The Watchmen BD comes out July 21, then Zack Snyder will host a community screening (allowing viewers to watch the movie along with his live commentary on their Blu-ray players) during Comic-Con on July 25. Is the experience worth the price of the disc alone? Definitely not. But if you’re a big Watchmen fan, the screening is certainly a nice bonus if you’re already purchasing the Blu-ray on day of release. I just wonder if Snyder’s bladder is heartier than Nolan’s. Place your bets on pee breaks now. And remember, Watchmen is a long movie, too. (AU: I wouldn’t expect this to be available to Australian Watchmen fans… [Video Business via engadgetHD]

AU: US only, unsurprisingly.

The Red2Blu trade-in program is designed to get people burned by HD-DVD into the Blu-ray fold. Simply mail in your HD-DVD cover art (you get to keep the discs!), pay $US4.95 per movie and $US6.95 for shipping and get brand new copies of the same movies on Blu-ray in about a month.

Of course, it only works for Warner Bros. HD-DVDs/Blu-rays, but if you’ve got a few kicking around this ain’t a bad deal. [Red2Blu via Engadget]

It’s great to see that finally consumers are being given the option of watching movies legally when and how they want to. Of course, there’s almost certainly not going to be any pricing adjustment for the digital releases, which means it will probably still be cheaper to buy the DVD version, but it’s still a step in the right direction.

WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT GROUP AUSTRALIA TO OFFER CONTENT VIA VIDEO ON DEMAND SAME DAY AS BLU-RAY AND DVD

Critically acclaimed movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is to be the first ‘day and date’ title, released on 3rd June 2009.

SYDNEY AUSTRALIA 15th April 2009 – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group Australia will make its content available via Video on Demand through FOXTEL Box Office Pay Per View, iTunes, Bigpond as well as the online presence of various rental chains on the same day the Blu-ray and DVD becomes available to buy and rent. The announcement of this move was made by Roger Clarke – Managing Director of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group Australia.

“This is a significant step in the development and growth of our industry in Australia, providing an important new opportunity to increase the audience for our content. Working with our partners, FOXTEL, iTunes, Bigpond and various rental chains, this strategy means we are giving the consumer more options to experience their favourite content when, how and where they want to.” said Clarke.

Beginning with the much anticipated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, set for release on 3rd June 2009, consumers will be able to access this film via the internet, PC or set-top box on TV. The launch of this initiative is supported by FOXTEL, iTunes, Bigpond and various rental chains.

Brian Walsh, FOXTEL’s Director of Television said, “This is a great win for FOXTEL subscribers and a major step forward for our Box Office Pay Per View service. More than ever, this decision reinforces the value of having FOXTEL in the home.”

“There are more than 5.1 million Australian consumers with broadband connections and a huge appetite for great content. Every day, more and more consumers are acquiring the habit of purchasing their movies digitally. By offering Video on Demand at the same time as the Blu-ray and DVD release, Warner Bros. is responding to the need for greater convenience and choice that reflects today’s changing lifestyles.”

“Additionally, by providing reliable, high quality, digital product to consumers in this way, we are offering a legitimate alternative to piracy.” added Clarke.

It doesn’t look like any Warner videos have been pulled down yet, so maybe there’s still hope for the arrangement. But you have to wonder why Warner would expect a massive return from YouTube videos anyway… Is there a single person who pays attention to ads around a YouTube music video? I’d have thought it would be better to look at it as a way of growing your band’s exposure, rather than a revenue raiser. But of course, I’m just a cynical tech blogger, not a representative from a music label, so I’ll just sit back and watch as many Muse and RHCP clips on YouTube today as I can in case tomorrow sees them all disappear…

[Reuters]

Warner Bros. Licenses Content for Distribution on DivX Certified(R) Consumer Electronics Devices

Agreement Enables Retailers to Offer Premium Content in DivX(R) Format for Playback on Variety of Devices

SAN DIEGO & LOS ANGELES —(Business Wire)— Oct 14, 2008 DivX, Inc. (NASDAQ:DIVX) and Warner Bros. Entertainment today announced an agreement that will enable online retailers to offer Warner Bros. titles in the high-quality DivX® standard definition format in October 2008 and high definition format in September 2009 for playback on DivX Certified® consumer electronics devices.

The wide-ranging agreement covers all titles available for digital distribution in the Warner Bros. catalogue including current and back-catalogue major motion pictures and television programs. All titles offered in the DivX format are compatible with a variety of DivX Certified devices from major consumer electronics brands, including DVD players, Blu-ray devices, gaming consoles and more. The agreement allows retailers who sign additional agreements with DivX and Warner Bros. to offer Warner titles in the DivX digital media format.

“Using the DivX secure format is in keeping with our overall digital distribution strategy,” said Jim Wuthrich, Senior Vice President, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. “The visual quality, security and widespread interoperability of the DivX format offers an excellent means for consumers to enjoy Warner Bros.’ content whenever and wherever they desire.”

“Warner Bros. offers an extremely compelling catalogue of premium, high-quality content enjoyed by consumers all over the world,” said Kevin Hell, CEO of DivX, Inc. “We’re very excited to work together to offer consumers premium content on any DivX device, from the PC to the living room and on the go.”

For more information about DivX, visit www.divx.com. To learn more about Warner Bros. Entertainment visit www.warnerbros.com.

Extras included on the first disc also include “Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene,” a “focus points” version of the film containing behind-the-scenes vignettes with director Christopher Nolan and his team discussing the planning of the film, the use of IMAX photography, the stunts, and more.

Disc two will feature additional extras presented entirely in HD, including a pair of featurettes (”Batman Tech,” “Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight”), the “Gotham Tonight” collection of six episodes of the Gotham Cable’s Premiere network, and “The Galleries,” containing multiple still galleries, theatrical trailers and TV spots.

Apparently the collectible limited edition is exactly the same as the standard Blu-ray edition, except it’ll come in fancy Bat Pod packaging.

The standard edition will retail for $US35.99 (though it’ll probably hit shelves for less), while the premium edition has yet to be priced. On a completely unrelated note, Gizmodo will not be in service from December 9th until further notice. Our apologies. [HiDef Digest]

No word on the complete list (it is lengthy though) or exact date, but some of the many flicks getting the cheapness are: The Shining, The Aviator, 300, and I Am Legend. Hopefully this’ll push some of the other studios to lower prices as well, so Blu-ray flicks are more in line with DVD cost-wise. If there’s one kind of war we love, it’s a price war. [High Def Digest via Crunch]

According to Variety “Universal is committed to a series of HD DVD promotions in coming months.” At this time, only Universal and Paramount support the format but no longer exclusively. Sony, Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, Warner, New Line and HBO are all behind Blu-ray. Variety also argues that, with all those studios behind the format, retailers won’t dedicate “premium shelf space to a dying format.”

Looks bad, HD DVD. It may be time to head to the bunker. [Variety]

A nice pair of reminders that much of what you see at CES is indulgent geek fantasy that might not ever street: The monster 108-inch LCD Sharp showed off at CES 2007—promised to be available this year to customers—is MIA, leading rich people to look for other obscene entertainment options to plow too much money into.

A year later, Sharp’s still working on launch plans as the set stands to be unseated as the world’s biggest flat-panel display in little more than a week.

Then there was Warner’s much ballyhooed, allegedly format-war-ending Total HD disc that crams HD DVD and Blu-ray onto one shiny piece of plastic. Status? Vapour. It got delayed until 2008 halfway into 2007, and then was basically shitcanned as the format trench war squeaks along into yet another year. So many promises, so many broken hearts. [IT World via /.]