Home Cinema (4546)

Harry Potter movies to see launch on HD DVD and Blu-ray

Plus special edition "trunk" 12-disc gift boxset

19 September 2007 13:27 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Some advance warning for you to get ready for another little bit of Potter-mania heading our way.

Nicely timed for appearance on little muggle's Christmas lists, Warner Home Video are launching the entire series of Harry Potter movies as special boxsets which will be sure to appeal to fans.

This launch sees the availability of "Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix", the latest film to hit DVD in the series, get an official release in the UK.

More of interest from a wider industry perspective is that the films will also be launched on both HD DVD and Blu-ray.

Will aspiring wizards prefer the Sony-backed Blu-ray format or Toshiba's own HD DVD version, do you suppose?

To be launched in the UK in November, Warner's press office is still awaiting confirmation on exact dates, pricing and extras, so we've looked to the US releases for a hint.

In the States the high-def giftsets will be the same price - both $149.99, as will the individual films, at $29.99.

Bonus features on the two-disc special edition and high-def formats include 17 minutes of new footage and themed featurettes.

The HD DVD version also includes an "In Movie Experience" with the cast and web-enabled features that allow viewers to assemble movie clips into a montage, organize a screening and select images and ringtones for mobile phones while the Blu-ray edition has additional making-of featurettes.

Although one Potter title is already available on HD DVD, this both-formats-launch is set to be a microcosm of the format war, and it will be interesting to see which format does better in terms of sales figures.