Warner Home Video to offer Blu-ray combo packs

Warner Home Video announced that they will be offering Blu-ray combo packs for all theatrical new release movies starting first quarter of 2010. Combo pack includes Blu-ray disc, DVD and a digital copy. This combo pack offering trend was started by Disney sometime back. It is evident that these offerings will help accelerate Blu-ray adoption and at the sametime give more viewing choices for customers with no additional cost.

Warner Home Video is also launching Blu-ray double features pack starting at $24.98 that will include a pair of well-matched catalog hits from Warner studios.

Sony movies on Internet connected TVs & Blu-ray players

Declining DVD sales and lackluster box-office performances are driving Hollywood studios and Consumer Electronics manufacturers to come up with new ways to increase their revenue streams. As this BusinessWeek's article and NY Times article report, Sony is experimenting with making some movies available through it's Internet ready Bravia TVs and Blu-ray players just before their DVD release. This new window, called as Home theatrical window is spaced between movie's theatrical release and it's DVD release so that,  interests of theatre owners and DVD retailers are equally served . Sony, with it's unique position as Hardware manufacturer and Movie studio owner, is trying to convince other Hollywood studios and content providers to join this experiment.

Even though HDTV and Blu-ray technology adoption is slow, there seems to be a section of viewers who are willing to pay a premium for watching movies on their big TV screens well before it's DVD release schedule. The quality of a typical internet streaming movie may be comparable to DVD quality but it doesn't match with Blu-ray quality. As Blu-ray technology becomes more mainstream, the popularity of this offering from Sony  is going to depend on the quality of the online stream and how it is priced compared to DVDs.

Blu-ray disc deals from Warner Home Video

Looking for deals on Blu-ray discs this holiday season? This might interest you. Warner Home Video, a division of Warner Bros. Studios is offering a trade-in program called DVD2BLU wherein you can send in your DVD titles (from the list of 55 or so available titles) and get Blu-ray version of the same titles for around $8 - $10 each. They are offering free shipping on orders over $25. But, after throwing in factors like parting with your beloved DVDs, paying shipping cost of $4.95 and waiting 4 -5 weeks to get your Blu-ray discs, the effective price you pay here may not be as competitive as buying Blu-ray discs from Amazon or Bestbuy. List of titles available from Warner Bros.'s website DVD2BLU:

Movie	Price	Movie	Price
10,000 BC	$9.95	Journey to the Center of Earth	$7.95
2001: A Space Odyssey	$7.95	Last Samurai	$7.95
Alexander Revisited: (Unrated)	$7.95	Lost Boys, The	$7.95
American History	$7.95	Michael Clayton	$7.95
An American in Paris	$7.95	National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation	$7.95
Any Given Sunday	$7.95	Ocean's Thirteen	$9.95
Aviator	$7.95	Orphanage, The	$9.95
Beetlejuice	$7.95	Pan's Labyrinth	$9.95
Blazing Saddles	$7.95	Perfect Storm, The	$7.95
Body of Lies	$9.95	Pride and Glory	$7.95
Bucket List, The	$7.95	Rio Bravo	$7.95
Christmas Story, A	$9.95	Risky Business	$7.95
Clockwork Orange, A	$7.95	Rumor Has It	$7.95
Collateral Damage	$7.95	Rush Hour 3	$9.95
Constantine	$7.95	Scanner Darkly, A	$7.95
Dark City: Director's Cut	$7.95	Searchers, The	$7.95
Deliverance	$7.95	Shining, The	$7.95
Dirty Dozen, The	$7.95	Speed Racer	$9.95
Dumb and Dumber	$7.95	Superman II: Richard Donner Cut	$7.95
Elf	$9.95	Superman Returns	$9.95
Eraser	$7.95	Swordfish	$7.95
Final Destination	$7.95	Taking Lives	$7.95
Fugitive, The	$7.95	Training Day	$7.95
Full Metal Jacket	$9.95	We Are Marshall	$9.95
Gods and Generals	$7.95	Wedding Crashers	$7.95
Golden Compass, The	$9.95	Wedding Singer, The	$7.95
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle	$7.95	Wyatt Earp	$7.95
History of Violence, A	$7.95