Ever wished you could access media files from UPnP Media Servers from your Apple TV?  Now you can.  Thanks to Bruno Keymolen.

Bruno has created a UPnP client for the Apple TV for Home MediaCloud.  So now, not only can you access those media files from your computers, Xbox 360 and PS3, but also the Apple TV.

As with most hacks, it requires an ssh-enabled Apple TV.  You also need a few libraries to be copied over to the Apple TV in order to get it to work.  If you're an old pro at hacking, this should be pretty straight forward.  If you are not, then you might want to wait to get your hacking skills up there first. 

Finally a new movie to add to the list of closed-captioned movies on iTunes. After seeing no changes at all for a few weeks, Apple just added closed captioning to Winter Solstice, a 2004 drama about a widower trying to cope his wife's death and raising his two sons.

Hopefully, we'll see this list updated much more often. Again, I can't do this alone, so if you would like to add to the list, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

VUDU's marketing department is really working non-stop to lure people over to their camp. They just lowered the price for their set top box a few days ago. Now, they're offering 60 more HD titles via its version 1.2 software update.

Along with this update come other features like Instant HD, Change Speed Limit and Constant Audio Setting. If you have a VUDU, this is probably a worthy upgrade.

Hmm, what will those marketing guys think of next?

The wait is over. I just received an email from Brandon Holland that he has just released the plugin on his web site. So, if you know a thing or two about hacking the Apple TV, head on over to Brandon's site and try it out.

The plugin is also available via ATV Loader, which accesses Awkward TV's plugin directory . So if you already have the ATV Loader installed on your Apple TV, it is just a matter of highlighting the Skype plugin entry and selecting it.

As mentioned previously, you do need to have Skype already installed on your Apple TV for this plugin to work. The plugin merely acts as a front end to the Skype application.

I encourage you to donate to Brandon if you like his work. He is currently unemployed and sure needs any financial help he can get.

Jeremy Horowitz of iLounge has a pretty extensive write up on the new Apple TV user interface. He pretty much goes through every single menu and submenu and explains a little bit about each one.

So while you're waiting for the update, you can at least see what you'll be getting in less than two weeks. Hopefully, no more delays.

Apple TV or VUDU? If you still haven't decided yet, Vodyo.com has already done the work for you. Their latest post compares the two devices feature-to-feature from pricing to cost of content to bandwidth requirements. The article features an easy to follow table listing each device's capabilities.

In the end, the article concludes that if you have a decent broadband connection and would like a great selection of film titles, then VUDU is the way to go. Otherwise, Apple TV wins out.

If you're a long time reader of this site, then it is obvious what your pick is.

I have started a new section for iTunes U podcasts with closed caption. These were sent in by David A. Cox. They are:

• Science & engineering Visualization Challenge: It Takes Both Sides of the Brain
• Understanding Embryonic Stem Cells
• Oral Cancer: Treatment and Reconstruction
  

As some of you might have heard, the Apple TV update has been delayed for another week or two. According to Apple, the new features are still "not quite finished".

We waited this long. I guess a few more weeks wouldn't hurt. Hang in there, guys.

Gizmodo, the "bad boy " of tech blogs, went straight to the teardown master, iSuppli , for the latest estimate on the cost of the Apple TV. They were surprised that even though the costs of the components have fallen, it did not make up for the $70 price reduction. Their conclusion: Apple IS really subsidizing the cost of the Apple TV with iTunes sales.

Still, I feel that the price reduction was necessary to boost Apple TV sales. Software update itself would not have justified buying an Apple TV for the average consumers.

As promised, I have posted a list of closed-captioned movies from the iTunes Store. I know it's been a week since I promised this list. I apologize for the delay. The list is just a straight-forward one with just the movie title and the link to that movie on iTunes. It is available under the "Resources" menu located on top of the page. The RSS feed should be availalble later tonight.

There is another exciting news in regards to adding closed captioning to iTunes movies. I have received the following email from my reader, Andy Foster:

Reader and advocate extraordinaire Janice Schacter has kept in touch with the folks at Apple about their support for captioning. She has had some very exciting news from Mike Shebanek, Apple's Senior Product Manager of Worldwide Product Marketing

Mike noted that Closed Captioning playback is included in Apple's QuickTime software, iTunes, and in the latest software for the iPod, and iPhone. Last week at Macwold, Apple announced a new AppleTV that also supports closed captioned playback. The software for the new AppleTV will also be available to existing AppleTV owners as a software update over the Internet.

Now there's also captioned content on iTunes! Apple has also introduced closed captioned movies on iTunes, so you can now buy or rent movies with closed captioning. Here's an example using "The Italian Job". Note the "cc" logo in the last line of the description.

Not every movie on iTunes is closed captioned yet, but Mike said that Apple is continuing to work with the movie companies to add many more titles as quickly as possible.