It seems appropriate that after striking the fatal blow in the war between HD DVD and Blu-ray, Warner is the first to break rank and ally itself with the China Blue HD team. Ready to enter the ordinary Chinese consumer's family, according to Managing Director Tony Vaughan, the Harry Potter series, Speed Racer and others will launch for 50-70 yuan ($7.30 - $10.22) per disc. Excuse us while we pick our jaws up from the floor, but with at least one Hollywood studio in pocket and 1999 yuan ($292) players on the way the son of HD DVD looks remarkably closer to a real Blu-ray competitor (and less like the destined for the scrap heap reject we predicted) than ever. With DVD sales shrinking and Blu-ray not quite ready to pick up the slack, how long until another studio decides the Chinese market has enough potential to publish movies on CBHD? [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Via Format War Central]

Just when we thought there wasn't another comic book movie this holiday season until The Dark Knight, along comes Hellboy, which we somehow forgot about. It's available both in regular and extra geeky, the latter will set you back another $20, but while both include a digital copy, only the Collector's Edition includes a scary looking figurine and we're not sure what else. Also this week, Weinstein has the made for TV movie about the NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt, which is sure to be a popular stocking stuffer for Blu-ray NASCAR fans -- not sure how many of those there are. Star Wars fans can look forward to the animated feature Star Wars: The Clone Wars, while WW2 junkies can can relive Band of Brothers for the first time on Blu-ray. That isn't the only TV show series this week though, as Warner has both the first season of Chuck and the third season of Supernatural. And finally, Fox offers up the first, and regrettably, the only season of Firefly.

• Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Universal)
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army Collector's Edition (Universal)
• 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story (Weinstein)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Warner)
• Band of Brothers (HBO)
• Chuck: The Complete First Season (Warner)
• Supernatural: The Complete Third Season (Warner)
• JFK (Warner)
• Firefly: The complete series (Fox)
• Harry Potter Years 1-5 Giftset (Warner)
• This Christmas (Sony)

Now that all studios can focus their efforts on cranking out titles for a single format (well, almost), it's no surprise to hear that Warner is already planning a few special sets for the hordes of collectors out there. Early reports are suggesting that the aforementioned firm will debut a series of "book-like" Blu-ray packages on March 25th with the unveiling of Bonnie & Clyde. Apparently, at least nine other films will follow suit, offering movie buffs a "handsomely bound volume containing rare and never-before-seen archival material." As for exact titles, we're hearing that Dirty Harry, Woodstock, Gone with the Wind and North by Northwest could be among those chosen (no Matrix?), but Warner could re-release hits such as Blade Runner and certain Harry Potter selections as well. Interestingly, it seems as if HD DVD followers will also get the chance to indulge with the red release of Bonnie & Clyde, but there's been nothing said officially either way just yet.

[Via The Leaky Cauldron, thanks Kellan]
Read - Warner Plans Ten Blu-ray "Book" Releases for 2008
Read - Warner to Bow "Ultimate" Dirty Harry

We knew sales of Universal's The Bourne Ultimatum and Warner's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix would be closely eyed, and sure enough, the web is ablaze with discussion surrounding initial reports. Reportedly, Potter topped the DVD sales charts for the week ending December 16, 2007, but 'round these parts, it's the high-definition iteration(s) that we're concerned with. Regrettably, it seems that the actual breakdown of HD DVD vs. Blu-ray sales on the latest installment of Potter has yet to be divulged, but we were told that Bourne outsold the wizard and his posse by a margin of "nearly 2-to-1" on HD DVD. Furthermore, Order of the Phoenix managed to slip in at number two on the Blu-ray charts, falling shy of leader Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Hopefully we'll hear a few more specifics on all of this soon enough.

[Thanks, Ali]

If you were one of the many who received an HD DVD version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in your limited edition Blu-ray box set, take heart. Apparently, Warner Bros. has established a hotline for affected customers to call up, and when they're connected, they will be issued a single-disc BD edition of the aforementioned film. Reportedly, the studio will eventually mail out replacements that match the artwork on the other discs in the collection, but as of now, Warner has yet to release a statement on this either way. Ready to get yours? Phone up 1-800-553-6937 -- oh, and be kind to the uninvolved CSRs, will ya?

[Thanks, domerdel]

It seems a little early to tell if this issue is widespread, but judging from the amount of tips we've received to go along with the growing complaints on the 'net, we're starting to wonder if we do indeed have a problem. Apparently, the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix HD DVD has been problematic when used in the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, with quirks ranging from lockups to an outright lack of playback. It has been suggested that the non-combo version actually plays fine while the HD DVD / DVD combo iteration presents problems, leaving some to wonder if it's a format issue rather than the title itself. So, what say ye? Anyone experiencing these difficulties? If so, have you found a workaround / solution?

