'The Early Show' is finally going HD, according to a new report from Media Bistro. It seems a little odd that it's taken the show so long to switch, especially considering that its morning show rivals, 'Today' and 'Good Morning America,' already broadcast in HD.

Perhaps this is CBS' attempt to boost ratings and skew to a younger audience, which was nudged along a couple of years ago when it re-launched the show with a colorful new widescreen set. According to Media Life, the show averaged a measly 2.52 million viewers during the first three months of 2010, putting it in third place among the network morning news programs.

Technology is a marvelous thing, right? No, no, this is not a story about the Apple iPad coming out this weekend or the wonders it promises to bring -- just ask Phil Dunphy. He called it the first day of the rest of your life.

But no, the technology that has me scratching my head is 3D television. That's right, the state-of-the-art, mind-blowing idea that you will be able to watch television in a way you never have before. Bigger than a big screen. Better than high definition. More powerful that a home theater sensurround experience.

Next weekend, if you have invested in a first generation 3D TV for about $2,500, you'll be able to watch the Masters Golf Tournament in 3D. And you had better spend on the glasses, too, because not all sets are sold with the spectacles that make the 3D possible in the first place. Funny, you would think that the glasses were included, but apparently not. It's like some computers that ship without a power cord. Are you kidding me?

In 2009, the television industry closed shop on Guiding Light. In 2010, CBS will pull the plug on As the World Turns. Is it time to start worrying about One Life to Live, too? I'm afraid so. Over the holidays, One Life to Live posted horrible Nielsen numbers, the lowest ever in fact.

There are other reasons to be concerned about One Life to Live. All My Children was the New York soap opera that ABC decided to move to Hollywood. It was also the show that was transitioned to HD. One Life was not only left behind in New York -- in AMC's old studio space -- but the plans for it to begin broadcasting in high-def was delayed. ...It doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to see that One Life to Live is vulnerable and the network is not doing much to alter that impression.

It's a new year, and that means new beginnings for all of us, including The Colbert Report, which got a new set and a new HD look. Last night he said goodbye to the old set and hello to his new one. In these clips you can't see the two objects he has off to the side on his desk.

[Watch clips and episodes of The Colbert Report and other shows at SlashControl.]

Apple has left some fairly noticeable heel marks on the free throw lines of the computer, digital music and the cell phone industry.

So what technology business does Steve Jobs have next on his "To Dominate" list? Why TV, of course. What did you think I was going to say? Toasters? Did you not read the name of this blog?

A financial analyst with the Piper Jaffray investment banking firm speculated that the company is eying at taking a stab at TV technology by releasing its own high definition television by 2011.

When the late night musical chairs began, I dipped my toes into their waters for the first time in many, many years. The only three shows remaining on my DVR are The Tonight Show, Late Night and The Late Late Show, and only Craig Ferguson is a must watch from beginning to end (I've actually cut Tonight twice and put it back since Conan took over).

The real hook for me is Ferguson's monologue. While everyone's doing, "Hey let's look at the news. Setup. Punchline. Setup. Punchline. Setup. Punch me in the face I can't take it anymore!," Ferguson is doing a short stand-up routine every night. It's smart, it's clever, and it all flows so much more nicely.

I've also enjoyed his constant rants about how terrible his show is, what a horrible host he is, and how incredibly cheap CBS is when it comes to anything to do with The Late Late Show. But now, long after all of his competitors got the upgrade, we're finally getting Craig Ferguson in HD starting August 31, 2009. So he'll have one less thing to bitch about, at least.

You've seen the commercial below. It's a Comcast ad that takes on Verizon FIOS by saying that FIOS costs more, doesn't have as much HD as Comcast, and is filled with too many lame videos.

Last night I watched the commercial again (for the 4000th time) and I noticed that they've changed the ending. The FIOS guy used to say "I'm going to write down your credit card number which I memorized when I was looking..." I always thought that was an odd line, pretty much insinuating that a Verizon rep would take someone's credit card number like that. But they've now taken that line out and replaced it with something else (though the new line escapes me at the moment - anyone?). I wonder if Verizon complained?

For a few months now, MTV has been showing AMTV, morning music videos with a range of old and new. Let's ignore the repetitive nature for a second. The biggest flaw is that MTV HD shows the videos in the same quality as its non-HD entity, leaving those annoying black side bars. Why aren't any of the music videos on MTV or VH1 in HD?

In a weaker economy where even television programs get budget cuts, music videos are a great alternative to showing programming since the station doesn't pay for them. It's shameless advertising for the musician and a cheap way to put things in HD.

