Expect various movie streaming services to pop up in every store brand TV, Blu-ray player and set-top box around shortly, now that Funai and CinemaNow have announced a business deal. The two companies have a lot in common, while you may see Sylvania, Magnavox, Philips and Emerson as the brand on the shelf, Funai puts together the lower end electronics that end up flying off the shelves of local Wal-marts, while CinemaNow 's movie store is behind the online efforts of giants like Blockbuster. Be prepared to notice on-device streaming as the next checkbox next to "3D digital comb filter" on every generic cardboard box in the electronics aisle, though until the experience improves we don't see too many customers taking advantage.

Like Blu-ray but hate spending lots of money? The guys at FormatWarCentral spotted the Magnavox NB530MGX Blu-ray player cold lampin' on the shelf of a local Wal-mart now permanently rolled back from $168 to a mere $98. as usual, you'll pass up the newest, fastest, internet-connected-est features of high end Blu-ray players, but for less than a hundred it's hard to complain. We know many probably missed out on the Meijer deal last month, anyone planning on picking this one up for a second -- or first -- Blu-ray player? We'll see how long Sony avoids the "battle to the bottom" now.

Our friends at Format War Central have spotted a new Blu-ray deck from Magnavox at their local Wal-Mart -- the NB530MGX. It's a Profile 1.1 player, just like last year's discount darling NB500 model, so this is probably just a new model designation for a Funai-sourced player with NB500 internals. Cynical, we know, but it certainly would fit with the nondescript appearance on the scene. Honestly, we can't hold it against Format War Central for not picking this up and doing a breakdown -- the Funai, Magnavox and Philips nameplates that might be tacked on to this player all fail to get us excited. The upcoming VIZIO VBR100 player looks better and better.

If you were a bit confused as to how Funai planned on boosting its Q4 numbers with sales of Blu-ray players, maybe this will clear things up. Effective January 1, 2009, Philips Consumer Lifestyles will "license its Philips and Magnavox brands to Funai for Blu-ray Disc players, DVD players, DVD recorders and home cinema products in the US." With the onset of the new year, Funai will take responsibility for the "manufacturing, distribution, marketing and sales activities" for all of the above mentioned items, and of course, Philips will receive royalty payments in exchange. The agreement is set to last for three years with a possibility of extension, and once the transformation takes place, Philips Consumer Lifestyles' "On The Go" portable wares will be the only ones it exclusively offers without any assistance from Funai.

We casually mentioned this here deal a few days back upon spying Walmart's leaked Black Friday list, but just in case you missed it, there will be at least one Blu-ray player out there for well under $150. The Magnavox NB500MG9 (which is really a Funai NB500 underneath the logo) will be offered for just a buck twenty-eight on the day after Thanksgiving here in the US, and while it's far from the most highly acclaimed BD deck in existence, there's no denying that the price is right. Our hopes and dreams? That five other players undercut it.

[Via DVICE]

If you skipped Walmart's pre-Black Friday festivities pat yourself on the back, as -- despite its lawyers hard work C&Ding unauthorized early ad postings into oblivion -- CNNMoney reveals the "doorbuster" highlights probably not worth getting trampled for this year. Between 5-10 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving the already-discounted Magnavox Blu-ray player drops from $198 to $128 (a BDP-S300 might still be a better value), 50-inch Samsung plasma of unspecified resolution is only $798 (720p, bet on it), and Xbox 360 + Guitar Hero III & wireless guitar pack (all the real plastic guitar aficionados have moved on to Rock Band 2) drops in for $199. Slightly lower profile are a $398 HP desktop PC and $175 gas grill but c'mon, we all know it's the high definition (it'll be a lonely holiday without the suddenly too-good for us Vizio) that will have you shivering outside your local retailer with the soccer moms and other deal hunters.

[Thanks, Jason]

It's funny, in a sad sort of way -- in January of this year, we reckoned that a no-name Profile 1.1 player hitting in Q2 at $300 would seem grossly overpriced. Sadly, it still seems like a fairly decent deal. As BD players refuse to fall in price, Funai's NB500 (which is being spotted in Magnavox and Sylvania attire) has found its way into a number of Wal-Marts. Judging by the picture snapped above, you can bring home the somewhat outdated deck for a mere $298. Unfortunately, we aren't entirely sure how the unit performs, but if anyone's man / woman enough to take the leap and check it out, please toss out your impressions in comments below.

[Thanks, Fernando]

We've had digital TV tuners for years, but for many there's a lot of anxiety associated with trying to ensure you're ready for the analog shutoff. So to do our part in helping to make the digital transition a success -- and to get some much needed cred' with the mother-in-law -- we set out on a quest for a DTV converter box.

Finding a DTV converter box that is eligible for the $40 voucher is pretty easy, in fact, in almost every place we looked, we found 'em. The problem is that the voucher is only for $40 and since those who actually need one in the first place are too cheap frugal to pay for cable or buy a new TV, every penny counts.

Good news / bad news here, folks. First, the good: HD is seeing some impressive uptake amongst everyday consumers. Now the bad: there are isolated shortages of the associated gear. Verizon's FiOS has already been bitten by set-top box shortages, and now is a victim of its own successful promotional offer that promised 19-inch Sharp Aquos LCD TVs to new "triple-play" (internet, video and phone) subscribers. Those LCD TVs are a little short in supply, so affected customers can choose to either wait an additional five weeks for their TV, substitute a Magnavox (used in later promotions) set or take a $200 Best Buy gift card. Our advice -- wait on the Sharp. Meanwhile, let's hope that there's some way Verizon can coordinate the set-top box and TV shortages -- nothing is more frustrating than having new HD service but being stuck with an old SD set!

[Image courtesy GreatLittleBox]

Attention Wal-Mart shoppers -- you're about to get a sweet deal on a digital-to-analog TV converter box. According to an excited press release from the company, your local stores are now stocked from floor to ceiling with an ultra-cheap Magnavox converter, selling for the shockingly low price of $49.87. Of course, since households across the US are about to get those succulent $40 coupons for converters, this little puppy won't cost much more than about two gallons of gas. We kid, we kid. But seriously, they're pretty cheap.

Up until now, we've heard a whole lot about what these things will do, where you can eventually pick one up and how to apply for your government-issued coupon, but outside of a stray Zenith, we really haven't seen what many DTV converter boxes will actually look like. Now, Philips has announced that three of its digital-to-analog converters have been approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the trio will be sold under the Magnavox / Philco brand names. Reportedly, the Magnavox TB-100MW9 (pictured above), Philco TB-100HH9 and Philco TB-150HH9 (pictured after the jump) will be "available through large retail stores beginning in early 2008" for those in need, and yes, your handy coupon will indeed apply to any of the (admittedly unsightly) three.

The key to success of any new technology in this country is to drive the price down so much that it becomes affordable for everyone to own, and while Blu-ray still has a long way to go to hit that level, it looks like they might be on their way. Recently in a financial report from Funai, -- a Chinese manufacturer who brings us value products like Sylvania, Emerson, and Magnavox -- they announced plans to launch a Blu-ray player. While the details were left out for the most part, we'd expect to see them within the next year. Either way we will have to wait and see if these show up next to Fuh Yuan's HD DVD players at a Wal-Mart near you.

Wait, year is it? Does Magnavox know that it is '06 and not the '50s? Anyway, what is on display here is a Mahogany tabletop with gold handles 13-inch B&W TV from 1953. Classic.