Boxee is coming. And I don’t mean that kind from the original Battlestar Galactica. I mean the home theater PC software that makes watching streaming downloaded media on your TV easy. Mac Mini fans like it since it can be installed right on top of OS X. That’s because you need a computer in your living room to run it.

But it won’t be that way forever. Boxee just announced a deal with a hardware partner to release a Boxee Box for your living room sometime next year. So instead of buying a computer just for the Boxee, you’ll have a device designed specifically for your Boxee-related home theater use.

We talked earlier this month about the announcement that the PS3 would be getting Netflix streaming service. Today marks the official live date for the PS3 Netflix deal. If you were wondering how Netflix got around that deal with Microsoft, Blu-ray is the answer.

The Blu-ray disc that has to be in the PS3 at all times uses BD-Live to access the Netflix streaming catalog. As long as the disc is in the PS3, you can stream until your heart’s content. The service is free to all Netflix members, but you have to request one of the discs.

Cisco just announced FlipShareTV, although we don’t have some very important info, like the release date and pricing information. All we have is a brief explanation of how it works. Apparently previously recorded video, accessed on a computer via FlipShare software, is then wirelessly streamed with the FlipShareTV USB stick to the small FlipShareTV box and controlled via remote.

It’s odd because it uses these three items to perform a somewhat basic task by today’s standards. There may be more to this device, but if there is they aren’t sharing.

It’s not rocket science. First it was Microsoft’s Xbox 360, then the PlayStation 3. Now Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” is coming to Nintendo’s Wii. At least that’s what the word is, according to StreamingMedia, who has an undisclosed source that has confirmed that Nintendo is currently testing Netflix streaming on the Wii. And that it will be available “very soon.”

Hopefully that means before the holidays, but it could mean anything. If you have a Wii, you are used to waiting anyway. Waiting for better games, waiting for a better storage option, waiting for something better than 480p…

You’ve been praying for it and now at long last Netflix streaming will be available “later this year” on the PS3. Just like the Xbox 360, it will be free with the $8.99-a-month plan. But with the PS3, you’ll enable Netflix via an “instant streaming Blu-ray disc.”

The free disc will activate Netflix via BD-Live. You’ll have to load up the disc every time you want to use Netflix for now. You’ll be able to order movies and do all of the other stuff right on screen without having to do it on your computer first.

Pure Digital has just unveiled the Sensia, which is loaded with features and nice design. The style is futuristic, not retro and we love the 5.7-inch touchscreen (640 x 480). It boasts DAB and FM tuners and is also equipped with an 802.11g module to pull radio streams from the web and stream other media from networked PCs / storage.

Some other specs include two 3-inch full-range drivers, RF remote, optional rechargeable battery and a 3.5 millimeter socket for connecting to your other devices. Users can also access a bunch of applications for weather, news, Picasa or social networking.

Now’s your chance to play a game here that’s actually running over there somewhere. OnLive announced today that it’s opening a public beta of its game streaming service. If you sign up on their website you will be asked for “general information about your ISP, your computer configuration and your location” so OnLive can build “test groups” of users working under varied conditions.

If you are chosen, you’ll get an invitation and a Performance Test. If your settings pass muster, you’ll be part of a Test Group and playing games in no time.

Tomorrow the folks at MediaMall will officially announce the beta release of PlayOn for Wii. The software license costs $39.99 and there’s also a 14-day free trial so you can try it out first and decide if you like watching Hell’s Kitchen and the like on your Wii.

Me, I’d rather play some Mario Kart. PlayOn for Wii works in the same way as it does for the other game systems and streams Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and a few other online video portals from your Windows XP or Vista computer to the Wii plugged into your TV.

Forget the fact that this thing looks like some hopped up PSP wearing bright orange sunglasses. The extremely eye-catching WiFi Tv is basically a handheld internet television that is designed to access on-demand TV services that are available on the internet.

The idea is that TV shows and films can be streamed straight from the internet to the 6-inch touchscreen display. It boasts two slide-out speakers that supposedly provide a comfortable hand position, though we don’t see it. There’s even storage for Bluetooth headphones and a charging point.

Peter Bale, executive producer of MSN recently spoke to the Telegraph and announced that Microsoft will launch a streaming music service “imminently”, by the end of July. Bale said the service will be similar to Spotify, a streaming music service that offers both an ad-supported listening option as well as a premium subscription service with no ads. Bale also added that Microsoft is considering extending the service to the Xbox 360, but he didn’t give any other details.

They are still examining a business model. Apparently the service would let users stream tunes for free as long as they listen to ads every half hour or so. It will be interesting to see how this initiative will tie-in with the company’s Xbox 360 and Zune.

You will now have access to Netflix on Sony’s line of Internet-ready Bravia TVs. Newer sets come with built-in support while older models will need the add-on Internet Video Link. You can Watch Instantly and stream movies or TV shows straight on your set, though we aren’t sure if the footage is in HD or not.

The update will be available later this fall alongside competing services already live for Sony’s TVs, including Amazon Video On Demand and Sony’s own movies. Sets already have access to non-commercial video services like Crackle, DailyMotion and YouTube as well as radio from Slacker.

CinemaNow has announced that it’s partnering with Fujisoft to deliver movies to the Nintendo Wii. The service will initially launch in Japan, where the Japanese will be able to watch catalog titles from Paramount Pictures. The service is called “Minna no Theater Wii” over there.

Will we see this hot in the states? We hope so. But you never know. I’d rather watch movies on a higher quality console myself, but to each their own.

The British Broadcasting Corporation which brings us such cool programs as Top Gear, Doctor Who and Planet Earth, is said to be in talks with Google to bring their VOD service to America. Anyone who has ever watched and enjoyed the BBC’s programming knows that this is a good thing.

The BBC produces a bunch of channels that have a wide variety of content and many of these programs never make their way to BBC America, which pretty much just shows fluff. Good news indeed. Once you’ve seen enough English programming, you start to realize just how terrible our own shows are in the states.

If subscription music services are for you, check out Napster, who is about to cut their price to $60 per year and let you keep a handful of tracks forever to boot. Beginning tonight, Napster will launch its new $5 per month deal that gives subscribers unlimited, on-demand streaming access to Napster’s library of music. That’s 7 million tracks from major and independent publishers.

Best Buy’s music service will even let you keep up to five unrestricted “CD quality” MP3 tracks every month. Pretty sweet deal.

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.