with “NBC”

Dark Knight DVDs, some browser-based retro gaming, a record review and more; All in a week's work at Essentials.

America's broadcast home for the summer games drew 40 million viewers on back-to-back nights as Michael Phelps grabbed his 7th and 8th gold medals. And with the 29th Olympiad winding down in Beijing, NBC is already looking for more ratings gold.

The network has secured the rights to broadcast the 2009 World Swimming Championship and the 2009, 2010 and 2011 USA Swimming National Championships.

This summer's surprise ratings smash? How about the Olympic games on NBC?

After spending nearly a billion dollars ($894 million, to be exact), NBC is finally reaping the benefits of being America's broadcast source for the 29th Olympiad in Beijing.

The 2008 Summer Olympics get underway today in Beijing. And in between the protests, pollution and terrorist threats they're hoping to squeeze in a few athletic contests.

Since the games take place on the other side of the globe, most of the events will be happening over night for Americans. NBC, the broadcast home of the games, is offering up a few thousand hours of web streams for those not lucky enough to catch the events live.