The Super bowl is over, the ads have aired, and now we're trying to fill a football-sized hole in our TV schedules. Luckily there's a few new shows airing that may help us get through the winter, unless of course we get more Glee clones that push us outdoors into the harsh, unforgiving elements. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

The Walking Dead
AMC's hit show is back for the second half of its second season Sunday night, and we're... actually anticipating it? Stranger things have happened, and now that the little girl we never really got to know or care about is gone maybe they can leave the farm to go places where things happen. There's a quick preview trailer embedded after the break.
(February 12th, AMC, 10PM

Smash
It's another show that's a lot like Glee. These words have either filled you with dread or uncontrollable excitement. Schedule your DVR and plans for this evening accordingly.
(February 6th, NBC, 10PM)

Doomsday Preppers
We know, we said we were against the quirky reality TV shows (on a slightly related note, the second jousting reality show of the season also premieres this week -- how has jousting become a thing?) but this one is crazy enough to pique our interest. Doomsday Preppers goes inside your neighbor's underground vault to see just what he's got stocked in there should the worst happen. Don't wait for the air-raid sirens to go off to find out, just tune into National Geographic tomorrow night, or check out the trailer embedded after the break.
(February 7th, National Geographic, 9 & 10PM)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (February 6th - 12th)

Must See HDTV (February 6th - 12th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's Monday, and almost as regular an occurrence as the day itself, we're here to help by letting you listen into the recording booth when the Engadget HD podcast goes to mp3 at 5:30PM. Please be a part of it by reviewing the list of topics after the break, then participating in the live chat as you listen in.

Continue reading Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 5:30PM

Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 5:30PM originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lillyhammer (or: 'Paulie in Norway') now streaming on Netflix originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Internet giants Google and Facebook have removed content from some Indian domain websites following a court directive. Click here for more.

(Telecompaper) US fixed-line operators Consolidated Communications and SureWest have agreed to a merger. Consolidated will acquire SureWest for USD 23 per share in cash or stock, or a total USD 340.9 million excluding debt. This is a 47 percent premium on SureWest's last share price. The combined company will have operations in six states and 1,775 employees, with pro forma revenues of USD 620 million for the twelve months ending 30 September 2011. SureWest serves 130,000 residential subscribers and 15,700 commercial businesses in the greater Kansas City and Sacramento regions over its own fibre networks, which pass in total 321,700 homes. Consolidated offers voice, data and video services to residential and business customers in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas. Consolidated said the deal will combine its own strong cash flow with SureWest's growth strategy in fibre services. The transaction is expected to generate annual operating synergies of USD 25 million and capex savings of USD 5-10 million by the end of the first full year of the combination. The deal remains subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

After a long streak of skyrocketing earnings, HTC's climb towards the stars seems to have stalled. Q4 was not kind to the company and CFO Winston Yung thinks he knows the reason why. During the today's earnings call Yung admitted that HTC "dropped the ball" with its selection of LTE devices. He conceded that the bulky handsets simply failed on a design and spec level -- especially when it came to battery life -- and were not selling nearly as well as expected. Unsurprisingly, the company promises to turn its fortunes around with the next product cycle, which is rumored to kick off at MWC with the Ville.

HTC admits its bulky, quick-dying LTE phones kinda suck originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today's been all about the white phones, and Nokia's new Lumia matches that glossy finish we saw on its near-identical twin, the white N9. Here, opposing the matte goodness of the rest of Lumia 800 family, the unibody shell has an almost-enamel feel on what we've heard is still polycarbonate material. From our brief play with the device, it's looking to be a pretty pervasive color choice to go alongside that pitch-black AMOLED screen. We know the phone is set to arrive later this month, blessing fans of blanc in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and another handful of European countries. See how its good looks stack up against the rest of the Lumia rainbow in our hands-on gallery below.

Nokia Lumia 800 White hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It once was a rumor but now it's real: Verizon and Redbox are joining forces on what is said to be the "best of both worlds" -- a service that will offer both physical media and streaming content for subscribers. Details are slim at this point but the supposed "Project Zoetrope" will offer DVD and Blu-ray media in addition to on-demand streaming plus downloadable content. The Netflix-like service is said to be launching in the second half of this year and, while support for "devices" is mentioned, it's not stated whether any of those will be non-Verizon. We'll have to wait a few more months to find out.

[Thanks, Kevin]

Continue reading Verizon and Redbox team up to launch streaming and physical media service later this year

Verizon and Redbox team up to launch streaming and physical media service later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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