After three years of court fights, Cablevision’s controversial new digital video recording system is on its way to consumers’ homes.

The U.S. Supreme Court today refused to hear the appeal of a consortium of Hollywood studios looking to block the service. Cablevision said it plans to begin the roll out this summer.

The studios, which included Time Warner, General Electric’s NBC/Universal, CBS, Disney and Fox, alleged the new service would infringe on their copyrights.

Cablevision’s remote storage DVR system will allow users to record and store programming on centralized servers owned by the New York-based cable operator. Today’s DVRs record programming on a hard drive within a set-top box in the consumer’s living room.

The current equipment is expensive for cable operators to manufacture and install. Cablevision says the new service will result in considerable savings for it. Whether consumers will pay lower rates remains to be determined.

At issue is the common DVR practice of ad skipping. With its new service, Cablevision could see a substantial increase in the number of subscribers signing up for DVR service. (Industry experts believe the new technology could put DVR technology in nearly half the homes in America.)

Here’s a product that may put a scare into studio heads.

Taiwan-based Zinnet today unveiled the brite-View CinemaCube, a high-definition multi-media player and BitTorrent downloader. That means it just got easier for people to grab pirated films from the Internet and watch them on their TV.

The device plugs directly into a user’s TV and uses any USB storage device (from thumb drives to external hard drives) to store data. On the surface, that means you could watch your home movies or view photos.

The CinemaCube is also comes with a built-in BitTorrent client, meaning users can access the online file sharing service. It’s also networkable, letting users can grab files (ranging from music to video to photos) from a remote PC to view on their television.

The device, which supports HD content up to 720p and comes with an HDMI port, is on sale now for $89.99.

Previously, people who wanted to watch a pirated movie on their TV would typically have to burn a DVD copy of the download before they could watch it on the couch. The CinemaCube expedites the process – somewhat.

The torrent seed has to already be on the USB storage device you plug into the CinemaCube. In other words, users will need to at least begin the download(s) from their PC, but Zinnet’s device can continue downloading (and sharing) the files once the storage device is attached.

The CinemaCube does flash a quick request that users not download illegal video, audio, etc., but it cannot police what they do.

Of course, there’s nothing illegal about BitTorrent. The file sharing system has countless legitimate uses. But its popularity among pirates makes the CinemaCube something that could be another threat to Hollywood’s bottom line.

Apple threw down a considerable gauntlet on June 8 when it announced it would only charge users $29 to upgrade from the existing Leopard operating system to the forthcoming Snow Leopard. Now Microsoft has responded.

The Redmond-based software giant will let customers pre-order upgrades beginning tomorrow, June 26. And if you act fast, you can save a fair bit.

Windows 7 Home Premium is the entry-level version of the system. Upgrades from previous versions of Windows will normally retail for $120. But for pre-orders placed for an unspecified “limited time,” the company will only charge $50.

Windows 7 Professional upgrades will normally cost $200, but will drop to $100 for that same nebulous time frame.

The discounts will only be given on a select number of licenses, thus the lack of a specific end date for the promotion. You’ll be able to place the pre-orders at retail locations and Microsoft’s Website.

If you’ve got an outdated machine and are about to buy a new PC, anything bought after June 26^th will be eligible for a free upgrade.

The pre-order ‘sale’ is a nice touch, but the standard pricing for the upgrades could hurt Microsoft in the long run. Vista has left a lot of its customers with a bad, bad taste in their mouths. Apple is a more expensive initial investment, but with its Snow Leopard upgrade prices, it’s positioning itself to be a more customer friendly company.

It won’t overtake Windows’ market share, of course, but it could continue to chip away at it, particularly with trend makers.

Windows 7 will launch on Oct. 22.

TiVo’s recent court victory over Dish Network could mean a rapid expansion for the company.

Bloomberg reports the company, whose name is synonymous with digital video recording, is in talks to provide service through Time Warner cable. (TiVo already has deals in place with DirecTV and Comcast.)

