Blu-ray Releases - 3/11/2008

The following Blu-ray movies are being released today:

• Appleseed Ex Machina
• August Rush
• Dan in Real Life
• Dogma
• Gattaca
• Hitman: Unrated
• I, Robot
• Independence Day
• No Country for Old Men
• Sleuth

The one that I am mainly interested in from this bunch is Dan in Real Life (Disney/Buena Vista). I watched this on my birthday that I share with a guy by the name of Dan (coincidence? I think not…). It was an excellent movie with a fantastic soundtrack - I just loved it. I will be picking this one up today and adding it to the collection. Others that I am interested in are Gattaca (purchasing), I, Robot (purchasing) and No Country for Old Men (renting). I will not be buying those other ones yet, but I bet they would look terrific dressed in Blu. The technical specs for Dan in Real Life are as follows:

• General information:
  • Studio: Disney/Buena Vista
  • Year of Release: 2007
  • Length: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Street Date: Mar. 11, 2008
• Video:
  • Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
  • Resolution: 1080p
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Audio:
  • PCM 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 (English)
• Disc: 50GB Blu-ray
• Price: $23.95

Red, The New Blu

Mike at PopCritics.com will not like this news, particularly after his last post on this topic: Netflix sneaking in DVDs for HD-DVDs.

It appears that Netflix is putting their switch to Blu-ray exclusivity into full throttle. According to Blu-ray.com, Netflix is increasing their Blu-ray inventory from 400 to 1,500 discs. There is also discussion of a raising their fees due to the increased cost associated to the Blu-ray media, but nothing definite has been determined. You can read the article here: Netflix Beefs Up Blu-ray Offerings

Blu-ray Releases - 2/26/2008

The following Blu-ray movies are being released today:

• 30 Days of Night
• Initial D
• Justice League: The New Frontier
• Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same
• To Kill a King

The only one that I am interested in from this bunch is 30 Days of Night (Sony Pictures). I will be picking this one up today and adding it to the collection. The technical specs are as follows:

• General information:
  • Studio:  Sony Pictures
  • Year of Release:   2007
  • Length:  113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
  • Rated:  R
  • Street Date:  Feb. 26, 2008
•  Video:
  • Codec:   MPEG-4 AVC
  • Resolution:  1080p
  • Aspect Ratio:   2.40:1
• Audio:
  • Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English)
• Disc:  50GB Blu-ray
• Price:  $26.95

I’m Blu

I’m an HD adopter. And I was an early adopter to the format war that existed between HD DVD and Blu-ray. This week, Toshiba officially pulled the plug on the life-support that kept the war going. With HD’s demise, consumers can finally settle on a single format and I’m thrilled that it ended up being Blu-ray. Not because I owned it already, but because I truly believe that it was the better of the two formats.

Below is a video that pays last respects to HD DVD. You fought a good fight, too bad you sucked.