Reports have been flooding in from across Ohio, Indiana and Texas to confirm the cold, hard truth: LIN TV has begun removing its stations from Time Warner Cable systems. Last month, we found that the two were still in disagreement over carriage terms, with LIN TV wanting TWC to pony up to carry stations that could otherwise be fetched OTA for free. Amazingly, they let the October 2nd deadline come and go without even a stopgap deal, meaning that some locals in Dayton, Columbus, Toledo, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Austin, Green Bay, Buffalo and a handful of other cities have now vanished from TWC's EPG. In a posting made on the carrier's site, it bluntly states that LIN TV is "trying to make up for lower ratings and advertising revenue by adding fees that will fall, ultimately, on the backs of our cable customers." Granted, that's only one half of the story, but here's the bottom line: you two need to come to terms, and fast.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

For a whole slew of individuals across America (particularly those with lackluster Time Warner Cable lineups), the addition of two new temporary high-def stations has been quite the treat. Just prior to the start of the Beijing Olympics, many cable carriers opted to add in an HD Soccer and HD Basketball channel, but if you thought they were just doing so to be nice, you thought wrong. After scads of CableONE subscribers in Idaho were flat shut out of live online streaming, a bit of digging revealed the problem: NBC Universal bundled online streaming into a "premium package" with the previously mentioned stations, which CableONE declined to offer. For the CableONE users, the story does end in on a high note -- they are getting three permanent HD channels instead. For everyone else loving the convenience of online streams, at least you can sleep easy knowing that minor increases in your future bill will likely be used to pay for it. Then again, what is free these days?

We had a feeling folks on both sides of the WNWO / Buckeye CableSystem table would come to terms in order to keep the Olympics coverage flowin' despite their disagreements, but it seems the future beyond that is still murky. The local NBC affiliate in Toledo, Ohio will allow coverage to continue on the aforesaid carrier until August 24th, but there are still terms to hash out before a retransmission agreement for September and beyond is agreed upon. Nothing like broadcast drama, right?

[Thanks, Keith]

At long last, it seems the legal spat between Pulse~LINK and Tzero has come to an end. Federal courts have ratified the former company's patents in a UWB-over-coax patent infringement case against Tzero, affirming that Tzero will now have to pay licensing fees to use Pulse~LINK's technology. In the settlement, it was noted that Tzero had "suspended development of products that were the subject of the legal action," and if it chose to re-introduce any of those wares, it would first cut a check to Pulse~LINK. Time to hug it out? Nah, we thought not.

Could it finally be happening? The bigwigs at Comcast and Big Ten Network are actually closing in on a deal? According to a recent writeup originating in the Chicago Tribune, a long-awaited partnership between the carrier and station is expected to become official at any moment. A BTN spokesperson told the Star Tribune that "while the deal between the sides is close, there is nothing to report at this point." However, the individual did admit that the two parties "remain close to reaching an agreement." Needless to say, quite a few individuals (hundreds of thousands, actually) in the Big Ten footprint would be elated to have their upcoming football season around and in HD, but considering just how long this bickering has been going on, we aren't jotting this one in stone quite yet.

Well, it's Saturday folks, and for Cox customers in Topeka, Kansas, WIBW-TV is still going strong. According to an updated article on the station's website, Topeka's CBS affiliate is going to remain on Cox Communications' lineup for just a few more days (at least), as "substantial progress" has reportedly been made in determining how much Cox should pay WIBW. As of now, the deadline has been pushed to March 8th, but at this point, we've no reason to believe the bigwigs at Cox won't come to their senses and pony up.

[Thanks, Kevin O.]

Don't worry -- that feeling of déjà vu actually isn't just in your head. Going back as far as last June, you'll find disagreements between Comcast and Big Ten Network, and for whatever reason, those conflicts still exist today. Just days after we heard that BTN remained anxious to land a deal with Charter, a new report out of the Chicago Tribune asserts that wheels are still spinning between the network and Comcast. Reportedly, BTN President Mark Silverman was "optimistic" about inking an agreement last month, but here we are a month later without any sort of deal in place. Granted, Mr. Silverman still suggests that talks are continuing, but we're beginning to wonder how long it'll be before these friendly conversations lead to a bona fide business transaction.

Make no mistake, Big Ten Network has been quite successful in getting itself on a number of providers, but to this day, Charter subscribers in the eight-state Big Ten footprint are still missing out. According to a new report, the network is still anxious to get a deal done with Charter, as quite a chunk of Minnesota Gophers fans are currently cheering through Tubby Smith's inaugural season without the ability to view some 17 of the team's games. 'Course, we've no idea if Charter is even close to forking out the coinage required to land a carriage agreement, but at least one side isn't backing down, right?

NFL fans calling Lufkin, Nacogdoches or a surrounding locale home may be thrilled to know that SuddenLink and the Longview, Texas FOX affiliate (KFXK) have finally decided to put their differences aside and shake hands. Merely days before Super Bowl XLII kicks off from nearby Arizona, the station has apparently landed an agreement with SuddenLink (cash very likely involved, by the way) that will enable the cable company's subscribers to finally receive FOX in HD on channel 705. Better still, these very customers will also be able to tune into Fox Sports Network HD on channel 750 if they decide to plunk down $7.95 per month for the SuddenLink HD Plus package. According to Gene Regan, director of corporate communications at SuddenLink, the firm still plans on juicing up its lineup with additional high-def options in the near future, but unfortunately for Austin-area folks, there's still no end in sight to the drama keeping NBC HD off of your EPG.

