Afternoon, folks! Welcome to 2009, and welcome back from the holiday break! I'll tell you, it was good to have a couple weeks to recharge the batteries, though getting back to the regular grind is taking a bit of getting used to. Lots of caffeine is helping though.

For my part, New Years was great. Our old friend Weatherman Dave (of KSBY up in San Luis Obispo, CA - I've known him for nearly 30 years now, from our old Fargo/salad days) came down with his kids as planned to visit Sarah and I for a couple days. We all met Matt (of MusicTAP) and his wife Debbie for dinner, before coming back here to watch movies and the usual Times Square ball-drop. Speaking of which, did anyone else think CNN's coverage was terrible? Not like it was a big deal or anything, but they had tech problems galore, and they put so many video windows up on the screen at once that you couldn't see much of anything well. What's worse, CNN recently fired its ENTIRE science staff at a time when, it seems to me, well-produced science coverage is more critical than ever. Good thinking there. Better to keep all those "blogosphere" reporters! CNN's REALLY going downhill, I'm afraid. Anyway, the rest of the weekend was spent watching football, and trying to work off the calories from eating too much rhubarb pie. A few angry miles on the treadmill helped take the sting out of the Vikings loss on Sunday to Philly (hats off to you Eagles fans - correctly pronounced "Egg-els" I've come to learn.) At least the Vikes made the playoffs, which is more than I expected after a 1-3 start.

Okay, this week we're going to catch up on a little release news, and we're getting ready for CES, which kicks off in Vegas later this week. We'll be leaving for the event on Wednesday, and of course we'll be bringing you lots of news, context and analysis regarding the latest Blu-ray developments. We're likely to hear all about the holiday sales numbers and the format's plans for 2009, so be sure to stay tuned for it all.

In the meantime, here at the site today, our own Dr. Adam Jahnke has updated his Electric Theatre with the second part of his In Memoriam 2008 tribute. Do check that out.

Russell Hammond has also updated the Upcoming DVD Cover Art section with all the latest DVD and Blu-ray cover scans and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, a small portion of anything you order from the retailer after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we greatly appreciate it!

Some odds and ends... we've been able to confirm that Warner's Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Season One, Volume One is indeed on the way (likely in March - watch for an official announcement soon), but it MAY be DVD only for the time being. That would be a serious bummer - like many, we've been waiting to watch it in HD on Blu-ray. Hopefully, we'll know soon.

Speaking of Warner, we've also confirmed that all four of the older Batman feature films are soon to be announced for individual Blu-ray Disc release, as well as in a Blu-ray upgrade of the Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology box set. Catwoman is also coming to Blu-ray around the same time. Watch for official details soon.

Anchor Bay has announced the Roger Corman produced TV film Cyclops for DVD release on 2/24.

Fox has set The Haunting of Molly Hartley for DVD only release on 3/3. Extras will include cast and crew interview featurettes.

Buena Vista will release The Boy in the Striped Pajamas on DVD only on 3/10. Extras will include commentary with writer/director Mark Herman and author John Boyne, as well as deleted scenes (with optional commentary) and the Friendship Beyond the Fence featurette.

While we're talking Fox, we're told that their street date for MGM's The Silence of the Lambs on Blu-ray is also 3/3, rather than the 4/3 we mentioned previously. Alter your plans accordingly.

Meanwhile, Paramount has announced a new Primal Fear: Hard Evidence Edition for DVD and Blu-ray Disc release on 3/10.

Genius Products has set Kevin Smith's Clerks II: Special Edition for release on Blu-ray on 2/3 (the title is already available on DVD, as you know).

And Sony has set Barney Miller: The Complete Third Season and The Three Stooges Collection: 1946-1948 for DVD release on 3/17.

In news around the Net today, the excellent SciFi Japan website has a good piece up on the recent HD restoration of all 28 Godzilla films by Toho studios. Sources are telling us that we're likely to see the films begin appearing on Blu-ray Disc later in 2009.

Finally, The New York Times has a new story up today - Blu-ray Format Struggles With Uncertain Prospects. It's an overall good piece, though it features the usual mix of "downloading is coming, Blu-ray is too expensive" and other arguments we've heard from those who have never been favorably inclined towards the format (*cough* Rob Enderle *cough*). The article does, however, rightly point out that prices have come down, that format sales have been strong over the holidays and that the format is selling ahead of DVD at the same stage in its adoption. So frankly, this is not even worth commenting on overmuch. The latest holiday BD sales numbers will be announced at CES, and I think they'll speak for themselves. And every bit of research so far indicates that HDTV owners prefer Blu-ray quality to HD downloads and even cable/satellite HD. Let me repeat the old mantra: Downloads will have far more impact on the RENTAL market, not BD software sales. I'll also reiterate something I've said before: I think it would be great if EVERY BD manufacturer included Netflix movie downloads/rentals into their players. It's a cool capability. Regardless, I have no doubt the format's detractors will continue to spin the notion that Blu-ray is in trouble, despite strong and growing sales even in a tough economy. The point to keep in mind is, these same "experts" were completely wrong about the HD format war, so why would you take them seriously now? Every time one of these stories go up, I get two or three e-mails from readers asking what I think. Here's what I think: The proof is in the pudding, folks. Pay them no mind. I'll naturally have more to say on this subject after CES.

Stay tuned...

Bill Hunt, Editor
The Digital Bits
billhunt@thedigitalbits.com