IPTV set-top box manufacturer Amino made a first recently, when it showed a live demo of G-Cluster streaming games played in high definition via its AmiNET130 STB. The G-Cluster service has been around in Japan for a while, it runs all the processing on a server, while the audio and video streams back to the user, but this is the first time its shown the technology used in HD. Resident Evil 4 and Sensible Soccer aren't quite as detailed as Call of Duty or Gears of War, but with enough bandwidth, it might not be long before we don't have to buy a disc or download a game at all.

We know what Nielsen found, but now we're interested in doing a little super-scientific research of our own. For all the gamers out there, what kind of television is your console(s) connected to? Still rockin' the RCA tube set circa 1991? Just upgraded to a snazzy new flat-panel? Check out the options below and toss in your vote, or if you don't see anything you like, sound off in comments, capiche?

We'll be straight with you: we aren't shocked in the slightest with these results, and while we're sure conjecture will fly over the underlying meanings, the results speak for themselves, really. According to new data from Nielsen Research Group, 71-percent of all PlayStation 3 consoles are connected to some form of HDTV (either LCD, plasma or front / rear projection), while 66-percent of Xbox 360s and 65-percent of Wiis were found to be played on a high-definition set. 'Course, it follows logic that the console with the built-in HD movie player would be most highly used on HDTVs, but considering just how many Wii owners also own an HDTV, it's downright depressing to think how stellar Wii Sports could be in 1080i.

[Image courtesy of GameWorldNetwork]

Sony hasn't exactly...forthcoming with information about its upcoming PlayStation 3 but over the last couple of days solid information has come out about what we can expect this November thanks to the company's Gamers Day event. What does it mean for HDTV owners? Some of it's good, some of it makes us shake our heads in disbelief and wonder what Sony is doing, but here it is:

The Good:

• Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is going to be a pack in with the launch consoles, so in exchange for pre-ordering early or freezing outside overnight, PS3 owners will come home with at least one Blu-ray movie to watch. While this may not be the first title to come to mind in terms of showing off incredible visual and sound quality, it is a funny smash-hit movie that most will enjoy.
• The PS3 loads Blu-ray movies fast. Reports are that within 10 seconds of selecting the movie from the menu, its playing. Long load times have plagued standalone Blu-ray and HD DVD players so far, in that respect, the consoles may have them beat.
• 18 launch titles, including true 1080p games like NBA '07. Most are multiplatform, but Madden, NBA 2K7, Fight Night Round 3 and others have added a few features to take advantage of the tilt controller, or just enhance them slightly over their Xbox 360 counterparts.
• HD Movies can be stored on and played directly from the hard drive, although codec support is still unknown.

The Bad:

• No, there aren't any HD cables in the box. Really. The HD era starts now, but BYOC. That may be old hat, or maybe even preferred by many home theater enthusiasts, but for $500/$600 you shouldn't have to buy anything else to get HD out of the box. If you already have component cables from a PS2 however, the AV connector is the same and they will still work. Standard HDMI cables will of course be necessary for digital connections.
• Yes, there are native-1080p games, but Resistance: Fall of Man is not one of them. Previously touted as 1,920 x 1,080, 22GB of goodness, it is now merely 16GB of 720p goodness. All in all this is probably for the best, but this game is one the PS3's most anticipated games and is supposed to show why gamers need 1080p and Blu-ray...and not Xbox 360s.
  
• The PS3 does not do DVD upconverting over any connection, and there are reports that despite previous claims, it will not enhance the visuals on PS1/PS2 games. This is a joke, the console has more than enough power for upconversion, and with its HDCP-protected digital output it is perfectly capable of upscaling to 1080p. The Xbox 360 does it and there is no reason why the PlayStation shouldn't.
• That recently-reduced-to-400k in the US launch number is really more of a "target", which may or may not be hit due to production issues. Either start lining up now or mortgage the house to buy one on eBay, getting a PlayStation 3 in 2006 won't be easy.
• No included remote, the BD remote will ship "soon" for $24.99 and operate via Bluetooth, not IR.

There it is, are we missing anything? All that's left now is the waiting. We hate waiting.

Read - DVD upscaling "not part of the feature set" - IGN
Read - PlayStation 3 launch window titles announced - Joystiq
Read - Sony PlayStation 3 may not meet shipment targets - Bloomberg
Read - Sony Computer Entertainment America Announces Extensive Line Up of Game Titles for PlayStation 3 - Sony
Read - PS3 features lightning-fast Blu-ray playback and video sharing with the PSP - Ars Technica

We'll have to wait until Sony's conference later today and the rest of E3 to get more details about their upcoming console but from the Pre-E3 announcements we're already getting a few tidbits.

Sony has been touting their ability to output 1080p via dual HDMI ports while some have claimed most games won't be able to use that resolution. Checking out Sega's announcement that Virtua Fighter 5 will be a Playstation 3 exclusive and Epic's interview regarding Unreal Tournament 2007 reveals one common thread, that both are targeting 720p. Obviously these will be early titles in the systems lifespan so we may see later games kick it up to 1920x1080 and with few having HDTVs that display or accept a 1080p signal this is of limited importance. Still one has to wonder if Sony will even call these games high definition, since the only True HD is 1080p at least according to Phil Harrison.

Check for more live E3 coverage from Joystiq.

Even though the NHL and NBA playoff games are over for today, you can still get some high-def tourney action in if you have an Xbox 360 and a copy of Project Gotham Racing 3. The regional finals for the North American region will be going on at 10 pm EST, the winners of this round travel to Italy and compete at the Lamborghini factory in June. Gamers have been playing Gotham since the launch of the Xbox 360 but this is the first official online tournament.

Check out our breakdown on why PGR3 makes a good HDTV spectator sport with its live action, camera angles and competitive races and log on to check out the tournament later tonight.

The reborn Voom HD has launched a channel specifically for gamers, "GamePlay HD". The channel actually started broadcasting on February 1st, with some content from their new partner CNET (& GameSpot). They also plan to provide coverage of tournaments like the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational Tournament in Seoul and the Guild Wars Championship, both in April. Two GameSpot produced news segments, GameSpotting and The Art of Play, are also part of the scheduled programming.

GamePlay HD can be found on DISH channel 9485, any HD Beat readers check it out yet?

Gaming site Kikizo claim to have gotten some seat time with a PS3 development kit running on near final hardware and have found out some very nice tidbits of information from three separate (unnamed) developers.

Among other things, they note that the hardware designs we've seen will likely change before launch, native 1080p games with full effects are unlikely, and that launch games are being designed with a 10x DVD drive in mind. There is also much praise for Sony's machine, with developers noting that it will probably be capable of handling more effects and geometry than the Xbox 360. These statements aren't surprising, 720p will likely be the sweet spot for gaming this generation, anything more than that increases memory needs to an almost impossible level, but the PS3 should be able to scale to match whatever your TV accepts just like the 360.

Also worth noting is that the developers they spoke to are targeting a fall launch as most likely. Other recent PS3 news from Joystiq has suggested the 2x Blu-ray drive it is most likely to feature will be the same speed as a 12x DVD player. If developers actually do make a 20GB game we could be looking at loading screens for quite a while. The development  kit Kikizo looked at had no Blu-ray drive so they couldn't test those capabilities at all.

[Via Evil Avatar forums]