UK Sales of The Hurt Locker have surged following the film's victory at the 82nd Academy Awards. HMV -the UK & Ireland's leading DVD and Blu-ray retailer- reports that disc sales of the film at stores and online have more than tripled since Monday compared to the same period a week before. Of those purchases, 40% are being made on Blu-ray. This is one of the highest ratios for any film release in the UK since the format was launched.

Source: http://www.blu-ray.com

Amazon has an interesting BD-related "lightning deal" going on now: for a very limited time, you can buy The Hannibal Lecter Collection (Manhunter / The Silence of the Lambs / Hannibal) for only $27.99 (60% off MSRP). This offer expires today at 2 p.m. PST, or when stock runs out.

Source: http://www.blu-ray.com

The major consumer electronic manufacturers are unleashing 3D hardware upon the populace as we speak. Panasonic (in an exclusive alliance with Best Buy) and Samsung are first out of the gate, with displays and Blu-ray players available now. LG is launching in May, Sony in June (in Japan and then the US) and Vizio in August.

Source: http://www.blu-ray.com

DreamWorks Animation announced yesterday the expansion of its strategic alliance with Samsung, to feature an exclusive offering of the Shrek film series in its entirety in 3D for the first time ever. This Blu-ray collection will be available during the second half of the year. The news was delivered at Samsung's Full HD 3D LED TV global launch press conference held in New York City. Update: additional information on exclusivity added.

Source: http://www.blu-ray.com

3D Blu-ray players have recently been released but there is some worry as to whether or not 3D blu-rays will actually be compatible with them. However, it is unlikely this will happen but keep it in mind. The best option is to wait until the 3D blu-rays have been tested on these machines a bit and then grab one.

Recently more and more people are stocking up on blu-rays. People are waiting for blu-rays to be marked down instead of buying the regular DVD. Mostly it's because if you were to sit down and watch a VHS then a DVD you would notice a marked improvement in the picture quality. Once you viewed a DVD you probably only wanted to purchase DVD's. If you view a DVD and then a Blu-ray you would notice another drastic difference in picture quality. Once you go blu you won't want to go back. Blu-rays are the media of choice today, and worth every last penny.

Amazon has an interesting BD-related "lightning deal" going on now: for a very limited time, you can buy The Die Hard Collection (Die Hard/ Die Hard 2: Die Harder/ Die Hard with a Vengeance/ Live Free or Die Hard) for only $37.99 (62% off MSRP). This offer expires today at 2 p.m. PST, or when stock runs out.

Source: http://www.blu-ray.com

When Warner Home Video announced the release on Blu-ray of the recent BBC production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, we lamented that the full-text 1996 version starring and directed by Kenneth Branagh wasn't coming out on Blu-ray. Now it seems that WHV has addressed those concerns, as Branagh's Hamlet has just gone up for preorder, complete with rather official-looking cover art.

Source: http://www.blu-ray.com

Eureka Entertainment has announced Prince Valiant for release on Blu-ray in the UK on April 26. This 1954 CinemaScope adaptation of the famous comic strip created by Harold R. Foster in 1937 was directed by Henry Hathaway and stars Robert Wagner as Prince Valiant and Janet Leigh as Princess Aleta.

Source: http://www.blu-ray.com

According to aggregate weekly estimates from the research department of Home Media Magazine, revenues from Blu-ray sales in the US in 2010 through February were $200.95 million, 59% more than in the same period of 2009. Additionally, thanks to Blu-ray, the revenue from packaged-media sales stopped falling and grew 3% year-on-year.

Source: http://www.blu-ray.com