[Thanks, Winston E.]
Read - AVSForum
Read - Amazon complaint

We surely hope you didn't expect Warner Bros. to extinguish any of those tempestuous format war fires. Au contraire, the studio is apparently on a mission to fan those very flames, as it has inadvertently included an HD DVD within a five-disc Blu-ray box set. You read right -- a bevy of users across the 'net have received their limited edition package only to find the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire disc to be of the HD DVD variety. 'Course, we did hear that Warner was gunning for 2008 to unleash Total HD, but we definitely didn't see this coming. All joshing aside, users are apparently being asked to send the entire package back and await a totally Blu replacement, but we've all ideas that solution won't make diehard BD fans happy at all.

[Via Blu-ray.com Forums, thanks Kiwi616]

Next Tuesday, the biggest dual format HD release since 300 hits the streets; and once again, we just can't wait to compare red vs blu. For the most part, Warner has always offered the same content on both format, and if anything, Blu-ray fans have complained that Warner doesn't take advantage of Blu-ray's extra capacity. Well, with Order of the Phoenix, Warner has pulled out the stops and has pitted interactivity vs HD supplemental video, because while the HD DVD version includes Warner's IME and web content, the Blu-ray version includes HD supplements and a 44 minute high-def TV special called, The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter -- that was left out of the HD DVD version completely. The other big difference enabled by Blu-ray's additional capacity is an extensive list of foreign language surround sound tracks and sub-titles -- at the same time the HD DVD is a combo disc without the $10 premium. So dual format owners will have to choose between interactivity and HD supplements -- or maybe they'll just choose to save $5 and go with the Blu-ray version. We don't know about anyone else, but we can't wait to see what Nielsen VideoScan results have to say about this.

Read - HighDefDigest HD DVD review
Read - HighDefDigest Blu-ray review

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]

Users clamoring for alternate (read: easier) ways to transport commercial DVD footage to portable media players will likely enjoy knowing that the next Harry Potter DVD will reportedly feature "two downloadable digital files" for easy viewing on devices other than a vanilla DVD player. According to Jim Wuthrich, Warner senior VP of digital distribution, users can "buy the DVD and have the option of the digital copy," and apparently, he also suggested that "another studio was preparing to launch digital copies of a film tied to its DVD release." Unfortunately, details about the actual formats and whatnot weren't disclosed, so barring any unforeseen announcements, it looks like we'll be waiting for the December 11th release of Order of the Phoenix to find out exactly what this disc contains.

[Via ArsTechnica]

More news from the Home Media Expo, as Warner Home Video made it a point to show off its upcoming deluxe box sets, few more widely anticipated than the high definition releases of Harry Potter and Blade Runner. Fans of the Harry Potter series can get all five films, on Blu-ray or HD DVD along with "exclusive memorabilia", at a price of $149.99, a $30 premium over the standard DVD set. Blade Runner is getting a five disc DVD re-release that will also hit Blu-ray and HD DVD, but no word on prices for the HD editions or special features. According to VideoBusiness both should debut sometime in the fourth quarter, it appears that Total HD or not Warner is taking advantage of its support for both formats by releasing its heavy hitters sooner, rather than later.

What we're watching: There's an excellent college football matchup on tonight between Tennessee and South Carolina on ESPN-HD, but many will probably take a break and catch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on ABC tonight. Kidnapped continues its lame-duck run on NBC while HDNet sees fit to bring us Deliverance.

Our traditional high-def listings continue below.

Harry Potter and his friends might be joining hands with the HD DVD camp sooner then we thought. DVDTown.com has the disc listed for sale with a release date of August 29, 2006, although, Amazon still doesn't have a release date for their pre-orders. We already know that the disc is going to be loaded with 1080p goodness and Dolby TrueHD/Digital Plus 5.1, so all Potter fans need is a release date, and well, a HD DVD player would help too. With the way that Warner keeps on pushing their titles out, this wouldn't surprise us.

Who said there wasn't a killer HD DVD? Harry Potter might not be your all-time favorite flick but it sure is to many people. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire doesn't have a release date just yet, but we do know a good amount of what's going to be on the disc. It is going to be presented in 2.35:1 widescreen at 1080p and include both Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 tracks. Along with the normal DVD extras the HD DVD release is going to have Warner's "in-Movie Experience" that features an interactive video commentary, plus, additional making-of content, and interviews. So far Warner hasn't announced any plans to bring this title out on Blu-ray ether. We just wish we knew when it was hitting the streets.