You know Blu-ray is catching on when studios announce that their biggest titles are being planned for release on the format. After months of rumors and speculation, Warner Bros. has set a date of April 6, 2010 for the BD debut of
The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy. The nine-disc set will include digital copies of each movie (
The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and
The Return of the King) in Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning masterpiece and boasts over seven hours of special features. Aside from BD-Live connectivity and a few high-def trailers, however, these features are all in standard definition and don’t appear to be any different from the ones already on DVD. And whereas it will be amazing to see all of Middle Earth in full 1080p and hear it in lossless audio, this set features the theatrical versions of the movies only. Warner Bros. says the coveted extended versions, which have been on DVD in handsome boxed sets for some time, “will be released at a later date on Blu-ray Disc.” Until that time, this is the one Blu-ray collection to rule them all.