Digital Cowboy announced their Media Cowboy DC-MC35ULI set-top box that acts as media hub and a lot more. It may look like it was endorsed by DC comics, but nope. It’s not the set-top-box of choice for Batman and Superman. It works with many media sources and is capable of playing most audio and video formats in 720p.

It will work with a 3.5 SATA hard drive and can also work as an iPod dock. It’s an easy way to directly connect your media. The built-in Ethernet will make it easy to share all your files with others over a network.

If you thought the Android platform was just for netbooks and cell phones, think again. This free operating system from Google just may take over the entire gadget world yet. Who would have thought it would show up in a TV set top box from KDDI of Japan.

Android is an attractive proposition for budget-conscious gadget makers due to its free and open license. Motorola is first to release its new set top box in Japan, known as the au Box. The au Box can be used to do things like rip, store and playback digital movies and audio over your TV etc.

If OnLive has anything to say about it, this could this be a console killer. Something that puts the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii six feet under. OnLive handles all the heavy graphics rendering on its servers and what you get is lag-free gaming as a video stream. IF it works as advertised.

You would use either your broadband-connected PC or Mac, or you could hook up the set-top box to your home theater, which features Ethernet, HDMI and USB. According to OnLive, the box costs “less than a Wii.” OnLive will be launching later this year.

Most of us thought that after Christmas those promotional prices would change, but instead of prices going back up on the Vudu set-top-box, the retail price is now permanently reduced by 50%. You can get a box for $149 (previously $299).

The VUDU XL is also down by half, dropping from $999 to $499, which includes a home theater connectivity software package. Even the VUDU XL2 is getting in on the action, dropping from $1,299 to $799. So, are you gonna buy one now?

This isn’t really a surprise, but if you like you can put your hands on your face and feign shock. Just last week, we were speculating that Blockbuster might launch its video-on-demand (VOD) solution before the holidays. Here it is.

Since the Blockbuster set-top box is official, here are some specs: There are 2000 movies available for a 1.99 rental price. You have 30 days to watch a movie after the order. You have it for 24 hours once the movie has been started. It sports WIFI connectivity and is HD Capable. No word on pricing for the box itself.

Rumor is that Blockbuster could roll out its own set-top box by the time the holidays are fully upon us, which would let users receive Movielink downloads in the comfort of their own living room. There isn’t much info available, but it will be interesting to see whether this rumor pans out or not. Netflix having some competition is probably a good thing, but Blockbuster will have to come up with something really interesting to even compete.

This should make a lot of people happy. After a bit of a wait, I present the first Netflix set-top-box. Previously, Instant Viewing was available only to Windows PC users through the IE browser. But now, thanks to Roku, users can finally tap into at least a chunk of the Netflix library without having to wait for those damn discs in your mailbox for just $99.99.

The Netflix Player can even use a wireless signal to stream, but performance may differ here and there. It’s got HDMI, component, composite, Ethernet, S-Video and a Toslink optical audio jack as far as ports go. No HD support, but things look quite positive so far.

D-Link, which first introduced the DSM-750 back in September, is now making this device available for purchase at around $330. It is essentially a set-top HD Extender for Windows Media Center.

The DSM-750 lets you play and display music, photos, movies, online content and live/recorded television on connected televisions throughout the house. You can get the full details on this device after the jump.