Check out the HD trailer for Michael Mann’s new period crime flick Public Enemies starring the dream pairing of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. Look for it at cinemas from 03 July.

Studios Paramount and Sony have announced plans to bring a host of catalogue titles to Blu-ray in the US and UK. Paramount will bring Deep Impact, K19: The Widowmaker, The Score, The Firm and Varsity Blues to the high definition format in North America, while Sony has confirmed Westerns The Quick and the Dead and Silverado, as well as Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love for BD in the UK. The studio has also announced Steven Soderbergh’s debut feature Sex, Lies and Videotape for Blu-ray in the US, where it will become available in late August.

Now this is what BD-Live should be all about: Paramount has announced new content for owners of the Transformers Blu-ray disc that will take them inside the imminent sequel, as well as new content releated to the original film. Launching tomorrow, the reportedly exclusive online material will include Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen clips, on set footage, and skits. The original film is set to be bolstered by new deleted scenes, featurettes on filming at the Pentagon, SFX, stunts, weapons voice-overs and more.

With the BBC, ITV and Channel Four all broadcasting in high definition it now seems that Channel 5 is preparing to enter the HD fray as today independent  TV regulator, Ofcom announced that it has made a provisional decision to reserve capacity in principal to the broadcaster, to provide new HD services on digital terrestrial television (DTT) from 2010. Ofcom’s decision to award a HD licence to Channel 5 is subject to it resolving certain key criteria related to its application, which must be resolved by the end of the year, however if all goes well we could seeing programs such as The Gadget Show, UEFA Europa League and CSI in HD very soon.
The initial first three HD services are expected to begin with the Granada region from late 2009, the rest of the UK will follow as each region switches to digital with nationwide coverage by 2012. Commenting of the decision Philip Graf, Chairman of Ofcom’s Content Board said: “This give Channel 5 the opportunity to join the other public service broadcasters in providing new services for viewers. It means more choice for TV viewers who will be able to watch in high definition popular programming, free to air through their television aerials.”
Ofcom is also talking to the BBC with a view to allowing HD services to be launched in other parts of the UK in advance of this timetable by the use of temporary frequency assignments at a number of main transmission sites. To access these new HD services on DTT, viewers will need a HD ready TV set and HD ready set-top box. The addition of Channel 5 to the HD line-up should help swell the already impressive high-def TV audience which (by the end of the first quarter of 2009) rose to an all time high, with over 1.8 million in total.

Jon Favreau hasn’t been too worried about releasing details surrounding the follow-up to one of the biggest blockbusters of last year - the director has been tweeting consistently from the set of Iron Man 2, and has now released the first image of Mickey Rourke in costume as baddie Whiplash (above) to go with an earlier, albeit more generic pic of Robert Downey Jr. (below). Iron Man was one of 2008’s biggest selling Blu-rays, helping to push the format last Autumn with it’s crisp action and colourful special effects. Can the sequel do likewise following it’s theatrical run next May?