Yes, you read that right, we get in total 17 new HD rental titles tonight. They include Untraceable, I Am Legend (Alternate Ending), An American in Paris, Buddy, Nightmare Man, Ordinary People, Pale Rider, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Presumed Innocent, Strangers on a Train, Lethal Weapon, Space Jam, Stage Fright, The Entrance, The Master of Disguise, The Principal and Uncle Buck.

In a report out this week by the Entertainment Merchants Association, estimates are that by 2012 Blu-ray discs will overtake standard-disc sales. Apparently the EMA believes that Blu-ray sales will surge to $9.5 billion by then. What’s this have to do with the Apple TV you say?

I’ve always been a firm believer in that whoever controls the content will win or lead this new format war. I believe that customers want content, as big a selection as possible, and as easy to get at as possible. The reason I bring this up is because I happened to hear recently, from someone in the know about all things Blu-ray, that it took Blu-ray 15 months to gain the number of HD titles that Apple TV has gained in 5 months. I believe this gain comes from the obvious fact that Apple doesn’t have to take the time to produce a disc or the extra content which comes from producing a disc. Aside from getting permission from the studios to sell the titles, they or the studios simply have to digitize the movie and drop it into their database. As the Apple TV gains momentum, and if this surge in content continues, I believe our “little box that could” has an excellent chance of being at the top in the end.

Oh Blu-ray, you may have won the traditional media battle, but the digital war has just begun.

As a Mac user I’m familiar with all of the popular DVD “Backup” tools, such as Handbrake or Visualhub. So the question I posed over in the ATVJ forum is, what are the best Window apps for backing up DVD’s? If you have a favorite head on over to the forum and let’s hear what you use.

Warner Home Video joins Twentieth Century Fox in offering, at least in one case, an iTunes Digital Download on the Blu-ray disc version of 10,000 BC. According to iLounge what’s slightly different with the Warner version of the digital download is that the digital copy will be offered as a download rather then an on disc file.

Head over to iLounge to read the entire article.

Engadget is reporting that Sony will start offering movie downloads this summer in North America. Now 2 of the 3 major gaming consoles in America offer downloads. Competition is a good thing in the rental download game, lets hope Apple steps up and starts offering more movies, and more Apple TV support to stay ahead.

Full Engadget