The E020 can be found in 1GB and 2GB flavors, for $69 and $79 respectively, and comes bundled with premium earphones and a handful of faceplates to get you started. Additional faceplates will be sold separately for $12 each. [Crave Asia]

The Digital Media Keyboard 3000 is the more basic offering of the two. The corded keyboard offers five favorite keys and quick access to features such as Flip 3D and Windows Media Player.

The 7000 bundle will retail for $130—the keyboard is not sold separately—when it is available in April. The 3000 sells for $30, and is available in June. Not bad Microsoft, not bad at all. [Microsoft]

A few weeks back, I wrote up a piece on Vudu's high-definition video falling short of my expectations. Today I bring you a more thorough report of the three most compelling set-top boxes and their video-download capabilities. Apple TV, Vudu and Xbox 360 all have a lot going for them, but by looking at them side-by-side, you can see how their makers are all taking different paths to get to the ultimate desired end. Dive into the chart, then have a look at the screengrabs from three movies, to really get a feel for the progress, or lack of progress, in the world of HD downloads.

Just so you know, in addition to skipping everything that requires an actual PC (including HP's MediaSmart receivers), I omitted TiVo from the running for now, for two reasons: 1) the Amazon Unbox on TiVo doesn't yet offer HD movie downloads; and 2) TiVo itself is a subscription service, whereas these systems don't charge a monthly fee for the privilege of renting movies.You can see how frustrating it is to pick a winner when you look at the three systems on paper. Fortunately, things clear up a bit when you compare stills I shot at the same time, on the same Panasonic 1080p plasma TV.

Screens from Ratatouille—note that the Vudu shot is standard-definition only:
Screens from 3:10 to Yuma—note that the Apple TV shot is standard-definition only:
Screens from Transformers—here the three devices are all running high-def versions, and I've mixed in a screen from the HD DVD of it as well, for surprising comparison.
Keep in mind that the key here is to compare the shots with each other, as they were all shot the same way. (Note that the same perceived down-rezzing issue I noted before on Vudu's high-def is still obvious.)

Now that you've seen all the evidence I could gather. It's a toss-up to me, though I think for content I have to lean towards Vudu and for pure video quality (and most HD content) the Xbox 360 is hard to beat. Meanwhile, Apple TV is cheapest and lives up to its name with the best access to actual TV programming—though NBC is still painfully absent. How about helping me make the call here?

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A lot of people (including Steve Jobs) like to talk about the imminent arrival of HD downloads, a magic talisman that will help peace-loving technophiles avoid the atrocities of the last shiny-silver-disc format war. But as we've discussed and others have researched, bandwidth, and not resolution, determine final quality.

It's a no-brainer, and one that Vudu is well aware of, especially as it enters its newest round of content offerings. To its credit, the company decided that it's more important to offer high-quality downloads instantly, rather than make people wait for the 8+ hour download that might look more like video from a Blu-ray or HD DVD disc. But can we still call them HD?

In the frames above, you see snapshots I took all at the same time depicting Vudu paused in standard-def and high-def playback, as well as more or less the same frame paused on the HD DVD as well. One could argue that the frames look funny because of the way Vudu pauses, so let me be clear: the difference in playback between the HD DVD and the HD download was huge. My wife laughed, saying "Even I can see the difference." The difference between the SD and HD Vudu downloads was not significant at all. In fact, it was not especially noticeable. Again, to Vudu's credit, the standard def version looks really nice, and both videos started playing the instant I rented them.

The bottom line is that HD downloads are a novelty item now, and they'll probably stay that way until:

• Higher bandwidth permits the rapid download of huge files
• A quality-assurance system is agreed upon where "HD" refers to specific attributes that go beyond frame resolution
• Hollywood deems it fit to start releasing mainstream videos in great quantities in HD—remember, those dudes hold the keys, now and forever, whether we like it or not.

When pressed about the high cost of sporting rights, content strategy and acquisition EVP Yvette Alberdingkthijm told paidContent:

"I don't have to play in that league. I do know that, within my own universe of free online viewing, I can do live really, really well, and I'll be starting with that in the US in Q1 next year."

Slated to debut with the August 7 release of an album by the undoubtedly wholesome teen punk band The Jonas Brothers, CDVU+ will include "digital magazine extras, song lyrics, band photos and other extras" says Reuters. (They said "extras" twice; they must like "extras.") Oh, and as a shoutout to the greenest teens, CDVU+ "replaces the traditional CD booklet and plastic jewel case with recyclable packaging." To access the content you don't need some fancy new CDVU+ player. No sir, you just need a computer.

