Australian Potter fans will have plenty to entertain them today, as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been released in DVD and Blu-Ray formats today.

US/UK fans have to wait until December 8th to receive their copies.

For more information on the DVD, click here!

Excited for the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on DVD? Us too! And for the next few days, MuggleNet visitors in the US have exclusive access to WB's "The Road to Hogwarts" sweepstakes!

Aside from the initial point of entry into the sweepstakes, you will be able to gain multiple entries by playing games or participating in activities in The Road to Hogwarts Kit.

The Kit provides an exciting array of exclusive Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince interactive materials with which users can customize their Facebook & MySpace pages, blogs, websites and Twitter pages. The tool kit includes downloads, a profile pic creator, site skins, games, a widget, mobile applications and more.

Plus, by using the Road to Hogwarts Kit, users can earn up to seven more entries into The Road to Hogwarts Sweepstakes, where the grand prize is a trip to the Universal Orlando Resort during the grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, opening in 2010.

To enter the Sweepstakes and use The Road to Hogwarts Kit to increase your chances of winning, CLICK HERE! Remember: entry into the Sweepstakes is exclusive to MuggleNet visitors for the next few days. Good luck!

UPDATE: The deleted scene has been made private in the link below. It is still available to watch online, here.

WB Italy has released the first deleted scene from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince--an eerie clip of the Hogwarts students and professors as darkness falls on the castle. Watch it here.

Two other behind-the-scenes clips have also been released: Emma Watson receiving a Dark Mark and Rupert Grint summarizing the first six movies.

Thanks to Portkey.it!

As the holidays are approaching, ABC Family is bringing back its "Harry Potter" weekend as part of its "25 Days of Christmas" programming. The first four Potter films can be seen from December 4-6.

Viewers will be treated to exclusive footage from "Creating the World of Harry Potter," an eight-hour documentary series revealing the filmmaking magic behind all of the films in the series. This content is only available on the new "Harry Potter Ultimate Edition" series on Blu-ray and DVD.

In addition, fans will get an advanced look at the "Close Up with the Cast" hosted by Evanna Lynch and also go behind the scenes with the cast and crew to see how the infamous Cave was created and what it took to bring the Inferi to the big screen. Both of these pieces will be featured in their entirety on the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Blu-ray Combo Pack and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD.

You can check out all the information on the Half-Blood Prince DVD right here and the Ultimate Edition DVDs for Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets right here. All are due out on December 8 here in the United States.

Thanks to Jesse for the tip!

Those who are fans of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Facebook were notified of a new DVD countdown on the film's Official Fan Page. To kick off the celebration they released a clip of the Quidditch action from the film.

WB is promising that "each day [they] will give you tips on where to see exclusive clips and find new activities on The Road to Hogwarts Sweepstakes site, learn how to win exciting prizes, and much more."

The DVD will be released on December 8th. MuggleNet will be playing a part in the Half-Blood Prince DVD release fun, and more info on that will arrive next week. In the mean time, click here to visit our Half-Blood Prince DVD info section!

The official Harry Potter website has been updated with a new site to promote the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on DVD December 8th.

Among other things, the site promotes the community screening of Half-Blood Prince with Dan Radcliffe and David Yates on December 12th at 3 PM EST.

For everything we've got on the Half-Blood Prince DVD, click here! Thanks to everyone who e-mailed with the tip.

Reuters is reporting that Walmart.com will be offering its top 10 pre-ordered DVDs for $10 this holiday season--Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince included.

Walmart.com said on Thursday the offer includes popular movie titles such as "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" and "Julie and Julia".

The full list of $10 DVDs available for pre-order can be found here.

EDIT: Speaking of good DVD prices, Amazon is currently offering the Blu-Ray version of Half-Blood Prince at $16.99. Thanks Michael!

Back in July, we learned that Ultimate Editions of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets were in the works.

Now, MuggleNet has opened a brand-new section for all your Ultimate Edition DVD needs: the most-recent news, current DVD and Blu-ray prices, special features, trailer, official website and more.

With additional information to come and plans for the remainder of films to be released in this format, be sure check back on a regular basis. You can find this new section located in the left-hand navigation under "Movies."

Both Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets Ultimate Editions will be released on December 8.

For those of you in Australia, you can check out the new Blu-ray cover for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Of interest, is the sticker saying, "Be the first to see footage from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

Half-Blood Prince will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia on November 18.

And don't forget MuggleNet has a comprehensive Half-Blood Prince DVD info page that you can check out right here!

Thanks to Shahbaz for the tip!

Amazon has posted a new 2-minute commercial for the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Blu-Ray set.

It includes some nice new looks at the bonus features we'll be getting on the special edition and Blu-Ray DVDs.

To view it, click here! Thanks to Snitch Seeker for the tip.

To learn a lot more about the Half-Blood Prince DVD and its special features, visit our info page. The DVD will be released on December 8th in the United States.

Does this new video get you excited for the bonus features?!

Over the past few weeks we've reported on several cool Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince DVD/Blu-Ray features, and another one specifically for Blu-Ray has just been announced today.

