Just over a month ago, I posted a rather cryptic blog titled ‘YouTube HD‘ with an example video in high definition. I’d read on Wired that YouTube had just started rolling out HD support, and as I already uploaded many videos in such a format, a bunch of my movies automatically received an update.

In the meantime, it looks like HD has been fully integrated into the site, and compatible videos automatically have a ‘Watch in HD’ link below the picture. This feature is only possible with reasonably fast connections–my parents’ 1MB broadband is far too slow–but for those with the bandwidth, YouTube HD is a mile away from the blurry videos that have typified YouTube content.

I’ve been a bit of a sucker for high definition ever since I took my first job writing for a home cinema magazine. Earlier in the year I paid $35 for Viddyou, just because it supported unlimited uploading of HD videos. But with Viddyou’s chuggy video player and Vimeo‘s recent removal of all my game-related videos, I’ve never really had the proper solution I’m after. YouTube HD may not be ‘proper’ HD, but as it’s the most popular video site and has no limits on the size and content you upload, it’s just become my favourite video site again.

I’ve just got the Panasonic DMC-FX500, which is a compact digital camera that can shoot in 720p. To test the camera out, I shot in and around the office, including a look at my setup for reviewing LittleBigPlanet. Click the HD button to make HD.

Tipped off by a post on Lifehacker, I downloaded a new piece of software called Boxee for the Mac yesterday. Currently in alpha, the project is essentially a new frontend for Xbox Media Center, only with added social interaction. This means that you can see what your friends think about films/albums/TV shows, while you can broadcast your recommendations over services such as Twitter.

As media centers become more and more common in the home, Boxee offers a glimpse at the future of media consumption and sharing. Checking out trailers of my friends’ favourite films, listening to my last.fm radio stream and watching Revision3 shows from one single interface is really powerful, and while Boxee is still young and relatively buggy, it’s definitely something I’ll be keeping an eye on.