Denon has released a beast of an all-in-one Blu-ray system – and it’s given it the delicate name Cara.

The new Denon S-5DB receiver – aka Cara – offers the latest HDMI 1.4 technology, including the Audio Return Channel so you need one less cable. The receiver can also handle 5.1-channel surround sound and supports Dolby Pro Logic IIz and Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio for decoding lossless multi-channel recordings on Blu-ray Discs.

Audyssey Dynamic Volume should also free listeners from any disruptive changes in volume levels when watching TV or a movie.

There’s even direct playback of music from iPods and iPhones, via the front-placed USB port.

Meanwhile, the Blu-ray player at the heart of this system offers many of the same technologies found in Denon’s popular DVD-A1UD universal player.

Cara by Denon will be available from late March in a gloss-black finish at a suggested retail price of £1,999.

With six days to go until Valentine’s Day, it seems the UK has chosen a new love when it comes to film. Yes, the all-conquering Avatar has become the number one film of all time at the UK box office.

The film achieved its feat by surpassing the previous record holder Mamma Mia! this weekend, with Avatar’s UK box office earnings reaching £71.6m to date. Avatar was already the highest grossing film in box office history worldwide.

Avatar has held the number one position at the UK box office since its release on 17 December, 2009, and continues to play widely across the UK and Ireland.

Mamma Mia! – the smash hit of 2008 – remains the second highest grossing film of all time in the UK, with a box office take of £69.17m.

James Cameron’s other smash hit Titanic, which was released 12 years ago on 23 January 1998, is now the third highest grossing UK film with a box office total of £69.03m.

“It's a groundbreaking result for a groundbreaking film. To be the biggest film in box office history after only eight weeks of release is simply amazing,” said Ian George, UK Theatrical Managing Director for Twentieth Century Fox.

Popping out to a theatre? Or popping over to your sofa? Either way, you could enjoy a realistic production of a classic play. Stage On Screen is a new initiative that’s designed to delivers big benefits to teachers and students, as well as theatre lovers everywhere.

“We professionally stage classic plays, recording them with multiple cameras on high-definition 16:9 widescreen video, to deliver the look and feel of a live performance. These recordings are then available on DVD in a choice of formats,” a spokeswoman told DVD & Blu-ray Review.

The idea is that education establishments reap the benefit, as all of the productions are set texts on the UK national curriculum. A special 4-disc Teacher Packs also contains six hours of material to help with the teaching and appreciation of the play.

“Students benefit as their set text really comes to life and they can replay key scenes as often as they want,” the spokeswoman added.

“Theatre lovers benefit as they can now enjoy high-quality stage plays on DVD in the comfort of their own home.”

HDMI Licensing (as the name suggests, the body responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface specification) has made the 3D portion of the HDMI Version 1.4 available for public download on its website.

The document will give those companies or organisations that don’t currently have an agreement to create products using that spec the chance to view it. Which means more 3D products in the future, as the number of manufacturers expands...

”The HDMI Consortium recognizes the importance of standardized 3D formats for movies, gaming and broadcast content and the need for non-adopter companies and organizations to have access to that portion of the HDMI Specification,” said Steve Venuti, president of HDMI Licensing.

“As the mainstream adoption of 3D is gaining momentum and content providers define and expand their 3D roadmaps, HDMI is ready to support this major market development.”

Review got to go to the UK premiere of Invictus, Clint Eastwood’s new Nelson Mandela/rugby movie, on Sunday. We were sitting three rows from the front, close enough to see the weird mole on Clint’s upper lip and Morgan Freeman’s wonky teeth. Although, judging by the picture quality below, our hands must have been shaking from the sheer excitement of being in such close proximity to not none, not one but TWO living legends of the silver screen. And Matt Damon (who is actually rather sweet in real life).

(l to r: Used to drive Jessica Tandy around in a car; Doesn’t like people laughing at his mule/being on his lawn; Warner Bros executive android #5748/b; MAAAAAT DAAAY-MONN)

Later on Review got cornered by some flaky space cadet outside a bar, who wouldn’t leave us alone until she’d expounded her highly detailed theories about how Every Which Way But Loose was a veiled endorsement of suicide, and that large orange monkey Clyde was the representation of Clint Eastwood’s unthinking, rage-filled superego. Unfortunately the press conference ran out of time before we got the chance to ask him to confirm or deny this.

