Hope you weren't too attached to the idea of "medium to large" sized OLED HDTVs coming from Sony this year, according to the Wall Street Journal's sources, the company's slipping share of TV sales mean profitability takes precedence over sweet, super slim new displays. Surprised by its inability to sell truckloads of $2,500 11-inch versions CEO Howard Stringer decided to put the project on the back burner, apparently more focused on things like competing in Wal-Mart and implementing cheaper LED technology for its LCDs. With LG also on a timetable that puts us a year or more away from seeing one of these on store shelves in decent sizes, things are up to Samsung to bring it home -- we're waiting.

It's been some time since CES 2009 and the requisite flood of brand new Blu-ray hardware flooding store shelves. Now that most of them are for sale, Scott has the same question I'm sure many of us are wondering - which one is the best?

"I'm finally ready to jump on the Blu-ray bandwagon and move up from DVDs, but I have no idea which player to buy. I'm not really looking for a universal player like the BDP-83, and I'm not sold on streaming services just yet and I'm not in need of discrete analog outs. I just want a high quality picture, support for all the audio codecs and fast load times. With a budget of around $300, where should I turn for the Blu-ray player that fits me, or should I just grab a PS3?"

You have your mission if you choose to accept it, now that many of us have some hands on time with the latest and greatest hardware so let him know which one you like.

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.

Latest word from Toshiba is that its Cell TV -- the network video slurping, six HD tuner recording, SD-to-4K upscaling, 3D GUI powered beast -- will launch in about six months in Japan. Previously we'd been expecting a 2010 debut, although both dates could be true, with Japan seeing the new technology first, Europe later and the U.S. likely somewhere in between. Can't wait until then? Check out our spy shots from the CES show floor or Toshiba's press conference.

Finally, we can stop playing hide and seek with Samsung's 2009 lineup of edge lit LED HDTVs, now that its loosed official pricing and availability details for screens hitting shelves between now and June. They've already been busy popping up everywhere -- around the world, in stores near you, on Best Buy's website, and Samsung's made sure to mention how eco friendly the LED scheme is compared to the old power munching CCFLs and local dimming methods in other manufacturer's screens. The list appears to match up with earlier leaks, so if the 8000, 7000 and 6000 series are screens you've just gotta have, click the read link for all details currently available.

Just days ago, we heard that the DTV voucher waitlist was completely gone, and now that those have started to flow again, the amount of Americans still unready for the switchover sits at 4.1 million. Compared to right around two months ago, that's definitely a marked improvement from 6.5 million still in the dark, and we fully anticipate that number to continually shrink as we inch closer to June 12th. Of course, there's going to come a time when the figure simply won't fall any lower, as a sliver of those still not ready will, frankly, remain that way. More power to 'em we say -- just keep the booze and bullets locked up and everything will be okay.

Another one (hundred and fifty-eight) bites the dust, as they say. With the newly established June 12th cutover date looming, another 158 TV stations across America have decided that enough is enough. In a new list that was sent over the FCC this week, we're told that another swath of stations intend to shut off their analog signals prior to the mandatory June 12th cutover date. For what it's worth, the majority of the 158 are in smaller markets and don't broadcast any of the four major commercial networks, but we wouldn't be shocked to hear of more of this as more and more stations grow tired of waiting around.

Just in case the HDGuru didn't carry enough credibility for you, Panasonic has finally issued a press release with prices and shipping months for most of its 2009 VIERA brand lineup. We've taken a peek, and everything appears to line up with the leaked figures, including that slim wireless HD equipped Z1 and its $5,999 pricetag, while only copping to a summer ship date. The rest of the lineup proceeds downward in pricing and features from there, the wall-busting details are but a mere click of the read link away.

