We've already Windexed our spectacles and hit refresh a time or two, and yes, The Matrix is finally -- finally! -- headed to Blu-ray. We've wondered when we'd see this go down for what seems like eons, but thanks to new data (including box art) over at DVD Active, Warner Home Video will finally loose The Ultimate Matrix Collection on BD on October 14th. The $129.95 (MSRP, we imagine) set will include seven discs, though we're not certain what extras will surround the films themselves just yet. Start saving those pennies, you know you'll want this one.

[Thanks, Alex]

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.

Generally speaking, we wouldn't make special note of a television series hitting the big BD, but we have a sneaking suspicion that Pushing Daisies will be a sure bet when looking to show off your setup. The complete first season -- which is only nine episodes long -- will make its HDM debut on September 16th, and for those still spinnin' DVDs, it'll also be available on that format. Best of all, the MSRP for the complete set is just $39.99 (Blu-ray) / $29.98 (DVD), and you can probably count on street prices being substantially lower at launch. Eye-candy lovers, mark this one down.

[Image courtesy of Yahoo]

Now that Warner (somehow related to Engadget) has dedicated its movies to Blu-ray, they're getting serious about delivering and it all starts with a plan. Of course as we know all too well, thing don't always go according to plan -- you know like HD DVD's that are supposed to be delayed by three weeks showing up on stores shelves. Anyways, the plan for '08 is to release a Blu-ray disc day and date with every new release, and every DVD special edition. At the same time Warner is planning on catching Blu-ray up to HD DVD with some of their most sought after titles including, Batman Begins (Q3), V for Vendetta and yes of course The Matrix trilogy-- no dates on these, just another promise of "this year."

Next Tuesday, the biggest dual format HD release since 300 hits the streets; and once again, we just can't wait to compare red vs blu. For the most part, Warner has always offered the same content on both format, and if anything, Blu-ray fans have complained that Warner doesn't take advantage of Blu-ray's extra capacity. Well, with Order of the Phoenix, Warner has pulled out the stops and has pitted interactivity vs HD supplemental video, because while the HD DVD version includes Warner's IME and web content, the Blu-ray version includes HD supplements and a 44 minute high-def TV special called, The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter -- that was left out of the HD DVD version completely. The other big difference enabled by Blu-ray's additional capacity is an extensive list of foreign language surround sound tracks and sub-titles -- at the same time the HD DVD is a combo disc without the $10 premium. So dual format owners will have to choose between interactivity and HD supplements -- or maybe they'll just choose to save $5 and go with the Blu-ray version. We don't know about anyone else, but we can't wait to see what Nielsen VideoScan results have to say about this.

Read - HighDefDigest HD DVD review
Read - HighDefDigest Blu-ray review

Don't etch this one in stone just yet, but for those keeping a close eye on studios and which camp(s) they support, here's the latest. Reportedly, a so-called Blu-ray Festival has been raging in Hollywood, and aside from BD backers showing up in support of upcoming / existing films, there have also been a few interesting remarks uttered along the way. Most notably, Dan Silverberg, VP of high-definition media for Warner Home Video, stated that "one thing that may be changing is [Warner's] strategy," and he continued by proclaiming that hardware prices had reached a point where consumers "no longer wanted to decide" which format reigned supreme. The speech actually got interesting when he mentioned that the "notion of staying in two formats for the duration is something the company was re-evaluating." Beyond that, egos were simply inflated even more as recent BD vs. HD DVD sales figures were trumpeted about, but we think the aforementioned commentary is far more interesting that hearing about numbers we're already familiar with.

[Thanks, AG23]

Here's an interesting one. Reportedly, the copy of 300 that comes bundled alongside the Bourne Identity in any of Toshiba's third-generation HD DVD players completely omits the DVD side found on the traditional combo disc. Granted, the content on the HD DVD side remains exactly the same, but since the vanilla DVD held exclusive audio commentary, it seems that this particular disc adds "its own exclusive picture-in-picture video commentary" to compensate.

If you thought the previous HD film records set by MI:III, The Departed, and 007: Casino Royale were impressive, 300 just raised the bar in a big way. According to sales figures from the title's first week on shelves, more than 250,000 copies were moved on HD DVD and Blu-ray. Moreover, this mark makes it the fastest selling high-definition disc to date, and enables Warner Home Video to claim six of the top ten selling HD flicks. Of course, the news we're truly interested in -- which format made up the majority of the sales -- was unsurprisingly omitted.

[Via MovieWeb]

Typically speaking, artists wait a good while before releasing a greatest hits record, but Warner Home Video isn't waiting around for either format to start falling off the map before unleashing a few "Best Of" box sets. Apparently targeting newcomers to the high-definition film realm, the Best of HD DVD and Best of Blu-ray volumes will consist of four movies apiece, and will include a wide variety of titles from relatively new releases to classics like Goodfellas. Reportedly, three different volumes will be available in each format, and all of the box sets are slated to hit shelves on September 18th (just before holiday shoppers crank up the abuse on those credit cards, no less) for $84.99 each.

