Some of them are for entertainment – designed to control A/V equipment in your living room. Others control household appliances, functions on your computer, or even expensive corporate security systems.

For now, most remote control apps operate over the Internet, or via a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth link between your iPhone and another device. But one company is developing an infrared iPhone accessory, which will open the doors for even more remote control applications.

It’s conceivable that, with these apps and accessories, an iPod touch could replace the fanciest of universal remotes, and have the bonus of shipping with a Web browser and all the other apps on the App Store.

iTunes
Via Apple’s free Remote app, search and change the song playing on your computer’s iTunes jukebox from bed, across the house, or even outside. Or change volume settings, or hit pause, etc.

Another app called PodLink ($3.99) lets you wirelessly control music playing on another iPhone or iPod touch, perhaps one that is being played in a docking station across the room.

There’s also a $4.99 app to control WinAmp if you use that.

Mouse and keyboard
Apps like the $2.49 Air Mouse Pro (limited free version also available) turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a wireless trackpad and keyboard.

This is helpful if you want to kick back and don’t have a wireless keyboard, or if you’re using an old computer hooked up to your TV and want to access the cursor or type something from the couch.

A reader notes a free, similar app from Logitech. The $4.99 TouchPad app is another alternative.

Blu-ray Discs
Several Blu-ray discs include Internet features that can be accessed via iPhone apps. For example, the free “pocket BLU” app can act as a remote for Blu-ray discs that support “pocket BLU” – including Bruno, Funny People, other movies. Features include controlling playback, browsing through chapters, the soundtrack, etc.

Other Blu-ray remote apps are available for different systems, including the Sony PS3.

Presentations
Apple’s $1.19 Keynote remote lets you control Keynote presentations if you own the iWork suite.

Other apps, like Evan Schoenberg’s versatile $1.19 Rowmote can steer PowerPoint slides.

Desktop PC or Mac
This one takes a little tinkering, but free VNC – “virtual network computing” – remote desktop software on your computer (Mac, PC, Linux, etc.) will let you view and control it from anywhere, provided it’s turned on and hooked up to the Internet.

A search for “VNC” in the App Store turns up more than 30 apps. The VNC app we’ve been using for our iPhone is the free Mocha VNC Lite; there’s also a pro version for $7.99.

Logitech Squeezebox
If you use a Logitech Squeezebox home audio system, the $12.99 iPeng app seems to be the best reviewed remote control. Control volume, switch songs, etc.

Slingbox
If you have a SlingBox – a device designed to let you watch your home TV/cable service from anywhere, over the internet – you can use your iPhone to watch TV.

The $36.99 SlingPlayer Mobile app recently got an important new feature, which allows you to stream TV from your SlingBox over 3G. Previously, it only worked over Wi-Fi.

iCarly – Sam’s Remote
This one is for the kids: Fans of the cable TV show “iCarly” may appreciate the $2.49 “Sam’s Remote” app, which includes sounds from the show.

Photoshop
A $3.99 app called PhotoKeys:Photoshop Remote puts the Adobe Photoshop toolbar on your iPhone. Not for everyone, but could be helpful for some setups.

Apple TV
Apple’s free Remote software also controls the Apple TV set-top box, if you have one of those.

A recent update adds a nifty feature that lets you use your iPhone’s multi-touch screen as a “gesture pad” to scoot around the Apple TV display. This is much easier than using the small, plastic remote that came with Apple TV.

You can also use the Boxee remote app to remote-control Boxee, if you’ve loaded that onto your Apple TV.

Sonos Home Stereo
If you have a Sonos multi-room sound system – especially the popular, newish S5 – your iPhone is a remote via the free Sonos Controller app.

Pro audio software
The ProRemote ($119.99) and ProRemote Lite ($43.99) act as sliders and other controls for pro audio editing software, including ProTools and Apple’s Logic software.