For all of you still waiting for a little governmental assistance in buying that DTV converter box that you should've purchased months ago (we kid... a little), we've excellent news. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is overseeing the program, has announced that it has finally begun to ship $40 vouchers towards the purchase of these very boxes once more. The waitlist has grown some 4.1 million deep since the subsidy program ran dry back in January, but the agency is hoping to have that cleared within three weeks. Of course, you better not procrastinate on your second chance -- who knows how quickly the $650 million it has left will last.

[Image courtesy of BreakItDownBlog]

Given that the expectation was for hordes of confused TV viewers to phone in over the past two days in order to ask why their local OTA station was suddenly unavailable, it's no shock to see a big deal made of successfully managing through it. For those unaware, 421 stations decided to go ahead with their originally planned DTV transition date of February 17th, and we're told that over 28,000 perplexed Americans dialed 1-888-CALL-FCC on Tuesday for assistance in getting their sets working. The call center was setup to handle around 100,000 calls on the day that US broadcasters were previously scheduled to go from analog to digital, but obviously, far fewer people either a) cared or b) needed help. See, that wasn't so bad, was it?

Exactly one year ago today, we sat as prepared as ever to embrace the forthcoming world of digital TV. After February 17th, no longer would Americans have to suffer through yet another poor analog broadcast, and no longer would we have to wait for all that spectrum to be freed up for much more spectacular things. With just a year to go, we laid out a simple six-step program that would help confused TV watchers ensure that they would be ready on the seventeenth day of February, the year two-thousand and nine. Fast forward to this very moment, and confusion about the cutover is still rampant. In fact, the cutover hasn't even happened. Well, it sort of has. Ahh... see what we mean? Come along after the break, it gets crazier.

No way Obama was going to veto this after driving it all the way through Congress, but technically, the digital TV delay wasn't actually official until now. Late today, America's President signed his name onto the bill which will delay the digital TV transition from February 17th to June 12th, though a provision allows stations to switch over beforehand should they choose. In fact, hundreds of stations still plan to kill analog later this month, as they've been planning towards that date for years now. Honestly, we can't figure out what the purpose of this is. Unless there's more cash for the currently dry voucher program tucked away somewhere in that mind-bogglingly large "stimulus package," delaying the pain won't solve a thing. Though it will confuse the hell out of people, so there's that.

We've long since known that professional installation services were, at least in large part, another form of highway robbery, but this is just absurd. Zip Express is looking to prey on the confused, unsuspecting geriatric set by promising to completely save one's TV from death and destruction by taking care of all of their DTV cutover needs. The price? Just $199, which includes a presumably well dressed individual connecting two wires on a $50 DTV converter box and promptly leaving. Oh, and for another Benjamin, you can get an undisclosed (but likely low-end) Logitech Harmony universal remote "installed and programmed." Shameful, yet clever. But mostly just shameful.

We've already expressed our feelings on the matter, but now we're tossing the question out for you readers to debate: are you kosher with the DTV transition delay? Even if it ends up costing taxpayers millions more dollars? We've heard very convincing arguments from both sides of the table, and while we'd prefer you all put partisanship aside and debate the matter based on principle alone, we aren't holding our breath. So, should we delay this thing in order to get more people prepared? Or should things have continued as planned in order to teach lollygaggers a lesson?

Wow, this isn't confusing. At all. The on-again / off-again digital TV transition date -- which is now formally set for June 12th -- may or may not be honored by the hundreds upon hundreds of local broadcasters across America. You see, when Congress postponed the mandatory cutover date from its original place on the calender (February 17th), it also gave stations the option of sticking to that original date. Thus, what could end up happening is that half a city's local OTA stations would go all-digital in under two weeks, while the others delayed things until June. The good news is that most of the major US television networks (that's CBS, ABC, FOX and NBC) have reportedly decided to hold off until the new June date in order to prevent a chaotic series of events, but it's hard to say if each individual station will indeed abide. The bottom line? Get your converter box now if you need one, and if you're waiting around for one of those $40 vouchers, hats off to you and your patience.

Read - Optional cutover
Read - Broadcaster intent