While it wasn't too long ago that Tom Cruise was jumping off couches after finding out that Mission: Impossible III broke all sorts of HD disc sales records, it looks like there's a new champ in town. Warner Home Video has proudly announced that The Departed has sold over 100,000 units during its short stint on the shelves, making it arguably the largest selling high-definition movie to date. It should come as no surprise that the press release is mum when it comes to HD DVD vs. Blu-ray numbers, but it did suggest that supporting both formats seemed like an amicable solution to appease both camps. So, any guesses as to which format strengthened the final figure most?

[Via HighDefDigest]

Warner has just released its 2007 plans for Blu-ray releases during the BDA press conference here at CES and... they look an awful lot like Warner's 2007 plans for HD DVD. Actually, they are the same. Almost everything is the same, sans HD DVD/DVD combo releases, Warner notes it has put out 33 Blu-ray discs so far, with Superman Returns leading sales for 2006. Still, we're sure that Blu-ray fans are happy to hear they won't be missing out on Martin Scorsese's The Departed, The Matrix, Harry Potter or even a few titles that have already been released on HD DVD like Enter the Dragon. Blu-ray will also be getting Ultimate Collector's Edition discs, but we have a funny feeling that all this parity is somehow related to Warner's recently announced Total HD combo disc.

The proud leader of the high definition DVD market in terms of sheer number of titles released, has queued up a few more. Three each for Blu-ray and HD DVD, with Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), Casablanca, and Forbidden Planet (in 50th Anniversay or Ultimate Collectors Edition packaging) hitting HD DVD. Mutiny on the Bounty benefits from a newly restored 65mm source, and will be presented in its original roadshow version, including a prologue and epilogue that were cut before it hit theaters originally. The Forbidden Planet Ultimate Collectors Edition comes with a tin case, Robby the Robot replica, Forbidden Planet and The Invisible Boy lobby cards portfolio, and a mail-in offer for an original theatrical poster. Blu-ray aficionados will have to make do with three movies already out on HD DVD; Million Dollar Baby, The Last Samurai and ATL should should impress just as much as they did -- or didn't -- in their previous 1080p VC-1 incarnations. With the exception of ATL ($34.99), and Forbidden Planet: UCE ($59.92), all carry $28.99 SRPs. We're not sure which is more surprising, that Warner is trying to appeal to the film collectors market just days before the Xbox 360 HD DVD player hits, or that Leslie Neilsen used to have serious non-comedic roles.

All of these titles have been added to our Google Release Calendars

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Blu-ray

The romantic drama The Lake House starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock will be a day-and-date release on HD DVD & Blu-ray with the standard DVD version on September 26. The HD DVD version will be a combo DVD/HD DVD disc meaning only 15GB of storage for the high definition film, while the Blu-ray edition will ship on a single-layer 25GB Blu-ray disc. The space difference hasn't been a problem so far on HD DVD so we don't expect it will be here. No word on any extras yet although we can probably expect the same ones as the standard-def DVD release. The HD DVD version will be priced slightly higher in line with other combo releases, but have the ability to play in a regular DVD player. Much like the first combo disc released for HD DVD, Rumor Has It, we're really puzzled by the choice of movie but welcome the trend of films coming out on next-generation formats without any delay.

Well that was quick. Warner has announced their first Blu-ray releases. They officially announced their support last October but had not yet announced any release dates. August 1 is the big day, with four movies coming out on Blu-ray, three already available on HD DVD and one all-new in high definition. Training Day, Rumor Has It and Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, have already shown up on HD DVD, while George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck has not. We'll finally be able to compare the same title on either format and tell what, if any, difference there is.

Warner Home Video isn't showing off their September HD DVD releases just yet, but they have added two movies for release July 11. HDTV owners have been clamoring for bigger and better titles on high definition DVD formats and while these may not be the special-effect loaded killer titles we would like to see, they aren't bad either. Dukes of Hazzard did pretty well at the box office last year starring the guy from Jackass, Stifler and a pop singer as the Dukes family. Now it comes to HD DVD with Warner's In Movie Experience (IME) feature promising a "trouble-making, car-crashing, barroom-brawling in-movie viewing experience". We were hoping for a silent version of Jessica Simpson's music video, but this will have to do.

The other movie announced is Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, originally released just after his death and possibly his most popular movie in the U.S. Both movies will feature the same extras as their DVD counterparts and carry an SRP of $28.99. Warner is still expected to release on Blu-ray as well, but we haven't received any information on dates or titles.