If a deal is struck, it would give TiVo access to 34.2 million additional customers.

The June 2 court ruling, which determined EchoStar and Dish violated TiVo’s patent, could open the floodgates for the company. With the court ruling behind it, TiVo is in a better position to strike deals with other pay-TV operators who offer some form of recording and playback services. (Dish and EchoStar are appealing the decision.)

Possibly anticipating some resistance, TiVo is reportedly putting together a war chest in case it needs to take other cable or satellite providers to court. It would prefer, though, to strike licensing deals with them, which would help it shore up its annual sales. Despite being a household name, TiVo only reported its first profit in March.

TiVo wants to let cable subscribers choose their DVR service, according to Bloomberg. For cable companies unwilling to agree to this the company might ask for licensing or other forms of revenue.

NBC Universal is turning to Microsoft to help it sell ads.

The network will make some of its national and cable ad inventory available to the software giant this fall. Microsoft will use its Admira system, which uses demographic information to match ad buyers with their target market segments.

The deal is set to kick off in the fourth quarter of 2009.

If something sounds familiar about this, that might be because Google has a similar program in effect. Last year, the company unveiled a program that tied its successful AdWords interface to a television audience. Agencies enter the audience they’re hoping to reach and are given a list of time slots and programs that best reach their target demographic. Then, users can add or block relevant programs.

Google’s program is still nascent, but has made some in-roads. It has distribution deals with several distributors, including NBC Universal's cable channels, EchoStar and Hallmark Channel.

NBC says it plans to utilize Microsoft’s system in two ways. For larger advertisers, it will offer new planning tools for data-driven targeting and segmenting of specific audiences. For smaller clients, it will offer an automated planning, buying, posting and billing process across both national broadcast and select local holdings.

The deal has advantages for both sides. Microsoft gets a stake in the lucrative television ad market, while NBC will be able to automate part of the sales process, freeing up its sales force to focus on more customized forms of advertising.

While Apple and Palm have been making the most noise lately in the smart phone arena, the makers of the Blackberry aren’t planning to cede the market anytime soon.

Research in Motion today unveiled the Blackberry Tour, with a pair of wireless partners – rather than making the device exclusive to a single company. Sprint and Verizon Wireless will both offer the device when it becomes available this summer.

Pricing looks to be set at $199 with a two-year contract with either company.

The Tour will tap into 3G networks in the U.S. and internationally, letting the two companies compete with faster smart phones on the market. Its pricing structure puts it in line with both the Palm Pre (which is exclusive to Sprint) and iPhone 3GS (exclusive to AT&T).

The Tour will feature a 3.2MP camera with flash, zoom, autofocus and image stabilization, a built-in GPS and the ability to synch music from iTunes. It will also allow users to share pictures and videos via MMS.

(All of this, of course, is in addition to what today’s Blackberries already offer.)

RIM is hoping the Tour will prevent the Pre and new iPhone from eroding its share of the smart phone market. Currently half of the smart phones in use around the country are sold by RIM.

While the Pre and iPhone have more buzz, the Blackberry is a staple of business users. Introducing a faster phone that can be used around the world could prevent companies from switching their employee base to other models. 

Admit it… that voice on your GPS gets old. The condescending way it says “recalculating” after you miss a turn? The harsh tone that seems to occasionally seep in when it tells you to “Turn right”?

Maybe it’s time to replace it – with the dulcet tones of Homer Simpson. TomTom has unveiled a new voice skin putting the patriarch of the Simpsons household in charge of your navigation. It’ll cost you $12.95.

Sure, it’s a marketing gimmick, but with lines recorded by Dan Castellaneta, it’s a more entertaining way to get where you’re going. For example, “Take the third right. We might find an ice cream truck! Mmm…ice cream.”