X-Plane Flight Simulator
Sort of like how Nintendo’s DS has a touch-sensitive second screen that often controls what’s happening on the first screen, this will let you control and observe some of your flight simulator’s features – on your computer – using the iPhone as a smaller, second screen.

Requires the $5.99 X-Plane Remote app and the $US29 desktop X-Plane software.

Boyfriend
Ladies: We’re not quite sure how this one works, but the $12.99 “Boyfriend remote” app is worth every penny if it performs magic.

You can tell it to “give me money”, “forget about beer” and even “take me to the mall”. Classy.

Also available: Girlfriend Remote and Parent Remote.

Boxee
If you use the free Boxee media centre software on your Mac, PC, Linux box or Apple TV, you can use your iPhone as a remote via Boxee’s free app.

(What’s Boxee? Think of it as a multimedia-specialised Web browser that you’re supposed to steer from your couch.)

VLC Media Player
If you use the free, popular VLC (Video LAN client) media player app, you can control it with your iPhone via the free VLC Remote app or its $3.99 premium cousin.

Security Camera
Plenty of security camera monitoring apps in the App Store, depending on your rig.

By far the most expensive, though, is Lextech Global Services’ $999.99 iRa Pro, which delivers “a video command centre to the palm of your hand”.

Digital SLR Camera
onOne software makes a lite ($2.49) and pro ($23.99) version of its DSLR remote app.

If you hook your Canon EOS or Nikon DSLR camera up to a computer via USB, you can remotely control settings, fire the shutter release, and see your camera’s viewfinder remotely over Wi-Fi.

The main drawback is that your camera has to be hooked up to a computer.

If you already own Nvidia’s 3D Vision kit, you’re eligible to get 3DTV Play as a free upgrade. If you’d rather not bother, you can pick up 3DTV Play separately for $US40. Since your 3DTV comes with stereoscopic glasses anyway, you may be better off with the standalone. It’ll also support Blu-ray 3D in 1080p, 3D photos or streaming 3D movie content.

This kind of technology may seem a little premature – the sets that it’s capable with are only just now beginning to trickle out – but it’s going to be an uphill battle to get people to accept 3D on a large scale. The sooner even the smallest hesitations can be allayed, the better. [Nvidia via Electronista]

Just a little background – the TC-P50VT20 runs $US2500 and comes with one pair of active shutter glasses. (Additional pairs cost $US150.) You can get it bundled with a 3D Blu-ray player for an extra $US250.

In 2D mode, it’s a solid TV (which should be expected since Panasonic’s plasmas are traditionally quite excellent… if controversial). In 3D mode? Because of a lack of current 3D content, keep in mind that the impressions here are based upon a demo disc only. But here’s what was said:

TelevisionInfo

… we found that the P50VT20 produced smooth, clean motion that looked as good in 3D as it did in 2D. Because of the lack of 3D source material at the moment, we were not able to run our full suite of motion tests, but we did not see any significant difference between 2D and 3D, so it looks like the new 3D feature does not adversely affect the smooth motion that this display produces. That’s not a surprise, as the 3D Blu-ray standard allows the display to show a full 60 frames a second to each eye, so the eyes get to see 60 frames a second if you are watching 2D or 3D video.

HDGuru3D

As much as I tried to see the issues witnessed with the Sony FHD3D TV (the only production 3D models publicly demoed in 3D link) I did not see them. They simply are not present. These include crosstalk seen as ghost images, motion artifacts best described as a motion breakup, sort of like a strobe effect and flickering….The mode memory choices such as “Custom” have offsets built-in to compensate for the brightness reduction of the 3D glasses and any other image picture parameter shifts. They proved quite effective, although until Panasonic or someone else makes 3D test signals available on Blu-ray, there is no way to calibrate the user controls in the 3D mode.

Overall, I find the 3D image outstanding with considerably more brightness and pop than the motion picture theatre 3D movie experience.

Those are pretty positive words, though we’re guessing professional TV reviewers are the most excited cohort for 3D. But for those of you in the market for a new TV – are you considering the 3D PLUNGE??

