Need a good laugh on a slow Saturday afternoon? Hit the read link and check out this informative hilarious piece on one individual's decision to apply Nancy Reagan's favorite anti-drug policy to HDTV. Not that the HDTV=Drugs comparison hasn't been made before (this time it's meth instead of heroin), but this goes hand in hand with the demon of the "hyper-real", suggesting that more can be seen in 1080p than even real life. Keep reading however, and you'll notice more nuggets, like the suggestion that Lost might hide information in widescreen corners out of the reach of SDTV, a keen observation unfortunately beaten to the punch by more than two years. According to the author, we should thank SDTV for filtering out the unnecessary for all of these years, kept safe from HD's "commodified realness", that we (and likely you, unfortunate reader of this blog) are so sadly hooked on.

Looking for all that ABC and MGM HD content on Xbox Live? You won't have to wait long, with the first three seasons of Lost up now plus the just-aired season 4 premiere (Hurley was all ZOMG!, and Benry was like Bu-bu-but...) available for purchase at 12:01 a.m. PST for 240 MS points ($3 U.S.) per episode -- just barely missing the original "later this month" promise. Due later on in February are hits like the High School Musical series and other content from the Disney Channel, and MGM's releases hit on the 18th. Mr. Brooks, the Rocky series, The Usual Suspects, Saw IV, and Michael Clayton are all coming soon in HD (if you want to call it that). Looks like someone's gearing up to take on the Apple TV, how about a price cut, or loosening up on the DRM?

Over the last few years, the favorite show of many of our readers -- except for those who think its jumped the Dharma shark -- has been Lost. Tonight it's back, after numerous delays and last night's mind numbing re-air of the season finale, "enhanced" with pop ups for those (all) of us who have entirely forgotten why anyone cares about this island (Hint: It's the Other's fashion sense). If you still need a rundown of the upcoming half-season before the show starts at 8 p.m., check out Variety's review, or more info at TV Squad, albeit with a few spoilerish hints mixed in.

Read - Six reasons to look forward to season four of Lost
Read - Lost Review

In case you haven't noticed, most of the best HD shows are in reruns. December is usually a month of reruns, but we've already seen an alternative season finale to Heroes, and in January when we'd normally expect to see our favorite shows come back, you can expect to see more reruns and more reality TV. There are some of our favorites that have some episodes left, like eight episodes of Lost, nine episodes of Medium, ten episodes of Battlestar Galatica, and seven episodes of Jerico. But others like the Office, Heroes, and Big Bang Theory are already out. Hopefully, the writers will get compensation for downloads before the remaining shows run out, and if not at least we'll have more time to watch all those HD DVD and Blu-ray discs.

[Via ZatzNotFunny]

The ability for a group to go on strike is a fundamental right in American, and while we don't really understand what the problem is -- we'd assume the writers want more money -- we do know we're going to miss out on some HD programming. The first shows to feel the pinch are the live shows like Leno and SNL, next up is the scripted shows which mostly seem to have about 9 episodes under their belt. Luckily some HD programming is resilient like sports and reality TV -- not that there's much HD. At this point it's hard to know how long the strike will last, but if it lasts more than a few months, at least we'll finally be able to catch up on all those HD movies we've been meaning to watch. Here's a short list of our favorite shows that will go into reruns if this thing doesn't end before too long.

Heroes - Seasons will end early on Dec 3rd
Lost - Expected to have eight out of 16 episodes ready.
Medium - Will have 9 of 22 episodes completed.
Battlestar Galactica - Has 10 hours of episodes, plus a two hour movie to air this Fall.

Losties are left with limited options for their our HD fix until the series returns in February, but to make the wait a bit easier and cheaper, Disney has announced a drop in price for the third season Blu-ray boxed set. After rumors of prices as high as $200 per season for HD Lost, it originally carried a $124.99 MSRP for all seven discs but that has now been reduced to $96.99, and actually listed for as low as $67.85 (compared to $38.99 for the DVD version) on Amazon. We don't know what prompted the price drop, but along with a BD-J special feature, 1080p transfer and uncompressed 5.1 soundtrack when it is released December 11, we're not complaining.

According to Home Media Retailing Magazine, Disney representatives confirmed that one of our favorite HDTV shows, Lost, will make its Blu-ray debut day-and-date with the DVD set of season three December 11th. No word on possible HD special features or price, but we can expect more details soon.


