Comcast's Amy Banse just hit the stage at NewTeeVee Live and announced key details about the company's new On Demand Online launch. If you can't check out the video (embedded after the break) here's the important stuff: It will be available at no additional cost to existing subscribers and allow the authorization of up to 3 devices per household. Log in once from home to Comcast.net or Fancast.com, download the Move Networks powered player to authorize your PC and proceed to stream from the very healthy library of VOD, whether at home or anywhere else, despite previous rumors to the contrary. The bad news? Yes, this does still count against the 250GB monthly cap if used at home and still no word on HD streaming, but within the concept of making content available to subscribers wherever they want to view it, this seems like a good first step.

[Via Media Experiences 2 Go]

Consider another shot fired in the HD VOD wars, now Comcast is claiming "most same day VOD & DVD releases" for the month of November. Angels & Demons, Bruno, The Ugly Truth and others are among those hitting the VOD slate the same day they hit shelves, while movies like the Transformers and Ice Age sequels make their delayed appearance this month as well. Still, while providers slap box over ad campaigns, until the menus get simpler to navigate and prices come down to Redbox-competitive levels, who has more VOD and when just isn't that big of a deal to us.

Forget Torino and its quality issues, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver promises to be a different event, and this time it is coming home shot 100% natively in HD. Watching on TV, viewers can expect a slew of coverage across NBC's networks, plus a continuously updated HD VOD package of the day's highlights, and interactive TV features to pull up medal counts, athlete bios and Team USA reports. Checking in online? NBC is back with a new iteration of Microsoft's Silverlight streaming, promising even more HD footage, with the ability to fast forward and rewind streams, plus save clips to your computer. Behind the online efforts are the encoding skills of iStreamPlanet providing 23 different video feeds, with Akamai's new HD distribution network distributing the adaptive bitrate streams directly to your PC. Remember when we were just happy to get 5.1 surround?

Read - Akamai and iStreamPlanet to Power Live and on-Demand Video for NBC's Coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games

Following the 5,000 person beta already ongoing, Comcast is apparently ready to deliver the On Demand Online experience to all of its customers by the end of the year, with a few rather significant caveats. At launch one the much hyped placeshifting element of the service will not be live, for the time being you'll need internet and TV service, and it will only work at home. Still, if queuing up last night's ep of Mad Men on your laptop is all you're looking for there should be a decent library of content to choose from with 24 cable networks signed on, and a $0 additional cost for the service. Our excitement level depends mostly on how quickly HD streaming and on the go access becomes a part of the package.

As a part of its "transformation to a Multi-Channel Brand" Blockbuster continues to use its name recognition to reach new markets, simultaneously trumpeting the success of a partnership with CinemaNow, resulting in Blockbuster OnDemand on Samsung HDTVs, Blu-ray players, as well as other hardware and soon, Motorola phones, while also easing into the cable video on-demand arena. In deals with Suddenlink and Mediacom via their VOD provider, Avail-TVN, they'll start off slowly by rebranding parts of their VOD service under the Blockbuster name, do some cross-promotion and then eventually take their relationship to the next level by allowing customers to search the rental giant's Blu-ray and DVD library for movies that might not be on VOD right now. The old dog seems willing to try anything to get back on top, but alone or all together, it's tough to see these strategies restoring the customer base Netflix and Redbox continue to eat away.

Read - Blockbuster Enters Strategic Alliance With Cable Operators Suddenlink Communications and Mediacom Communications

Sounds like Google has found the best way to monetize YouTube yet, and it puts itself in a pretty competitive spot versus the likes of Netflix, Amazon VOD, and Apple's iTunes movie store. According to Wall Street Journal, the company's currently in talks with Lions Gate, Sony, and Warner Bros. studios over putting their content on YouTube for a rental fee, likely $3.99 -- the same price as Apple's SD movie rentals. Even more interesting is talk of getting some titles online day and date with the DVD releases. Some options could still be free with advertising, but as for paid content, Google's enticing studios over to their way of thinking with a proposed minimum fee of "just under $3 per title viewed." A three-month beta testing is apparently scheduled to begin soon among 10,000 Google employees, and after that? Well, here's hoping the G-Man manages to sign on some more studios and offer us the films in streaming HD.

Now that we're living in a post Project Infinity and 1080p VOD world, there may be a bit more to consider when choosing a provider than simply linear channel lineup. Fiber, satellite and cable companies are all fighting to be called the king of video on-demand, but which one actually is? We'll let our friend Michael ask the question:

"I have been hearing about all these different kinds of Video On Demand services from Cable, sat, and telco companies. I was wondering if you guys could do a rundown of the descriptions of the different VOD services and their pros and cons. "

So, when was the last time you perused the VOD catalog of your pay-TV provider, and was it worth the effort? We're sure at least some have already gone all online only for their video libraries, while some may stick to discs, DVR and standard channel browsing. Over here we're checking every ten minutes for that episode of The Closer we forgot to DVR this week, but until it shows up let us know how your VOD experience has worked out.

Don't let us rush you Panasonic. But we were expecting Amazon VOD streaming capability when the DMP-BD60, BD70V, BD80 and the B15 Blu-ray players launched, then later were told it would be available by May. Now, in early August, comes word that a new firmware update has enabled access on all players (including the over 1000 HD selections on the service.) We know a few of you probably couldn't live without the DMP-BD70V and its Blu-ray / VHS combo, are you finding the new Amazon access included in the VIERA Cast streaming satisfactory for your needs?

