Amazon is having a sale on selected Blu-ray Discs that discount the retail by 40-45%. The discount really puts Blu-ray at an affordable price, and for the most part these are not your discount bin titles. The best deal they have going is Ocean’s Thirteen for $19.95. The retail price of this Blu-ray Disc is normally $35.99, a savings of $16. Full Story »

Kill Bill Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 on Blu-ray will simply be what is was when it was released on DVD, a two-pack of the individually discs, except this time in high-definition. The Blu-ray Disc set is priced at $69.98, and individual discs priced at $34.99. No discount on the 2-pack, but you would expect retailers to drop the price. Here are some extras that may entice you to pick these up. Full Story »

Paramount Home Entertainment announced Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc October 14. Although it was given one of the worst film titles in a long time, except for the ‘Indiana Jones’ part, this film is a refreshing throwback to the 80’s films. Full Story »

Hitachi Home Electronics has announced a new HD hybrid camcorder (DZ-BD10HA) that functions in three formats and improves upon Blu-ray Disc recording capabilities from last year’s DZ-BD7HA hybrid camcorder. The new DZ-BD10HA has also improved upon power consumption and noise in the 8cm BD/DVD drive.

The three format hybrid camcorder is able to record HD video onto Blu-ray Disc, hard drive, or SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) card. It allows recording up to 4 hours and 20 minutes of 1920×1080 resolution video, or 8 hours 40 minutes of 1440×1080 onto the built-in 30GB hard drive. Full Story »

Believe it or not Amazon is still suggesting HD DVD purchases to customers on their mailing list who have bought HD DVD products before. I received an email this morning recommending I Am Legend (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) along with 8 other titles that included American Gangster and Batman Begins.

They must have a huge stock of HD DVDs because the titles they suggested are all from the Amazon stash. What’s interesting is the new releases are still priced like a format that isn’t obsolete. I Am Legend is priced at $24.95, 31-percent off the retail price of $35.99 but still up there. Full Story »

Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2 will be released on Blu-ray Disc September 9. The 2-disc high-definition set is now available for pre-order on Amazon. However there is some speculation about whether or not to wait for the release of the elusive director’s cut Kill Bill - The Whole Bloody Affair, a box set that was much anticipated on standard DVD but never realized in the United States. Full Story »

NEC announced it has come up with a new Single-Chip LSI named EMMA 3PF that is 50% smaller than previous chips, therefore reducing part production costs and space requirements. That means new Blu-ray players could end up smaller and less expensive because of the new size and combined functions into one chip. Full Story »

Yet another Keanu Reeves Blu-ray release slated for October 14th, The Ultimate Matrix Collection will be released along with graphic novel based Constantine. Should we name October 14th “Keanu Reeves Day?” Two great films being released the same day on BD…the only question is which should I pick up first?

The Matrix, while revolutionary for its time, does seem a bit dated in moments. The “Matrix-branded” 360-degree camera movements wowed fans at the time, but ended up being so overused in the industry that its effect seems to have been reduced to more of a gimmick. Full Story »

THX 1138 directed by George Lucas looked surprisingly well in high-definition (HD) on Friday night. The 1971 science fiction film was the first feature-length film directed by George Lucas. Now considered by some to be a “cult classic,” it was remastered and released on DVD in 2004. HDNet presented the film in letterbox format to preserve the 2.40:1 aspect ratio. Full Story »

LG announced a new BD player that has Netflix streaming capability. The LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player scheduled to be released this Fall will be able to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from the 12,000+ Netflix library. Problem is, Netflix does not currently stream high-definition. Full Story »

A sale at Amazon discounts Disney Blu-ray Discs at 40%. Regularly priced $34.99 Blu-ray discs are now $20.95. Regularly priced $29.99 discs are now $17.95. Some Disney titles worth mentioning are Pirates of the Caribbean (all three from Disney), Cars (Disney), Apocalypto (Touchstone), Enemy of the State (Touchstone), Flightplan (Touchstone/Disney), No Country for Old Men (Disney) and 66 more according the latest list from Amazon. Full Story »

“JFK”, directed by Oliver Stone, will debut on Blu-ray Disc on November 11. The high-definition release will be accompanied by the release of a “Three-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition” on standard DVD.

The Blu-ray Disc will be sold with special hardcover book packaging, press materials and photographs from the film. The three-disc DVD package will include the Two-Disc Special Edition Director’s Cut which adds 17 minutes to the film. It also includes the documentary Beyond JFK: A Question of Conspiracy and other JFK memorabilia . Full Story »

Warner Home Video will debut the high-definition Blu-ray Disc release of Constantine on October 14. The film was originally released in high-def in June of 2006 on the now defunct HD DVD format. No details on specs yet but Warner says the disc will include hours of extras including the IME (In-Movie-Experience), documentaries and deleted scenes. Full Story »

The first Blu-ray Disc test center has been established in China, giving CESI Technology Co. Ltd., a contributing member of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) official designation. This will give new Blu-ray manufacturers quicker verification services for the production of Blu-ray Disc players and products. Full Story »

Warner Home Video has announced it will be releasing A Christmas Story Ultimate Collector’s Edition on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc for the 2008 holidays. The 2003 classic Christmas film will be packaged in a collectible holiday cookie tin and sell for $49.99 retail. Full Story »

What could be the top hi-def story of the week, Pioneer revealed it is developing a Blu-ray disc that holds up to 400GB. The new high-definition disc technology would use sixteen 25GB layers to hold 400GB.

The company said it has solved interference problems with using multiple layers. And, that it may be possible to use current BD players with the 16-layer 400GB discs. Current Blu-ray discs use one layer (25GB) or dual layer (50GB) to hold content.

This news comes from UK based TechRadar.com.

Onkyo, who once produced HD DVD players for the now defunct format, has announced it will release a Blu-ray Disc player by the end of 2008. The player will be 1080p compatible (I would hope so) and HDMI capable. For audio the player is supposed to support Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Full Story »

Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather epic trilogy will be released on Blu-ray September 23. The newly-restored high-definition versions arrive 36 years after the original film was released in 1972.

The Godfather I and The Godfather, Part II took over a year to restore in a historical preservation effort. The collection also includes a newly remastered version of The Godfather Part III. The HD format of the restored films is 16:9 in Dolby Digital Surround 5.1. Full Story »

Sony said it expects Blu-ray to reign in profits close to $10 billion annually within three years. The company also said its gaming business would be profitable by the end of the fiscal year in March, 2009, much in part to increased PS3 software sales as well as lowered PS3 production costs. Full Story »

I’ll drink to that. Home Media Magazine reports that more Bond films will soon be available on Blu-ray Disc. MGM, through distributer 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, is currently producing six of the Bond classics for release on Blu-ray. The scheduled release dates are Oct. 20 in the U.S., and Oct. 21 in the U.K.. Full Story »