The Samsung UN46B7000--one of the newly entertained Samsung HDTVs.

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Samsung announced on Wednesday that on-demand video services from Blockbuster and Amazon are coming to some of its home entertainment products.

Blockbuster OnDemand, which allows people to rent or purchase video content on a one-off basis, is now available on some of Samsung's high-definition TVs, Blu-ray players, and home theater systems.

According to Samsung, the service will be offered on its Series 650 and above LCD and plasma HDTVs, as well as its Series 7000 and above LED HDTVs. Blockbuster OnDemand will be available to owners of the Samsung BD-P1600, BD-P3600, and BD-P4600 Blu-ray players, as well as the company's HT-BD1250, HT-BD3252, HT-BD7200, and HT-BD8200 Blu-ray home theater systems. The company said that the service is available now through a firmware upgrade.

As part of the rollout, Blockbuster OnDemand content can be streamed across multiple Blockbuster-enabled devices in the home. According to the company, users who order a particular movie can start watching it on one Samsung product in their home and continue watching it on another supported Samsung device.

For its part, Blockbuster has had a busy week. On Tuesday, the company announced that its OnDemand service was finally made available on TiVo DVRs. Like the service on TiVo, Samsung equipment owners can expect to pay between $2.99 and $3.99 for movie rentals. Blockbuster charges between $7.99 and $19.99 for film purchases.

As part of the deal, Blockbuster will start selling Samsung Blu-ray players that feature the company's OnDemand service in "thousands of corporate-owned stores and participating franchise stores." Blockbuster also said on Tuesday that it will also start selling TiVo DVRs in its stores.

But Samsung didn't stop there. The company also announced on Wednesday that Amazon Video On Demand will be offered to owners of Samsung LCD and plasma HDTVs that are series 650 and above, and LED HDTVs that are series 7000 and above. To get the service, users will need to download the Amazon Video On Demand widget using their television's Internet@TV content service.

Samsung said that once the user downloads the Amazon Video On Demand widget, they will be able to access Amazon's more than 50,000 movies and television shows. Amazon's widget joins already-available widgets from Twitter, Yahoo, YouTube, and others, the company said.

A growing trend?
The fact that Samsung has added Blockbuster's and Amazon's video services to its HDTVs shouldn't come as a surprise; it's competing in a marketplace where integrated entertainment is becoming the norm.

Earlier this year, LG announced the launch of two broadband-equipped HDTVs--the 47-inch 47LH50 and the 50-inch 50PS80--that feature the company's NetCast Entertainment Access. That service gives users the ability to access Netflix's streaming library of movies and TV shows. Toshiba is also getting in on the trend.

It's the end of the week! It's also Audio Draft Time, and this might raise a little bit of controversy. It's Matt and Kim, an Indie pop band from Williamsburg, New York City. Nope this isn't Justin's pick; it's Wilson's. Strange, no?

(Credit: Last.FM/CBS Interactive)

We check out their tracks "Daylight" and "Yea Yeah." We apologize beforehand for the overdriven audio. It may not be your cup of tea, but Wilson assures us they are great in concert and just lots of fun. On a further note, they will be touring with Weezer in the coming days.

On today's show, we check out an outrageous iPhone app, where you actually have to lick the screen to play the game. The premise of the app is to lick off the food on your plate. Without getting too detailed, we come up with a couple of other apps that might take advantage of this lick-touch-screen idea. Just be sure to wrap up your iPhone before you partake.

We also check out a study that says HDTVs are mostly a placebo effect to most users. Now, we admit this study didn't compare a SDTV next to a HDTV, but we know plenty of people who think that composite video looks just as good as 1080p. After that we get to plenty of voicemails, and yes, we have two--count 'em--two voicemails from women!

(Credit: Toshiba)

Ever heard of a super computer in an HDTV? Toshiba has released fresh juicy details on its Cell processor-powered LCD TV ahead of the Ceatec 2009 tech fair in Japan.

The Cell Regza 55X1 is an LED-backlit panel with local dimming that delivers class-leading 5 million:1 dynamic contrast and an ultra-high (serious overkill of) 1,250cd/m2 brightness. Other performance-oriented functions include a 240Hz motion enhancement, Cell Platform Super Resolution technology for improved standard-definition video upscaling, and a bottom sound bar driven by seven speakers.

Photos: Toshiba's Cell Regza TV

Best of all, we haven't even touched on the most exciting parts. How do eight windows for displaying different channels, 3TB onboard storage for time shifting and video recording and an Opera-based Web browser sound? Having said that, the Cell Regza 55X1 is priced well out of the reach of most consumers with its shocking $11,115 tag, according to Gizmodo. Another limitation for many of us: the Cell Regza 55X1 is currently slated only for release in Japan (in early December).

With so much power at Toshiba's disposal, the Japanese company has also lined up other future Cell TVs ranging from a 3D version to a 4K model that upconverts 1080p content such as Blu-rays to a whopping 3,840x2,160 resolution.

(Source: Crave Asia)

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

BERLIN--Spotted in LG's enormous booth here at IFA: a razor thin OLED TV with a 15-inch screen.

That's still about half the size of the average person's LCD or plasma TV, but it's progress. Currently Sony is the only company that sells an OLED and its measures just 11 inches diagonally. LG will officially one up its rival when this hits the market in Korea first next year.

Called "The Object," this display is 0.1 inches thin and weighs in at just over 11 ounces.

See more after the jump. ... Read more

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

BERLIN--LG rolled out its recently announced "borderless" TVs here at IFA on Thursday for all the cameras.