Does the thought of this face in 720 lines of crystal clear resolution make the soup you had for lunch a week ago rise in your gullet?

If so (you extremely shallow human being who will spend life alone until you die), then you'll be pleasantly surprised to learn that Jimmy Kimmel's first foray into high definition television was quite an improvement.

He even showed his viewers just how beautiful the difference was by making the switch live on the air during Tuesday night's episode.

So you've probably heard about the 30 seconds of porn (video is unbelievably NSFW. You will be fired and embarrassed if you watch this video. Please don't show to your parents, kids, or clergy. Warning! Graphic!) that many Tucson residents saw during the Super Bowl. And if you lived in the area and actually saw it, you might be getting some money from Comcast.

The cable company has decided to pay ten dollars to each person who was "affected" by the showing of porn during the game. I have no idea how you're supposed to prove you saw it or even what "affected" means. Annoyed? Ticked off? Embarrassed for your family? Aroused? Did it make you want to strangle a puppy? Comcast, the nudity you showed on Super Bowl Sunday made me rethink my career path. I want my ten dollars!

Comcast is still investigating what exactly happened, but they're pretty sure it was done by someone on purpose. Only people who didn't watch the game in HD actually saw it, which is a great ad for HDTV. Not sure if the spokesperson for the company helps by using the words "aggressively pursue" and "come to a resolution" in the statement.

It's approaching midnight, it's in the single digits outside, and I really don't feel like watching regular TV right now. I feel like having something on while I get under the covers and read. Time for the Yule Log!

This season (Jay reviewed one a couple of years ago), Comcast, Cox, Time-Warner, and Bright House all have the Yule Log on their On Demand service (via iN Demand). It's that scene of a crackling fireplace to get you in the Christmas mood. It's especially good if you don't have a fireplace of your own (duh), and it's in HD! I have Comcast digital, and to access it, go to your On Demand menu, then scroll down to HD On Demand, then go to TV Entertainment. You'll see a "Yule Log & More" category (not sure how to get to the section on other cable systems - maybe it's the same?).

But wait, there's more...

This news might actually get me to start watching Heroes weekly again.

This week, Hulu.com bulked up its free HD Gallery to include new episodes of Heroes, The Office, 30 Rock and all of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog in 720p high definition. I just streamed "It's Coming," last week's ep of Heroes, and it looked great on my 25-inch iMac. I'm no tech wiz, but I can easily see the difference in visual quality between the site's HD offerings and its regular streaming content. (Too bad HD can't work the same magic on Tim Kring's script.)

I don't have an HD TV. I usually watch my favorite shows on an out-of-date 20-inch box. So, from my perspective, Hulu's HD content looks pretty amazing. It's the greatest thing to happen to TV since last night's ep of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Yes, I have a short attention span.

September first brings Labor Day, back-to-school, impending autumn, and... Cinemax HD. TV Squad received a press release stating that as of September first, Cinemax will be the only 100% HD channel, promos and all.

So what's this mean to us as viewers? I'm having a hard time wrapping myself around this one. Sure, they mention some new-ish movies they will premiere, like The Bourne Ultimatum, Shrek the Third and The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. But to me, Cinemax is synonymous with B movies from a decade or so ago, one of those channels that you get for free in your cable TV movie package bbut never watch.

I know what you are thinking... your burning question that you are too embarrassed to ask...

Amazon Unbox is probably one of the simplest non-Apple services for renting and buying downloaded TV shows and movies on a PC. The service is also compatible with TiVo, but I know a few folks who refuse to pay for any video unless it comes in high definition. And so far, HD video has not been available via Amazon Unbox.

Bu it looks like that could be changing. TiVo Vice President Jim Denney tells TV Week that HD capabilities are coming to Amazon "in the not too distant future." And judging from the source, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that means you'll be able to download and watch HD video using a TiVo HD or TiVo Series. As MegaZone at Gizmo Lovers suggests, it's likely that Amazon will use the H.264 codec, which would let the company distribute high definition videos with relatively small file sizes (relative being the key word here).

[via Zatz Not Funny]

One of the things that I love about How I Met Your Mother -- there, I said it, I love the show -- is the mystery surrounding who "mother" is and whether we've already seen her on the show or is she still to be introduced. It's not just the Lost fans that are watching scene by scene, shot by shot, frame by frame to uncover clues. Take this very cool observation by a blogger at Seat42f.com.

If you look at the picture, the green boxes, you'll notice that the framed handwritten letter/poem/writing in the background of Stella's home (left), is the same as the framed letter/poem/writing behind the kids in the opening of the show. According to the blogger -- who has HD and studied the scenes closely, it's definitely the same artifact.