Call it a trial no longer -- AT&T is officially rolling out HD VOD to every last U-verse user in the United States of America. According to a quote by Rich Wellerstein, AT&T vice president of programming, "the demand for HD just keeps increasing, and so will [AT&T's] HD lineup and HD VOD library." The newly revamped VOD lineup will feature a slate of new releases in high-def, and the initial offerings will be expanded over the coming months and on "an ongoing basis." If you're curious as to what'll be available when you get home, try Charlie Wilson's War and Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins for starters.

If you can pull your eyes away from the Olympics, Comcast and MGM are launching Impact, the first video on-demand channel featuring only action programming. Need flicks and TV shows like Terminator, James Bond or Robocop a button press away at all times? Consider it done, as Impact will have 25-30 titles available every month from MGM's deep -- apparently deep enough satisfy this channel and MGM HD -- with "many" in HD. MGM is apparently in talks with other carriers about the adding the network, but it should roll out to Comcast systems throughout this week. According to Variety, the channel will also go online next year, allowing subscribers to stream movies to their PCs at no extra cost.

[Via Variety]

Shortly after breaking the semi-magical 500,000 subscriber mark, AT&T's executive vice president of content Dan York sat down for an interview on the future of U-verse. The bigwig made known that U-verse TV's long-term HD plans were still undisclosed, though "north of 100 [HD channels]" were in its near-term sights. He also insinuated that HD VOD was still aways out, though he did acknowledge that "HD is clearly important to consumers." He also hinted that more substantial changes could come to the service once the really magical one million subscriber mark was passed, suggesting that it could leverage better deals and possibly more content by being able to claim a cool million on the roster. It's a fairly interesting read if you're interested in AT&T's take on IPTV -- we're just anxious to see it come to more places.

[Via SmartBrief]

Mediacom subscribers won't totally miss out on the Olympics (although you might be, unless you got up early to catch the U.S. Women's Soccer team take on Norway this morning), since the cable company signed up for the NBC HD VOD package seen on so many other systems. You should be able to grab more than 800 hours of HD on NBC, Universal HD and USA HD on the HDTV Family Package, and plenty of daily update from Beijing on video on-demand. Better get that DVR ready.

Just in case you thought only AT&T and DirecTV are the only ones lining up HD video on-demand offerings for the Olympics (scheduled to kick off tomorrow with women's soccer ahead of the August 8 opening ceremonies), as Comcast and Charter just dropped some details on their plans for the Beijing Games. For the most part HD VOD plans seem identical to the offerings from other providers, with 15-20 daily updates and highlights sorted by sport, while Comcast promises more than 700 hours of HD on NBC HD, Universal HD and USA HD, plus multiple live NBC feeds on Comcast Central. Charter however has highlighted a few different features , with plans to carry the NBC Olympics Soccer Channel and NBC Olympic Basketball Channel in HD on top of the NBC and Universal HD feeds, plus foreign language TV coverage. Since no one person can hope to keep up with all the coverage (and don't forget the 2,200 hours of streaming video planned for the NBC website), plan for HD VOD to be the lifeline keeping you updated with your sport of choice.

Read - Comcast PR
Read - Charter PR

A nation full of DVR subscribers with access to DirecTV On Demand have something new to watch, now that a partnership with NBC is pushing a special Olympics package on the service in SD and HD. Consisting of athlete features, Beijing previews and other related content, there should be ten VOD titles each week, with more than 500 by the time the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are over. It's been a couple of weeks since the service exited beta status, are you not entertained?

Possibly in response to competition from Verizon's FiOS or just as part of its general expansion plans, RCN put ten new stations in its NYC lineup today. Starting with the usual HD VOD expansion, the new channels are Discovery Channel-HD, Animal Planet-HD, The Learning Channel-HD, HGTV-HD, The Science Channel-HD, Lifetime Movie Networks-HD, Food Network-HD, Travel Channel-HD, VERSUS/Golf-HD and NFL Network-HD. RCN's New York City service covers parts of Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. Sounds to us like its time to invite Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz over to watch some TV.

