of further involvement were mentioned.

[Image courtesy of Yahoo!]

The idea of testing and/or "rolling" the digital transition across select US markets makes sense -- such a large change is sure to come with its share of hiccups. One Las Vegas station actually simulated the analog shutoff last week, though, and it came off pretty smoothly. During its newscasts, NBC affiliate KVBC put up a simulated "static snow" image with a graphic overlay instructing confused viewers to call the DTV transition phone number for info. How many calls did the KVBC front desk receive? One. Kudos to KVBC for pulling this little test -- as we all know, the real implications of the analog cutoff won't dawn on many people until they actually lose reception. This is a "news you can use" feature we'd like to see catch on around the rest of the country!

Not that any of you parked out in Vegas are really in watching the tube on a Saturday (right?), but if you've come down with some sort of sickness that's keeping you away from Paradise Road and the vicinity, here's something sure to cheer you up. We've received word that four five new channels have appeared in the Cox EPG in your area, and though they aren't available to watch just yet, it's only a matter of time now. Before long, you should have unbridled access to Animal Planet HD (758), Travel Channel HD (766), Science HD (769) and yes, SciFi HD on slot 745. Not a bad way to start your May, now is it?

[Thanks, John]

Update: ErikR pointed out that these four, along with USA HD (734), are arriving June 1st.

Earlier this year, we heard that Trump's New York Hotel & Tower would be showing its guests with all sorts of IPTV goodies; now, we've learned that The Donald's Las Vegas counterpart will be fetching services from Cox Communications. The two have worked together in order to deploy a triple-play solution, giving the hotel voice, video and data services from the same provider. To the patron, this means that a host of HD channels / VOD material will be available on the 42-inch / 32-inch LG LCD HDTVs (located in the bedroom and living room) and the 19-inch LG flat-panel in the bathroom. In case you're hoping to get connected, each room will also have Ethernet jacks as well as 802.11a/b/g WiFi access. As for paying your tab for the week? Let's just say we hope the slots treat you right.

The 57th Miss USA Pageant will make the jump to high definition for the first time April 11 at 9 p.m. on NBC. Live from Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas via Sony HDTV cams, contestants are judged in the usual three categories -- swim suit, evening gown and interview -- and judged by a panel of "stars" including an NFL player, one of the Back Street Boys, Rob Schneider, a celebrity hairstylist and others. Hosted by the Osmonds, we'll tune in at least for the sometimes tricky interview segment.

Whether you've never been to Las Vegas at all, or you've been there but somehow missed your "Vegas experience" (take the Engadget team's CES week, for example), AT&T's U-verse is offering to help. Yes indeed, you can fill in that cultural void now that U-verse is offering the VOD (video on demand) programming aptly named "Vegas on Demand." Each month, you can expect about 50 of the more than 1,000 archived programs to come tumbling to you like quarters from a slot machine. In true Vegas fashion, the features will be "comped." Stretched metaphors aside, Las Vegas seems like a great place to grab some HD footage, so we're hoping the Players Network steps up to the task; then we'll see if people prefer HD Vegas to the real thing.

The giving just keeps on spreading, and that's just the way we like it. Shortly after Northern Virginia got hooked up with 11 new high-definition options, it looks like Sin City has been blessed with five of its own. Reportedly, TLC HD, HGTV HD, Food Network HD, Discovery HD and CW HD landed in Cox's Las Vegas, Nevada region, and have been assigned to channels 722, 723, 724, 727 and 734, respectively. According to AVSForum members residing in Vegas, the channels were supposed to go live yesterday, so for those who've had a chance to check it out, did Cox deliver?

[Thanks, D2point0]

We're sure you've been taking in the Las Vegas festivities this weekend on TNT-HD, but we've actually got something a bit more exciting that Boston's Gerald Green finally giving the Celtics something to cheer about. Similar to other sporting events that have been upping the ante on their HD arsenal, the NBA will be using a whopping 30 camera crews and 10 high-definition cameras to capture the 2007 All Star matchup. Moreover, we expect TNT's indoor broadcast to look slightly better than the rainout we all had to endure when watching the Super Bowl, but be sure to catch the game tonight at 9:00PM EST and then drop a comment as to how glorious (or not) you thought the broadcast actually was.

If you can't afford a courtside seat at this weekend's NBA All-Star Game festivities, the league is testing a new way to "change the way we see the game" -- sans the chance of rubbing elbows with various celebrities. Guests in Las Vegas, will go to the Mandalay Bay hotel instead of the Thomas and Mack Center where the game is being played, and don special glasses to view view a 3D high definition version of TNT's broadcast of Saturday and Sunday night's activities. Five 3D camera systems have been installed around the arena by Pace, and according to the NBA's VP of operations and technology, the HDTV widescreen broadcast will allow them to avoid many cuts and camera movements, hopefully minimizing any shaky cam effect some complained about during the special SkyCam broadcast last year. If you can't make it to Vegas to check things out, you can still see this technology at work this season, as a similar broadcast during the NBA Finals is already planned. No word on plans for a "belligerent drunk" simulator, so either way we still have a long way to go towards simulating the real game experience in a theater and someday in the future, at home.

Read - Variety
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What we're watching: The World Series could be all wrapped up tonight, as the Tigers and Cardinals play Game 5 in St. Louis. Surprisingly, we've got not one but two HD season premieres tonight. Las Vegas on NBC finally returns, and on Showtime Masters of Horror kicks off its second season.

Our traditional high definition listings continue below.

Sure bandwidth issues are forcing DirecTV to play musical chairs with its HD channel lineup, that hasn't stopped it from adding local stations in several areas recently. Austin, Cincinnati and Las Vegas are all among the cities to get MPEG-4 local broadcasts. As with the others, to get the new stations you'll need a new dish and receiver. According to the press release, this brings the count of cities with local HD via satellite to 42, covering 62 percent of US households, and contiuing on track to provide 150 national HD stations plus 1,500 local in 2007. The new stations are:

• Austin, Texas
• KEYE/CBS, KVUE/ABC and KTBC/FOX
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• WKRC/CBS, WCPO/ABC, WXIX/FOX and WLWT/NBC
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• KTNV/ABC and KVVU/FOX

Ok, so you might not be able to get the Super Bowl in HD via your cable provider, but if you live near an ESPNZone you are in luck. The ESPNZone's in New York, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore are all going to be fully high definition in time for the big game February 5th. Now word on the exact equipment or resolutions, but ESPN is going with Philips LCD's, plasmas and projectors.

The upgrade is more than just screens however, as each location is equipped with HD-compatible satellite and cable receivers, not to mention all the cabling and switching equipment that had to be upgraded. Chicago, Anaheim, Atlanta and Denver ESPNZone's won't be ready in time for the Super Bowl, but will be upgraded later this year.

I've never been to one of these, but I've driven past the Las Vegas location so many times in PGR3 I feel like I have. Any HDBeat readers planning on getting their 720p fix at ESPNZone?

It's well known that the porn industry had spurred adoption of technologies like VHS and DVD, so it's no surprise that this week at Las Vegas' "other" conference, high definition was also a big topic. Adult entertainment companies and their customers usually are well ahead of the curve, and are already set to roll out trailers and content not only in high definition, but also formatted for the PSP and iPod.

It's definitely possible that their choice between HD-DVD and Blu-ray could be a deciding force in which format is dominant.