Blue Ray Technologies was expecting business to boom shortly after the format war concluded, and apparently the shock is in full effect. According to founder and chairman Erick Hansen, America's "first indie Blu-ray disc manufacturing plant is now becoming the largest indie [and Profile 2.0-friendly] Blue-ray Disc mastering facility in the US." When all is said done, the facility will be "the only indie that can handle rewritable disc mastering and will provide pre-mastering as well," not to mention being the only one that can make a rewriting stamper. Granted, most of this stuff amounts to a huge pat on the back, but the expansion of independent films on BD is certainly healthy for the industry at large. Now, if only the hardware to watch these films on were more affordable, we'd really have a match made in heaven.

We'll admit, a bunch of the whining piped to the FCC is quite petty, but we can't help but agree with the message being brought forth by the National Association of Independent Networks. Said group has banded together in order to approach the FCC in protest of "program tying," a process in which "large media companies require cable operators to carry less desired channels in order to receive more popular networks." NAIN is hoping to "create a more competitive television programming arena, leading to lower prices and more choices for consumers." If program tying was addressed (read: nixed), more bandwidth could be opened up for channels that people actually care about (at least in theory). Imagine a world where SciFi HD was everywhere and QVC HD was nowhere -- 'tis a lovely thought, no?

Fitting, isn't it? Blue Underground, a well-respected distributor of cult / horror films, has decided to start releasing projects on Blu-ray Discs. Additionally, we now know the first half dozen flicks that it plans on releasing: The Final Countdown, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Stendhal Syndrome, Maniac, Vigilante and Fire and Ice, though we're sure hits like Uncle Sam, Dead and Buried and Two Evil Eyes won't be far behind. Each disc will boast 1080p transfers, 7.1 DTS-HD / Dolby TrueHD audio tracks, D-Box Motion Code (on select titles) and a plethora of extras. We're still curious to see how the transfers turn out, but this is certainly good news for underground horror fanatics.

[Via DVDTalk, thanks Don]

A little late, sure, but Kino International has finally decided to join everyone else and go Blu-ray exclusive. Reportedly, the foreign film distributor has become the latest indie to bid HD DVD a fond farewell and focus its future support on BD. We haven't seen a definitive launch date for its first Blu-ray title (which is likely to be Wong Kar Wai's Fallen Angels), but word on the street has it launching sometime this fall. We're also told that Kino has "a number of [other] Blu-ray releases in the works," but it seems that we'll have to wait things out before discovering which titles it's referencing.

With all the attention given to major studios, it's easy to forget that there's a wealth of smaller indie operations with great content as well. The format war effectively kept these players out of the game -- just like consumers, choosing the "wrong" format was just too risky. In the new, Blu world, however, some of these studios are making very successful moves to HD. Try this on for size: Tartan Video is seeing higher sales of "Oldboy" on Blu-ray than any other title in its library, including DVD releases! The film is no delicate, highbrow, foreign art film, either; we'd file it under foreign, gritty action. This really underscores what we think is the value of HDM -- properly done, it gets you closer to the director's vision. And that's something any cinephile can love, whether the feature is a CGI-laden blockbuster or not. Our recommendation? Try putting some indie HD content in your diet.


[Image courtesy MovieCritic]

While we've seen independent filmmakers side with both camps in the past, it looks like Phoenix Entertainment will be going red when it brings The Lawless to HD DVD next February. The indie distributor will be launching the direct-to-video crime caper just in time for Valentine's Day, and while you're off getting cozy with your SO, Phoenix Entertainment Group will be celebrating its debut on a high-definition format. Currently, it looks as if the flick won't feature any extras, but the suggested retail price is kept (relatively) low at $19.98 to compensate. Oh, and if you're already scouring the 'net in an attempt to pre-order this, Amazon has it listed with a January 15th release date, but we wouldn't count on that being fulfilled.

[Via TGDaily]

Despite the fact that Mojo is already vying for male eyes, the independently operated MavTV is hoping that a 100-percent HD flavor of its programming will steal a few of those pupils in 2008. The network is planning on dishing its HD feed to some 55 US markets, as well as select areas in Australia, New Zealand, and India, and will offer up a mixture of "original sports, gaming programming, and general content related to the male demographic." Unfortunately, we've no timeframe to go by aside from Q1 of next year, but you won't find us complaining about yet another purely high-definition channel coming along to take on the competition.

Although the most recent reports (well, in the US, anyway) have insinuated that Blu-ray disc sales are claiming the lead over HD DVDs, you can bet the (currently) losing side isn't sitting around idly. While various parties have claimed victory over the other, it looks like the HD DVD camp is opening up a previously closed door by pushing Toshiba players into Circuit City stores. Apparently, Circuit City hasn't been exactly fond of carrying Tosh's HD DVD units up until now (or vice-versa), but getting the devices in front of hordes of potential buyers has reportedly enticed a myriad of HD addicts to pick up said units. While a spokesperson for Toshiba declined to get specific, she hinted that having its second-generation players in the big box retailer's store for just a few months allowed them to "eclipse the lifetime sales of the company's first-generation players." On a not-so-surprising note, it seems like consumers might see even steeper price drops sooner due to the newfound BD pressure, and in a presumed attempt to find yet another genre to grab tight to HD DVD, Microsoft is joining the team in order to persuade independent filmmakers to consider the format. Of course, only time will tell if the little guys can actually make it on the high-definition format, but you won't see us complaining with HD DVD titles hitting stores whilst never making their silver screen debut.