They were introduced in North America at the end of July. By "borderless" they essentially mean it's an HDTV without any noticeable bezel. Using an injection compressed molding and special laminating process, the TV does have a bezel, but it's very small, is flush with the TV, and has no space between it and the screen. It's just like the "edge-to-edge" glass concept on Apple's MacBook Pro, but much larger.

See our previous post on it here.

(Credit: Sanus)

Nowadays, it's not just about skinny HDTVs, it's also about similarly thin accessories for these panels. Take the latest Sanus Super Slim wall-mounting brackets, which enable an HDTV to be installed less than an inch away from the wall. They come in two flavors: the ML11-B1 for 26 to 46 inches/110 pounds and the L11-B1 for 37 to 65 inches/165 pounds.

Besides horizontal and vertical adjustments, these Sanus brackets offer quick release and ClickStand functions. The former unlocks the TV from the bracket easily, while the latter lifts the panel to deliver 3.08 inches of clearance from the wall for extra work space. The ML11-B1 and LL11-B1 retail for $119 and $149, respectively.

(Source: Crave Asia via Engadget)

The news that Best Buy and TiVo are teaming up to share technology and hopefully pump up each other's sales has led some to conclude that new HDTVs with digital video recording capability are in the offing.

That's highly unlikely.

TiVo, the inventor of the DVR market that has trouble making any profit on it, and Best Buy, the giant of electronics retail, announced Thursday a new partnership. Best Buy will push TiVo DVRs in its stores, and TiVo will create a special set-top box that Best Buy can sell specifically to push its own advertising at TiVo customers.

We're not likely to see Insignia TVs with TiVo inside.

(Credit: CNET)

Then there's this line in the press release, which appears to be causing some confusion: "TiVo intends to work with Best Buy's Exclusive Brands group (e.g., Insignia, Dynex, etc.) to explore integration of its user interface, search, and other TiVo benefits to help further grow that consumer electronics line."

Some are interpreting that to mean TiVo will drop its DVRs into Insignia and Dynex TVs. But that's not what it says. The release carefully words that section for a reason. In an interview, TiVo Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales Joe Miller downplayed that part of the deal concerning TVs, calling it "just one aspect." What TiVo will share with Best Buy-branded TVs is its interface, search function, and Internet-delivered content, like on-demand movies from Amazon and Netflix, and YouTube.

But as far as putting TiVo DVRs inside Best Buy's TVs, it's clearly not a priority for TiVo. "We're not ruling it out," Miller said. "But what we're saying here is, what does it take to make the best possible TV experience."

They're not ruling it out, but they're not promising it either. And it's likely because it's not a wise path to follow. TVs with built-in DVRs aren't exactly a new idea. At CES 2005, the Humax with TiVo inside was announced but never made it to market. The LG 42LB1DR, which had a DVR but not TiVo-branded, actually made it to store shelves, but it had a huge caveat: it could only record over-the-air and "clear cable" (QAM) channels or it needed a cumbersome CableCard hook-up. With the former configuration, premium channels such as Comedy Central and HBO weren't available, with the latter you lost access to on-demand programming (and, often, the ability to record one show while watching another). That meant consumers were paying a big premium (versus the same TVs with no built-in DVR), despite getting a hobbled recording experience. Not surprisingly, demand for such DVR-enabled TVs was nil, and they've largely disappeared from the market.

What this is about is increasing sales for both. TiVo has been losing subscribers, and consumer electronics purchases have taken a plunge along with the economy. Miller says the main focus of the deal for both is to sell more TiVos.

"Their goal is to drive as many TiVo subscriptions as they can," he said.

CNET's John Falcone contributed to this story.

Samsung's PNB650 series comes close to the best plasmas on the market.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

With the exit of heavy-hitter Pioneer from the plasma racket, just three major makers remain: Panasonic, Samsung, and LG. The latter two offer significantly more models of LCD TVs than of plasma, however, and seem more focused on LCD technology. Nonetheless, Samsung's 2009 plasmas, if the PNB650 series is any indication, are nearly the match of Panasonic's best.

The model we tested delivered superb black-level performance--significantly better than past Samsung plasmas--and the company's traditional accurate color. Samsung has also kept up with Panasonic on the feature front and delivers more picture adjustments, although we prefer Panasonic's VieraCast to Samsung's sluggish Yahoo Widgets when it comes to interactive features. Regardless, the superb overall package delivered by the PNB650 series once again poses a difficult decision for plasma HDTV buyers.

Read the full review of the Samsung PNB650 series.

Samsung PNB650 series photos

Vizio turned the HDTV market on its head with its low-priced sets, and now the company will concentrate all of its TV efforts on LCD.

Vizio says goodbye to plasma.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The California-based flat-panel maker will no longer produce plasma TVs, according to a report in The New York Times Wednesday. It was the third-largest plasma TV maker in North America as of the end of the third quarter of 2008, with 13 percent of all shipments, according to DisplaySearch.

Vizio co-founder Laynie Newsome told the Times the reasons for the move away from plasma TVs were that they didn't sell as well in big-box stores due to the harsh lighting and Vizio would rather use its established retail presence to push LCD TVs instead. Vizio is also the third-largest LCD TV maker in North America, with 8.4 percent of shipments.

Manufacturers can charge more for LCD TVs, which generally bring in higher revenue than TVs based on plasma technology. Plasma TVs are also regarded by some as less environmentally friendly for the amount of energy they consume.

As a result, the plasma ranks are getting thin. Just last week a report surfaced that Pioneer, currently the fifth-largest plasma TV vendor, would also cease production of its plasma sets. Pioneer isn't yet confirming the report, but says it is still evaluating the business's long-term viability. In other words, it doesn't look good.

Without Vizio and Pioneer, that would leave only Panasonic, Samsung, and LG Electronics as the major vendors of plasma.