zach:

Ehh I already have the Special Extended Edition and lotr in 720p which is what my new tv outputs. If its only gunna be a single disc set, its doubtful that it will include all the stuff in the special extended edition. Two discs should do the job. Maybe one for the movies and one for the bonus material. I really wish they would offer more movies as digital copies. So much better. TB Hard drives are like $100 and the video on your pc takes up way less space than it does on a disc. Putting video on a disc pretty much increases the size of the video by 1-4. I have a crap load of movies and several TV shows (one is 10 season long) and I fit it all on 300 GB.

TokyoBlade:

I've been waiting for the Blu-Ray release of LOTR for years :P I'm definately getting them when they're out.

RangerStryder:

Count me in.

Thanx for this news Freek.

Freek:

Physical > Digital.

Not only is having a shelf full of DVDs, Books and stuff way cooler to display, it can still hold a lot more data. There's no way I can fit all my TV Show BD discs on my HDD :P Digital Storage is just uncool and impersonal. But then again I am one of those people who understand why people prefer vinyl over CD's/MP3...

I am pretty sure each movie would get its own BD disc. Don't forget they're almost twice the length of normal 90 minute feature films. I just hope they transfer the extra / BTS stuff to HD as well.

LOTR PO:

is it the extended editions or the theatrical version? I have the extended edition so I dont think I will buy lotr on blu-ray if it is the theatrical version but if it is the extended edition, I'll do.

TokyoBlade:

QFT! :D

Physical > Digital

Vinyl > CD/MP3


I also hope that these Blu-Ray releases will be the Extended Edition versions... It would be a shame if they aren't :(

el kevo:

Finally, another movie i can add to my Blu-Ray collection. It will look really nice next to The Dark Knight and God of War 3 :P

It will probably have both versions packed into it with all the content seen in the other releases plus more stuff. PJ has stated that he would like to add in the deleted scenes that were never used (except in trailers) onto the Blu-Ray. This already sounds great.

zach:

Well most likely it will come in 2 discs if it comes with all the bonus material.

el kevo:

Actually it might not have to. With the creation of the 400gb Blu-Ray disk im sure they could fit it all onto one disk, unless all the stuff is just to big and they're including a playable demo of the new LotR game they were talking about

zach:

The 400 GB disc wont be released until 2010. The biggest available now is 50 GB, maybe a 100 GB, although most of the larger ones require a new hardware unit, one of the 100 GB's did run on current hardware given u have one of the blu-ray machines with internet connection. The Lotr Special Extended Edition fits on 12 DVD's, jam packed at that. Thats in SD TV. Fitting all this content on one disc even a 100 GB is a stretch.

zach:

I would buy a Blu-Ray drive for my storage needs but its just to expensive for Blur-Ray discs. I plan on getting a 1 TB external HD for $100, and looked into Blu-Ray but it would cost about $400-500 for the smae amount of storage(on Rewritable discs). I may buy into Blu-Ray in 2012 when the 1 TB disc comes out, but I will wait for the hardware required for that before I switch over to that instead of HD's.

Freek:

Most blu-ray players that have an internet connection will get firmware updates that allow them to support changes in the format. Unless the hardware specs change, but that's unlikely seeing Sony's stake with the PS3.

I've also seen BD players as cheap as 149 euros (196 USD). My Sony laptop even has a BD Combo drive, as does my PS3 :)

LOTR PO:

do you mean scenes that wasn't in the extended editions ? that would be really cool !!

LOTR PO:

Is it going to be all three movies on one blu-ray disk or is it going to be separate?

Freek:

No official announcement has been made, so we don't know.

