Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.

The oldest of the "three screens" -- television – is generally far from the wisest. Sure, an endless array of set-top boxes and AV components packed with processors have appeared in the last few decades to use its screen as a surrogate, and now a high-definition, display for video games, PC content, Web pages, multimedia, videoconferencing and other entertainment. But while much television programming -- especially news and sports programs – has become cluttered with contextual trivia and tickers, the core TV viewing experience has remained stubbornly passive. Now, though, with backers citing the need to reclaim appeal from PCs and cell phones -- especially among multitasking kids, teens and young adults -- the first screen is fighting back.

Correctly recognizing that upconverting DVDs posed a serious challenge to high-definition discs, the backers of HD-DVD focused on the mandatory Internet connectivity of its players and support of it in some of its late content (the movie 300 was one of the best showcases). In HD-DVD's defeat, the Blu-ray camp has picked up the cause via BD-Live, part of the Blu-ray 2.0 specification. A forthcoming title that will take advantage of the Internet connectivity is Disney's 50th anniversary platinum release of its classic Sleeping Beauty. And it is not your wicked stepmother's princess.

For what it's worth, Buffalo just announced the world's fastest Blu-ray recorder capable of burning through your data at an 8x clip. The only problem is that BDA-approved media maxes out at 6x, assuming you can even find it. Available in Japan starting next month, the external USB 2.0 and eSATA BR-816SU2 and internal SATA BR-816FBS models hit that 8x recording speed on single-layer BD-R media only -- 2x for dual-layer BD-R, BD-RE, and LTH BD-R. CDs and DVDs are supported too naturally, with a max 16x burn to DVD±R or 48x/24x for CD-R/RW. Each drive comes bundled with Cyberlink's PowerDVD 7 suite and are priced at ¥46,700 (about $435) for the external drive or ¥41,000 (about $380) for the internal optical spinner.

[Via BIOS and CDRinf]

We're not saying it can't be done, but you should have some considerable trouble managing to run out of room for your expertly-shot, highly-narrative vacation antics with Hitachi's new DZ-BD10H camcorder, which records 1080p HD video to Blu-ray discs or to its built-in 30GB hard drive. There's even an SD slot, which we aren't positive you can record video to, but it's a fair guess. Other specs include a 2.7-inch LCD and a 10x optical zoom. Price should be around $1,500 when it hits Japan on August 9, but no solid word on a US berth just yet.

So Sony's got a $399 Blu-ray player on the market now, huh? Really blasting away at that price point, huh Sony? Really keeping on your toes now that HD DVD is dead and gone, giving you zero competition in the physical format space, yeah? Oh, we forgot, you're using a blue laser, and those require bloody war with dastardly intelligent man-eating monkeys to boot up. We got to handle Sony's new BDP-S350 Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player tonight, and while we aren't mad that the new player draws less power, takes up less space, and supports more technical HD hotness, it literally feels like a $20 DVD player in the hand -- no way Sony has $400 of electronic components in this thing. Even the front LCD is teensy: we've bought $200 home theater in a box systems from Sony with more extravagant displays. We understand Sony trying to make back a few dollars from a pricey format war, but at this point this ridiculous price point is looking way artificial. In other, less insulting news, Sony was showing off the new HT-SS2300 Home Theater System, which is designed to complement the S350, along with the HT-IS100 "Micro System," which we found intriguing. Sony also showed off its HDR-CX12, which is nothing special in person, though we certainly like what's under the hood.

Wow, Toys 'R Us was only a day off. Sure enough, Sony's BDP-S350 -- which was first introduced / spotted in February -- has gone on sale at Sony Style retail outlets, the Sony Style website and other fine retailers near you. If you're looking for a quick refresher, this Profile 2.0-compliant deck supports BonusView (picture-in-picture), but curiously enough, Sony mentions that "a firmware update enabling BD-Live is planned [for] later this year." You'll also find full 1080p output, 7.1-channel Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio support and a promise to suck down 21% less power in playback compared to the BDP-S300. All yours for $400 (give or take a few pennies).

Leaks, rumors and teasers have told us just about everything we'd ever need to know about Sony's new VAIO lineup before we ever laid eyes on it, but Sony has finally confirmed its new VAIO Z, FW, SR and BZ laptops. They share a common design language, Centrino 2 processors, configuration options and setup software to remove that icky trial ware, and a whole lot of Blu-ray between them. Of particular note is the VAIO Z, which packs a Blu-ray drive and HDMI into a 1-inch thick, 3.4 pound, 13.1-inch 16:9 form factor, and even discreet NVIDIA 9300M graphics and a full size hard drive bay, with an option for dual SSD in a RAID configuration (which is just rubbing it in, if you ask us). The Z, FW and SR keyboards are all of the isolated, raised key variety, which might remind people of the MacBook keyboard, but is actually a design Sony has been toying with for a while now. The 13.3-inch VAIO SR is Sony's bid at bringing its ultraportable line "mainstream" with supposedly aggressive price points, multiple color options, and a four pound form factor which leaves room for discreet graphics, but sadly no Blu-ray. The 16.4-inch VAIO FW, on the other hand, has room for it all, with a 16:9 aspect ratio screen well suited to playing back Blu-ray movies. Finally, the VAIO BZ skips over the home theater fanciness and shows a growing commitment from Sony in the business laptop space. There's a 15.4-inch screen, magnesium alloy case, spill-resistant keyboard, vPRO and all that other fancy security-related business stuff, though no HDMI or Blu-ray to speak of. The BZ and FW start at $1,000, the SR at $1,400, the FW premium at $1,750, and the Z will hit at $1,800, with an SSD option for $2,300. All should be available in the late July / August time frame.

