Blue Underground has announced that they will bring ‘Dead and Buried’ to Blu-ray on January 27th. This horror film comes from the creators of the popular sci-fi ‘Alien’, and even features many of the same actors. Video will be presented in 1.85:1 1080p accompanied by both 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 7.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtracks….
Lionsgate Home Entertainment have announced the technical specs and special features for the upcoming Blu-ray releases of ‘Monster’s Ball’ and ‘Universal Soldier’, which are both scheduled to hit store shelves on November 4th. Both titles will feature 1080p video accompanied by a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack….
Sharp was in attendance at CEATEC 2008 with their own suite of new Blu-ray recorder / player / burners. Sharp follows a similar pattern set by other consumer electronics companies present at the show in introducing a wide range of products that feature a range of price points determined by the sizes of the internal hard drive included in the unit as well as the presence of Blu-ray burning capabilities….
Warner Home Video UK has revealed their Blu-ray line-up for the remainder of the year in the UK. Besides receiving many titles already available in the US, they are also planning on releasing some films which have yet to see Blu-ray release. This includes the first four Batman films - ‘Batman’, ‘Batman Returns’, ‘Batman Forever’, and ‘Batman & Robin’ - which are all scheduled to be released on December 29th….
Warner Home Video has announced that they will bring the summer blockbuster hit ‘The Dark Knight’ to Blu-ray on December 9th, day-and-date with the DVD release. This two-disc special edition will be Warner’s first BD-Live Blu-ray title, as well as come with a digital copy of the film. Video will be presented as 1080p VC-1 accompanied by a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack….
Fox Home Entertainment has announced that they will bring the 1951 classic film ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ to Blu-ray as a Special Edition on December 2nd, day-and-date with the DVD release. Coming on a BD-25, video will be presented in 1.33:1 1080p AVC accompanied a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack….
Today marks the Blu-ray releases of what are generally accepted as two of the best films ever made: ‘The Godfather’ and ‘The Godfather Part II’. Released as part of ‘The Godfather Collection: The Coppola Restoration’ Blu-ray box set, these films represent the pinnacle of American cinema and a product of historical significance. Of course, you probably knew that already….
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has revealed the complete specs for the upcoming Blu-ray release of ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’, which is due to hit store shelves on November 18th, day-and-date with the DVD release. The two-disc set will feature 1.85:1 1080p video accompanied by a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack….
In an early announcement to retailers, Shout Factory has revealed that they will bring the ‘2008 World Series’ to Blu-ray on December 16th. The upcoming championship game, for which the opponents have yet to be determined, will take place on October 22nd. As this is an unofficial announcement, no technical specs or special features have been announced at this time….
Following a move made by Sony a few months ago, Panasonic has announced that they have lowered the price of their DMP-BD35 Blu-ray Disc player to $399 (its predecessor, the DMP-BD30 launched at $499). Additionally, the upcoming DMP-BD55 will launch at $499, $200 less than its predecessor, the DMP-BD50….
Fox Home Entertainment has announced the technical specs and special features for the upcoming Blu-ray releases of ‘Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story’ and ‘Super Troopers’, both due to hit store shelves on December 9th. Both titles will come on BD-25s with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks, ‘Dodgeball’ with 2.35:1 1080p AVC video, and ‘Super Troopers’ with 1.85:1 1080p AVC….
In an early announcement to retailers, Anchor Bay Home Entertainment has revealed that they will bring the thriller ‘Traitor’ to Blu-ray on December 16th, day-and-date with the DVD release. As this isn’t an official announcement, no technical specs or special features have been revealed. We expect more information as we get closer to the release date….
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment have announced that they will release ‘The Cheetah Girls: One World’ for Blu-ray on December 16th, day-and-date with the DVD release. This third installment from the popular made-for-TV movie will be presented in 1080p accompanied by a 5.1 PCM soundtrack….
Dreamworks in conjunction with Paramount Home Entertainment have revealed that they have pushed the release date for the upcoming Blu-ray release of ‘Kung Fu Panda’ to November 9th. Originally scheduled to come out on November 11th, Paramount is hoping that a rare Sunday release will help them compete in a congested fourth quarter….
Warner Home Video has revealed that the upcoming Blu-ray release of ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ has been delayed from its November 4th release date by a month, and will now hit store shelves on December 2nd. Technical specs and special features have still yet to be announced, but we do know it will be a Digibook release featuring a BD-50….
The Weinstein Company has announced that they will release ‘Hell Ride’ to Blu-ray on October 28th, day-and-date with the DVD release, under the Dimension Extreme label. The film, which was produced by Quentin Tarantino, will come on a BD-50 and feature 1080p video accompanied by a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack….