It all depends on whether they will release it as a trilogy bundle, the separate movies and what extra content they will hold.

zach:

Some of the newer larger type discs require totally new hardware, because they utilize more layers than current hardware can write to, or something like that. I found multiple REWRITABLE Blu-ray drives around $200, but the disc media at this time makes it infeasible to use it as a data storage device. Maybe with the 400 GB, it would be better. Right now discs come in 25 GB or 50 GB, simply not enough size, as I would need 20 Discs. In its current state Blu-Ray is great for movies and games, but not as a data storage option. Hard Drives are much cheaper for way more storage(not even adding in the cost of getting the actual recording Blu-ray drive). This will change in 2011 when the 400 Gb become avalible for consumer use or in 2013 with the 1 TB drives.

zach:

It depends on how much content they want to throw on there. For all the content in the Special Extended Edition it will require multiple discs. Although instead of 4 discs per movie it would just be one, or one for the movies and one for all the bonus content.

Freek:

In 2011 or 2013 HDD's (or, more likely, SSD's) will have capacities that are way way bigger then what BD can offer at that point. Anyway, my argument for using them is NOT as a storage solution. If you want to hold a bunch of data compact HDD's are way better.

However, for watching movies (which this topic is about) I would still get BD over digital download for the reasons I outlined before.

zach:

Blu-Ray has no technical advantage over digital, so it simply a matter if you want a disc or a Hard Drive. Having a disc has some bonus, mainly resell and to a certain degree the ability to share, but most digital products purchased now days allow multi-user sharing. :P Digital has other bonuses to it. Take your whole library of music, movies, and pictures in something the size of a book, in addition to instant view/watch. Also digital usually comes at a cheaper price, pretty much canceling out the resell ability(especially in movies, not so much in games).

So in the end it boils down to either wanting a physcial product and easier sharing in some cases, or instant viewing/watching, and a compact library.

Freek:

Blu-ray usually has higher quality (they don't have to worry about compressing and encoding). Also, most digital downloads don't offer any of the extra content you get on BD.

Also, digital download still has a number of issues. DRM, availability (what's going to happen if I lose my files and the company I got them from no longer exists/switched to a different system?) among other things.

There's something to be said for either format, but my preference goes to the secuirity and certainty of a disc that I can actually hold and own for life.

roytjuh:

No way that i'm gonna buy that, if just bought the 12 DVD box-set and I don't wanna spent $150 dollar for the same stuff :P.

krapyl:

Not the same thing. Better quality on sound and picture. And if they could fit the whole extended trilogy on 2-3 discs would be awesome ;)

TokyoBlade:

I hope they can fit each whole film onto one disc so we don't have to mess about with disc swapping like with the DVD extended editions :P

roytjuh:

Yeah, your right. But not enough to spend $150 dollar (i think, the 12 dvd set is +/- $50) :P.

Freek:

The whole film will easily fit on one disc. Would be even cooler if they have all the extra content in HD (not just upscaled SD) on that same disc.

But BD has a continuous playback feature. For example, when I watch LOST and I have to swap the disc for the next episode, it starts playing that episode as soon as I put in the next disc. And if I ever stop it remembers where I left off (although that doesn't apply as much to films).

krapyl:

I actually will do it^^...in my opinion it is worth the money for a such good films ;) And if i don't need to switch the disc all the time, like i need to do on "Extended versions" then it's really worth it ^^ :)

Freek:

I have the special extended edition trilogy pack on DVD. When they release a similar set on BD I will sell my DVD copies. All depends whether or not the blu-ray release(s) include the extended editions.

TokyoBlade:

Bad news:

http://uk.bluray.ign.com/articles/973/973610p1.html

According to this:

It will not be the Extended editions :(

Maybe one day they'll release the extended editions on Blu-Ray...

zach:

Well PJ wasnt going to release them til the Hobbit releases was he? He wanted to make an ultimate bundle.

Freek:

http://www.amazon.com/Rings-Trilogy-...9958479&sr=1-6

No date yet.

Ilaras of The Dunedain:

If only I had a blue-ray player!:-/

TokyoBlade:

So? It's still just the Theatrical release, not the Extended editions :P

Freek:

You didnt read it right, that page is for the extended edition...

TokyoBlade:

*sigh* I wish I could read :P