David Yates and Dan Radcliffe will participate in a community screening of Half-Blood Prince on December 12th starting at 3 PM EST. Fans who have a copy of the film on Blu-Ray and are registered in the BD Live community will be invited to participate. Comments from David and Dan via VideoBusiness:

"I'm really looking forward to the live community screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and excited to talk directly to fans of the movie about my experiences and answer their questions," said Radcliffe. "It's a wonderful way for fans and for those directly involved with making a film to share opinions and ideas."

Yates added, "I'm looking forward to engaging with the thoughts and opinions of the fans who have supported us so loyally and passionately over the years-without them the films wouldn't be the success they are."

When the Order of the Phoenix DVD was released close to two years ago, fans were treated to a nice look at Half-Blood Prince.

WB has decided to do the same with the Half-Blood Prince DVD and will include a sneak peek of Deathly Hallows. The feature was discovered when DVD Empire posted the back cover of the DVD on their website.

Remember: MuggleNet has a comprehensive Half-Blood Prince DVD info page that you can check out right here! Thanks to Maggie and Leaky for the tip.

Amazon has sent out announcements that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is now available for pre-order on DVD, Blu-ray and Amazon Video on Demand!

The DVD/Blu-ray combo can be purchased here and the single-disc DVD can be purchased here. For more info visit Amazon.

DVD Times has a new article out detailing what we can expect from the "Close Up with the Cast of Harry Potter" portion of the Half-Blood Prince DVD. Many cast members are contributing with fun segments totaling 28 minutes:

- Editing with Daniel Radcliffe: Daniel and editor Mark Day have a light-hearted conversation about film editing and how to get the right shot for a scene
- Special Effects with Matthew Lewis, Oliver Phelps and Tom Felton: The guys get a "science lesson" from Special Effects Supervisor John Richardson and technician Matthew Harlow.
- Owl Training with Jessie Cave: Jessie heads outside for training tips with “hootie” and owl trainer Guillaume Grange.
- Stunt Training with Rupert Grint: Rupert shows off his thrill for danger with the stunt department.

Read more details, including what other cast are doing, over at DVD Times! Don't forget: MuggleNet has a Half-Blood Prince DVD section packed with info right here. Thanks to Snitch Seeker for the tip.

Warner Brothers sent out an e-mail this evening to those subscribed to the Official Harry Potter Newsletter. In it, they promote a new Harry Potter DVD website that keeps track of all the Potter DVDs - including the Ulimate Editions.

The newsletter included a small thumbnail (image left) of all the Ultimate Editions, although it's too small to make much out.

Thanks to MuggleNet readers Mez and Luke for letting us know that Australia will see the Half-Blood Prince DVD on store shelves November 18th. The Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets Ultimate Editions will be released on the same day.

To the dismay of United States and United Kingdom fans, Australians get it three weeks early!

Following today's announcement that the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince DVD will be released on December 8th in the US, we can now reveal that several UK retailers are listing December 7th as the release date for the UK.

Both Play.com and Amazon.co.uk are now taking pre-orders for the DVD, which comes in several different versions, including a 2 Disc Edition, a Blu-Ray release and a 'Years 1- 6' boxset.

To find out more information about the DVD's, please visit our Half-Blood Prince DVD page, where you can view the cover art and special feature listings.

A couple months ago, we reported that Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets Ultimate Editions were in the works.

Today, with the news of the Half-Blood Prince DVD arriving December 8th, we've now learned that the Ultimate Editions will hit store shelves on the same day. As Video Business reports:

The new Ultimate Editions of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, priced at $39.92 on DVD and $49.99 on Blu-ray, will each include five hours of special features, theatrical and extended versions of the film, a 48-page photo book and other collectibles.

Among the special features will be screen tests, new featurettes with the cast and filmmakers and the first two one-hour installments of a new comprehensive documentary about the making of the movie franchise. Called Creating the World of Harry Potter, the eight-hour documentary will have one hour on each Ultimate Edition.

Additionally, Video Business reveals that a new iPhone app - allowing users to learn and fire virtual spells at friends - will arrive in November.

It was announced earlier today by Warner Home Video that the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince DVD will be released in the United States on December 8th. There will be a 1-disc DVD, 2-disc DVD, and 3-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo release.

You can take a closer look at the DVD cover art below:

- HBP DVD Single Disc (1, 2)
- HBP DVD 2-Disc Special Edition

We know the DVD will include an 11 minute insider look at the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, the full documentary of J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life, as well as other great behind-the-scenes segments you can read about here.

Thanks to HPANA for the tip!

We've received word that Play.com--a UK DVD distributer--has updated its Half-Blood Prince Blu-ray and DVD pages with the cover art. They've also added the box set covers.

Check them out at the link below!
-Half-Blood Prince Blu-ray cover
-Half-Blood Prince DVD cover
-Harry Potter Complete DVD Box Set
-Harry Potter Complete Blu-Ray Box Set

These covers could change by the release date and the movies are not yet available for pre-order. These are also UK covers, so the US covers may be different.

Thanks to Simon!