Given that we're still waiting for some tangible results from AT&T's half billion dollar fiber investment in the Carolinas, we wouldn't get our hopes too high for any sudden improvements in Connecticut. The carrier has announced plans to invest some $250 million in the Constitution State's wired and wireless networks, which should bring 3G access to more cell sites and enable it to spread U-verse to more homes. Regrettably, AT&T failed to mention specific locations in which it hoped to stretch its fiber-based programming service into, but hopefully we'll know something further before the next decade comes and goes.

Not that we had a whole heap of complaints about Samsung's BD-P1500 when we reviewed it earlier this month, but Samsung has already pushed out a minor firmware update that reportedly addresses "playback compatibility." Chances are you won't find it posted online just yet, but for those who connect directly to the 'net with their Blu-ray player, the v080621.02 update can be sucked down and installed. Sadly, Profile 2.0 is not included, but it's nice to be treated to free updates nonetheless. Chime in below if you notice any drastic changes.

[Thanks, Jacob]

Update: It's now available via Samsung's website.

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]

One thing's for certain: VUDU doesn't let a firmware update get stale. Just two months after v1.3 hit the scenes, v1.5 has already been detailed / spotted. The big hitter in this update is the Discounted Extended Rentals, which enables users to extend the viewing window of a 24 / 48-hour rental within seven days after the conclusion of the original rental. Once extended, you get the same "privileges" as before -- you can store it for up to 30 days with 24 / 48-hours to watch it once you've started it. The rub is the pricing: you only get $2 off when extending $5.99 HD rentals, $1 off most everything else and $0.50 off of $0.99 rentals. Oh, and you can only extend once. Other changes include full-screen trailers, parental controls for browsing and revised sort functionality. Check the read link for the full changelog, and feel free to twiddle your thumbs waiting for the update to be passed on to your STB.

[Via Yahoo]

Heads-up, BDP-S300 owners -- Sony has just unleashed a new firmware update for your machine. Posted today, the v3.90 update will bring you, well, we're not exactly sure what. According to users at AVSForum, the general consensus is that TrueHD support just has to be in there, but Sony's servers are so glacially slow that no one has been able to confirm or deny just yet. Once your download manages to complete (hey, it takes awhile when it's being uploaded from what appears to be a 14.4k modem connection), feel free to discuss any notable changes in comments below.

[Via AVSForum, thanks Peter]

Verizon's doing more than just blessing Oregon customers with more HD content -- it's also preparing to bring its fiber-based services to even more folks in the Ocean State. $86 million has been set aside to invest in network expansion within Rhode Island, promising FiOS TV to an additional ten communities (specifics were solely absent) and giving another 50 union-represented technicians and customer service representatives a job. Yep, all that new cabling means expanding its Providence-based Fiber Solutions Center, but it failed to mention when the new hires would take place. Lastly, it's planning on upgrading the internet services in Cranston, Hope Valley, Jamestown, Narragansett, Pawtucket, Providence, Tiverton and Weekapaug, giving each of those locales download speeds of 7-megabits per second.

It's tough for Longmont citizens. Sitting just north of Denver and just south of Loveland -- both of which boast upgraded cable systems from Comcast that deliver 29 HD channels -- Longmont's system has yet to be brought up to speed. As it stands, the carrier can only pipe through 14 high-def options, but between now and October, it's dishing out $6 million in upgrades in order to bring Longmont's lineup up to speed. Reportedly, the city will have access to the same number (29, for now) of HD channels as Denver / Loveland, and according to Comcast's northern Colorado general manager, Mike Trueblood, the company "expects to offer more before the end of the year." Now, the wait begins.

It's been a while since our TiVo Series 3 upgrade how-to feature -- the Series 3 is no longer in production, and has been replaced by the HD model. Even though functionally the Series 3 and HD models are nearly identical, it turns out that internally they're not quite the same beast. In our original post, we referred to a boot CD from Weaknees that had all the necessary Linux and MFS utilities and SATA drivers in one tidy package. When the time came to upgrade our TiVo HD, we did a little research, only to find that the Weaknees CD doesn't support the HD model. Follow us below the fold to see the approach we took to upgrading our TiVo HD.

France 2 isn't the only network gearing up to undergo an HD upgrade to its studios, as Saudi TV has just awarded Harris a contract to freshen up its Dammam facility. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture & Information has tapped Harris for a fourth time in order to construct a facility packing a pair of HD studio control rooms for news and production. Furthermore, the project "marks the first Middle East application of the Harris Intrinsic Mirroring SAN-based fault tolerance technology, the latest advance in NEXIO server storage protection." Sadly, there's no timeframe given for when residents of the area can look forward to seeing a difference from the upgrade, but rest assured, it's on the way.

