Windows/Mac/Linux (all platforms): Livestation, the previously invite-only streaming television player, has released its free desktop client for all platforms. The app cites an available 1,275 channels, but the majority are—how should we say—not essential viewing. Still, there's live CNN, BBC, NBC News, Bloomberg, and a smattering of local stations. (Many of the US stations are blocked to international viewers.) The full-screen "carousel" view is pretty slick, as is reducing the player to a corner and having it always stay on top. After creating your account, you can also watch live streams from Livestation's web site, and send twitters marking what you're watching. All in all, a pretty decent solution to quickly pulling up news and information while you're at your desktop. Livestation is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems; requires a free sign-up to use.

Joost, the web-based provider of on-demand and live television, launched a browser-based version of its offerings this morning. While users of the service's Mac and Windows software can still get at their channels, Joost's new model allows anyone with Flash capabilities, and a temporarily-required browser IE or Firefox plug-in, to get at the good stuff. Joost is expected to go no-plugin-required next month—nice for those on Linux or non-standard browsers—but for now, it's a bit more hassle-free to watch live or canned television at work, or show a friend that old sitcom episode you were referring to. Joost is a free service; requires a sign-up and (for the moment) browser plug-in.

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You don't have to mod your classic Xbox to run the best free media centre application around anymore: Dedicated developers have ported the Xbox Media Centre (XBMC) software to the Mac, and its killer features will convince you to abandon Front Row forever. The latest XBMC on OS X beta dropped last week, and it's as stable and useful as ever. Dubbed the "throw out your Xbox" release, XBMC for Mac 0.5 beta 1 adds the key feature that finally puts your media centre Mac under the TV where it belongs: remote control support. Let's take a look at how you can (and why you want to) replace Front Row with XBMC on your Mac.

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iPhone/iPod touch only: You may be familiar with Orb for its music or TV-streaming abilities (it can even turn your Wii into a media center), but now the folks at Orb have taken on the iPhone and iPod touch with a new application called OrbLive. You can now stream live television to your device, in addition to music, videos, photos, and everything else Orb is known for. Hit the jump for a look at Orb's live streaming in action and a guide for installing OrbLive on your iPhone or iPod touch.

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No matter how meticulous your programming, or how smart you might think your TiVo is, random scheduling changes can cause you to miss an episode of your favourite series and not realise it until your co-workers give away the plot. mytvrss, a free no-subscribe RSS generator, provides an aggregate feed of air date announcements for the shows you choose, which can be edited later. It's not for those suffering from an acute case of feed overload, but it could make for a pretty helpful iGoogle gadget or other embeddable feed.

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If, like me, you've been waiting for a plug and play PVR then our pals at Gizmodo have a lot of interesting news to share. First up, Seven has confirmed that TiVo is definitely launching here, but not until August.
(I was turned down for the TiVo beta - first beta I've ever been knocked back for! sob!)
And if you're PlayStation inclined, Sony have announced we'll get its PVR addon for PS3, PlayTV sometime in the 4th quarter.
I've never been a huge fan of pay TV, but I've been enjoying the Foxtel IQ lately.
My question to you is, have you found a PC-based PVR that "just works"? I've heard good things about MythTV but never tried it. I've only used Microsoft's Media Center to play music. Yes, I'm pretty much a noob.

We've talked about building a Mac mini media center and other ways to pimp your mini in the past, but blogger Jon Hicks revisits the Mac mini media centre with a focus on using it with Leopard and EyeTV (a Mac DVR solution). While Apple TV is doing its best to justify a place in your living room, it still doesn't time-shift television, and many Mac enthusiasts still find that the Mac mini still outdoes Apple's latest media centre offering. On the other hand, if you're still rolling Panther on your Mac, you could just install Apple TV on it and call it a day.

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As the HDTV continues its march into living rooms, the New York Times points out that most new HDTVs need to be calibrated if you want to the best picture. The article points out several options for how you can go about calibrating your HDTV, from paying your electronics store to do it for you (the expensive way) to DIY calibration using the THX Optimizer, a tool built into many DVD menus. Since many of you have probably gone done this road already, let's hear how you calibrated your HDTV—including what tools you used and how you feel about the results—in the comments. For a more granular approach to fixing specific picture problems, check out how to troubleshoot your HDTV picture.

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Keep your toddler from stuffing a peanut butter sandwich into your DVD player with a few kid-proofing home theatre system tips from Wired's How-To Wiki. They recommend using an enclosed cabinet for your gear, stowing power cords as out of reach as possible, and actually using the safety strap to anchor that big TV to the table top.

If your TV or piece of furniture did not include one of these, go out and buy one. Most hardware stores carry them and they are inexpensive insurance. If a five dollar piece of nylon, two screws and five minutes of your time can prevent junior from pulling over your two thousand dollar flat screen, shattering it into a gazillion pieces and quite possibly injuring himself in the process, wouldn't you go for it?

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March Madness is in full swing, so if you're keen on catching and staying on top of all the action as it happens, don't forget that you can catch the games live online this year, either through your browser from CBS or with the freeware application, Joost. Alternately, you can follow the scores and fill out your own bracket with the Google Docs NCAA tournament bracket.

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