Hackers will get a machine to do all kinds of things that it should do, but doesn’t. Correcting the oversights of those damn lazy companies. We want things the way we want them. That’s why some Wii coders have made it so the Wii can have DVD playback.

It’s done by installing a hidden channel on the console, which gives it a DVD access library so you can watch all your favorite dvds with the MPlayer application, an open source media player. The install file works on both modded and unmodded Wiis. They are apparently experimenting with playing media from SD cards as well. Now you’ll be able to watch any DVD you want one last time before Blu-Ray creeps into your life.

Those of us in the U.S. know damn well that we are never going to have a DVD playing Wii, while those who live in Japan have reason to hope. The company has made promises stating that a DVD system was on the way in some form, at some point.

Now the poor Wii playing Japanese are thinking they may never get one as well since Nintendo has just announced yet another delay to the system while still giving no date. IGN says that Nintendo President Satoru Iwata would only say that due to the continuing worldwide Wii shortages, “the priority is on the current model.”

As far as originality, you won’t find any here. When they designed this Maxx Digital portable DVD player, they simply re-did the PSP for some reason I can’t fathom. Not that it’s not a good looking PSP. It is. It’s just a PSP, not a DVD player design. I just don’t like all my stuff to look like PSP’s, that’s all I’m saying.

The PDV-8500BLK features a nice 8.5-inch LCD widescreen, and will play videos in DVD, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, CD, CD-R/RW, VCD and SVCD formats. It’s also got support for JPEG, MP3 and MPEG4 files via a built-in SD, MMS/MS card reader slot. Strangely it doesn’t play video games at all. And no UMD discs. It will cost you $120.

Researchers at Tohoku University have reportedly figured out a way to “multiply the amount of data that can be stored on a DVD or CD by 9.” Apparently, it works by shaping the pits on a DVD’s surface like Vs, essentially allowing you to get more out of the disc. The problem is that existing DVD & CD players won’t recognize the media made in this way, and for some reason the process can’t be applied to Blu-ray Discs. Still pretty cool though.

The Souped Up John is the ultimate in geek bathroom luxury. The designer certainly wasn’t constipated when it came to throwing ideas into this john, but was certainly counting on your constipation to keep you in place long enough to use all of the various gadgetry.

It sports a television, TiVo, DVD, XBox, laptop, fridge and of course the toilet paper holder comes standard. Plus an iPod docking station. You also get some exercise pedals in front for when you really need to shake those bowels loose. The megaphone is there so others can cater to any needs not already provided for.

Hitachi has announced a new Blu-ray burner that can create discs from the latest camcorders with eSATA ports. The DZ-WR90 plugs straight into the camcorder and automatically creates discs from the footage that you select. So, you don’t need a computer. It even finalises the discs automatically, making it an easy complete one-step process.

The drive will also work with DVD-R discs, and even supports double-sided media as long as you’re willing to flip them yourself. They’re claiming that a Blu-ray disc will fit around three hours of full 1920 × 1080 footage and burn in 1.5hrs; or up to six hours in 1440 × 1080 resolution. A DVD can store up to one hour of 720 × 480 footage. This should make it easy for anyone who wants a simple way to share their video.

This may be the last gadget you’ll ever buy. Both because it does everything and because it is the ultimate distraction leading to your fiery demise. At least you’ll be distracted while that tanker truck rams you. Not only can the visor play DVDs, audio and video files, it can play retro video games on its 7-inch LCD 16×9 widescreen display. Just hook up one or two gamepads that are included and you can play emulated 8-bit games. (You get several on an included disc).

It plays DVD, SVCD, VCD, DVCD, CD, CDG, CD-R and CD-RW discs, as well as digital media files stored in MP4, MP3, WMA or JPEG formats. You can even send game or movie audio to your car’s stereo thanks to a built-in FM transmitter. I’m hoping it’s only available as a passenger visor, for all of our sakes. If you’re ready to turn your car into wreckage, this will cost you just over $100.

No, this is not a vintage Pink Floyd Album cover, but it looks bizarre enough that it could be. It’s also not a photo from the Brick’s new Borg-style Female Assimilation project.(We do have such a project, but it’s all pretty hush-hush. It looks alot like this actually.) The O2 Lounge is the latest fad in salons, spas, massage parlors, hotels, nightclubs, and apparently the great outdoors.

