Be still, our hearts! After watching the wireless HD / HDMI sector fumble along for years on end, a team of mega-corps have finally agreed to push their self-interests aside and collaborate on a standard. WHDI creator AMIMON has joined forces with Motorola, Samsung, Sony and Sharp in order to form "a special interest group to develop a comprehensive new industry standard for multi-room audio, video and control connectivity" utilizing the aforementioned Wireless Home Digital Interface technology. Reportedly, the group will have a standard completed before 2009 dawns, but we all know how easily these things can get pushed under the rug. Nevertheless, the overriding goal here is to "enhance the current WHDI technology to enable wireless streaming of uncompressed HD video and audio between CE devices such as LCD and plasma HDTVs, multimedia projectors, AV receivers, DVD and BD players, set-top-boxes, game consoles and PCs." A tall order, sure, but one we're elated to see taken on. Full release (and promo spot) after the break.

We're not told whether or not all 16 of the digital Sony projectors in the Southcenter 16 are 4K or not, but AMC's still pretty proud of its latest cineplex. The 2,900-seat venue houses 16 screens (obviously) which will see imagery from all digital PJs, meaning that nary a strip of film will be shipped in. Additionally, the design of the facility was made to showcase the surroundings, with a vast window in the reception area that "on a clear day, frames Mount Rainier to look like the Paramount logo." Hey, look at that -- we just found you some plans this weekend up in the Pacific Northwest.

Though we suspect this is totally normal judging by the fact that not all HD flicks available via Apple TV have 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound, it is a wee bit disappointing. One particular tipster wrote in to express his frustration with Sony's recently launched PlayStation Video Store, noting that his HD movie rental featured only stereo sound. When contacting Sony on the matter, a Store specialist informed him that no refunds were allowed and there was no way to determine how audio was packaged prior to downloading. So yeah, if multi-channel audio is paramount, you may want to think twice about emptying your wallet in the PS Store.

So much for early 2008 or even July for that matter. Sony's David Reeves now confirms that PlayTV -- the €99 PS3 TV tuner / DVR add-on -- will hit the UK on September 10th. The service will then march onto the continent before completing the European rollout in December -- Australia and New Zealand get theirs in January or February. Notably, the service will in fact record television in the background without interrupting your regularly scheduled gaming regimen thanks to the recent 2.41 firmware PS3 update. Phew, for a moment we felt threatened by a lack of manufactured distractions.

[Via gamesindustry.biz]

The energy-saving nature of OLEDs has certainly been debated, but a passel of big name firms and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) are pushing forward with an initiative to promote the technology. Aside from the aforementioned entity, ten companies including Sony, Sharp, Toshiba and Matsushita (Panasonic) are collaborating on the five-year effort, which will likely cost ¥3.5 billion ($32.8 million). In sum, the project is aimed at "developing a core technology to mass-produce 40-inch or larger OLED displays in the late 2010s," and there's even a mention that said companies are racing South Korean firms to get a jump on OLED deployment. Race on, we say.

[Via Widescreen Review]

We've yet to be able to confirm any of this in our local stores, but HD Guru has it that major television manufacturers are lowering their retail prices in order to deal with swelling inventories. Despite upticks in demand from the upcoming Olympics, the overall economy here in America has apparently taken a toll on HDTV sales. Samsung, Sharp, Mitsubishi and Panasonic have reportedly notified their dealers of the drops, with some sets plummeting as much as $400. Of course, in-store (read: street) pricing will vary (sometime significantly) from the figures posted in the read link, but regardless, you ought to save a few bucks from just weeks ago. Oh, and if you're not desperate for a new flat-panel right this moment, let us remind you that Black Friday 2008 is barely two months away.

[Via The Boy Genius Report, image courtesy of StarTribune]]

The New York Times is reporting that Amazon is scrapping its Unbox service in favor of a new online TV and movie store called Amazon Video on Demand. Unlike iTunes and Unbox, Amazon's new digital store-front will stream any of 40,000 movies and television programs to customers. According to Bill Carr, Amazon's VP for digital media, "Our goal is to create an immersive experience where people can't help but get caught up in how exciting it is to simply watch a movie right from Amazon.com with a click of the button." In this regard, the first 2 minutes of every video will begin to play when customers visit the video's product page. Movies can be purchased and downloaded to your hard drive or stored in an Amazon video library allowing you to stream the content to other (any?) Internet connected devices. Films and TV shows from "almost all the major studios and television networks" will be available for sale or rental in the US at undisclosed prices -- only Disney and its ABC subsidiary are holding out for uh, obvious reasons (Steve Jobs is Disney's largest individual shareholder).