You know what I hate? When marketing innovations are disguised as new technologies. I for one won't be buying any CDVU+ discs, thanks much. And unlike many people I respect, I actually buy music. [Reuters]

Unlike the students of Duke University of North Carolina, it seems. Three years ago it handed out iPods to its undergrads in an attempt to enhance the learning process. And have they seen an increase in cheating? No, according to Tim Dodd, exec director of The Center for Academic Integrity at Duke, who claims it is beneath his students to stoop to that level, and that such incidents have dropped over the past decade. So what's the moral of the story? You can trust an undergrad, but not a high schooler, it seems. – Ad Dugdale

Some schools ban iPods to stop cheating [Fox News]

Coming Zune [Microsoft]

A little bird dropped a TiVo Series3 into our laps early, just in time for the official launch, right now. The Series3 HD Digital Media Recorder is going for the sky high $799.99 we reported earlier. The good news: it may be worth it. The 720p/1080i resolution digital video recorder packs in two CableCards, letting you record a couple of channels of HD digital cable or over-the-air HD programs at the same time while watching a third recording.

Here's an exclusive hands-on review with pictures and video, after the jump. – Charlie White

This TiVo feels just like the ones we've grown to love over the years, but now it records HD in a way that can only be called flawless. Its Dolby Digital audio isn't too shabby either, thanks to it being the first THX-certified personal video recorder in the world. It definitely sounds and looks the part. Plus, it has an HDMI port, a shiny piano-black case, a revamped remote control with backlighting, and of course that unparalleled usability of its famed TiVo interface.

Check out the back of this Series3 HD Digital Media Recorder and you'll see it's loaded with connectivity options. Of course, there is that HDMI output, optical digital audio output, and if you look over on your right, there is an E-SATA data output so you can expand that disk space ad nauseum. Too bad there's no coaxial digital audio output, something that we use quite often with some of our other home theater gear.

We also had a great experience with the Time Warner cable installer, a dude named Adam Jahnke, whom the company sent over with two CableCards. After carefully and precisely calibrating our video signal, he popped those two suckers into the TiVo and after a couple of minutes they were all registered and ready to go. Who says Time Warner is reluctant to install CableCards? Nothing doing here, and they sent one of their best guys to help us out. Thanks, Time Warner. Now take this Scientific-Atlanta 8300HD PVR piece of shite outta here and eliminate its command with extreme prejudice. KBye.

Next, I sat down to fire up this box to see what it could do. I quickly noticed how nice and quiet this TiVo is, and it has a cool-looking OLED display on the front that tells you the name of the program that’s being recorded. I plugged in the wireless G USB network adapter and the TiVo immediately recognized our network here. Not long after that, it was all ready to go and started downloading its program info. After installing the TiVo desktop on another one of our workstations, the TiVo was eager to exchange MP3s. It wasn't quite so happy about some high-rez photos I had, though, and TiVo reps say that's a feature that will be implemented later this year.

Another feature that was sorely missed is TiVo2Go, where you can rip programs from the TiVo onto a computer, a mobile device or an iPod. There's no sign of that on this latest TiVo yet, and TiVo officials say they are investigating this and working on getting it certified, but couldn't say when that would happen. But you're still able to program the TiVo via the Web, a great feature that can save your ass if you've, say, forgotten to program one of your favorite shows after you've gone to work.

What I didn't really miss were the two features that you can't get when using these first-generation CableCards: Video on Demand and the Program Guide service. That's because CableCard is currently only a one-way service, and for true two-way functionality we’ll have to wait for CableCard 2.0. But so what? If I record whatever I want to watch on TV and BitTorrent the rest, what other on-demand programs will I need, anyway? And the program guide from Time Warner? Puh-leeze.

The usability of the TiVo, even in HD, is all there. There is that exceptional TiVo interface, with its thumbs-up/thumbs down rating system, Season Pass, WishList—all that is still there and it all works very quickly, just like in a standard-definition TiVo. Some of the menus appeared a little stretched on the 16:9 screen, apparently holdovers from TiVo's 4:3 standard-definition models. But overall, very little is lost in the TiVo interface in the translation over to multiple-tuner-HD land.

I'm also digging the remote, which is now a shiny piano black color with easy-grip ribbing on the back, but still has that lovable dog-bone shape. When watching our projector in the dark home theater, it's especially useful to have those backlit keys, particularly when we're just becoming accustomed to this remote.

Another coolness is the way you can still program in that 30-second skip function using the secret combination of keys (okay, okay, hit Select - Play - Select - 3 - 0 - Select on the remote while playing back a recorded program—you won't hear that little dinging noise to confirm it, as it was in the past). It took multiple attempts, but it finally worked and now I can quickly bounce from one commercial to the next, precisely mowing down entire commercial breaks with just a few button pushes.

This latest HD version of the TiVo with its two CableCards is a huge hit. Even though it costs just a penny shy of $800. No matter, it's worth it. We simply love it. It's going to be hard to send this back to TiVo at the end of the month. If you're a TiVo fan, you will be doing back flips over this unit. It's positively excellent. Thumbs up all around. – Charlie White

For those needing an executive summary, the K-PEX features a 2-inch LCD, FM radio and support for most popular digital media formats, such as MP3, WMA, MPEG, AVI and JPEG. There's even OGG support for all you OSS fans out there. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Kingston via Digital World Tokyo]

The iFlip has a pair of integrated speakers, which can be used even without turning on the screen. The on-screen navigation is used to control iFlip-specific settings, like screen brightness and and contrast; the iPod is still used to traverse the iPod's innards.

