As reported by Reuters, looks like Apple is on the verge of signing a deal with CBS and Disney. Before you know it, we might be saying goodbye to the nice folks at the cable companies!

The planned subscription service by Apple may offer television shows from major networks for a monthly fee, which could significantly alter the television business, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Dan Lalor)

AppleInsider is reporting on a patent filing from Apple that describes a Wii-like remote control.  The patent was filed in May of 2008 describes how the remote could be used to interact with many applications including  an illustration application and a media application which displays the Apple TV logo.  Now, is Apple actually developing this remote for its inclusion with a new Apple TV? I’ll leave that for all of you to decide.

Read the full article over at AppleInsider

[TUAW] Mac mini, Apple TV to use new Ion platform? – Tom’s Hardware says that Apple will use NVIDIA’s Ion platform in an updated Mac mini, and AppleInsider says it could also be used in an updated Apple TV. Are we ready for a Mac mini/Apple TV hybrid?

[SlashFilm] Download These NOW: iTunes Offering 10 Free Sundance Short Films Until January 25 – Ninety-six short films were selected to be at Sundance this year and, starting right now, 10 of them are available for download on iTunes for free! To get the films, all you need to do is go to http://www.itunes.com/sundance (you must have iTunes already installed).

[Gizmodo] How Porn Will Shape our HD Future – Many adult sites have turned to internet distribution to peddle their wares because it’s cheap and it can be accessed from any computer—affording a little privacy in the process. As HTR points out: “Digital Playground is rolling out an entirely new HD download center where clients can download 720p video directly to their iTunes library or for use with their AppleTV. Pink Visual is already distributing HD downloads for use on your computer and others are following suit. It is only a matter of time until the bandwidth expands and we can all freely download 1080p porn over the Internet.”

If you’re an audiophile, and have noticed recently that Apple has been offering up less and less titles with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, then you are not alone. First and foremost Dolby Surround is not available with all SD rentals, and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound is not available with all HD rentals. Since we track these movies everyday we have a pretty good idea of what titles contain DD 5.1 and what doesn’t and it seems as though Apple has wiped all signs of any titles containing DD 5.1 sound either on the Apple TV listings or iTunes Store. For instance, as in the screen shot above, we know for a fact that Iron Man did contain DD 5.1 when it was released as an HD rental.

Now what does this mean, who knows. If I was a betting man, and knowing Apple’s track record with these kinds of things, I would say it was a glitch in Apple’s system. All though, what if Apple was upgrading the sound quality, or audio tracks in general, of these titles. Time will tell.

Now, there could be a few reasons why this message was there, with the most obvious being that for whatever reason the employees at this Apple Store had not finished updating the Apple TV software. All though it’s interesting to note that under the “Photos” menu selection, it said MobileMe not .Mac. If I remember correctly the MobileMe update came with the last known update. Someone please correct me if I am wrong on this.

Either way, the image above is something to ponder as all of us Apple TV users wait for Apple to flip the switch on allowing us to purchase HD TV Shows, in addition to other ground braking functionality they might have up their sleeve for their little hobby that could.

“As many of you have probably noticed – recently the site hasn’t been updated as much as either we, or you, would like.

There are two of us who run the site, and we unfortunately have many other commitments which make keeping the site up to date very difficult.

We have therefore decided to sell AppleTVHacks.net to someone who has the time and skills to run the site. We are selling the entire site with content and all to cause minimal disruption and will only be selling to someone who continues to run the site in the same spirit as it has been run until now.

We are unhappy about this move, but have decided it is the best thing to do. Thanks for everyones support in making the site what it is for us fans of Apple’s most underrated little gadget”

All of that being said, the original post seems to have been removed from the site. All though if head over to Sedo, a site where you can buy and sell websites, you can find the actual listing for the site.

We here at ATVJ wish we had the resources to to somehow support Apple TV Hacks as we believe it is an important resource in the Apple TV community. We have avoided covering Apple TV hacks up to this point, but if this is true and appletvhacks.net is going away, we may have to pick up the slack.

What do you all think? Are hacks something you would like to see covered on ATVJ? Let us know.

As an Apple TV user, one thing about this announcement which stood out to me was the quote regarding VUDUs HD titles, “The biggest weak point is the lack of purchasable hi-def content,” and that VUDU is working furiously to build its HD library. As of now, if I understand VUDUs service correctly, you are not able to purchase HD titles. But the inference here is that this ability is coming to VUDU, an ability that I think a lot of Apple TV users would love to have, to own HD titles. Could we see this included as part of those iTunes 8 enhancements that Kevin Rose was hinting about? Ah, we can only dream.