Posted Mon Jul 16, 2007 at 08:58 AM PDT by
Can't get enough 'Planet Earth' on High-Def? Now there's a new edition of the groundbreaking series bound for Blu-ray and HD DVD.
The series first hit both next-gen formats back in April from the BBC, featuring the original narration by legendary nature documentarian David Attenborough. That edition went on to break High-Def sales records, generating more revenue than any other HD DVD/Blu-ray release to date.
Now a second version of 'Planet Earth' is hitting both HD DVD and Blu-ray -- the version that was presented in the series' US television run, which replaced Attenborough's narration with the decidedly less British actress/conservationist Sigourney Weaver.
This new version is being released by The Discovery Channel (which aired 'Planet Earth' in the US), although it would seem that the cable network's distribution rights to the series are limited to direct sales.
As such, the channel recently listed three separate box set editions of its version of the series at Discovery Channel Store. While the standard DVD version ($69.95) is already available, the next gen editions ($99.95 each) show an an estimated ship date of July 30, 2007.
The Discovery Channel has also been advertising a separate website (pedvd.com) that's selling the first three episodes of 'Planet Earth' on a single disc at $14.95 on both next-gen formats. It wasn't immediately clear whether additional episodes will be available as standalone discs at some point in the future.
There's no word yet on specs or supplemental features for newly configured next-gen editions of the series. Here's hoping that the various featurettes and the bonus doc that were unceremoniously dropped from the BBC high-def editions get their due this time around. (Discovery has included them in its companion standard-def edition, but they appeared on the standard-def BBC edition as well, so that's no great indicator.)
We've added new listings for 'Planet Earth (US Version)' to our Blu-ray Release Schedule and our HD DVD Release Schedule under July 31.
We've also set up dedicated threads for this latest version of the disc in our Forums area -- click the following links to discuss the 'Planet Earth (US Version)' Blu-ray release or the 'Planet Earth (US Version)' HD DVD release.
(Thanks to Peter S. for the tip!)
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