Viewsonic is getting into the media player game at a lower price point. The VMP70 is a “direct connect” media device that will play content from your choice of USB-compatible devices, up to 1080p to your display over HDMI or component cables, also featuring composite for lower-def stuff.

It packs an S/PDIF port for clean audio and supports a bunch of formats including the usual DivX, Xvid, H.264 along with some more uncommon ones like RM/RMVB, DTS, and OGG. This one is available for a MSRP of $129.99, but if you order now you’ll get special holiday pricing of $98.99.

JVC wants a piece of the Flip market, so its unveiled the rather attractive and shiny Picsio GC-FM1. It’s more than just a good looking compact camcorder, though. It sports an 8-megapixel sensor and can capture 1080p HD video. No built in memory here, but it shoots to SDHC cards so you can easily add more storage if you need to.

You’d think that JVC would include a card in the box to get you started, but no such luck. So, you’ll need one. Movies are in H.264 format and you can put them directly on YouTube. The device also features digital image stabilization and you can expect 96 minutes from a single charge.

If you want a PMP that outputs 1080p video, you’ve probably noticed that a PMP like that is hard to find. Even the ones that have HD in their name aren’t up to it. Now it looks like China’s Teclast could be the one to get in on the 1080p action first and beat some of the big players.

Well, if the new T56 PMP actually does what it says anyway. The device sports a 5-inch screen that boasts full 1080p output from its HDMI port, or a standard 800 x 600 resolution on the screen itself. No info on storage yet, but the rest of the specs are high-end across the board. Features like built-in GPS, an FM tuner, a memory card slot, and a unibody-type enclosure.

MIPS Technologies along with Sigma Designs demonstrated an Android-based set-top box that is capable of 1080p video. It’s being hailed as “a major milestone toward the creation of a reference platform” that will allow Android-based devices to enter your living room.

They’ve made enhancements to Android libraries and the MIPS architecture so that the OS can run on a full-sized display at HD resolutions, rather than small handset displays. The specific Sigma SoC (system-on-chip) used for the prototype is unknown, but it may be the SMP8640-series chip already used in Blu-ray players and other video devices.

This may be Kodak’s best pocket cam yet. The Flip Ultra HD doesn’t stand a chance with features like 1080p recording, an electronic image stabilizer, and an SDHC card slot. The launch price is $180. Some other features include:

It has an external mic jack, 5-megapixel stills, you can track faces of subjects and Kodak says, “see more details and accurate colors in low light.” That’s big because low light has been a problem with Flip-class cameras.

Brando loves to release docking stations for your SATA HDDs every couple of months. This latest unit adds H.264 decoding to the already present DivX, Xvid and MPEG-4 and outputs to full 1080p. It features HDMI and a bunch of supported media formats. It gives you a lot of options.

This new device accepts 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard drives as well as USB flash memory, SD, MMC, and MS cards. There’s much to like. Until you get to the price, which is $199. There are nicer looking alternatives available for about half that.

Vivitek has announced its all new 1080p model projector that should hit US retail this August for $999. The company’s H1080FD will be based on Texas Instruments’ S450 chip / light-engine design with Dark Chip II technology.

Some other specs include 1,800 lumens of brightness, a 5,000:1 contrast ratio, two HDMI ports, composite / S-Video / component inputs, RS-232c control connector and a 12v trigger. Lamp life is rated at 3,000 hours and Vivitek has designed the cabinet for easy bulb access, if you need to replace burned out lamps.

Here’s a device that stands out from the crowd. The Olevia HD Media Player, also known as the ZP-500. This media player can decode, playback and output full HD video (Amazing 1080p) via its HDMI 1.3 interface. Supported codecs include MKV, HD MPEG2, HD VC-1, HD AVC/H.264 movie and RMVB HD. You can also stream from a USB flash drive or hard drive to your new HDTV.

Yes it comes with built-in network connectivity, allowing you to go through your files from any PC screen. The Network function allows you to browse the video file in your PC, NAS which is in your room and play it on TV in the living room. Pretty awesome device.

The new 64GB HDR-CX520V and 32GB HDR-CX500V are identical aside from the built-in storage capacities. Both feature an Exmor R CMOS sensor with BIONZ processing that offers great low-light performance and great 12 megapixel stills.

Some other features include Optical SteadyShot with a new active mode and three-way shake cancellation, Face Touch autofocus which allows you to point at faces to prioritize focus, and 60p output, which will interpolate your footage to 60 progressive frames per second when connected to a compatible HDTV.

Hannspree just released its new 25-inch LCD HDTV for the US market. The ‘ST251MKB’ is a budget-friendly TV that supports 1080p resolution and features a 16:9 aspect ratio, a 2ms response time, 300cd/m2 brightness, dynamic 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 160-degree vertical viewing angle and a 170-degree horizontal viewing angle.

It also comes with several handy connectivity ports which include a VGA port, two HDMI ports, an S-Video port, headphone output and a PC audio jack. The ST251MKB is available now at Costco for $400.

At E3 today the big M announced a bunch of upgrades to Xbox Live. The biggest news is the relaunch of the video service, now Zune-branded with 1080p instant-on streaming content in 18 countries. XBL will also now integrate with Facebook, which is great news for all of you social butterflies out there. Your Facebook account can be linked to your Gamertag, and games will support Facebook Connect for sharing online content.

That’s not all. You’ll also be getting Twitter and Last.fm. Yes, these updates are huge. There’s more. Netflix users will now be able to browse the entire catalog instead of just loading their queue, and since Microsoft has gotten its Party Watch system down, you’ll be able to diss videos with your online friends.

The GefenTV wireless HDMI extender will send HD video from the player to an HD display up to 100 feet away. The HD video delivered over the air will even deliver 1080/30p quality with Dolby 5.1 surround sound within that 100-foot distance.

It uses Amimon’s 5GHz wireless technology, which is able to deliver clean and lag-free HD video over air. The extender consists of just a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is connected to a video player, whIle the receiver is attached to an HD display.

If you haven’t jumped onto the 3D bandwagon yet, you’ll want to very soon if this year’s NAB show is any indication. Meet Panasonic’s latest conceptual camcorder, which will take P2 memory cards. For the moment, Panasonic’s 3D Full HD Camera Recorder is just a prototype, but it’s pretty clear that they intend to bring it to market asap. It looks pretty awesome.

The device will feature a twin-lens system for capturing 3D footage natively in 1080p, and the video streams will be stored on P2 cards. Will it be able to be used for 2D shooting at all? It doesn’t look like it right now. Either way, this is a step in the right direction for Panasonic. Everybody else is doing the 3D thing after all.

Acer has been busy as usual. The company just announced the first computer based on NVIDIA’s ION platform. It goes by the name of AspireRevo and looks like a Nettop, but it contains an entry-level NVIDIA GPU that is much faster than previous solutions from Intel. It has a 4GB memory limit which is nice.

It’ll run 1080p videos, output 7.1 surround sound audio and is compatible with DX 10 graphics. It will ship with Vista Home Premium at launch, followed by Windows 7 soon after.

Remember that hot Acer Hornet nettop we heard about a few months back? There’s some more info and if things are as they appear, it could be a super awesome cheap HTPC. It supports 1080p video playback over HDMI and the “Media Center” version will come with a Wii-type remote for gaming and media control.

Specs seem decent for the $149-$299 price range. The low end model appears to have an Atom N230 with 1GB of RAM and an 80GB drive preloaded with Vista Home Basic. On the higher end you get 2GB of RAM, a 160GB drive, and a “Boxshell” quickboot OS in addition to Vista Home Premium.