Enjoying the small clip of IMAX The Dark Knight footage featured on the recent Batman Begins Blu-ray release? Even before the next flick hits theaters, director Christopher Nolan has already revealed plans to convert all the scenes shot for IMAX screens for use on the Blu-ray copy, whenever it hits shelves. Some cropping will be done to make everything fit but we'll still enjoy the extra detail in 1080p.

For those out there totally stoked about paying $400 for a Blu-ray player that's just "BD-Live-ready," have we got a surprise for you! Our brethren over at Engadget Classic got a chance to swing by Sony's demonstration today in New York City and take a peek at the firm's recently released (as in, shipping) Blu-ray deck alongside a few other audio related products. Whatcha waiting for? Get over there and check it all out!

Wow, Toys 'R Us was only a day off. Sure enough, Sony's BDP-S350 -- which was first introduced / spotted in February -- has gone on sale at Sony Style retail outlets, the Sony Style website and other fine retailers near you. If you're looking for a quick refresher, this Profile 2.0-compliant deck supports BonusView (picture-in-picture), but curiously enough, Sony mentions that "a firmware update enabling BD-Live is planned [for] later this year." You'll also find full 1080p output, 7.1-channel Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio support and a promise to suck down 21% less power in playback compared to the BDP-S300. All yours for $400 (give or take a few pennies).

Well, would you look at that. Just months after we heard whispers that the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) would be granting a handful or two of China-based manufacturers with Blu-ray licenses comes a slew of brochure shots proving that said scenario has apparently gone down. Or either Desay, Hotwell, Hualu and VTREK have taken it upon themselves to conjure up BD decks and show 'em off at the SinoCES show floor without permission (but we're banking on the former). As expected, none of these look particularly awe-inspiring, but for those hoping to see vanilla players dip under the $200 (or lower) price point, this could be very, very good news. Hit the read link for more details on each.

Slumping economy? Recession? Poppycock. Based on sales of home media, America's financial engine is humming along just fine, with consumers plunking down 1.6% more on DVD / Blu-ray purchases and rentals combined than they did in the first half of 2007. Granted, some may suggest that home entertainment is seeing an increase as more lavish alternatives (going out for a movie, taking a vacation, etc.) are utilized less frequently, but whatever the case, this sector is sure benefiting. Focusing on HDM, we're hearing that $194 million has been spent on Blu-ray Disc thus far in 2008, which is up some 350% from $43 million in 1H 2007. Amazing what a format war conclusion will do for numbers, huh?

[Image courtesy of Syracuse, thanks Joel]

Not that it's really any surprise, but one particular studio is taking a stand and looking to lower Blu-ray Disc prices. In an effort that's far too late (but quite welcome) by our estimations, Warner Home Video will reportedly be launching an initiative in Q4 2008 that will "essentially enable retailers to order participating catalog titles for around $11." For the consumer, this means you can look forward to seeing older titles like The Fugitive, Enter the Dragon, Clockwork Orange, The Shining, The Aviator, Road Warrior and Swordfish with price tags much lower than the traditional $20 to $25. Newer releases won't be promoted quite as heavily, but prices on those are still expected to be lower than what we've been seeing. Now, if all the other firms would follow suit (and BD player manufacturers would get those sub-$200 decks on shelves), we'd be all set.

As if DTS-HD Master Audio support and enhanced BD-R / BD-RE compatibility weren't enough, WinDVD is also now proudly BD-Live certified. Unfortunately WinDVD with Profile 2.0 support won't be available at retail until early next year, but is ready to ship for OEMs right now. We're a bit surprised it's taken this long compared to some of the competition, but thanks to Corel, our planned Sleeping Beauty viewing party can now go off without a hitch.

NEC seems to be over that whole HD DVD thing, announcing it's begun mass production of its EMMA3P SoC for Blu-ray players. Squeezing USB and Ethernet control components for BD-Live compatibility, h.264 / VC-1 / MPEG-2 compression, Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD and of course DivX onto just one chip should make for more cheap (& fully featured) Blu-ray players on the way soon. Narrowly trailing the announcement of Panasonic's UniPhier single-processor solution it certainly hasn't come a moment too soon.