If you've been doing a decent job of restraining yourself from hurling all sorts of foreign objects around the house due to the sluggishness in your TiVo's operations, you should certainly reward yourself with a baked good. Moving forward, you'll likely be tested a lot less, as a forthcoming software update (version .8) promises to "significantly" speed up common tasks. More specifically, getting to TiVo Central, navigating around your Now Playing list, channel changing, starting a recording, and setting up a Season Pass have all been tweaked to react faster (exact improvements shown above). Additionally, TiVo users will soon have access to a so-called Priority Page on the firm's website where they can "sign up for this service update sooner than the scheduled rollout," which should occur naturally in "the next few weeks."

This most certainly isn't the first time we've heard of a firmware update causing more harm than good, but apparently, the latest version -- which supposedly enables 1080p24 output on the HD-A30 / HD-A35 -- is creating all sorts of headaches. According to a lengthy thread over at AVS Forum, the HD DVD faithful that are hanging tight to their players are growing increasingly frustrated by the addition of jaggies on MPEG4 / AVC discs when played back in 1080p24 -- a problem that was also present in the last HD-XA2 firmware. Worse still, it seems as though Toshiba isn't stepping up to address the issue, and considering that its format has now passed away, many are wondering if a bona fide solution will ever surface. If you've been battling this very quirk, head on down to the read link to check out a few workarounds -- here's to hoping a real fix emerges in the not-too-distant future.

[Thanks, Colin H.]

Not even two months after Samsung rolled out a firmware update for its ailing BD-UP5000 Blu-ray / HD DVD combo player, the firm is at it again in an attempt to mend the issues that owners have been squabbling about since day one. Sammy doesn't provide any gory details about what exactly firmware v1.2 does -- all we're told is that it "fixes the network connection error [introduced in v1.1]." Still, its good to see some progress being made, but considering that there's no laundry list of solutions here, we've all ideas that there are still some strides left to be taken. Hit up the read link to get your download on, and be sure to chime in below with any changes / bug fixes.

[Thanks, Jim]

Not only is ESPNews HD slated to launch this month, but the long-awaited HD Basics disc from Joe Kane Productions is finally hitting shelves on March 25th. Interestingly, Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics will still be made available on Blu-ray and HD DVD, so those adamant about keeping a red player around can still get in on the calibration action. Best of all, users who purchased the original Digital Video Essentials HD DVD last year will be able to procure the forthcoming successor disc for just $14.95 on either format by ordering online and sending in the case wrap from the first DVE HD DVD. As for everyone else? You'll be coughing up $29.95.

With the format war finally behind us, and 1080p HDTV prices sinking like a stone, this week's Ask Engadget HD question was bound to surface. After discovering that now would be the correct time to finally splurge on a Blu-ray player (unless you're waiting for substantial price drops, of course), we're now wondering if today's the day to ditch that once-cutting edge 720p set for a 1080p iteration. More specifically:

"I know my 720p HDTV looks perfectly good in most situations, but with prices of 1080p sets declining, I keep wondering if now would be a good time to pick one up to replace my existing set. Outside of 1080p movies and games, are there any other compelling reasons to make the leap? Will the difference be worth the cost to upgrade?"

For folks who get the itch (and have the means) to upgrade their set every few years anyway, we don't see why you wouldn't make the jump to 1080p. 720p sets can still fetch a decent amount on the used market, and 1080p HDTVs can be had for a song if the right sale is caught. Still, the question of "is it worth it?" is a crucial one, so why not give your take in comments below?

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.

Lots of news on the VUDU front today, starting with the announcement that the grossly overpriced VUDU XL is finally shipping to all three people who forked out for one. Moving on to more important matters, the forthcoming v1.3 software -- which is hitting barely a month after v1.2 was loosed -- will open up the VUDU Vault. Put simply, this feature will "enable consumer to move owned titles from the VUDU hard drive to a secure area on VUDU servers to free up space for additional purchases." As expected, the feature will only be available on "select titles," but hey, we suppose we'll take what we can get. Moving on, VUDU is also announcing the $39 IR receiver kit for both the original STB and the XL, which will "allow for the operation of the service using approved programmable remotes." Lastly, v1.3 will bring about a numerically listed Most Watched overlay as well as improved searching for TV episodes. No word on when the update will start being pushed out, but we'd guess it'll be sooner rather than later.