After Paramount’s remaining HD DVD schedule (to be generous) came out, we hit up Universal to see what their roadmap looked like. Unfortunately, it looks to be just as barren. Here’s the response we got:

We have Atonement available on HD DVD March 18th—we have not announced anything additional.Have a good weekend.

Take that for you what will, though we’re not going to clear any more space on our shelves for HD DVDs.

Maybe it’s just us, but here recently it feels as if there’s been quite the outpouring of HD media streamers. Next up is Mvix’s MX-780HD, which doesn’t innovate much in the design department, but does include space for your own HDD along with support for wired Ethernet or 802.11b/g/n WiFi. Best of all, you’ll find 1080p output via HDMI, and there’s file support for DivX, XviD, AVI, MPEG, WMV, ASF, AAC, OGG, AC3, MP3, WMA, JPEG and lots, lots more. There’s also component outs and coaxial / optical audio ports, but we’re still teetering on whether that cute LCD on the front makes this thing a bargain at $299.99.

[Via Unplggd]

There won’t be a soft transition to Blu-ray for Paramount—they’re dropping their whole HD DVD release slate right this second. Their last two movies on the dead format hit Tuesday, even though we won’t see Blu titles from them until this summer—that’s months of lost $$$.Interestingly, Dreamworks’ sole upcoming HD DVD release has been shitcanned too, despite remaining tied to Toshiba’s remarkably tight contract. We’re still waiting to see what Universal’s plans look like.

P.S. Sorry to keep beating this very dead horse, we’re almost to the finish line. [High Def Digest, Hollywood Reporter]

We don’t know if Jeffrey Katzenberg got a text message, fax, e-mail or smoke signal indicating the format war was over, but Video Business has confirmed Paramount and Dreamworks Animation will (rather abruptly) to stop releasing HD DVDs after next week. If you were looking forward to Bee Movie on March 11, Sweeney Todd on April 1 or the just announced There Will Be Blood, those are cancelled. Into the Wild and the appropriately-named Things We Lost in the Fire will be Paramount’s last reminders of its exclusive agreement. Not specifically mentioned was Star Trek: TOS Season 2, but don’t hold your breath. Blu-ray release plans are still up in the air but we wouldn’t be surprised to hear something soon. As far as HD DVD movies still scheduled, that leaves two from Universal (for now) and twelve from Warner Bros, who may have been the first to leave red, but will apparently be the last major studio out the door.

Read - Video Business
Read - High-Def Digest

Earlier this week, we posted up a poll to find out just how many of you were planning on utilizing those $40 government-issued vouchers just as soon as they arrived in your mailbox. Now, however, we’re seeing the first reports of early appliers receiving their pair of coupons in all of their credit card-sized glory. Nothing too special here — just a couple of wallet-friendly cards good for $40 off (most) DTV converter boxes out there. But being the geeks that we are, we’re strangely satisfied with seeing images proving that these are actually real. Head on over to Engadget HD to check out the gallery!

[Thanks, Alec A.]

While calling it the holy grail of 3D may be a stretch, there’s no denying that the technology has been largely held back and (rightfully) seen as a gimmick due to the whole “unsightly glasses” requirement. Granted, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of 3D being experienced sans goggles, but the newfangled agreement between Magnetic and NEC could deliver just that to a display near you very soon. Reportedly, the duo is off demonstrating a 57-inch Enabl3D display at the Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas, and while this iteration is admittedly aimed at commercial users, the promise of seeing imagery “pop more than a foot off the screen without the use of any special glasses” sure sounds intriguing. No word on when this stuff will be coming to everyday users, but don’t be shocked to see marketers coming up with new ways to grab your attention (and frighten the young) with this in the near future.

Not happy letting us Yankees get away with all the 3D sporting action, the BBC plans to test a 3D HD broadcast of a Rugby Six Nations match next month. A lot like the NBA’s test with last year’s All-Star Game and NBA Finals, the March 8th game between Scotland and England will be captured by three camera rigs and then transmitted via satellite — unlike the fiber connection used by the NBA — to an audience watching a big screen with 3D glasses. Can Communicate, Inition and Axis are the companies forming 3DFirm, which is partnering with the Beeb to make the whole thing happen, including working out a new style of camera work and post production. We won’t say we’re waiting for a 3D broadcast of real football to get excited about these tests (we’ll just think it.)

There’s displays made for digital signage, and then there’s Samsung’s SyncMaster 820DXn. Put simply, there’s no commercial screen we’d rather have sitting in our living room, and while we doubt many would go for it, the specs here are pretty impressive. Outside of the expansive 82-inch 1,920 x 1,080 resolution S-PVA panel, you’ll find 178-degree viewing angles, a 5,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, “ultra-high” brightness levels, eight-millisecond response time and the firm’s own DNIe PRO image enhancement technology. It also includes built-in fans for extended usage along with an integrated PC consisting of an 1.8GHz Athlon64 X2 3400+ CPU, 4GB of flash storage, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, an ATI graphics set and Windows XP to boot. Granted, this thing was designed with luring customers in mind, and given the lofty $76,999 price tag, we don’t expect it to do much else.

Engadget reader Raheem spotted this cheap shot on the door of Sony Centre in London, just in case anyone’s not sure of the latest developments in the high definition format war. Ouch. Still, they may want to fax that over to Dreamworks Animation, cc: Jeffrey Katzenberg. Check after the break for another pic of the atrocity.

Completing the final segment of the three-way Hitachi / Panasonic / Canon LCD mashup, Hitachi & Canon have finalized paperwork on the deal. Canon will take its 24.9% piece of Hitachi Displays, Ltd, pending regulatory approval, which should pave the way for plenty of sweet IPS-enabled panels and maybe even some OLED action in the future if anyone feels up to it. The specifics are in the read link as usual, we’ll judge the wisdom of this partnership when there’s a new HDTV on the shelf.