After weeks of speculation and rumors, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has officially announced Avatar on Blu-ray. As James Cameron himself revealed a month ago, the release date has been set for Thursday, April 22 (Earth Day) in the US. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment also revealed the Australian blu-ray release date to be April 29 (almost a month earlier than the earlier reported date listed on the JB HiFi product listing) . In a first for a major theatrical release on Blu-ray, the studio will go Superbit on James Cameron’s mega blockbuster and release it without any special features of any sort, in order to maximize audio and video quality. A DVD will be included with the BD in the US.

Avatar producer Jon Landau explained to the Los Angeles Times that they told Fox that “we wanted to do something really special and reach for the best presentation of any film in the history of the format.” Landau adds, “Everything that is put on a disc takes up room – the menus, the extras, the trailers and studio promotions – and we got rid of all of that so we could give this movie the best picture and sound possible.” Extra time and care have been devoted to this project, with the video compression sessions taking six weeks, as opposed to the usual two weeks for a typical theatrical release.

A multidisc “ultimate version” Blu-ray is planned for November in the US. Details will be given during a press event in March 23, which will be attended by Landau and Cameron.

Regarding a 3D release, Fox sources again denied reports that it would come out later this year. The Digital Bits hazards a guess that it will probably come “in a third dip a year or two from now”, once there is a market for 3D on Blu-ray.

Avatar release dates in other territories are:

• Belgium: April 21
• France: April 21 – Preorder from Amazon.fr
• Netherlands: April 21
• Spain: April 21
• Brazil: April 22
• United States: April 22
• Canada: April 22
• China: April 22
• Russia: April 22
• Germany: April 23
• Japan: April 23
• Mexico: April 23
• Switzerland: April 23
• UK: April 26 – Preorder from Amazon.co.uk
• Denmark: April 27
• New Zealand: April 28
• Norway: April 28
• Sweden: April 28
• Australia: April 29 – Buy from DevotedDVD
• Finland: April 30
• Italy: May 6

* If pre-ordering from another territory than your own, please consider checking the blu-ray region code before purchasing.

The most interesting offering so far looks to be UK’s Limited Edition Steelbook Avatar blu-ray which comes with 4 Lenticular Artcards and the companion Activist Survival Guide to Pandora.

The Guide is a 208-page “confidential report on the biological and social history of Pandora, with field notes and other data from the Resources Development Administration’s xenobiological research and scientific labs that have been compiled as a guide to the many unique aspects of the moon Pandora.” It has an RRP of £14.99 if bought separately.

This limited edition (pictured below) is exclusive to online retailers in the UK and is available for pre-order now from Amazon.co.uk. UK blu-rays are region B, the same region as Australia and will play in Australian blu-ray players

Source: Blu-ray.com

Avatar available to buy online from the following locations.

Blu-ray

• DevotedDVD
• Chaos – Free Shipping with preorders
• Play4me – Free Shipping with Preorders
• CD WOW – Free Shipping Worldwide
• Amazon.co.uk – Blu-ray/DVD Combo – Region B and A
• Amazon.co.uk (Limited Edition Steelbook with 4 Lenticular Artcards and An Activist Survival Guide to Pandora)
• Amazon.com – Blu-ray/DVD Combo – Region Free

DVD

• DevotedDVD – $26.95 AU