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While I really appreciate that Microsoft and Netflix finally got XBox 360 going with HD streaming, I myself still wasn’t able to check it out. The reason is the silly requirement of being a Gold member. I do plan to check it out soon, as we are going to go Gold for the Winter Break this year.

But I digress. This post is about Tivo, which is playing Aloha Scooby-Doo! streaming from Netflix at the moment. My youngest son is a huge fan of Scooby Doo, so it was no brainer for him to choose from 5 different kid-friendly choices I gave him for first viewing.

That’s right, I tried it for the first time now. Took about 1 minute, and the activation process couldn’t be simpler (seriously, I don’t think it could!) We got a code displayed on Tivo screen, upon choosing Netflix, and a URL. Type a code on that URL, and voila! Few seconds later, Tivo switched to show us our Instant Queue full of movies to watch instantly.

Furthermore, the quality is Amazing! Granted, this is just a cartoon. But on our HD it looks excellent! No artifacts whatsoever! No delay, no hiccups, no issues! Impressive!!!

This changes everything, and yea, Cable TV is in even bigger trouble, as if it wasn’t already…

In fact, I have a suggestion for Netflix, that will save them some money, and I will be the first to utilize it! To help them figure out how to price this “All You Can Eat” streaming buffet, give us loyal subscribers the option to Hold the DVD queue. I’ wouldn’t object to hold DVD shipments, down to one or two a month of maybe newer movies, and just let us enjoy the streaming buffet for the rest of it!

Kudos Netflix and Tivo! Next up on my wish list, setting up Orb on my media center Vista for streaming to my iPhone on-the-go. Or, perhaps, Netflix should give us an iPhone client, and while we wait for that, make sure to check out Joost for iPhone! Viva la Tivolution!!!

PS: Happy Holidays! Did I mention I love Amazon? Well, I love the simplicity of emailing someone an Amazon Gift Certificate, something everyone sure to enjoy! Plus, click-through and support this site in the process

Apologies to all my International blog readers. This is an official Simpsons episode, and I think it only is watchable inside the US right now. I am certain if you do a quick YouTube search, or Veoh, etc, you will find another openly available copy.

So, are you a PC? I am, though I own and enjoy iPhone also. I think for me the price premium is the deal breaker for Mac, plus I do like to tinker and upgrade my computers ALL THE TIME!

Today we watched opening ceremony in HD on our big screen. A day late, but I prefer to watch things on my own schedule, even sporting events! The ceremony was Inspiring, especially in all the High Definition glory on the wall.

You will need specific setup, to bring the best quality available Olympic coverage to your Big Screen TV. First thing you’ll need is Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate edition. Next, you will need an XBox 360 connected to home network, or you can skip this in case your Windows Vista PC is already hooked up directly to TV (it happens!).

Now, simply install TVTonic add-on on your Windows Vista MediaCenter PC, and start it. You can use it on your Windows Vista PC or naturally view it via XBox 360, using the Media Center extender functionality.

Actually, TVTonic brings a whole world of Internet TV to your local computer. It is actually similar to Miro and others, in that it simply pulls RSS feeds of Podcast style broadcast shows. It comes with pretty impressive guide with all kinds of Internet shows, including Dilbert, and GameTrailers in HD, both of which me and the kids enjoy tremendously!

Of course, you can always simply visit NBC Olympics site and watch highlights or even full events, steaming and online.

I am very pleased with this progress! The TVTonic client is completely free and brings home very high quality video, for convenient viewing on the Big-Screen TV. We have configured it to download specific sports, like soccer and fencing, automatically as they become available!

If you have Vista 64 Bit edition (very rare still), they are promising to make it available soon (via EngadgetHD).

Hulu.com has been growing nicely, you may recall that I wrote about them back when they were in private beta. Well, since then they have opened to the public, and constantly adding new shows! If you crave some quality entertainment, they are becoming my first destination to check out, Kudos!

And finally, the sensational hit series Battlestar Galactica is there, in an almost HD quality. Of course, ABC’s HD streaming online is still by far the best quality out there, but it does score stiff requirements, both from your computer hardware (dual-core minimum) and your Internet connection (above 3mbps). Hulu’s quality is a compromise, it seems. It is much higher than YouTube’s and other clones out there, but it isn’t quiet as high to require very fast PC and super broadband connection.

Speaking of Battlestar Galactica — I am one of those fans who still managed to catch a few "original" battlestar episodes, and I did expect a similar cliche from the new show, which actually a reason behind my initial refusal to watch this. But, eventually, I did catch a few episodes and saw how different this was. Much better writing, high quality production, are killer ingredients. This may shock you, but I am actually the vice-versa of most fans out there (check out why), so I actually think the show’s been stretched Too Much and it really Should End sooner rather than later!

If you haven’t watched this show, now is a time to catch up, either via your Netflix subscription or Amazon Unbox or other methods. Below is a little teaser, now that the final season is coming, when ALL Will Be Revealed! Which reminds me that I need to rant (for a friend) about Dish Network — Where Is your Sci-Fi channel in HD!?

Today I got invite to private Hulu.com Beta. Looks like they are expanding their beta user base, and I was lucky to get in on this next round. Though, pretty soon they will go public, I’m sure.

So, first impressions are positive! The navigation is pretty intuitive, though I did not see an easy way to navigate to other seasons of things. These are very minor, the important positives are:

• High Quality — Duhh!!! This is a single most important issue today for streaming video on the web, and so far I am very positively impressed with hulu!
• Streaming — On Demand TV is here, for real, finally!
• Huge Library — Since it’s an official effort by several major studios, they actually have Quality Content! OMG! Simpsons! House MD! Journeyman! Monk! Pretender! The list goes on and on. It looks like they are mixing old classics with new favorites, great formula, if you ask me!

Stop the presses! I can embed entire episodes or show snippets in my blog!!! This is so big that I worked hard to modify the layout of my blog and make it wider to accommodate their excellent wide-screen video size.

And now, without any further delay, check out this funny Simpsons episode! Which, hilariously enough, investigates Tivo and the demise of traditional TV model.

Remember! You saw it here first!

PS: After additional confirmation, I see that video embedded on my blog appears to be slightly lower quality than the one you would get to see on hulu.com, plus the Full Screen feature only available on Hulu.com