Sure it’s 2010 and you can now get your Olympics fix online (albeit with some headaches), but if you’re home in front of the big living-room screen, why not take advantage of the all-HD experience? NBC Universal is offering coverage on NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, and Universal HD, and, as in years past, the broadcast company has made deals left and right with pay-TV operators to provide on-demand content.

Verizon FiOS:

Want Olympics fare on FiOS VOD? Verizon is promising highlights, complete event replays, info on the Olympic park in Calgary, and even Olympics trivia. On the HD front, FiOS customers will get less than half of the VOD content in high-def, but Verizon did just make the announcement that it’s launching MSNBC in HD, just in time for the opening ceremonies. Oh, and if you’re looking for some interactive TV, stay tuned for an on-screen FiOS app with medal counts, bios, and more.

Comcast Xfinity:

Yes, it’s officially Xfinity now in several markets, but so far the branding hasn’t changed on my Comcast guide. In any case, the VOD menu is full of Olympics clips: an intro of Team USA, physics lessons around different sports (hockey, snowboarding, etc.), a “Where Were You” category with highlights from yesteryear, and a “Best of the Day” selection, which promises daily coverage once the games begin. By my observation, it appears that all of the content is available in HD.

AT&T U-verse:

AT&T is heading into the Olympics not just with on-demand content, but also with a Multiview app for watching several events at once. The U-verse NBC Olympics Application includes up to four different channels on screen and links to information like event schedules, athlete bios, and medal count. According to AT&T, its on-demand fare will include “exclusive Team USA” videos. Not sure how valuable that will be, but exclusive is always good, right?

Something is coming? I’ll do my best to make the trek to NYC for live coverage. Begin your speculation in the comments… now!

TiVo doesn’t yet know if their injunction against DISH DVRs will hold in court, but that hasn’t stopped them from expanding their patent portfolio. In a remarkable filing with the USPTO, TiVo appears to have now won an important patent for analyzing and displaying closed caption and meta data to DVR customers. That appears to encompass enhanced TV services, including a “clip and sling” type technology and could eventually allow TiVo users to automatically remove commercials from time shifted programs.

According to patent 7,661,121, TiVo now owns the right to use existing closed caption and Enhanced Television (ETV) signaling data to create an interactive experience for their customers. ETV data is the metadata that content owners embed into their programming. It’s been used by CableLabs and is part of the fundamental architecture behind big cable’s sinking “Canoe” DVR advertising venture. While I would suspect that the cable companies also have patents related to how ETV data can be utilized, it will undoubtedly be another series of rapids that the long delayed project will have to maneuver through.

While the abstract for TiVo’s latest patent is a little vague, devling into the details you start to understand why they’d try to seize this particular piece of intellectual property. Essentially, the patent allows TiVo to sync closed captioning (and metadata) from broadcast programs recorded on a DVR and then display that data in an interactive format. This data can be as simple as a menu or closed captioned text or can be as advanced as digital video and sound effects.

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Nope, Google Buzz is definitely not a Twitter or Facebook killer. In fact, it won’t even be a contender until they beautify the UI and remove it from the recesses of my Gmail. Not to mention, many are spun up regarding the (non)privacy implications. With that in mind, please enjoy the Google Buzz parody video advertisement above (via Giz) – which may not be safe for work given one perfectly executed F-bomb.

Mari and I recently took a look at Skinit’s line of gadget decals. Which are less about device protection and more about personalization. I skinned a buddy’s Droid with some urban camouflage ($15), while she skinned her netbook with the dastardly Duke Blue Devils ($20).

Our results were a bit mixed. The Droid skin job was excellent – no problem applying the 5 perfectly cut decals, which resulted in a slick looking handset. But Mari’s netbook experience left us a bit puzzled. It wasn’t quite clear which side of the skin was up, given hinge cutouts (?) that didn’t line up with anything, and we observed some crinkling on the edges. It’s possible we ordered the incorrect netbook model skin or the wrong one was sent out. (And Asus doesn’t help the situation with a multitude of similarly named model variations.)

Regardless, our skins were on the house for purposes of blogging. As yours will be. If you’d like to take Skinit for a spin, and they support tons of devices with tons of designs, simply leave a comment letting us know what sort of gadget you plan to adorn. We’ll randomly choose one winner in a few days.

Update: We’ve heard back from the Skinit folks. And do indeed have Mari’s Duke skin upside down in the photos. Although she did place it both ways, and neither looked exactly right. We’ll try another and blog the results.

Click to enlarge:

I’m a huge fan of internet video, but nothing can replace the big screen high definition experience. And while I knew it would happen sooner or later, I still wasn’t fully prepared when my large screen rear projection Sony Wega HDTV gave a loud pop and ceased to display the magic flickering lights that I’ve fallen in love with.

My first response was one of panic. I knew that it was possible that I might have a burned out bulb but, given some of the issues that other Wega owners have experienced, I also knew that it might be more serious. After the panic subsided, I made a few calls to see what it would cost me to bring in a pro. After getting a few quotes, I was shocked at how expensive it can be just to have a repairman troubleshoot your big screen. While I’ll admit to being tempted to use this as an excuse to make the jump from a rear projector to a flat screen, I also wasn’t ready to give up on my TV just yet.

So with gritty determination, I waded through the murky waters of online forums in search of a potential diagnosis. The more research I did, the more apparent it became that I had in fact exhausted the lovelight inside my television. Luckily, it turns out that this sort of repair is pretty easy for the home gamer to fix. So after finding a generic replacement lamp online (~$100), I eagerly tried my hand at television repair.

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CNET got a look at Netflix’s 2010 roadmap… And we can expect both 5.1 surround sound and closed captioning from their streaming service in 2010. Depending upon who you are, these are both very meaningful developments. Which will hopefully complement better (newer, mainstream) movie content. Yes, I’m willing to pay more for premium content. Bring it. CNET’s original report also mentioned that video quality would be bumped from 720p to 1080p, but Netflix says that’s not in the cards this year.