[Via MovieWeb]

ABC.com's long awaited free "HD" player is finally available on its website, delivering 720p video at 24 fps. Users with a fast PC and at least a 2 Mbps connection can take a look right now, at one episode each of Lost, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty or Grey's Anatomy. The streaming technology adjusts to available bandwidth, on a 6Mbps cable connection, it kept the HD light in the lower right hand corner lit and high quality video streaming, however if bandwidth drops it can become a pixely mess in a hurry. Check after the break for a few more screens of the player and let us know how its working out for you so far. Good enough that you won't worry about DVR'ing HDTV episodes of Lost anymore, or not quite ready for prime time viewing?

[Via LostRemote]

What we're watching: Lost? What Lost? We'll check out Friday Night Lights and Jericho tonight....and Lost.

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That ESPN is airing a college football game in HD isn't news, that the game is in Hawaii and will look just as good as Lost on your HDTV, is. Due to the cost of shipping the necessary equipment to the islands, the Pro Bowl and other games relegated to 480i. Even this year, the Hawaii Bowl on December 24th will be the only ESPN bowl game not in HD, but on January 14th the 2007 Hula Bowl college all-star game will be in high definition. The reason for the switch? A poll after a recent college game on ESPN indicated 13% of viewers watched it in HD, and 32% of those people said the fact it was in HD influenced their decision to watch it. Whether or not HDTV is a viable business model for broadcasters may still be open to interpretation for some, ESPN is putting its money where its mouth is and making this happen by paying another company to ship the necessary equipment by air in time for the game. Here's hoping this attitude extends to the Pro Bowl and other sporting events in 2007.

Lost fansite The Tail Section is reporting that sources from ABCs marketing department have indicated Disney's home video arm, Buena Vista is close to announcing a series of HDTV shows coming to Blu-ray boxed sets next year. ABC's Lost would be the flagship of the lineup and include many extras not available on the already successful DVD release. Unfortunately, if you thought the $79 Smallville Season 5 boxed set was high priced you may want to sit down as the rumor pegs a single season of Lost at $200. Future plans would include releasing shows in in two-episode discs, for $20 each. Lost is still a wildly popular series, but $200 per season is just a bit much, no matter what the extras...but you do want to be able to catch every single detail right?

What we're watching: Lost. The big one is back, one of the most popular HD shows of the last two seasons makes it's season debut tonight. TV Squad will be live blogging the episode if the recap episode and music video weren't enough for you. After Lost is the series premiere of The Nine. Something odd happened during a bank robbery turned hostage situation and if the show is anything like Lost, we suspect they'll spend a whole season not telling us what it was. Also returning tonight is hockey, with Sabres at Hurricanes on INHD. Finally, no matter what your program guide says, America's Next Top Model is not in HD.

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What we're watching: Lost, Lost, Lost. We'd say maybe this is the episode where we get some answers, but we all know better than to expect that from this show by now. Anyway, check out the recap at 8 p.m. and the two hour season finale at 9 (hopefully it will actually be in HD, but with ABC apparently you never know). Also wrapping up tonight is American Idol, so you may have a fight on your hands for the remote during the one hour overlap of the two. On TNT best friends and former teammates Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki face off to decide who will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals this year, tip-off is 8:30 p.m.


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What we're watching: Sydney Bristow vs. Jack Bauer for one night only. Alias surprises us with a move to Monday for a two hour Rambaldi-revealing series finale. 24 also puts a two hour season finale on deck, accompanied by King of Queens, Two and a Half Men, the last two episodes of New Adventures of Old Christine and CSI: Miami.

Not to be forgotten are the ongoing NHL playoffs, as well as two NBA Game 7s. We finally find out who will be going to the conference finals and who will be going home with Mavericks vs. Spurs at 8 p.m. followed by Suns vs. Clippers at 10:30.

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What we're watching: Lost is still the show to watch, we guess. The last few episodes have been a bit of a drag, here's hoping they pick things up. Invasion wraps up their first (and last, thanks Bob!) season tonight, along with CSI:NY, Law & Order and Bones. The Detroit Pistons start from scratch tonight trying to put away the Cleveland Cavaliers with their series tied 2-2. The defending champ San Antonio Spurs however are just trying to stay alive after falling down 3-1 to the Dallas Mavericks. Think Mark Cuban can smell the Conference finals yet?


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