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!

A DVD cover for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is now available for your viewing pleasure right here.

At this time, we cannot confirm if it's the official cover but it appears to be for a 2-disc special edition.

The DVD and Blu-Ray versions are not available for pre-order yet, but we'll keep you updated.

Thanks to Lucas!

Here's something this news poster has been looking forward to: the Harry Potter BluRay set hit store shelves today. The set includes all five Potter films in the BluRay format as well as the bonus features that came on each original DVD.

Amazon has a nice deal on it too: $87.95 for the set (that's just under $18 for each film and its bonus features).

Good news for those of you who plan to make the switch to Blu-ray DVDs: Warner Brothers has announced that several films will be released in a special book-like edition, including Harry Potter. HighDefDigest.com reports:

...the studio will kick off a new line of deluxe next-gen releases geared towards the collector's market. Sure to please film buffs, the slate of ten releases will wrap the high-def picture and sound in a handsomely bound volume containing rare and never-before-seen archival material.

We're not yet sure which Potter films will be re-released, nor what "archival material" they will include. However, we'll keep you updated. Thanks to Matt for the tip!

The Order of the Phoenix DVD has been released in the United States today, a month after fans in UK and Australia got their hands on it.

Several visitors have e-mailed in to tell us that there is a new sneak peek of Half-Blood Prince on the DVD. The clips differ from those that were available online to UK/Australia buyers. It has been uploaded to YouTube for those of you who don't hold the United States disc. If these clips are made available online for international viewers, please let us know via tips at staff dot mugglenet dot com!

Additionally, Larry sent in this article from MTV which speaks with producer David Yates about Half-Blood Prince filming:

That's because, as director David Yates points out, it's the "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" of the Potter books, with massive making-out sessions to occur for several characters — Ron and Lavender, Harry and Ginny — as they come of age. "It's the 'American Graffiti' for this set," Yates said. "I'm looking forward to developing the relationship between Ron and Hermione, and Ron and Lavender. There's a nice triangle there."

Follow this link for more from Heyman, Dan Radcliffe (Harry), Katie Leung (Cho), and Evanna Lynch (Luna).

WB has sent along a promotional video featuring several aspects of the upcoming Order of the Phoenix DVD, Interactive DVD Game, and DVD gift set. Some of the clips include a small interview with Set Designer Stuart Craig, Set Director Stephenie McMillan, and Art Director Alex Walker (who is interviewed by Tonks actress Natalia Tena). You can view it right here, already in podcast form if you so chose to bring it with you on your iPod.

What's more, a demo of the Interactive DVD game is now available in flash form at this link.