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Discovery's Sunrise Earth: Seaside Collection on Blu-ray June 11th


Can't get enough Sunrise Earth? Fantastic. Discovery has just announced that it will be bringing its Sunrise Earth: Seaside Collection to both DVD and Blu-ray on June 11th, and judging by the sound of things, it looks to be a real winner for showing off the capabilities of your setup. Focusing on sunrises above crystal clear bodies of water, you'll find scenes from Maine's Acadia National Park, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Polynesia, Costa Rica, Turkey's coastline, California's Point Reyes National Seashore, Ninagiak Island and a couple more locales for good measure. Of course, submersing yourself in such grandeur won't run you cheap, as the BD version will ring up at $59.95, while the lowly four-disc DVD set can be had for $10 less.

Hawaii volcano film to be released on Blu-ray... and HD DVD?


There's simply no question that the beauty of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (above) can only truly be appreciated after a winding drive down from Kailua Kona (or Hilo, for those who love the rain), but for folks without weeks on end to spare waiting to see lava flow from some of those majestic creations, a forthcoming film should give you the next best look. Volcanographer Mick Kalber has assembled an hour-long movie entitled Kilauea's Flow to Waikupanaha, and while we'd generally brush something like this off, a recent writeup about it most definitely caught our eye. We thought we had already seen HD DVD's last hurrah back in March, but if KHNL-8 is to be believed, the forthcoming flick will be available on Blu-ray and HD DVD. Granted, there's no release date mentioned, but given that red has been decomposing for months now, we're tempted to believe someone was simply misinformed.

Timing, money among reasons for channels getting HD treatment


Pixel for pixel, we'd take MOJO HD over TBS HD everyday of the week. Why? Because 100-percent of the content aired on the former is in gorgeous high-definition, while the vast majority of material shown on the latter is in ghastly stretch-o-vision. For those that have wondered why certain channels get HD treatment and some don't, Sound and Vision has taken an in-depth look to unearth the reasons why seemingly worthless networks such as QVC have an HD channel lined up while scores of HD junkies can't get their carrier to land SciFi HD, USA HD or dozens of other channels with worthwhile high-def programming. Needless to say, timing and money rank pretty high on the list, but other conveniences such as simulcasting and having loads of "pretty" content available helps nets "jump the line." Hit the read link for the full spill.

HD clarity paves the way for new channels


No real surprises here, but a recent writeup over at USA Today proclaims that the sheer clarity provided by HDTV could pave the way for a whole new pool of channels. We've already found that sports fans in general typically enjoy watching a game in HD regardless of what teams are competing, and the same seems to prove true when looking at nature. The report pinpoints Discovery's Sunrise Earth and The Smithsonian Channel (among many others) as programs that simply wouldn't have the same allure if not shot in HD. Additionally, Comcast's Derek Harrar even suggested that "pretty-picture content" could prove to be just as desirable as movies and sports. Personally, we've all watched quite a few programs for no other reason than to bask in the glory of how stunning HD can look, but only time will tell if there's a real market for picturesque programming.

[Via The HDTV Blog]




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