National Geographic in conjunction with Warner Home Video have revealed that the upcoming Blu-ray release of ‘Atmospheres: Earth, Air, and Water’ has been postponed from its October 21st release date to January 6th of next year. No other specs have changed, and no reason was given for the delay….
As a filmmaker, Quentin Tarantino has a following similar to that of a presidential nominee. Half of those who see his films praise his ability to seamlessly integrate over-the-top action sequences with stylized dialog in order to tell a compelling story. The other half see his efforts as a vacuum of originality that is simply a conglomerate of styles borrowed from classic films. But as Ben Williams points out in his review, “Whatever your opinion of Tarantino might be, it’s hard to argue with the pure entertainment value that he brings to cinemas.” Plus, anyone who can make John Travolta look cool is a genius in my book….
Warner Home Video Japan has announced that they will release ‘An American in Paris’ for Blu-ray on November 5th. Last word from the studio was that the title (which was recently remastered for a DVD release next week) would be released in early 2009 on Blu-ray. It appears that at least in Japan, that is not the case and high definition fans will be able to get a hold of this region-free title in a few short months….
The folks over at AVSForum have spotted the Oppo BDP S83 Blu-ray Disc player, the first such player from the now famous DVD Player manufacturer. Well known for their line of upscaling DVD players, the company spent much of the format war pushing their players as a “alternative” to a high definition player….
At the beginning of CEDIA today in Denver, CO, Sony spoke mostly about the great success they have seen with the Blu-ray format, but also took some time to talk about what’s next for the company. After discussing details about their upcoming Blu-ray players, Sony mentioned that next year they would introduce a 400-disc Blu-ray Disc changer, news that should delight those with huge Blu-ray collections….
Warner Home Video has announced that they will bring ‘Bam Margera Presents:
Where The #$&% Is Santa?’ to Blu-ray on December 2nd, day-and-date with the
DVD release. No technical specs have been announced at this time, but we do
know that it will include 25 minutes of additional scenes, a photo gallery, and a
trailer as the extras features….
In an early announcement to retailers, 20th Century Fox has revealed that they
will bring the Peter Cattaneo comedy ‘The Rocker’ starring Rainn Wilson and
Christina Applegate to Blu-ray on October 14th….
The Swedish electronics manufacturer Netlogic has announced their first Blu-ray Disc player - the DMTech BDP810. According to the brief spec sheet, this will be a BonusView (Profile v1.1) player with 5.1 analog outs and support for DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD. The player is set to be release in October; official pricing has yet to be announced….
Sony has announced that they will release the BDV-IT1000 home theater system with Blu-ray support. It will be one of the first systems to support BD-Live and full support of all audio codecs. Additionally, the system will have two HDMI inputs (for your PS3 and HD TiVo) and feature super-slim “pocky” speakers with wireless surrounds….
While Denon’s booth at CEDIA will feature their existing line of Blu-ray Disc players/transports - the Panasonic-based DVD-2500BT and DVD-3800BD - the company is currently planning to release a new “flagship” model by March of next year. While no word was given as to what improvements may be incorporated into the player, it is widely expected to be Denon’s first BD-Live player….
Stop-motion animation is somewhat of a rare entertainment medium nowadays. The amount of effort needed to create a feature-length presentation is so massive that even legendary claymation studio Aardman used CGI for their latest feature film ‘Flushed Away’ (which doesn’t take away from the fact that it is an excellent film). So when Hollywood decides to release a stop-motion film, it commonly causes a huge commotion. Such is the case for this week’s Disney Blu-ray release of ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’….
Panasonic has announced that they will launch the DMR-BR630V in Japan which will feature support for all mainstream video formats (sorry LaserDisc owners - no soup for you). The player will feature a 6X Blu-ray Burner with support for Blu-ray, DVD, and CD, as well as a VHS deck. Additionally, it will feature a 320GB hard drive so you can easily transfer video from one format to the other….
Pioneer has dropped their latest Blu-ray Disc player, and this one promises to be the one that will leave the PlayStation 3 in the dust. For $2200, you can pick up a Pioneer BDP-09FD, which they are promising is not only the best BD-Live Blu-ray Disc player on the market, but also the best DVD and CD player as well, meeting the single machine needs of home theater aficionados….
Anchor Bay Home Entertainment has revealed the technical specs and special features for the upcoming Blu-ray release of ‘Dead Space: Downfall’, due to hit store shelves on October 28th, day-and-date with the DVD release. The title will come on a BD-25 featuring 1.85:1 1080p AVC video accompanied by a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack….