The day Michael Bay and fans of Blu-ray and big robots have all been waiting for is September 2, according to advanced, inside information obtained by TVShowsonDVD.com. Last year's HD DVD blockbuster Transformers is finally coming to Blu-ray after last fall's exclusivity agreement fell by the wayside, in a 2-disc release described as "similar" to the previous version. Hopefully that means all HDi and internet connectivity features intact, with new bits added courtesy of 50GBs of storage space and BD-Live. We expect there should be, and with a majority of Blu-ray owners using PlayStation 3s, they may even surpass the HD DVD edition's 30% internet-connected rate.

[Via Seibertron.com]

All those still hanging onto your obsolete vintage first generation HD DVD players have a reason to plug in the network cable and turn them on one more time, as Toshiba has issued a version 3.0 firmware update for the HD-A1, HD-XA1 and HD-D1. Similar to an earlier update for the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, the patch tweaks network connectivity a bit as well as clearing up some HDMI handshaking issues. The update quietly came online April 26, and of course can be issued by burning it to a CD or calling Toshiba and requesting a disc by mail. So go ahead, pour a glass of wine, dim the lights and celebrate a little quality time with a two year-old box that still offers features some new players can't match.

[Via DVD Town]

Heroes fans can get their full HD fix August 26, when the DVD boxed set of season two is released on DVD, it'll also hit Blu-ray and bring along season one for the ride. No word on price or what extras are in store (or if 1080p will somehow make the whole twins subplot less meaningless, just a thought), although the S1 set on HD DVD last year included HDi internet connectivity, and we don't expect anything less from BD-Live. Universal is going day and date with its movies starting with Doomsday, while NBCU's first dual-format feature film should hit shelves ahead of the holidays.

The Blu-ray 2.0 spec (or BD Live) is just around the corner, and the "father of Java" thinks it won't disappoint. Sun Microsystems VP and fellow James Gosling calls it "mind-blowing" and we should see demonstrations of developers have achieved at the JavaOne conference in May. Top Tech News also quoted an analyst about the possibilities of the Blu 2.0 future, and what we could see this summer, from online chat with others watching the same movie, or the ability to offer downloads that re-edit a movie to block unwanted scenes. That all sounds nice, and we can't wait for the BD-J upgrades on our PS3's and new players from Panasonic and Sony, but we can't help wondering what it would have been like if someone launched online-capable HD players nearly two years ago. Yeah, that would've been sweet.

With HD DVD officially dead, there's not a lot of demand for Microsoft's $2,999 HD DVD emulator, but taking a shot at the Bee Movie interface that never was now costs the low, low price of $0. Microsoft's reasoning for continuing to release the emulator for free (and refunding those who had already purchased it) is to help those working on HD DVD projects finish them and represent its "commitment to interactivity". Curious about creating your own interactive discs with HDi? The easiest route is to grab a copy of NetBlender's DoStudio MX and download the emulator to an Xbox 360 via the marketplace, and imagine what might have been.

[Via Xboxic]

HD DVD fans have at least one more high profile release to look forward to, as German distributor Kinowelt is prepared to release Terminator 2: Ultimate HD-Edition (region free of course) March 20th. Produced by HDi (and Blu-ray) pioneers Imagion AG this release includes the directors cut of the film, with DTS-HD 7.1 audio and more than four hours of bonus material in a high quality SteelBook case. Expect this to be the triumphant example of HD DVD's advanced features and capabilities that American Gangster so sadly wasn't. Check out a list of features after the break or our hands-on from CES to learn more about the disc's interactive and online capabilities, and maybe a peek at the future of BD Live.

Oh sure, we've seen testing devices for both HD DVD and Blu-ray before, with the latter even boasting a dedicated quality assurance lab, but we've a feeling only half of Testronic Labs newest facility will actually see any real usage. The firm has constructed an interactive Blu-ray and HD DVD test bed in Burbank, California in an attempt to provide "third-party, quality-control of high definition software and integrated web capability." Unfortunately for it, we don't foresee too many more any new highly advanced HD DVDs in the pipeline, so it looks as if most of the scrutiny will surround HDMV, BD-J and BD-Live. Ah well, the joint probably needed space for a cafeteria, anyway.

[Thanks, Steve]

American Gangster had the misfortune of being released on HD DVD the same day the format war died, and will probably serve more of a reminder of why red lost, than an example why it deserved to go on. Coming on an HD DVD / DVD combo disc extends compatibility, but expands the price beyond that of the far more extensive 3 DVD special edition set. Also apparent casualties of the combo are the unrated directors cut of the film (found only on the DVD side), standard-def extra features,and any TrueHD audio track. The audio and PQ present aren't bad, but don't meet the "reference quality" standards a film like this aspires to. Even HD DVD's HDi interactivity can't save it, with a picture-in-picture track described as a "slim afterthought" by HighDefDigest, and online downloads that aren't specific to this movie, this might make a good souvenir for HD fans, but most will want to wait for the inevitable Blu-ray edition.