Memorex should start selling the iFlip in September for $200. – Nicholas Deleon

UPDATE: Memorex sent us a few more pictures of the iFlip for your viewing pleasure. Check them out after the jump.

Memorex reveals iFlip portable video player for iPod [iLounge]

Memorex Home Page [Memorex]

The big music companies sure must hate the Fraunhofer Institute for creating the MP3 codec. As we all know, MP3s, burning CDs and, more recently, legal downloads have turned the industry on its head and caused executives to starve inside of their ivory towers. Over in the UK, Universal is trying to right this wretched wrong by doing something a little different: they're going to be offering simple, stripped down CDs at a price that's competitive with the iTunes Music Store. The catch? (Come on, it's the record companies—there has to be a catch.) You'll end up paying about the same, or even more, than what you would pay now for regular CDs. That's right: Universal's grand strategy to winning back your hearts is to offer stripped down CDs for the price of regular CDs, defined as CDs that come in jewel cases and have a full booklet. Great thinking, guys!

Universal's new CDs will retail for £7, or about $12.85. These CDs will come in a slip cover and come with no booklet. Right now, most retailers in the UK offer regular CDs for less than £7. So yes, you're paying more for less. Even better, these CDs are only going to be (initially, at least) offered for Universal's older, back-catalogue acts. So they're competing against iTunes by offering old acts on stripped down CDs and ignoring their current acts, more than likely the ones being downloaded most heavily. Makes sense.

These stripped down CDs will be rolled across the UK and Europe beginning in September. Along with the stripped down CDs, Universal will also offer CDs in two other packages: the aforementioned regular CD as well as a CD bundled with a DVD. Will it be enough to stem the tide of iTunes downloading, as Universal hopes? Time will tell, but you can probably hazard a guess as to the house's opinion. – Nicholas Deleon

Universal prices CDs to match downloads [Guardian Unlimited via The Register]

The media player plays back a number of popular formats including MPEG-1, MPEG-4, WMA, MP3 and JPEG slideshows. With its 4:3 aspect ratio and standard definition output, playing back on a widescreen HDTV may be a little sketchy, however. At least there's an on-screen menu to navigate all the files. For those of you not under the yoke of NTSC, be happy that it supports PAL. It's being introduced at a special price of $149, which later shoots up $50 afterwards. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [22Moo via Everything USB]

On the audio front, the usual Dolby Pro Logic and Dolby Digital make an appearance as well as DTS Neo:6, which tries to turn vanilla two-channel sound into a five-channel fiesta.

The MC-12 HD is sort of like the Cadilac of audio/video processors, so much that it costs nearly as much as one. Available in three models, the MC-12 HD ranges in price from $9,999 to $13,999. Better start saving those pennies. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Lexicon via Digital Trends]

By hooking this up to your TV via composite/S-Video/component/HDMI, you can stream MPEG1/2/4, WMV and XviD straight from your PC to the DMP300, which decodes on the fly. Not only that, it's got 802.11 b/g for wireless-ness, in case there's no 10/100 ethernet cable able to reach your TV.

No availability or price on this yet. – Jason Chen

BenQ Unveils DMP300 Digital Media Player for Intel Viiv Based PCs [eHomeUpgrade]

Samsung's double-flipping DMB phone [MobileMag]

The DMA will network through a 802.11g or the upcoming 802.11n or Ethernet cable and should cost below $150 on its own. Philips is working on this device with Mediabolic and hopes it will add very little extra cost to any product it may be integrated with.

Slick idea, but hardly new. It'll sink or swim depending on the openness of the platform, which knowing Philips could go either way.

Philips Develops Media Bridge Device [TWICE]

Earlier this month, we showed you some pics and specs for the Sanyo Xacti HD1 high definition digital media camera—from Portugal—but we can now safely introduce the new product, which will be shown at CES. Being touted as the world's smallest (3.1" W x 4.7" H x 1.4" D) and lightest (8.3 ounces) HD digital media camera, it can record both 720p high-definition video and 5.1 megapixel digital still images to a standard SD flash memory card and is going for about $800 in March of 2006. What makes it so high-end is its high-precision LSI (large-scale integration) for image processing, which lets it execute a vast number of calculations in a short period of time. An ultra-clear 2.2-inch SANYO-developed OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display flips out from the camera and rotates up to 285 degrees for easier shooting options. Other features include a 10x optical zoom lens, 5.36 megapixel CCD and 16:9 widescreen format.

Product Page [Sanyo]

Hey TiVo, here's some juicy competition for you. LG's LRM-519 Digital Media Recorder is a Microsoft-powered DVR that has a 160GB hard drive, USB ports, 90-minute buffer, DVD burning capability (cool), and can play back audio and images from your PC. And like the Network ReplayTV of old, you can send video, audio, and pictures in either direction. The Microsoft Program Guide service is available through three subscription options: a one-month subscription for $9.99, a one-year subscription for $99.99 or a one-time subscription for $249. Plus, Microsoft is now offering $100 off the lifetime rate to get you interested. The product is going for $599.95.

Microsoft s Stand-Alone DVR Drops [Zatznotfunny]

Product Page [LG Electronics]