Homer isn’t the first celebrity to lend his voice to navigation systems, of course. Everyone from Mr. T to John Cleese have offered skins. Kevin Carter, a TomTom spokesperson, said the most popular, by far, has been Mr. T. The company declined to give any sales numbers though.

Carter, though, says the company expects Homer to give the iconic “A-Team” brawler a run for his money.

After making waves at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Internet-connected HDTVs are finally beginning to ship to retail – and they could be game changers for the entertainment industry.

A pair of LG models have slipped onto store shelves with the company’s NetCast feature built in, allowing consumers to stream content from Netflix and YouTube, among other providers. Toshiba, Sony and Philips are working on competing products, which will be released later this year and in early 2010.

What might sound like a gimmick is expected to catch on fast. The Yankee Group, an analytical research company, expects 50 million people will have Internet connected HDTVs by 2013. (Another 30 million, they say, will have connected Blu Ray players – and 11 million will have purchased media adaptors.)

The opportunities – and the dangers – are significant.

Forward-thinking studios with their fingers in digital distribution could find Internet connectivity to be a boost to the bottom line, as consumers bypass the local Blockbuster and opt to download new DVD releases directly to their sets. Microsoft and Sony have both made video streaming a key component of their gaming systems and both are looking to expand that.

“We have a lot of work going on in the video strategy area,” says Shane Kim, Corporate Vice President, Strategy and Business for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business.  “We know we want to bring a lot more video content to the Xbox 360, but we have to figure out what the best way is to do that.”

Networks will also be able to incorporate online elements with their programming to keep viewers interested not only during broadcast, but once a program concludes.

For instance, imagine, a running chat window off to the side during “American Idol,” letting fans communicate in live-time or even vote directly for their favorites.

Or, perhaps, after an episode of “Survivor,” CBS could steer people with Internet-connected sets to watch clips from the just-voted off contestants arriving at the Ponderosa. The network already offers these clips on its Website – and die-hard fans of the show could be kept around long enough to prevent them from switching over to another program.

With full Internet connectivity, though, comes another challenger for screen time. Viewers who get bored with programming may be just as likely to hop onto their Web browser or check their email as they are to change the channel.

More disturbing will be the potential ability for people to easily grab a pirated film online and stream it directly to their television.

We’re at the very beginning of the road for these sets. And LG’s NetCast is just a first step. In fact, only two models are currently available – the 47-inch 47LH50 LCD HDTV and the 50-inch 50PS80 plasma TV.

But competition is coming – and it’s coming fast.

It should come as no surprise that children’s use of laptops, video game platforms and cell phones continues to rise. Even the most die-hard luddite will concede that.

But a new report from The NPD Group says girls are more likely than boys to use cell phones and laptop computers.

Also, while cell phone ownership by tweens is on the rise, fewer and fewer of those kids are bothering to talk on them. The market research company says almost half of the people surveyed indicated kids used their phones to send text messages or photos rather than for verbal communications.

On average, kids between the ages of 4 and 14 have 11 consumer electronics devices in their home, with iPods, TVs and PCs leading the pack. The family shares most of these devices, but a rising number of children now own their own hardware.

According to NPD, 37 percent of kids who play portable games on a Nintendo DS or other device own their own, while one in four children own their own video game console (such as an Xbox or PlayStation).

The iPhone just got a lot cheaper - and a lot stronger

Apple today cut the price on the iPhone 3G to $99, effective immediately. The company also unveiled the iPhone 3GS, an advanced version of the popular smart phone that will go on sale June 19.

The one-two punch comes a day after Palm launched its eagerly anticipated Pre, which analysts estimate sold between 50,000 to 60,000 units in its opening weekend.

$99 is considered a magic price point and could double demand for the iPhone. It also could move the company into a neck and neck race with Research in Motion for the second place spot in worldwide Smartphone sales within the next year. (Nokia remains far and away the segment leader.)

Apple claims the iPhone 3GS is two- to three-times faster than existing models. The 32GB model will sell for $299, while a 16GB model will go for $199.