A version of the BBC’s UK-only TV catch-up service, iPlayer, will be available to iPod Touch and iPhone users within “the next few weeks”, reports The Register.

Optimized for streaming over Wi-Fi rather than O2’s slower EDGE network, the new version of iPlayer will employ the iPod-friendly H.264 video codec, according to the report. While this would limit iPlayer use on the go, the BBC has a partnership with UK-wide hotspot provider The Cloud to deliver free Wi-Fi access to the BBC’s website.

It’s official: Toshiba, the leading partner in the HD DVD camp, has waved the white flag. The next generation DVD format war is over. Blu-ray wins.

The move to stop production of HD DVD players and recorders was an “agonising decision”, according to Toshiba president Atsutoshi Nishida, but one that the company had to take after “judging that there is no way of winning the competition.”

Unfortunately, the juiciest detail to us in the U.S. is not known.

The Register reports that BBC Worldwide will soon offer its content on iTunes, presumably through the iTunes UK store only.

The Register’s “TV industry” source says that BBC Worldwide digital media director Simon Danker has contacted the BBC’s third-party production partners to inform them of the new distribution channel.

However, The Register provided no additional details.

Rats.

At the same time, Ashley Highfield, the director of BBC Future Media and Technology, indicated on the BBC Internet Blog that the iPlayer may become available via the AppleTV set-top box. The iPlayer is the BBC’s on-demand television service that allows UK residents to watch programs broadcast in the last seven days online for free.

The news wasn’t exactly “stop the presses!” worthy, but it’s interesting nonetheless to see what the folks at YouTube are thinking about and how they are looking to improve their product.

At an invitation only event last night in New York dubbed “Videocracy,” YouTube gave advertising moguls a sneak peak at some upcoming initiatives. In this day and age is it even possible to give a “sneak peak” of anything? Deep Focus CEO Ian Schafer jotted down a few notes, which he shared on his blog.

PlayTV, Sony’s digital TV tuner and DVR add-on (see last100’s earlier coverage) is still on track to launch in Europe later this year.

After being privy to a private demo of PlayTV at Sony’s UK offices, BBC News correspondent Darren Waters reports: “The hardware itself is uninteresting – it’s the software and features that are worth talking about”:

• “PlayTV is a small black box which connects to a USB port on the machine and has an aerial port in (and a pass through port) to pick up digital terrestrial signals.”
• “It’s a very slick piece of user interface design. The Electronic Programme Guide and menu systems are well designed and laid out.”
• “Just like a PVR, you can pause and rewind live TV, as well as record programmes. The PlayTV has a dual tuner so you can record one channel while watching another.”

However, the feature that got Waters most excited about is the “ability to watch TV on your PlayStation Portable from anywhere in the world using PlayTV, turning the PS3 into a Slingbox on steroids.”

One limitation that surely must be resolved: You can’t record TV in the background while playing a game on the PS3. According to Waters, “the software developers are working hard to add the feature. If it isn’t available at launch, the feature could be added later as a software update.”

And that sums up the PS3 in general. It has so much future potential as a home entertainment hub. Bit by bit that potential is slowly being realized, either through software updates (like the recently added DivX support) or through hardware add-ons such as PlayTV.

Of course, Microsoft, Apple, Sling Media, TiVo et al. aren’t standing still either. The battle for the digital living room has only just begun.

Watch the video demo after the jump…

According to at least one source, Netflix has been conducting some very specific market research with regards to its Internet TV service being delivered on Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s XBox 360.

An online survey asks: “If as part of your Netflix membership you could instantly watch movies and TV episodes on your TV with your PS/3 or XBOX 360, how likely would you/anyone in your household be to do that?”

Our answer: pretty darn likely.

I’ve been waiting 330 days for this. With the release of the AppleTV Take 2 software update, the original AppleTV finally resembles the device it should have been on Day 1, the day I purchased it.

Since then, I’ve put up with the jeers of friends, home entertainment enthusiasts, HD TV and movie nerds, and less-than-pleased media pundits. I knew when I bought the AppleTV it wasn’t a perfect device, but I purchased it on the belief that Apple would nurture it along and improve the limited set-top box because it had to.

The device was Apple’s entry into the lucrative-but-cutthroat living room, the heart of our digital lifestyle. The battleground is fierce: Microsoft’s Media Center, TiVo, DVRs, cable and teleco video-on-demand, game consoles, laptop computers (and YouTube, Joost, Hulu), Vudu, and so many more are bashing it out for our attention and entertainment dollars.

Except for ease of setup and use, the AppleTV has been a disappointment — I readily admit it — and I’ve watched as competitors continue to improve their offerings. Meanwhile, Apple was messing around with something called the iPhone and gaining entrance into the wireless world.

With the release of AppleTV Take 2, Apple is arguably on near-equal footing with everybody else, but before we go comparing apples and oranges let’s take a brief look at the “new” AppleTV.

Netflix likes to boast its hybrid offering — DVDs by post and Internet streaming — so it seems appropriate that someone would develop a Windows Media Center add-on to manage both.

Andrew Park has done just that. His MyNetFlix plugin for the Vista version of Media Center enables many aspects of a Netflix account to be accessed from within Media Center’s “10-foot” User Interface (suitable for viewing on a television) including browsing Netflix’s DVD library, editing your Netflix queue and viewing your rental history and DVD recommendations.

The ability to access Netflix’s Internet TV service “Watch Now”, however, will be of most interest to users who have a Vista Windows Media Center hooked up to their television or are using a PC as part of a home theater setup.

One of my favorite times of the year are the first two days of the annual NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships, better known as March Madness. I sit on the sofa in a stupor, watching games from morning till midnight.

This year, not only can I watch the games on television but I can also sit with my laptop and watch any game on the ad-supported March Madness on Demand — with no blackouts, according to paidcontent.org. (FAQ.)

Until now, CBS Sports has protected local affiliates by maintaining similar blackout rules online as it has on air, keeping the “local” games TV-only. It also stopped coverage after the first 56 games, focusing all attention on the TV broadcast.

It doesn’t make much sense: According to Valleywag, Microsoft is in “advanced discussions” with lifecasting startup Ustream.tv for more than $50 million.

Why would the venerable Microsoft want upstart Ustream now, particularly with the whole Yahoo! purchase thing going on? Valleywag says Microsoft would use Ustream “as a way to promote its Adobe Flash competitor, Silverlight.”

Again, we ask why?

But when you take a closer look at what Ustream has been doing lately, it makes more sense for a major buyer like Microsoft to become involved. Ustream is more into eventcasting than lifecasting these days, and eventcasting has greater potential in the long run.