Sky TV has made its arrival on the Xbox 360 today in prompt fashion, with live streaming and on-demand video available, and the keen lads over at Electric Pig already have a preview of the service in action. Their immediate reaction was that the Sky Player interface was "ultra-speedy" and easily navigable using the 360 controller. Streaming at the high-quality setting (alas, there's no HD on offer yet) was also no problem on a 4Mb broadband connection, though they reserve their highest praise for the on-demand content which was pumped through within a couple of seconds of selection and benefits from an "astonishingly well-designed interface." For the full impressions of the subscription-based service, which starts out at £15 per month, hit up the read link below.

A recent Gizmodo sit down with Steve Ballmer led with a headline exclaiming a Blu-ray add-on for Xbox was coming. See, when Ballmer was asked about making the Xbox a home theater companion of choice and where Blu-ray might fit in, the Windows 7 wild man said, "Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there -- you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories." He then added that on-demand is the future of movies, not physical media. Now our bud Major Nelson, Director of Programming for Xbox Live, has stepped up to lay the conflation to rest. The Major says that Ballmer was referring to Blu-ray accessories for the PC and reiterated Microsoft's focus of bringing instant-on 1080p streaming movies to the Xbox 360. So... that should end speculation of Blu-ray on Xbox right? Not if history serves, nope.

Just as it did earlier this year, Microsoft has opened the preview program to let the most hardcore of Xbox 360 owners poke around the updated dashboard -- presumably with access to all the 1080p instant-on streaming, Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm add-ons we've been expecting -- ahead of its official release in order to shake out any remaining bugs. While worldwide console owners should scrape together console IDs, make & model of your TV, router and more in hopes of receiving an invite next week, a little more concrete news is in order for the UK, with the console launch of Sky TV nailed down for October 27. You'll have to wait until then to find out exact pricing and channel line up availability, 'til then it's a matter of finding out who on your friends list is most suited for the inevitable football viewing party.

[Via Joystiq & NeoGAF]

Read - Xbox Live update Preview Program
Read - Xbox.com - Set a date for Sky Player!

As usual, this week's Ask Engadget HD centers around a particular home theater setup question, as Philip is trying to set things up for one particular purpose: gaming. Movies and TV are great source of high definition, but some of us just want to hook up the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 and go. We'll let him flesh out the details:

"I'm finally ready to build the home theater I've always wanted, and while I'll definitely be watching TV and playing Blu-ray discs as well, it's going to be all about gaming. I've already got a PS3 and Xbox 360 hooked up to an old 20-inch LCD, but I need a real HDTV and surround setup now. I know some games support 7.1, is it worth the extra setup? Also, what HDTV in the $1,000 - $2,000 price range is best for games?"

While 7.1 may not be the immediate move for everyone, we're sure some Killzone 2 players may appreciate the extra speakers. Let Phil know what setup you're running, and if you want to throw in a Xbox Live Gamertag or PSN ID as well we certainly won't be mad at you. [Note: This isn't about which system is the best, we've been there and while we might revisit the question later, fanboys, this is about the surrounding equipment so try and stay on topic, k?

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.

Live Sky TV viewing via Xbox 360 didn't make it into the most recent dashboard update, readers report page 17 of the network's most recent SkyMag indicates it will arrive around mid-October. Additional details flesh out what's available, while all Xbox Live Gold members (in the appropriate areas) will get access to the Sky Player similar to the PC implementation, you will need a Sky subscription with the appropriate channels to view sports and movie content. Look out for more updates at the skyplayer.com/xbox360 site, while those of us beyond the network's reach wonder whether we can expect other features like Twitter (you're following us, right?) Facebook and 1080p instant-on movie streaming to arrive at roughly the same time.

[Thanks, David]

When a CEO is asked to dream we shouldn't be surprised when he dreams big. In an Reuters interview with Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, we learn that Netflix is working in parallel to bring its services to "all the game consoles, all the Blu-ray players, all the Internet TVs." Naturally, he added that the Xbox deal is exclusive for the time being. The company is currently focused on the big screen but "will get to mobile eventually, including the iPhone." And while the streaming business is "booming," he says the DVD business is still growing as well, likely peaking in "5 years or so" with people still doing DVD-by-mail over the next 20 years. Reed then adjusted his monocle and disappeared in a flash of cigar and brick-and-mortar ash.

[Via All Things Digital]

We actually had to brush the fog off of our spectacles to ensure that hazy conditions weren't clouding our comprehension abilities, but sure enough, that Netflix streaming that Xbox LIVE members have grown to love won't ever land on Sony's PlayStation 3 nor on Nintendo's Wii (PlayOn notwithstanding). At the very bottom of Microsoft's long list of details surrounding today's Xbox LIVE update, we're clearly told that the Netflix Watch Instantly integration is now an "exclusive partnership," with Microsoft going so far as to say that the "Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience, available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix unlimited plan subscribers." Of course, we'd heard rumors over the years that Netflix could sashay over to other consoles in due time, but it looks like the suits in Redmond had the foresight to lock things down while they still had a chance. So, are you reconsidering that Xbox 360 purchase, or just looking that much more intently in Roku's direction? Full blurb is after the break.