Amazon also plans to bring the service directly to the living room through a deal with Sony (and others) which will ultimately embed store access into future Bravia TVs. For now, Amazon's VoD store will be available through Sony's $300 Bravia Internet Video Link device. The store goes beta-hot today for a limited number of "invited" US Amazon.com customers before going a live later this summer.

For those out there totally stoked about paying $400 for a Blu-ray player that's just "BD-Live-ready," have we got a surprise for you! Our brethren over at Engadget Classic got a chance to swing by Sony's demonstration today in New York City and take a peek at the firm's recently released (as in, shipping) Blu-ray deck alongside a few other audio related products. Whatcha waiting for? Get over there and check it all out!

Wow, Toys 'R Us was only a day off. Sure enough, Sony's BDP-S350 -- which was first introduced / spotted in February -- has gone on sale at Sony Style retail outlets, the Sony Style website and other fine retailers near you. If you're looking for a quick refresher, this Profile 2.0-compliant deck supports BonusView (picture-in-picture), but curiously enough, Sony mentions that "a firmware update enabling BD-Live is planned [for] later this year." You'll also find full 1080p output, 7.1-channel Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio support and a promise to suck down 21% less power in playback compared to the BDP-S300. All yours for $400 (give or take a few pennies).

Those of you who didn't stay up late last night and check out the new PlayStation Store on your own now have nowhere to go. Stuck inside your cube with no early lunch, no way to slip out at 3:00 -- nada. Thankfully, the crew over at PS3 Fanboy has the goods to satisfy your appetite until you get home. Tap the read link for a gallery of hands-on shots, and chime in below with your likes / dislikes once you've had a chance to meander around yourself.

The long delay until Sony launched its video download service (actually more like a few hours), is over. HD and SD rentals, and SD purchases from an assortment of movie studios is now available in the Playstation Store by selecting the video button at the top left. Need to know what's available in your region but aren't near your PS3? Check out the website for a list of what awaits.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Sony just announced at E3 that Playstation Network users now have the ability to rent and purchase moves and TV shows. Like, immediately -- the service is getting flipped on tonight. It's not just Sony content, either: Fox, MGM, Lions Gate, Warner, Disney, Paramount, Turner, and something called Funimation are signed up from the get-go. Video will be available in both SD and HD, and TV pricing starts at $1.99. Movie purchases will run $9.99 - $14.99, while rentals will be $2.99 - $5.99. What's more, the content is "portable," meaning that videos downloaded on your PS3 can be watched on multiple PSPs. It doesn't look like movies can be purchased in HD, but downloads are progressive so content starts playing a minute after you hit begin the download.

PSN users will also get a single persistent sign-on across every device that can access the network: PS3, PSP, PC. It's not clear whether those aliases will carry over into games themselves or if friends lists will start working across devices as well, however. The integration is scheduled to happen for this fall, though, so you might want to go and grab your handle of choice relatively soon.

The latest PlayStation 3 2.4x firmware update added more than just the long-awaited in-game XMB access. Upscaling from Blu-ray discs is now supported, allowing the system to deinterlace 1080i to 1080p on its own, if you have a homemade BDAV formatted disc recorded in less-than-full HD. Retail Blu-ray flicks are BDMV formatted, so for certain discs not in 1080p (mostly concerts), they'll still be played only in their native resolution. Also included is upscaling, frame noise reduction and block noise reduction for video played off the PS3 HDD or external storage media, and DTS-ES and DTS 96/24 compatibility on Blu-ray discs. AVSForum posters are also reporting some DTS-HD 7.1 discs now map to their speakers properly, but as we've seen, your experience may vary.

Read - PS3 2.41 System Update
Read - PS3 Firmware 2.4x- Master Thread

Several Japanese tech giants are teaming together today in a quest to make 40-inch and larger OLED panels for televisions. Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, Sharp and others will participate under a joint development project initiated by the Japanese government. All of this is of course meant to help the Japanese companies compete with South Korea's chaebols, particularly Samsung and LG, as the industry giants maneuver for an advantage over the next, next-generation flat panel technology to dominate the living room.

[Via OLED-info]

It's that time of week again, and considering that AVRs have remained strangely absent from our Ask Engadget HD series, Vinesy's question couldn't have arrived at a more opportune time:

"I'm considering the Sony STR-DA5300ES, Denon AVR-3808CI, and the Onkyo TX-NR905, and while I'd bet the Onkyo wins in sound quality, I do favor Sony's user interface. I'm open to suggestions outside of those three, but I'm particularly interested in the quality of the upconverting chip. Is the Reon-HQV or the Faroudja DCDi better? Will they both take the 1080i HDMI signal from my FiOS set-top-box and give me 1080p? Help me legion of nerds. Fanboys: attack me with knowledge and then make fun of me like you do best."

Well, you heard the man! For you receiver freaks out there, here's your shot at bestowing knowledge upon the newbies in the field. But be gentle, will ya?

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.