Sony has announced the forthcoming launch of two new sound bar models and a new receiver with 3D image standby passthrough and HDMI image repeating. The 400 watt HT-CT350 will ship with a mounting bracket that affixes it to the bottom of select 40-inch plus 2010 model BRAVIA HDTVs, while the 340 watt HT-CT150 attaches to select 32-inch displays.

Both support LPCM audio support via HDMI and BRAVIA Sync compatibility. The 40-inch CT350 will go on sale next month for $399.99, the 32-inch CT150 retailing for around $299.99 and the 5.1 SF470 launching in June for $549.99 with 1000 wats of total power, iPod dock and coax/optical audio in.

The Samsung LN55B650 also give you access to Samsung Apps. Samsung Apps feature Web 2.0 applications such as: BLOCKBUSTER, YouTube, Netflix, Monopoly  from EA, interactive card games, Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, and the latest headlines from Associated Press and USA Today.

Buy the Samsung LN55B650 55″ LCD HDTV from TigerDirect.com

Seagate’s criminally underpromoted FreeAgent Theater + HD media streaming and playback box has received a new firmware update which adds support for Netflix Watch Instantly streaming as well as other major online media portals in YouTube, vTuner and Mediafly.

This makes the FreeAgent + HD a much better deal in comparison to other streaming media boxes such as Roku or Vudu since the FreeAgent can also playback ripped DVDs and other media from its hard drive dock and Ethernet/optional Wi-Fi connection instead of relying solely on the aforementioned services.

The update is available from Seagate’s page, with all future shipping units being updated as well.

Buy the FreeAgent Theater + HD from Amazon

The BDXL specification details High Capacity Recordable and Rewritable discs which will write up to 128GB of content on a disc limited to write once discs, with the rewritable discs allowing for up to 100GB of storage.

The BDA is currently limiting BDXL to commercially pressed and manufactured discs, with consumer write-once media being made available in the future. The IH-BD specification will contain two layers of 25GB capacity each on one disc, one for BD-ROM use and the other a BD-RE layer designed for viewing, but not overwriting data.

Both of the above format extensions will require a new player and recorder respectively, which will also be available close to the launch of the new media.

A new manufacturer based in Sweden by the interesting name of People of Lava has announced the first HDTV line powered by Google’s Android operating system. The company will also launch its own app store to be built into its Android build along with apps for Facebook, YouTube, Google Maps, and Twitter, along with a web browser and email client.

The first product from the manufacturer will be a 42-inch Full HD display powered by Android 1.5 with beta testing scheduled to begin this summer and a commercial launch scheduled for September in Europe. The lineup will further expand to 47-inch and 55-inch models slated for launch later in the year.

Sling Media has also stated that its iPad app will not be available for the iPad’s launch this weekend, but is expected to launch later this year.

The group responsible for Miro has also announced a companion Miro Video Converter that eases the conversion of video files into other compatible formats for various devices and also features built-in Ogg Theora video encoding, making it one of the first video conversion applications to feature built-in support.

Buy the Samsung 2333HD LCD Monitor With Built in TV Tuner from Buy.com

Like Hulu, but sometimes wish you could save stuff for offline viewing? Enter StreamTransport, a new Windows-only stream ripper that promises to allow for downloading videos off of the ever popular service along with other video portals.  When running, the application automatically captures the stream URL for downloading, with no interaction needed in its own integrated browser. The software works on sites using harder to capture streaming protocols such as RTMP, RTMPT, RTMPE and RTMPTE.

Just tested with Hulu itself and can confirm that it saves the complete stream with no commercial breaks, confirming that the ads are inserted server-side instead of being embedded in the video stream itself.

Ceton Corp has placed its long-awaited InfiniTV 4 multi-tuner CableCARD expansion card up for pre-order for $399.99, with the card scheduled to be launched on May 31st.

The InfiniTV 4 is a low-profile PCI Express expansion card for PCs running Windows Media Center 7 that allows for recording/watching up to four separate programs at once while also allowing for streaming across different rooms. The multi-tuner and multi-stream functionality require a Multi-Stream capable CableCARD.

The card also supports Switched Digital Video adapters, which allows for reception of digital cable SVOD/premium channel services without the need for a cable box.