In April 2007 the BBC
released their highly acclaimed nature documentary mini-series
Planet Earth on DVD, high-def Blu-ray Disc, and the soon-to-be defunct HD-DVD format. The title went on to set records in the home entertainment industry, and win awards along the way. So it's no surprise that the production went on to become the cornerstone of
a 2008 big box set of similar shows titled as the "
BBC High Definition Natural History Collection" (there was later
a similar set in 2010 called the
BBC High Definition Natural History Collection 2, but it featured "
Life" rather than
Planet Earth).
Last October BBC Video
released an upgrade to the original show's DVD and Blu-ray sets, titled
Planet Earth - The Complete Collection: Special Edition. The new 6-disc version of the show added special features not previously available on home video. With that release four months ago, the older "
Natural History Collection" featuring
Planet Earth became instantly obsolete. Now it appears that the studio will be rectifying that situation!
This morning the BBC announced that on
March 27th they will release a brand-new Blu-ray set of the "
BBC High Definition Natural History Collection 1: Special Edition," featuring the six-disc
Planet Earth: Special Edition version from this past fall. As before it will also come with Blu-ray versions of the BBC nature documentary shows
Galapagos, Ganges and
Wild China. The original version was an 8-disc package; this new one clocks in at 10 BDs. Pricing and package art isn't available as of this writing, but stay tuned.
On the DVD side of things, BBC Video is releasing a new
BBC Natural History Collection: Special Edition, too, and it also features
Planet Earth: Special Edition from late last year. However, the 3 companion shows in the standard-def DVD set will instead be
Blue Planet: Seas of Life: Special Edition, The Life of Mammals and
The Life of Birds. All of that will come on 18 discs, and like the Blu version mentioned above it streets on
March 27th. Again, no pricing or package art was provided as of right now, but we'll bring you updates when we can.
UPDATE: The BBC, through distributor Warner Home Video, has revealed that the pricing on the 10-disc Blu-ray release of
BBC High Definition Natural History Collection 1: Special Edition is $134.99 SRP, and that the cost of the 18-disc DVD release of the
BBC Natural History Collection: Special Edition is $179.98 SRP. Package art is still pending at this time.
