Today I am going to start something new.

To my mind, there are four phases of a Blu-ray release. There is the announcement, the pre-order listing, the early copies and the street date, when we all get to enjoy the title.

So far I have largely ignored the announcements and talk about releases when the pre-orders are up. I took this approach since I always found it frustrating to hear about a new exciting release and then not be able to do anything about it!

By discussing the title when the pre-order is up, you can pre-order and forget it or now you can add it to your Wishlist and order it at your leisure.

Today however I want to focus on the early copies of the actual discs, since this is the first time that we get to see the real details of what is truly on the release.

The first post in this theme highlights the release of the most recent title from DreamWorks Animation - Kung Fu Panda.

Due to street in a week on Sunday November 9th, DreamWorks has treated us to a great release.

The movie was both critically acclaimed, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 89% and IMDb score of 7.9/10, and a box office success, hauling in over $215M in the US alone.

The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at almost 21 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.

The main audio is Dolby True HD Lossless with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 44.30 GB used and is coded for all regions.

Special features are numerous (see the High Def Douches review for more detail) and includes Bonus View Picture in Picture and BD Live Network features.

The retail price is set at $39.95, or get it at Amazon for $27.95, saving 30%.

Visit the details page for Kung Fu Panda to see full resolution screen captures taken from the disc.

All in all it looks like a great release from DreamWorks Animation!

Amazon has a few interesting sale price items today.

March of the Penguins is discounted an incredible 66%, selling for only $9.95.

This is a delightful documentary movie, and a steal at that price.

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While Amazon doesn’t appear to have their own stock of the new Panasonic Blu-ray players yet,  some of their sell through partners are now shipping these BD Live capable players.

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Today is James Bond on Blu-ray day, with the James Bond box sets and the new Casino Royale disc that features BD Live and other enhancements.

You get get the ‘classic’ Bonds as separates or you can get them James Bond Blu-ray Collection, Vol. 1 and James Bond Blu-ray Collection, Vol.2 - each with three movies.

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Amazon is back with their ‘Buy 2 Blu-ray Discs, Get 1 Free‘ promotion - effectively three for the price of two.

The 147 titles included span Sony, Fox, Lionsgate, Warner, Starz and a few from Image Entertainment, including some of their music titles.

Titles include I Am Legend, The Bank Job, 300, The Fifth Element, Shoot ‘Em Up, Night Watch, Wall Street, The Air I Breathe, Mrs. Doubtfire and Roy Orbison: Black & White Night.

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It looks like the Samsung promotion with a free Ultimate Matrix is over, however a new promotion has take its place.

Depending on how you feel about the Matrix, this new promotion may be even better!

If you buy the Samsung BD-P1500 player, you can chose two Blu-ray movies for free.

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I see that Amazon has a bunch of Sony titles at $17.95 - for these Day and Date titles that is a savings of 54% off retail.

The titles are 21, Gridiron Gang, Hostel - Part II, Reign Over Me, Rocky Balboa, The Holiday, The Messengers, The Pursuit of Happyness, Vacancy, Click, RV, The Covenant, Ultraviolet and Underworld Evolution.

A great opportunity to get these normally higher priced Day and Date releases for less than $20.

It maybe a pricing error, but for whatever reason, Die Hard is currently only $6.95 at Amazon, a saving of 80%.

In any case, if you don’t own it already, it is worth a shot!

Update: Too late!

I see that a few Sony titles have been put on sale today, with 54% off the retail price.

Right now Rocky Balboa, The Holiday, Vacancy, Hostel - Part II and Click are only $17.95 - a great price considering the retail for these titles is $38.95.

Nice new deal today for those on the fence about getting a new BD player.

Amazon is offering a free copy of the Ultimate Matrix Collection with the purchase of the new Samsung BD-P1500 player.

This is a full featured player that was recently updated to BD Live via firmware upgrade.

The current pricing on the player is  $200.99, making this an insanely good deal! Get it while you can!