Blu-ray recorders have been on the scene for a while now, but now that the format war's over, it looks like more companies are starting to commit to BD-R devices -- like Pioneer, which announced today that it'll have a Blu-ray recorder out in Japan by the end of the year. The company didn't say what model it would be or what price point it was aiming for, but the tech is being jointly developed with Sharp, so hopefully it's have a family resemblance to units like the 1TB AQUOS BD-HDW20 in everything but the $2,611 pricetag.

Buried under predictions that 2012 will bring dominance for Blu-ray over DVD and breaking news that the PS3 just may have had a hand in winning the format war the Entertainment Merchant's Association 2008 Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry holds survey results showing 87% of PS3 owners reported they watch Blu-ray movies on their console. That's a stark contrast to last year's NPD survey indicating 60% of owners didn't even know it played them. We don't know what's behind the jump, be it better marketing/consumer education, or something wrong with how one the surveys were conducted. You can mull that one over during the fast money round while also peeping results that say 22% of HDTV owners think they're watching HD programming, but in fact are not -- not like we haven't heard that before.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

In case you didn't get the message, Sony's due sooner-rather-than-later 27-inch OLED is going to be priced for the Mark Cubans, Bill Gates' and other people not you of the world, at least for the next couple of years. Even with recent massive investments, U.S. head Stan Glasgow tells CNET OLEDs in the future could be seen as a premium alternative to LCDs, but don't expect Sony to jump on smaller screens while they wait for the technology to catch up, HDTV is the focus. As for the upcoming standard def-streaming Hancock experiment? The first of many, if things go well, while at the same time he acknowledges format war winner Blu-ray may not penetrate to the same level as DVD since "a lot of people may be happy with an upconverting DVD player" -- which would be music to Toshiba's ears.

Look no further for the follow-up to last year's multi-region Blu-ray players, with Bluraymods.com advertising a completely region free Panasonic DMP-BD30, available in either pre-modified or DIY kit formats. That's all 6 DVD regions and three Blu-ray regions for those keeping count, and it claims to still work with any firmware updates. The good news for import lovers is a price of €499, considerably less than previous hardware, or €69 for a mod kit. We're still not sure how well this will play with future DRM updates, but taking the leap appears to be getting cheaper and more convenient.

Not like Dell's done an exceptional job keeping this one a secret, but yes, the Studio 15 and Studio 17 laptops do seem to be more than a figment of someone's imagination -- at least, according to a believable release posted up at BetaNews, which has since been pulled. Predictably, the former line features a 15-inch panel while the latter steps up to 17-inches, and both crews will be offered in a smattering of hues including black, grey, blue, green, pink, orange, purple and red. Prices on these units are set to start at $799, while you'll find Intel's Core 2 Duo alongside up to 4GB of RAM, upwards of 320GB of HDD space, an 8-in-1 multicard reader, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet, an optional Blu-ray drive and the usual assortment of ports. Folks looking to stay connected around the clock can opt for a Sprint / Verizon WWAN card, and there's also an optional 9-cell battery if the standard 6-cell just isn't longevous enough. Check out two more shots after the break, and the original page (in three parts) in the gallery below.

[Via Electronista]

Remember how your curiosity level shot through the roof when Pioneer abruptly discontinued the BDP-LX70A Blu-ray player in the UK? We're willing to bet this is why. Announced over on Pioneer's European website, we're being treated to three fresh faces -- the Profile 2.0-compliant BDP-LX91, Designer BDP-LX08 and BDP-LX71 -- along with one familiar face (the BDP-51FD). All of the new units will feature 1080p24 support, HDMI 12-Bit Deep Color support, KURO LINK, DTS-HD Master Audio / Dolby True HD compatibility and professional-quality Wolfson Digital Audio Converters (DACs). As for pricing and availability other than Europe, your guess is as good as ours, but we are told to expect the BDP-LX71 in September, the BDP-51FD / BDP-LX08 in October and the BDP-LX91 "later on in the winter." For more on Pioneer's European onslaught, head on over to Engadget HD.

The tried-and-true circle PC is back, this time with even more potent hardware under the hood to keep your media churnin'. First up is the VGX-TP1D, which features a white motif, 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo T8100 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, GeForce 8400M GT graphics card, integrated WiFi, a dual-layer DVD writer and HDMI / VGA outs. The black VGX-TP1DQ / B steps it up by including a 500GB hard drive and a Blu-ray burner to boot. Both units also boast four USB 2.0 ports, 4-pin FireWire, a multicard reader, TV tuner and a wireless keyboard. Look for each to land in just over a fortnight (in Japan) for ¥150,000 ($1,392) / ¥200,000 ($1,856), respectively.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

What's that, Acer? Your vicious Predator not feel so dominant now? ASUS just dropped a bombshell with the official release of the ARES CG6150 that first surfaced at CeBIT, and for gamers who accept nothing less than cutting edge, this is your rig. From the top, we've got an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 (overclockable to 4.0GHz) processor, NVIDIA's nForce 790i Ultra SLI chipset, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a 3-way SLI setup with GeForce GTX280s, up to 4TB of HDD space, a Blu-ray optical drive, twin gigabit Ethernet jacks, two power supplies and a custom liquid cooling arrangement. ASUS is being tight-lipped (as usual) with pricing / release information, but let's just assume you'll need a serious stack of Benjamins to even sniff this beast.