Format fanboys (and girls), we sure hope you've taken the time to cool your apparently heated jets, because AVS Forum is putting its foot down from here on out. Just days after the site shut down the HD DVD / Blu-ray boards due to the zaniness that was ensuing, it has reopened the forums for new postings -- but there's a laundry list of rules to go with it. Granted, the site does recommend finding a new home to vent your off-topic frustrations if you aren't down with the new regulations, but overall, we think they're pretty fair. Effectively immediately, users aren't allowed to throw out sales figures, troll others, attack statements or petition for one format or the other. For those who slip up and cross the newly drawn line, you will likely be banned and have your posts removed, so we'd recommend thinking thrice before pulling the trigger on a rage-filled writeup over there.

Not since the infamous PS3 crime wave of late 2006 have we seen anything like this. According to a notice posted on the heavily trafficked AVS Forum, the HD DVD and Blu-ray sections are being closed to new posts "for a short time," and the reasoning behind such a severe action may shock you. Apparently, a number of hot-headed posters have not only been dissin' supporters of (insert rival format here), but some have lashed out at other members with "physical threats that have involved police and possible legal action." While it's not exactly clear what pushed these extremists to the edge, there's no denying that the recent price drops on standalone HD DVD players have given the HD community as a whole a lot more to yap about, and we guess some folks just didn't know where to draw the line. The format war just took on a whole new meaning, and it's not one to be proud of.

[Via CNET, image courtesy of Olive-Drab]

You're probably familiar with the old adage that getting sued just isn't satisfying enough until you take someone else to court over the exact thing that you're being accused of, but even if you're not, DirecTV's here to refresh your memory. The satellite TV provider has apparently scrunched up its nose at a recent promotional advertising campaign in which Comcast claims that two-thirds of satellite customers felt "Comcast delivered a better HD image" when compared to DirecTV and Dish Network alternatives. Not believing that we oh-so-capable humans might be able to actually perceive the difference when an HD feed is somewhat crippled, DirecTV decided that the results mustn't be correct, and suggested that the "survey upon which Comcast relies does not provide or sufficiently substantiate the propositions for which Comcast cites the survey," and concludes by boldly proclaiming that all of the claims "are literally false." Of course, Comcast is standing strong behind its results for the time being, and while either party could most certainly have a case against the other, why are we using cash for HD channel expansion to pay legal teams?

[Via TGDaily]

While we Americans tend to seem satisfied with the 720p / 1080i content that flows through our set-top boxes and ATSC tuners every single day, South Koreans are apparently up in arms over which TV truly is "the best." Sure, Mossberg says that 1080p isn't a big deal when scoping out a set, and even though Seoul's only chance at even getting 1080p content comes from gaming consoles and their highly-overpriced HD DVD / Blu-ray players, it's that "Full HD" sticker that (seemingly) counts. While Sony has apparently launched a marketing campaign that "insists its Bravia TV is the only one that meets the Full HD standards," both LG and Samsung are out to disprove that at this year's CES. Sammy is planning to unveil a trio of new plasmas alongside two new LCD HDTVs "under a new brand name" in hopes of shaking the bad image, with all units boasting about its 1,920 x 1,080 resolution; LG, consequently, is purportedly planning a similar attack, as it introduces three new Full HD models up to 60-inches in size and partners with Sega to loop some fun-filled 1080p content and hopefully wow the skeptics. While we don't know just how serious this battle's going to get, we're packing our of forms of protection just in case that buzzword barrage gets too heated to handle.

While it's admittedly unfortunate that the world just can't agree on a single high definition broadcast format to use around the globe, boundaries have already been laid across most of the first world nations. Many South American countries, however, still haven't chosen which format to support, and proponents for both ISDB and DVB are lobbying intently to get their support business. As we suspected early last year, Brazil has finally made its choice, and will take in ISDB as it looks to create more local jobs by manufacturing the equipment from within in new construction factories. Brazilian officials were even able to solicit $2 billion in Japanese funding to erect a "local semiconductor factory be financed by Panasonic, Toshiba, NEC, and Sony." Argentina, however, wasn't swayed one way or the other by the snazzy presentations it saw, and enters 2007 with an "undecided" bid. So as unfortunate as it may be, it looks you'll probably be picking up a separate portable tuner for almost every nation you visit, but hey, at least some things are universal, right?

If you've just picked up the recently released The Descent on Blu-ray disc, hold back from tearing the plastic off just a minute. If you're using a first-generation Blu-ray player that doesn't yet support the "BD-Java environment," chances are you'll be graced with a depressing black screen instead of an action-packed thriller. Users across the web are complaining that the film isn't playing back on their particular Blu-ray player, and High-Def Digest has suggested that units that don't play nice with BD-Java extras are having a hard time swallowing (and playing) the featurette-packed disc. Sony's BDP-S1 and Pioneer's BDP-HD1 have been singled-out as the two most problematic players in this ordeal, and while Sony has promised a firmware update to add BD-J support "early this year," the Pioneer users are currently out of luck. Notably, Panasonic units, Samsung's BD-P1000, and Sony's own PlayStation 3 are having no troubles, although some Samsung devices may need the latest firmware installed to overcome any glitches. Hopefully more manufacturers will get on the ball and start supporting these newfangled extras that were supposed to make high definition discs worth more than the pretty resolution, and kudos to Lionsgate for pumping this one up with BD-J action -- even though some of us are still trying to make it spin.

[Via High-Def Digest]