Two of the biggest names in the adult film industry have just signed a deal that could put rivals in a world of hurt. The "worldwide exclusive agreement" will seemingly enable Digital Playground content to be offered via Hustler TV's HD video-on-demand portal, and considering that a number of DP's films have already been shot entirely in high-def, there's a decent library of footage ready to get down. Reportedly, Hustler TV is already in 45 million homes in the US and can be seen in 50 countries worldwide, though the release didn't state when viewers could look forward to catching Pirates or Island Fever 3 at the press of a button.

Sure the promised 100 HD channel future is not yet upon us, but that doesn't mean RCN customers shouldn't be able to get plenty more HD when they choose. Narrowly missing its June deadline the company is ready to start offering high definition video on-demand, plus seven new channels (if you don't already have them): Discovery Channel-HD, Animal Planet-HD, The Learning Channel-HD, The Science Channel-HD, Lifetime Movie Network-HD, Food Network–HD, and Travel Channel-HD. Sounds like enough of a reason to cancel that family vacay to us.

That DOCSIS 3.0 technology isn't going to waste, as Numericable is apparently going to be one of the first providers to broadcast 1080p content. The 11.25Mbps MPEG-4 streams will include videos from CinéPlay, TF1 Vision and I-Concerts, so you can check out Amy Winehouse's tattoos, pockmarks and teeth in glorious full HD, before quickly switching to National Treasure for some eyebleach. Those with the Cablebox HD can get the titles for €4.99/€3.99/€2.99 depending on the type. All we can say for U.S. operators is where's ours?

Matrixstream's been pushing its high definition IPTV box for the last couple of years, and now its show is going on the road. The MX-Drive system is a touchscreen platform that uses the company's MatrixCast technology to stream either video on-demand or live TV in standard or high definition, using h.264 compression, even over a low bandwidth connection. Unfortunately no manufacturers to use the tech have been named yet, and we've no idea if their content partnerships have improved over the sparse offering available last time we checked. With more ways to get HD hitting the home every day, in-car systems (even on tiny screens) is inevitable, but we'll wait and see if this system is the first to make a major impact.

[Via TVOver.net]

We've already seen Cox bring HDTV to The Donald's Las Vegas Hotel & Tower, but now cross town street rival Wynn is about to get its own dash of HD upgrades. Cox Business/Hospitality Network will be providing wired and wireless internet to Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, and furthermore, it'll be stringing free-to-guest programming in both SD and HD flavors to both the Encore and Wynn proper. Patrons will notice revised navigation menus rendered in high-definition, and the HD VOD platform will enable them to get instantly gratified when returning from a long night at the tables. Specific stations aren't listed, but CB/HN promises that guests will be treated to "a wide variety of HD and digital channels and on demand Hollywood blockbusters in HD." Your move, Luxor.

Last month you let us know in the comments how you felt about the MPAA's latest effort to close the analog hole -- by removing the FCC's ban on selectable output control (SOC), giving them the ability to remotely disable the analog output on your cable box -- now try telling someone who can actually do something about it. The FCC has opened the petition to public comment until June 25, and replies to comments by July 7. Currently, the MPAA is arguing that allowing SOC will actually hasten the digital transition, once it feels comfortable offering early release flicks on HD video-on-demand, people will have more incentive to upgrade their TV sets. Of course, owners of older HDTVs without HDMI connections or anyone else who'd rather use analog outs would be left in the dark, and Ars Technica notes the EFF and Home Recording Rights Coalition have already spoken out against the plan. Give the MPAA's proposal a read then let the FCC know which side of the line you fall on before it's too late.

[Via Ars Technica]

Read - MPAA proposal (warning: PDF link)
Read - FCC Electronic Comment File Submission (The docket number for field #1 ("proceeding") is 08-82.)

Although it was tough to see then, the writing has been on the wall in hindsight. After Warner Bros. absorbed New Line Pictures, characterizing it as a "redundant infrastructure," it's now looking to focus less on cranking out blockbuster theatrical releases and more on pushing Blu-ray / VOD adoption. Jeff Bewkes, president and CEO of Time Warner Inc., has noted that the studio will trim its theatrical slate in half from two years ago, as it hopes to garner more profits by simply "building wider consumer adoption of Blu-ray" and expanding day-and-date VOD releases. Even more interesting was Bewkes assertion that the "expansion of Blu-ray, VOD and related improvements in electronic distribution by moving away from physical DVD would help grow filmed entertainment." After looking at a few motion picture budgets, it's pretty easy to see why distribution looks so delicious. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, xdragon]