Some extremely clever man has been working away on improving the Wii's iPlayer, creating his own solution to the rather clunky and slow official Wii implementation of the Beeb's streaming telly service.

Moaning that the Wii's slightly duff Opera browser simply hasn't got the right screen resolution to handle the BBC's default text and layout, the creator has simplified the design, bumped up the font size and generally "Apple-ised" the look and feel of iPlayer so it's quicker to operate and easier to find your way around.

Point your Wii at http://defaced.co.uk/wiiplayer and give WiiPlayer a go. It won't work on your PC. And you still need to be based in the UK to use the service. We don't pay our license fees so that you overseas lot can watch our telly for free on the internet, you know. That's what Bittorrent is for.

(Via Defaced and Dave)

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Panasonic has launched its new all-in-one Blu-ray burner and PVR in the Australian market, claiming it to be the first recorder on the continent.

The DMR-BW500 boasts some impressive features, including a 500GB hard drive, twin TV tuners, Blu-ray burner, and full PVR functionality including up to an eight hour buffer for live TV.

Amazon's big boss Jeff Bezos, speaking at the D6 conference, said the retail behemoth is planning to launch its own online video rental service rather soon.

That's pretty much all he said on the matter, although he pointed out you'd be buying movies individually on an "a la carte" basis rather than paying a subscription, then watching via a streaming service instead of having a physical download. Jeff also said it'll be aimed primarily at PC users, presumably the lucrative bored-at-work crowd.

"We're very serious about the video business, but it is much more difficult because there are so many market participants," Jeff added, making it sound like he's already hedging his bets a bit. That really is all he said about it. He didn't even give it a name or say if Warner Brothers is onboard.

(Via AllThingsD)

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Sharp is to launch three new AQUOS combo units in Japan, featuring a Blu-ray player and Digital Video Recorder plus digital and analogue TV tuners.

Available with three hard drive sizes -- 250GB, 500GB, or 1TB -- they record to the hard drive in the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format in any of three different bitrates (4.8, 8, and 12Mbps), so users can choose what quality to record at and, consequently, how much content can be stored.

It might be less than keen on the online version, but Virgin Media obviously has no objections to a TV-based version of the BBC iPlayer.

Virgin Media customers using BBC iPlayer on the box will be able to watch full screen pictures of the last seven days' TV at 'full quality' without the need for downloading. Initially it is through a red button on the screen, with EPG access to be added this summer.

Malcolm Wall, CEO of Content at Virgin Media, said: "The enormous success of iPlayer online has demonstrated the desire TV viewers have for viewing quality programmes at a time that suits them, and now it's available from the comfort of the living room. Virgin Media is proud to be working with the BBC to continue to lead this revolution in TV viewing."

Virgin Media

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Sony has introduced a new range of recorders featuring hard drives and DVD writers. The RDR-HXD1095 is the flagship model, boasting a 500GB drive, analogue and digital TV tuners, and BRAVIA Sync which allows it to be controlled from the same remote control as a Sony BRAVIA TV.

Yesterday, Amazon.co.uk dropped the ball and became the source of a very promising Sony PlayTV rumour. A listing, since retracted, put a release date of 31st July on the system and a price tag of £60.

PlayTV is an upcoming accessory for PlayStation 3 that adds digital telly to your console, effectively turning it into a HDD recorder.

The PS3's ability to stream content via WiFi or across the internet direct to a handheld Sony PSP also makes it a potentially excellent means of accessing your recording on the go as well. Essentially you need never miss an episode of Corrie ever again.

Sony was quick to deny the leaked information, opting for that seldom heard party line of "We have yet to announce a release date and price for PlayTV, and do not comment on rumour or speculation."

Sagem has announced the launch of two eco-friendly set top boxes. The ITD58NG ECO and ITD59NG ECO both offer basic Freeview functionality, including Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), and connect to your telly via SCART.

Poor old Apple. Everyone wants to invent a "killer" to take out its products - and the next cold-blooded assassin is video rental chain Blockbuster.

Blockbuster is developing a video-streaming set-top-box to rival (KILL!) Apple's shopping/streaming/watching Apple TV system, according to The News.

Rumoured to be announced some time this month, the Blockbuster gadget is based around the Movielink (not available in the UK) service BB bought last year, which currently lets people - legally, for once - watch movies on their PCs. Coming as a separate, standalone TV box, the Blockbuster system, when it eventually arrives, will also have the growing Xbox 360 download service to contend with as well as the Apple mafia.

Not to mention 'Bittorrent'. We predict a painful and protracted financial failure.

(Via Reuters)

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As part of its commitment to increasing Blu-ray market share, Sony is to roll out a couple of Blu-ray equipped PVRs to the Japanese market at the end of this month.

The BDZ-A70 and BDZ-T90 both feature integrated hard drives (320GB and 500GB respectively), two digital tuners and an analogue tuner, and the usual PVR functionality.

Maplin has offered up its own PVR into the crowded marketplace, a 250GB twin Freeview tuner recorder.

It offers the usual PVR functionality, storing up to 160 hours of programming, and features a seven day EPG, dual SCART output, 5.1 digital audio output, and analogue stereo output.

Available until April 15th at £99.99, £149.99 thereafter, from Maplin.

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Apple may well add digital video recorder functionality to its third generation of the Apple TV, according to the analyst Shaw Wu from American Technology Research.

This would turn the product offering into a "real business" rather than just a "hobby", and could be a real money-spinner for Apple.