You get all the benefits of a Shiatsu Massage and an Aroma O2 Oxygen Maker. They throw in some audio/video therapy too. The Entertainment Oxygen Lounge has a multimedia DVD player with loudspeaker and hi-fi earphones, Music massage transfer with various massage techniques, and the Aroma O2 Oxygen Maker, along with the Aroma O2 Headset. It comes in four vibrant colors, with a price tag of $7,995, but for now, they are offering it for a special price of $4,595.

DVD may be dead or dying, but maybe it will be able to live again in your car. This touchscreen sun visor will allow the person sitting in the passenger seat to enjoy some entertainment. Not you though. You need to focus on the road.

It comes with a handy remote, a 16:9 TFT high definition LCD display, USB Port, an SD slot that maxes out at 1GB. Supports DVD, DVD Audio, DVD-R /W, HDVD, DVCD, DVIX, MP3, MP4, CD-R /W and VCD. The 7-Inch Sun Visor DVD Touch Screen with TV + FM is available from the Chinavision for $128.14.

Do you hate it when you have to copy tons of pics from your camera onto the PC, then burn them using software so that they can later be viewed on your DVD player? Yes, there are plenty of cameras that offer TV out, but maybe you love your current camera and don’t want another.

If that’s the case, check out this device that does it all, without a PC. It’s a compact recorder for converting your JPEGs to MPEGs and burning them onto CDs. It can also burn images without converting, making back-ups easier. Comes equipped with RCA and S-Video inputs and also acts as a player.

Mitsubishi just launched two new Blu-ray recorders set for Japan with the DVR-BZ200 and the DVR-BZ100. The two recorders each house an internal HDD with 500GB and 250GB capacities, respectively.

The part that really makes these Blu-ray records most notable is that they can record HD content onto a regular DVD disc with Blu-ray’s AVCREC specs. You can fit around a couple of hours of Full HD MPEG video onto a standard 4.7GB DVD, and set it to record using the super-cool, included touch screen remote control.

This external burner from PLDS (Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions) makes the act of copying or backing up files to a CD or DVD very easy, so that anyone can do it. There are two touch sensitive buttons labeled DUB and FILE on the top of the burner. The FILE button brings up an application on your PC that looks like a large EZ-DUB icon. Just drag files directly onto this icon and they will be added to the “burn” queue. When you’re done you just hit the FILE button, insert a blank disc in the tray and it will burn what you just told it to burn.

You can get the EZ-DUB for $80. Duplicating a DVD or CD is just as easy. Maybe even easier. If you’re sick of people calling on you to do the job, this should help. Anyone can do it.

Cube3 is a 7 Inch DVD/TV Entertainment Center combo. Super nice looking and flexible. It will play your DVDs and even has one of those clever USB slots in front so you can hook up your MP3 player. It will even rip your CDs to the USB stick which is a nice feature. It can get quite loud for it’s size as well with the 60W RMS speakers.

The cube3 integrates those other features together with a digital TV. But it doesn’t have to be all about movies. Use it to view your photos and pictures on-screen like a digital photo frame. Playback compressed DivX or MPG4 videos from an external hard drive or USB flash drive. For it’s size that’s several great features that you want in a Hi-Fi system.

Recent decisions by the likes BlockBuster earlier last year, Warner Brothers last month and Netflix just this morning are only further cementing the future of the next single high definition video format. Widening the gap today is retail giant Best Buy which has announced that they too will be supporting Blu-ray over HD DVD as the preferred format for the future.

Best Buy says they will continue to carry HD DVD products in their store as well, but will be showcasing the Blu-ray products as the emerging single format for high-definition video going forward. This move could help many consumers who are undecided about the future of video formats to make a decision and possibly make purchases that they’ve been holding out on. We also imagine that this will make life a whole lot easier for Best Buy employees working on the floor answering customer questions about which format to choose.

Polaroid’s DPJ-08580B is only one of a hundred gadgets that go with your iPod, but it manages to stand out admirably. The device is basically a portable DVD player with an embedded iPod dock, which will allow you to view videos stored on your iPod in a larger format. Not huge mind you, but larger. The screen is 8.5 inches.

It retails for just 28,000 yen, which is about $252, but if you absolutely have to buy an accessory for your iPod, you will probably get more enjoyment out of this one then most of the other gadgets out there.