I haven’t had much to say about the high-def DVD wars lately, partly because I’ve been distracted with family stuff and partly because there’s just been nothing to say about them for the last little while. Sony’s readying the PlayStation 3 launch, Microsoft’s prepping the Xbox 360’s HD-DVD external drive, and the studios are trickling out titles to both formats.

But here’s something. With its second wave of Blu-ray discs newly in stores, Disney has announced the format’s first day-and-date release will be “Invincible“, on December 14th. Smart choice: The movie was popular and heavily advertised, and its football content practically guarantees it’ll be used as a demo disc in every Best Buy in North America, just in time to push those big-ticket Christmas purchases.

And hey, by December 14th, we might even be seeing Sony’s oft-delayed Blu-ray player on the shelves.

(Yes, yes, I know Disney’s also releasing a Blu-ray edition of “Pearl Harbor” on the same day, which negates any positive mojo from “Invincible”. But take heart: At least it doesn’t appear to be a port of the four-disc SE, which has the capacity to destroy people’s lives.)

The Digital Bits reports that Warner Home Video has announced the full specs for its two-disc special edition of “The Green Mile”:

The disc will include the six-part Miracles and Mystery: Creating ‘The Green Mile’, a new interview with star Tom Hanks, audio commentary by writer-director Frank Darabont, additional scenes, makeup and screen tests, and the “Walking the Mile” documentary from the original DVD release.

I could understand the huge demand for extras on “The Shawshank Redemption” … but for this? Really?

And doesn’t that artwork kind of … suck?

Engadget says it better than I can:

NEC just announced that they’re now shipping a dual-format chip that can power the playback of Blu-ray as well as HD DVD discs. We’ve still got to wait for a optical pick-up lens that can handle the dual formats, but supposedly Ricoh has that in the bag, so no worries, right?

Works for me …