To be honest, DVRs aren't hugely exciting now -- the functionality is great, of course, but in the UK every telecoms company and broadcaster is offering the service already. Would a DVR-enabled Apple TV be able to break in to the UK market in a big way? I'm not convinced.

(Via HDTV UK)

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With visions of "that's amazing" broadband adverts running around my head, I'm reporting on Tiscali's venture into the world of PVR. The Tiscali+ PVR offers all the usual functionality, with a modest 160GB hard drive, access to on-demand films, BBC iPlayer and 4oD content, plus the possibility of catch-up content from ITV and Channel 5 in due course.

It has three built-in digital tuners, so you can record two programmes while watching a third -- that beats the BT Vision box and many other dual-tuner standalone PVRs, though of course you need to find three programmes worth watching at the same time to take advantage of that (this is Freeview, you know).

It connects up to the phone line, presumably to ensure that you really are a Tiscali customer, and for downloading on-demand content.

The box itself costs a subsidised £50, and new customers will need to sign up to a 12-month contract.

(Via Web User)

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I'm a traditionalist when it comes to DJing - records and 'proper' decks are essential. But that approach is very much in decline, with DJs less keen to risk losing their collection in pubs and clubs - instead using something like the EKS OTUS DJ controller.

It certainly looks like a stylish piece of kit, with a 7.5” jog wheel at its heart for controlling your virtual records, as well as pitch control, start/stop, cueing and...well just about everything you would expect from a traditional deck, but using a touchscreen-style set-up.

It's getting the official launch in March, so should be on the market for the summer. No pricing available as yet.

EKS (via Born Rich)

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The Top Up TV+ digital TV recorder (DTR) isn't a new concept — we were talking about it last year and it's been on the cards since late 2006 — but now Top Up TV has announced a 250GB version, meaning even more space to record Freeview programmes.

By now, I'm assuming everyone knows what the main features of a DTR are (if not, go back to that last article and read). Suffice it to say that this model does all the things you'd expect a dual-tuner Freeview DTR to do. It also continues to give you access to the PictureBox service for £5 a month, offering a choice of seven blockbuster movies each day, plus the usual benefits of the Top Up TV service.

This 250GB model will give you up to 180 hours of recording, which suggests that there's some fairly decent compression going on in there, though it will depend on the encoding of the original broadcast.

Argos are now selling three flavours of TUTV+ DTR. For £129.99 you can get the 250GB model with a month's trial of Top Up TV Anytime. For £149.99 you also get one month of Setanta Sports. Alternatively, the original 160GB box is now £99.99.

They should also be available to buy from the Top Up TV website

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Telly bosses at OFCOM have announced proposals to change the digital TV broadcast standard - which could allow HD channels to arrive well before the analogue switch-off is done.

The new digital TV broadcast standard includes a change to the more efficient MPEG4 picture encoding system, which along with a few other measures, will lead to a doubling of available TV capacity using the same old system we have now.

OFCOM's currently asking the public service broadcasters how they'd use this new space before dishing it out - so hopefully it'll be used for a small number of HD channels, rather than another 20 rubbish quiz phone-in stations presented by morons.

Good news - although we'll all need new digital TV boxes to decode any future HD channels. Perhaps now might be a good time to buy shares in Dixons.

(Via HDTV UK)

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Certain operators offer basic gaming on TVs, but T5 aims to take this a step further - offering PC games via set-top boxes using a 'virtual console'.

Virtual means no software or installation, with PC games offered like video-on-demand by operators from central servers, transmitting MPEG compressed video channels to users' boxes. All you have to do is change channel.

According to T5, there's a lot of interest in the gaming idea from both media providers and gaming firms - so expect them on your TV very soon.

T5

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The number of Virgin Media vans on the road could be drastically cut, replaced by 'faster and greener' engineers for home visits.

The bikes will be introduced initially in London, with the belief that bikers can beat traffic congestion and clock up more appointments. Virgin estimates that a bike would spend a third of the time travelling from job to job than a van, as well as using a third of the fuel that a van would use during a year. If successful, the scheme will be rolled out in other major cities.

Hopefully the company will also get on its bike to fix the issues relating to its broadband speeds. Tech Digest has received a number of complaints about Virgin's downloads speeds, particularly at peak times. And as a customer myself, I can sympathise - as I rarely get anything near acceptable speeds during daytime hours..

Virgin Media

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Peter Dawe and Mark Turner were pioneers of the commercial internet with Pipex and Demon - and now they're back with Babel TV, which mixes digital TV with web browsing, using your existing broadband connection.

Essentially, this is a set-top box for Freeview, with PVR functionality to record shows or pause live TV. But there's more to this black box - including internet access via your TV and existing broadband connection (wireless keyboard and 'pointer' included). That means you can browse and stream video from YouTube-type sites.

There's also connectivity for your devices (for downloading and uploading your media), the opportunity for VoIP calling and the option to buy secure online storage at £1 per month for 1GB. Babel also points out that everything is handled server side, so you don't need to worry about security updates, browser errors and the like.

Babel TV boxes will be available online from November 6th priced at £295. Sounds interesting - I'm sure we'll be getting the hands-on before the launch.

Babel TV

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Sky has announced Picnic - but no sandwiches and soft drinks here, this is Sky's attempt to sell broadband, telephone and digital terrestrial television under a new brand to those who don't fancy a dish.

It's all about choice, take your pic(k) from any of the three services, all at a set price, with broadband offered up to 16MB and the TV package offering the likes of Sky Sports 1, Sky Movies, Sky One, a children's channel and a factual channel, plus all the Freeview channels.