[Thanks, David]

It's been nearly two years since Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare were released and disappointed the "HD era" by not quite making it up to 720 lines of resolution. Two years later, it appears their sequels due this fall, Halo 3: ODST and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, won't be able to do any better. In separate articles, developers confirmed both will match the resolution of the original games (1024x600 for Call of Duty, 1152x640 for Halo.) Honestly, we have the same perspective we did then, there's a lot more to image quality than just resolution and a peek at a trailer for either game will reveal plenty of visual tricks to keep the eyes entertained (if you think a measly 120p's will pull Editor Emeritus Ryan Block away from CoD, think again) but, c'mon guys, the so-called HD era is four years deep, if Bizarre could figure out how to squeeze 720p res and better graphics while moving from Project Gotham Racing 3 to PGR4, why can't you?

[Via Evil Avatar & again]

Read - Halo 3: ODST not 720p admits Bungie
Read - Modern Warfare 2 will render at 600p

We've been waiting a long time for this and it's finally here, the latest version of Windows Media Center. Well, we really stopped waiting a few months ago when the release candidate hit, but waited on composing our thoughts until after we had a chance to play with the RTM copy. For the most part, as you'd expect the RTM build is identical to the RC, sans the bugs, but there are plenty of upgrades over Vista Media Center. Many of these new features were also in the TV Pack, but in our book that doesn't count. For starters it was OEM only, and thus you could only get it (legitimately) by buying a new PC, but the real reason is because it was so buggy, it was beyond usable. In fact we still stand by the theory that the TV Pack was nothing more than an early preview for OEMs of the new guts of Windows 7 Media Center. Gladly that is all behind us now, so keep reading to find out what gets us excited about Windows 7 Media Center.

Ever get a sinking feeling in your stomach, like it's November 2008 all over again? Yes, just like when Sony Pictures blocked its films from Netflix on Demand for a then-fresh New Xbox Experience update, so too are the early adopters of the new Xbox Live Dashboard update seeing select films excluded from the joys of its group sharing "Movie Parties" mode. Our BFFs at Joystiq have done some preliminary testing on the issue, and it seems the common link is that all guilty videos hail from the Starz Play catalog. In other words, you can all but forget about watching Pineapple Express synchronized with your Xbox 360-toting friends and family thousands of miles away -- for now at least. With any luck, like the previous issue with Sony Pictures, this problem will eventually fix itself, and with any luck, it'll be smooth sailing by the time the Xbox Live Dashboard update is officially pushed out to the masses on August 11th. Video proof of the misdemeanor can be seen after the break.

While you'll probably have to wait for James Cameron's Avatar for a proper stereoscopic 3D experience on consoles, Disney is readying two games this summer that will not only support anaglyph 3D (good news, it will work on any TV, bad news, it's the same low quality red/blue style 3D you've seen and ignored before), but come with two pairs of glasses packed in. Just continuing on the 3D hype its been dispensing to the kids with Jonas Bros. and Hannah Montana flicks both on the big screen and at home, highlighted most recently with Up and culminating in the upcoming Toy Story 1 & 2 3D remakes in October, Disney is clearly making an effort to work the technology in on every level with special 3D modes (no cheat codes necessary.) Toy Story Mania is a Wii-exclusive game due this fall based on the ride at its resorts, while G-Force brings spy guinea pigs to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 July 21.

[Via Joystiq]

The U.S. has Netflix, the UK has Sky TV and now France is getting Canal+ added to the Xbox 360, in a similar deal to the one bringing live and on-demand Sky TV in England, the French will be free to party up and watch more than 3,000 movies and TV shows, catch-up TV, French Ligue 1 soccer games, and headbutt flopping, filthy-mouthed Italians in the chest. No word if sports hooliganism will be supported in this iteration, but judging from the screens the avatar support should also mirror its UK counterpart. This is likely not the end of tie-ups between the two either, with the partnership planned to eventually encompass other Canal Plus & Microsoft products. Check out one additional pic of the updated dashboard after the break.

[Via Reuters]

In a rather timely update considering recent events, MediaMall's pumping up its latest additions to the PlayOn media streaming software. In addition to access to Netflix, Hulu (still working) and other streaming video (new ones being added through plugins) on your PS3, Xbox 360 or other DLNA-compatible device, it's finally beta testing the long requested ability to stream locally stored music, movies and photos as well. Better yet, even if you've tried the software before and found it wanting, the trials have been reset so you have 14 days to give it another shot and, until June 31 can be purchased for half price at just $19.99 with coupon code PLAYON1999.