Read - HomeTheaterForum review
Read - HighDefDigest review
Read - Electronic House review

If you didn't quite get your fill of Dirk the Daring with Dragon's Lair on HD DVD and Blu-ray, Digital Leisure has you covered. Slated to arrive on April 8th on both major formats, the completely restored Space Ace will allow fans of the series to check out a 1080p version of the game and treat their ears to a freshly created 5.1-channel audio mix. Additionally, the title was authored in both BD-Java for Blu-ray and HDi for HD DVD, ensuring that customers have access to the highly-anticipated interactive features regardless of what camp they're in. Also of note, each title will have slightly different extras (detailed in the read link below), so hardcore fans should be sure to pick up both for the full experience -- if you're cool with dropping $49.95 apiece, that is.

Hard to believe that CES 2007 was the venue at which Samsung launched its second-generation Blu-ray player, as just 12 months later we're staring the fourth-gen unit right in the face. Coming this May, the BD-P1500 will support 1080p playback (not to mention 720p / 1080i / 1080p DVD upconversion), 7.1 PCM, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD HR and MA, Bitstream audio output via HDMI, HDMI 1.3 with CEC and the obligatory Profile 1.1. Meanwhile, the firm is also announcing its forthcoming combo player, and for those out there who have yet to successfully hunt one down or are just too frightened by the reports of lackluster audio performance, you may want to hit the pause button 'til May. The BD-UP5500 (pictured after the break) handles Blu-ray / HD DVD discs and supports 1080p24, but otherwise remains functionality identical to the P1500. The pain? $399 for the BD-P1500, $599 for the BD-UP5500.

We can't say we saw this one coming down the pike, but Microsoft has unveiled a new piece of software designed to "streamline development / testing for HD DVD content" as well as "accelerate the advancement" of next-generation interactivity (HDi, in particular). Simply put, the Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator allows studios the flexibility to "model the behavior of HD DVD disc content, including encoded video and HDi interactivity, in a virtual environment." When put to use, companies can purportedly cut down on coasters and wasted time, but in order to do so, they'll need an Xbox 360 + HD DVD peripheral, a connection to Xbox Live and $2,999. Thirsty for more? There's plenty where that came from.

[Thanks, Erie T.]

The HD DVD camp can still tout online connectivity as a feature Blu-ray doesn't have yet, and now they've released numbers on how many people are actually using it. According to the HD DVD Promotional Group, Universal's web-enabled discs averaged 30% of owners going online, while Transformers notched 80,000 unique online viewers with 30% logging on again to download additional content later. HD DVD-exclusive studios Paramount and Universal seem encouraged enough by the numbers that we can expect the content to continue to flow, but we've got to wonder if the added features will translate into increased sales.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is throwing a new wrinkle on the current list of web-enabled features when it hits HD DVD next month, as the Live Community Screening feature lets multiple owners watch together and chat during the movie. The host initiates the session by inviting other viewers -- no word on how many people are supported -- and synchronizes the viewing on all machines. Other features we've seen before like IME picture-in-picture track, favorite scenes and ringtone store also tag along, but we'll see if this Xbox Live-style community aspect is a hit with Potter aficionados December 11th.

[Via Harry Potter Fanzone]

Transformers was one of this year's biggest blockbusters at the theater, and now its one of HD DVD's biggest weapons in the format war. With exclusive features and online connectivity, the HD DVD camp expects this disc to show why Paramount chose them, and consumers will too. The biggest part of any HD release is the picture quality, and all the reviews we've found have high praise for the 1080p MPEG-4 AVC transfer. While HighDefDigest noticed some jaggies during horizontal pans, there were no other faults to be found, impressive considering the high speed action in the film. An unfortunate casualty of all the extras on this two disc set was a high-res audio track -- a strike against HD DVD's 30GB capacity -- although the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround mix that is present got the all-important "reference material" nod from several outlets. Paramount's much-ballyhooed special features include the opportunity to check out the CGI models in HD, all of the DVD extras in HD, and online options to download special widgets that play along with the movie or check out continually updated IMDB-style guides about the movie and its makers. Perfect its not, but reviewers seem to agree, this is a huge step forward for the format...will it be enough to keep Michael Bay happy?

Read - DVD Talk
Read - Home Theater Forum Review
Read - High-Def Digest

Toshiba and Microsoft are taking their HD DVD partnership outside players and discs, by announcing the Advanced Interactivity Consortium. The idea behind the "open forum" is to take the interactive features found in HD DVD movies to other platforms, and potentially see HDi-style features on digital download services that connect directly to your PC, PMP, console or HDTV. The movie studios that currently support HD DVD (Dreamworks, Paramount, Universal and Warner Bros.) are also on board with additional partner invitations to be extended shortly. Whatever the result of this team is -- from simple website tie-ins or maybe HDi features on VOD/Xbox Live Video Marketplace/Zune, it's apparent HD DVD is just one part of these companies plans for digital media.