We already saw that Sound & Vision felt that Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ should be loosed on Blu-ray, and lo and behold, here we have confirmation that it will indeed be going Blu. On February 17th of next year, the film will be released in a "Definitive Edition" that offers up a 2.4:1 1080p video presentation and a 5.1-channel DTS-HD Master Audio track. As predicted, the audio will be in Aramaic for both the theatrical cut and the uncut version. This edition will also include "several new extras not found on the previous DVD edition including a pair of featurettes and four audio commentaries," and the exhaustive list is hosted up in the read link below. Per usual, the MSRP on this one sits at $34.99.

High-def integration into churches is nothing new, but it's still far from commonplace. HD installers are now keying in on megachurches throughout the US, which typically have congregations in the thousands and could certainly benefit from HD projections. According to Pat Thompson, senior vice president of engineering operations for broadcast and audio visual systems integrator TV Magic, there are around 10,000 megachurches in America today, with only 1,000 or so equipped with HD cameras, displays, etc. He also noted that some of the larger venues would spend between $500,00 and $4 million in order to completely convert to high-def, which would likely have some churchgoers fanning themselves and passing out in the aisles. Still, there's hardly a more suited place for HD than this, but you should probably tell your pastor to invest in some makeup if your church is planning on doing closeups at 1080p.

[Image courtesy of Yucan]

Around this time last year, we were all caught up in the drama unfolding between the NFL and Fall Creek Baptist Church, but this time, it doesn't seem as if any place of worship is being smitten for showing the big game on a big screen. Rather, a pastor down in Texas is utilizing HD (and IP) technology to beam himself (and his sermons) to satellite churches around the area in real-time. Apparently, the signal from an HD camera and two other cams zoomed in on his face are zipped around to other auditoriums and churches in the area, which prevents individuals that live further away from having to make a lengthy drive, yet still gives them the ability to interact with other congregation members. Unfortunately, we've no idea if the pastor in question is being seen simultaneously in 720p, 1080i or 1080p, but regardless, let's hope he's wearing some form of HD makeup for everyone's sake, eh?

[Image courtesy of KIR]