(And if you still can’t answer that question, I recommend my piece on what it feels like to watch 3DTV.)

It’s called over/under, and rather than a single 1920×1080 frame beaming from your Blu-ray player to your TV, it’s a double stack, a 1920×2205 image (representing left-eye and right-eye frames along with some active blanking for audio and extra info). The signal fires at a bitrate of 6.75Gbps.

Bottom line, the fancy TV in your house now was never designed to accommodate a 1920×2205 image.

That FHD3D bitrate is an important point, however, because while many of us have claimed HDMI 1.4 is needed for FHD3D, that’s not completely true. HDMI 1.3 and 1.4 both have throughputs of 10.2Gbps. And because of this basic rule of bandwidth, the smartest HDMI 1.3 devices, those using software instead of systems on a chip (like the PS3) will be able to make the FHD3D transition.

As Gary Merson from HDGuru put it to us, “There is nothing inherent in HDMI 1.3 that would prohibit FHD3D signals from passing through.”

I’m not going to rewrite his entire article here. But if you’re a home theatre enthusiast, I’d strongly recommend his walkthrough of 3D tech, the new HDMI 1.4 standard, and what it will mean to differing devices (and even the cords!) in your system. Because being a couch potato just got a lot more complicated. [HDGuru]

They’re fairly tight lipped about exactly what products we can expect to see with the Bravia Internet Video feature as part of the XMB interface, but it’s fairly safe to assume that it will be making an appearance on Blu-ray players. It would also fit in nicely on the PS3 alongside iView and PlayTV, although Sony did say that tat the moment Playstation was still separate from Bravia Internet Video.

In any case, it’s good to know that a promising IPTV solution won’t just be restricted to new TV purchases…

Within the HDMI 1.4 specification, there are lots of subsections – one for HDMI ethernet channel, one for audio return channel, one for 4K support… and one for 3D over HDMI. Turns out that while you need all of those features to be capable of calling yourself a HDMI 1.4 standard device, the current 1.3 standard is capable of playing back 3D content. Obviously the PS3 will need a firmware update in order to be able to register that information, but after that it’ll give you 3D pictures for your 3DTV… although there is a catch.

When it comes to 3D Blu-ray playing from your PS3, you won’t be getting 1080p signals to each eye, you’ll only be getting 1080i. Without HDMI 1.4’s speed, version 1.3 just can’t push dual 1080p images through the pipes.

Still, it can push dual 1080i signals, and that’s still pretty decent. You’ll still need to upgrade your TV, but at least you can stick with the PS3 as your Blu-ray player of choice…

There are 20,000 bonuses up for the taking, so there shouldn’t be any problem getting hold of yours. You will have to pay $25 for postage though, so it’s not entirely free. But still, if you don’t own a Blu-ray player or a FullHD TV, this could work out in your favour…

[Panasonic]

3D is a major part of our initiatives in 2010 and we’re currently developing 3D stereoscopic games to come in conjunction with the launch of Sony’s 3D compatible BRAVIA LCD TV in summer 2010. The amazing thing about the PS3’s technology is that all PS3 units that exist in homes and markets will be able to play 3D stereoscopic games as well as 3D BD movies through separate firmware upgrades – something that other platforms are unable to do. We’ll be announcing actual game titles separately later, but we think that 3D stereoscopic gaming has a ton of potential, particularly in placing consumers within the actual experience.

It’s interesting to note that 3D gaming and 3D Blu-ray will represent separate firmware updates for the PS3, most likely as the 3D Blu-ray update will be focused solely on bringing the PS3 up to the HDMI 1.4 standard (note: as some have pointed out, the full HDMI 1.4 spec is not firmware updatable, but Sony is addressing 3D Blu-ray movies – a key component of the update – somehow) while the gaming update will be for, well, whatever Sony is doing with that. [Pocket-lint via Ubergizmo]