[Via Impress]

With a report emerging this week pegging Best Buy as the go-to location for Blu-ray Disc purchases, it stirred up some curiosity here at Engadget HQ. Personally, we prefer to snag our discs online; there's just something about receiving those corrugated boxes on our doorstep that does it for us. We're interested to see where you procure most of your own BD titles -- in a store (which one?), online (which e-tailer?) or out of the back of a white panel van? You can keep quiet if it's the latter.

Looks like Warner's BD-Live commitment doesn't stretch beyond U.S. borders, with Warner Bros. International VP Marc Gareton recently telling a conference in London not to expect an BD-Live titles in 2008. European BD fans aren't going totally without, as he added it might follow in it's domestic twin's footsteps by adding digital copies to movies before the year is out. A lot of things could play into this decision by the studio, but for the time being if there's any Blu-ray exclusive features your best bet may be importing or hoping someone else owns the international release rights and goes the extra mile to make things right.

First announced back at Kawaii Kon, former HD DVD pioneer Bandai is making Ghost in the Shell: Innocence its first Blu-ray release. Bandai took the high road in finishing out its HD DVD/DVD Twin release schedule of Freedom even after the format's demise, and we look forward to some next gen features on the company's Blu-ray discs. There's certainly enough incentive, Home Media Magazine notes from last weekend's Anime Expo that output for the whole industry is down and is look for Blu-ray and downloads to help out the bottom line.

Looks like all those specials are paying off for Amazon and Wal-mart, as surveys done last fall and this spring indicate they're narrowing the gap with "leading Blu-ray shopping destination" Best Buy. No nifty percentage numbers this time, but according to VideoBusiness, Amazon's own findings indicate its share of the Blu-ray retail market is 3.5 times bigger than its DVD slice. That seems to jibe with NPD's finding placing it number two, followed by Wal-mart (benefiting from enhanced Blu-ray displays and sales of its own), then Target and Blockbuster, respectively, having overtaken Circuit City in the period from fall to spring. Is there anything other than deep discounts and BOGOs that decides where you buy Blu?

While we fortunate Americans have been renting Blu-ray Discs from Blockbuster for a good while now, citizens of Taiwan haven't had the same privilege. Thankfully, all that's getting set to change, as the rental chain has committed to offering up 50 BD titles in each Taiwanese location before the end of this month. A new partnership between it and Samsung will also place Sammy's BD players (the BD-P1500, in particular) in-store for patrons to experience the 1080p difference, and it's said that Samsung manager Li Je-rong believes that "with strong channel assistance from Blockbuster and Tsann Kuen, consumers will become more familiar with Blu-ray." As for pricing, expect to pay NT$150 ($4.93) for each Blu-ray movie versus NT$100 ($3.29) for traditional DVDs.

It took 'em long enough, but FUZE Media Systems has finally scratched the Blu-ray itch. Reportedly, the firm has just now partnered with ArcSoft to integrate BD compatibility into its whole-home media system. If you'll recall, we just recently learned that FUZE's software would be going OEM, and sure enough, ArcSoft is the first partner "that will be leveraged in both FUZE Media Systems and OEM partner media devices." Availability? Try "now."

Barely a month after hearing rumors that the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) would be granting licenses to 11 China-based manufacturers, in flies official word that the very first Blu-ray Disc testing center has been established in that very nation. CESI Technology, a contributor member of the BDA, is the lucky winner, and as of today, "Chinese manufacturers can receive verification services for the official production of BD-ROM Movie Players at this center." Hopefully, this means that we'll be waiting less for the development and market launch of BD products. On a slightly related note, DigiRise DRA -- also a Chinese company -- found that its homegrown digital audio coding technology has passed an important milestone in the Blu-ray approval process. Not that we're crazy about having one more codec to juggle, but there you have it. More details on both points below.

Read - First BDA testing center in China
Read - DRA audio codec