Some of the biggest companies backing the Blu-ray format for high-definition movies are hedging their bets by introducing players that can also show Internet video, which is making surprising inroads in the home-entertainment market.

Electronics retailers and manufacturers including Best Buy Co. (BBY), Samsung Electronics America Inc. and LG Electronics USA Inc. are selling Blu-ray disc players that tap into movies from online rental companies. The devices provide an alternative to pay-per-view cable services.

The hybrid movie players tap a growing library of online movies and television shows from Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), which screens movies for as little as 99 cents, and from Netflix Inc. (NFLX), which allows unlimited movie streaming for $8.99 a month.

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Two seemingly unrelated announcements this week illustrate the intensifying pressure on cable TV’s business model. Comcast (CMCSA) announced this week that it would make more cable-TV programming available free through the Internet by the end of the year but only to people who get broadband and cable service from Comcast.

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Walt Disney Co. (DIS) is close to unveiling technology that it says will enable entertainment companies to adapt their business models to a new reality in which consumers increasingly rely on computers and cell phones in place of DVD players and TVs.

The technology, code-named Keychest, could contribute to a shift in what it means for a consumer to own a movie or a TV show, by redefining ownership as access rights, not physical possession.

The technology would allow consumers to pay a single price for permanent access to a movie or TV show across multiple digital platforms and devices–from the Web, to mobile gadgets like iPhones and cable services that allow on-demand viewing. It could also facilitate other services such as online movie subscriptions.

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In the early years of the Internet, the more time people spent online, the more they paid a provider like AOL for their connection. But as customers have shifted to always-on broadband services, many Web surfers have enjoyed all-you-can-eat Internet for a flat rate.

Some cable and telecommunications providers are trying to turn back the clock and return to usage-based pricing for Internet connections. Carriers including AT&T Inc. (T) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) say they may have to switch amid a surge in Internet traffic as more people go online to watch videos and download movies.

Recent efforts to introduce usage-based, or metered, broadband services have met stiff resistance from consumers. But a new push by the federal government to adopt rules that would force Internet providers to treat all Web traffic equally, no matter how much bandwidth they take up, could give ammunition to the broadband providers that want to change how they charge for Web access, Internet experts and consumer advocates say.

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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is proposing that the agency apply tougher open-Internet rules broadly, raising concerns of cable and phone companies and some lawmakers that the government could try to control efforts to offer products such as digital cable or premium business services.

Mr. Genachowski’s proposal suggests everything in the Internet pipe is covered by rules prohibiting discrimination against any legal Internet traffic, known as net neutrality, unless the agency says otherwise, according to FCC officials familiar with a draft circulating in the agency.

Internet providers could seek exemptions for so-called premium managed services, like private corporate data networks or pay-TV services, which require guaranteed levels of data speed.

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Internet-service providers may be worried about the Federal Communications Commission’s net-neutrality guidelines, but the analysts who cover them?

Not so much. In recent days, more than one has referred to the proposed rules as “a solution in search of a problem.”

The FCC supports net neutrality and wants to ensure that broadband providers don’t block access to certain sites or impede competitors’ services while prioritizing their own. Julius Genachowski, the agency’s chairman, announced its net-neutrality principles Monday, and cable and wireless carriers, as well as some lawmakers, were quick to signal their discomfort.

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The traditional TV ad is losing luster as viewers get savvier about skipping commercials and some advertisers shift to the Internet to save money and target specific audiences.

Cable providers have helped undermine the 30-second spot by supplying digital video recorders to their subscribers and offering ad-free video-on-demand services.

Now they are promising to help marketers reach TV watchers with new interactive advertising that seeks to engage viewers and borrows techniques from the Internet.

“It’s about making the TV a more lean-forward medium than a strictly lean-back medium,” said Bob Ivins, vice president of research and data products with Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)

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3D technology is coming one step closer to home with the development of a new set-top box system that will allow consumers to browse through and access 3D offerings from their cable or satellite TV company.

The prototype, developed by digital content security company Nagravision SA, based in Cheseaux, Switzerland, and 3D company 3ality Digital LLC, Burbank, Calif., will be shown at the 3D Entertainment Summit this week in Los Angeles. It’s called the Nagra Media Guide for 3D.

Although no cable company has yet committed to the set-top technology, the prototype offers a window into the evolution of 3D home technology, which is getting much closer to what is available in movie theaters. Consumers will be able to access 3D programming using today’s set-top boxes, but the Nagra Media version will show the information using 3D graphics.

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With journalists being laid off in droves, ideologues have stepped forward to provide the “reporting” that feeds the 24-hour news cycle. The collapse of journalism means that the quest for information has been superseded by the quest for ammunition. A case-study of our post-journalistic age.

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Discovery Communications (DISCA) has filed for a patent on an e-book reader, the Baltimore Sun reported over late last week.

The Sun notes that Discovery, which owns Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and other cable properties, filed a patent for the device in February; but the Sun notes that the patent filing was not made public until last Thursday.

The story reports that “diagrams included with Discovery’s patent application…depict a rectangular device with physical controls for user navigation.” The device would be for reading e-books and “providing for e-commerce.” As the Sun notes, Discovery already holds a patent on some security and copy protection features, and earlier this year sued Amazon.com (AMZN) for alleged infringement by the Kindle.

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It’s almost impossible to believe, but there it is: the cable industry is actually outgrowing the wireless sector.

This stunning factoid comes courtesy of the latest Weekend Media Blast piece from Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett. He notes that in the U.S. wireless industry, subscriber growth over the last 12 months is up 5.3 percent, but revenue per subscriber is down 1.7 percent, producing just 3.6 percent revenue growth. The cable industry, by contrast, grew revenue per sub 4.1 percent over the same time period; combined with modest sub growth and you get industry growth of 5.3 percent.

Moffett says there are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which is that the wireless market is much, much more competitive.

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Comcast (CMCS) is now on the iPhone bandwagon. On Thursday, Comcast, the largest cable operator in the U.S. by subscribers, announced a free application for the Apple (AAPL) device that lets customers check their Comcast email and home voice mail as well as surf their TV schedules.

Still to come: the ability to program DVRs at home from mobile devices, the way that rivals like DirecTV (DTV), Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) do.

But the application has gotten largely positive reviews in the blogosphere. Gizmodo calls it a “surprisingly nice little app,” while MobileCrunch says it’s “a good, solid offering that’s a no-brainer for iPhone owners who subscribe to and use Comcast’s voice, internet, and cable services.”

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For people who hope the openness and flexibility of the Internet will come to mainstream television, the deal announced yesterday between Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner (TWX) is great news. They just don’t see yet how it blows apart the tight bond between cable content and cable delivery.

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Is Motorola (MOT) planning to hold a fire sale?

Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron observes in a research note that the company continues to plan the spin-off of its crumbling handset business sometime next year. But he says checks suggest the company is in the middle of strategic planning process that could lead to other asset sales as well over the next 12 months.

In particular, he thinks the company is considering narrowing its focus to the government and enterprise markets, and gradually transitioning its carrier and cable businesses. He says the company is “in advanced discussions” with Huawei on a sale of all or parts of its wireless infrastructure business, and that it is also reviewing the possible sale of its set-top box business.

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When a guy like Steve B. Burke likens TV viewers’ stampede online to a “wildfire,” you know the cable industry is feeling the pressure. Burke is the president and chief operating officer of Comcast, America’s largest cable distributor. He notes that Hulu.com and other popular Web sites that offer access to TV shows and films attract a fraction of the viewers that cable does. But Burke acknowledges that he and his rivals can’t afford to sit still–not when Americans can get many favorite shows online for free.

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