We're honestly surprised it took this long, but Comcast has gleefully announced it is the first to offer the "full" HBO On Demand lineup in high definition. True Blood, Entourage, The Wire* plus the network's movie selection are all available now, so the only questions left are when is this coming to your local provider, or why are you still reading this instead of watching Snoop and Chris? Don't end up in a vacant.

Update: Except, of course, as sideshowRaheem points out in the coments, The Wire wasn't filmed in high definition, so you'll probably be watching something else.

Comcast , Time Warner and assorted partners are throwing a big push behind the upcoming On Demand Online / TV Anywhere trial, clearly attempting to preserve their business model and keep customers signed up for cable. You've heard our thoughts so far in video, audio and text, now it's your turn to speak up. So, are you just not that impressed by watching TV on your computer, or do you think on demand place shifting could be the next big thing and a big reason to keep / switch to cable? Pick a response and let us know in the comments below.

Turns out that even after multiple posts and a podcast, we had even more to say about Comcast's On Demand Online announcements, this time captured on video as a couple of our editors joined our friend Randall Bennett on his show TechVi. In case you missed it, this has been a busy week for the yet-to-launch streaming platform, and we chimed in with a bit of our feelings on what this means for cable, streaming video and where it could go in the future. We're glad you take time out to follow us on twitter (@EngadgetHD, @bjdraw, @stevekim & @Rjcc just in case you didn't know) and hopefully participate in the live podcast sessions on UStream each week, so if you've got eight minutes to spare, check out the video streaming from the TechVi site or embedded after the break.

Just in case you were wondering how Blockbuster was so easily sliding onto Samsung televisions, Sonic Solutions officially announced its plan to launch a Yahoo! Widget this fall, so we should expect to see the many CinemaNow powered online movie houses like Blockbuster, Lionsgate and Warner Bros. and upcoming efforts from Best Buy and Zip.ca popping up in menus for internet connected TVs and set-top boxes all over.

After stocking up on premium networks with HBO and Starz, Comcast's On Demand Online project has added its first broadcast TV partner, CBS. One of the worries regarding TV Everywhere / On Demand Online has been what it would mean for free streaming portals like Hulu, with broadcasters potentially shifting content behind pay-tv walls to keep people from dropping cable and satellite TV subscriptions. CBS has been the notable Hulu holdout, although it has also pushed forward with free streaming on its website, including March Madness and even upping the resolution of its Flash video to 1080p. Further conflicting the issue? 17 more cable networks (A&E, AMC, BBC America, DIY Network, Fine Living Network, Food Network, Hallmark, HGTV, History, IFC, MGM Impact, Sundance Channel, WE tv, E!, The Style Network, G4 and FEARnet) have also announced plans to join the 5,000 subscriber trial.

Just like the previous agreements, it appears customers should expect access during the trial to reflect a lot of what CBS and the others already offer through standard VOD but now with more placeshifting goodness. While media execs watch the bottom line, we're just hoping the stated CBS strategy of "open, non-exclusive distribution of our content in a consumer friendly way" (from the press release, available in full after the break) could push Hulu to add more HD, or at least unblock the PlayStation 3 & Windows Mobile.

We're still not sure if the On Demand Online / TV Everywhere project will end up being a good proposition for viewers, but now Starz has announced plans to join in. Comcast Starz subcribers will be able to stream series like Party Down and Head case, along with the usual suite of Starz flicks, with new content coming online as soon as it is available on the standard VOD service, before they show up on the linear channels via Comcast.com and Fancast.com. The best news? While it's SD only to start, HD versions are promised "in the coming months." Starz president Bill Myers says its goal is to allow customers access to their content whenever and wherever they want, and with deals like this and Netflix, the company is living up to it. Check the full press release after the break.

Just as we heard back in February, Time Warner and Comcast have joined hands in order to regain control on some of the content that is slipping right out from under 'em. In the olden days, the only portal for catching content was the 'tube; today, a vast array of television shows are available gratis on the web, and that's downright frightening for pay-TV operators. Today, both firms are detailing TV Everywhere in the most general way possible, only telling us that paying Comcast subscribers will soon have access to "premium long-form content" via a web portal. TNT and TBS are the only networks specifically named thus far, but considering that both of those already offer their best programming online to everyone, we're not terribly impressed.

The agreement also includes a trial with around 5,000 Comcast users, which will be used to heavily test a newfangled authentication technology that will be necessary to allow paying Comcast users to access the material from any internet-connected PC. NewTeeVee has also assembled a clean, easy-to-digest FAQ that explains what exactly all this is. To be frank, it seems like a solution in search of a problem from the consumer viewpoint. After all, with portals like Hulu and individual network websites already providing in-demand content online, why is there even a need for some "special portal" for Comcast users? We've heard that paying subs will have access to even more material, possibly movies or other premium shows. But we won't front: we certainly don't want TV Everywhere to convert some of the content that's already free into pay-only content in order to accomplish the aforesaid "even more" goal. At any rate, the public at large probably won't hear more about this until the trial sessions end at an undisclosed time, but you can bet we'll be keeping a cautious eye on any developments.

Read - TV Everywhere press release
Read - NewTeeVee FAQ