Virgin Media customers will get a high-def dose of revolution over the next couple of months, as the TV service has exclusive rights to the HD version of Che. The PictureBox subscription service will be airing both parts of director Steven Soderbergh’s two-part Che Guevara biopic, which V+ users can watch in high-definition.

Part One, The Argentine, will launch on 5 February, and Part Two, Guerrilla will follow a month later on 5 March. The films will each be available for a month on Virgin Media’s TV on demand service, meaning that customers will be able to watch them whenever they want during this time.

The Argentine focuses on the build-up to the Cuban revolution from the perspective of its leaders, including the young physician Guevara and Fidel Castro. Guerrilla chronicles Guevara’s attempt to develop and implement revolution in Bolivia.

The films star Benicio del Toro as the eponymous revolutionary, in a role that won him the Best Actor Award at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

PictureBox is available to Virgin Media’s 3.7 million TV subscribers for £5 per month and provides a broad selection of recent and library feature films.

Be the envy of all your friends with the latest Sony BDP-S360 Blu-ray player - high quality, great value and packed with extra features, you’ll be hosting all the best film nights in 2010. We’re giving lucky DVD & Blu-ray Review readers the chance to get their hands on this premium piece of technology.

No need to get lost in complicated instruction manuals - the BDP-S360 is simple to set-up and even easier to use. If you’re always finding endless remotes around the living room, which forever get lost down the sofa – then BRAVIA sync technology can solve this. Control your Blu-ray player, BRAVIA TV and home theatre system simply with the touch of a single button.

If you’re a proud owner of an extensive DVD library, you won’t need to throw them away - both your Blu-ray discs and DVDs will play on this top of the range player. With Precision Cinema HD Upscale technology, DVDs will be up-scaled by up to 6 X greater picture quality than 10 X better sound so you can get the best picture quality from your collection, and scratched or bent discs won’t go to waste either with Precision Drive™ technology – which will help discs play exactly as they were intended.

If you like straight forward technology but also have a soft spot for extra features, BD-Live™ is sure to appeal. Download and stream bonus content such as additional scenes, trailers and movie-based games straight to your BRAVIA TV. Bonus View also provides picture-in-picture capability, meaning you can watch extra content in a box-out alongside the main movie.

For more information go to www.sony.co.uk or call 08705 111 999

“We’re working with Leslie Nielsen, which was a huge get for us because he is a comedy legend. I think everyone in our cast and crew has grown up on him. There was a lot of hero worship on set and I was at the front of that line,” says Bo Zenga, writer, director and producer of comedy horror Stan Helsing, which is out on DVD and Blu-ray today.

As if to prove his worth, Nielsen shows up on set in a dress, to play Kay the waitress. And it’s not long before his personal fart machine starts its pranks.

“Leslie Nielsen is a master. He’s done so many good films, he’s a master. Did I just say that? I did,” repeats Steve Howey, who plays the title character of Stan Helsing. “He was ripping these fart jokes. I don’t care who you are, poop, shit, fart – all that is funny. And his timing is perfect”

“If you’re not ready for it, it’ll break you,” adds Kenan Thompson. “It broke me every time.”

Warner Bros Home Video is inviting fans to a one-off exclusive preview screening of the animated movie Halo Legends. “This will be the only chance to see Halo Legends on the big screen in the UK,” a Warner statement says.

"We're delighted to be putting Halo Legends on the silver screen and we're pleased we've been able to offer Halo fans this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," says Dan Gilson of Warner Bros Home Video.

The super-exclusive event will be golden ticket only and takes place on 3 February at the Moving Picture Company, Wardour Street at 6.30pm.

Those interested in attending can enter a prize draw in a number of ways. Simply follow @HaloScreeninguk on Twitter, where the latest giveaways are publicised.

Halo: Legends is made up of seven original stories, broken up into eight chapters.

Each episode is set in the 26th Century of the Halo universe and they have all been put together by a highly celebrated Japanese anime studio, offering a stunning range of visual styles.

Halo Legends is released on 15 February in three formats: 1-disc DVD, 2-disc Special Edition DVD and limited edition Blu-Ray steel book.

The 2-disc Special Edition contains several hours of bonus features, including audio commentary with directors Frank O'Connor and Joseph Chou, ‘The Making of Halo Legends’, and ‘Halo: Gaming Evolved’ – which explains the Halo phenomenon from its inception as an Xbox video game to a present day entertainment franchise.

The Halo Legends Blu-Ray includes all the extras from the 2-disc Special Edition as well as ‘Halo: The Story so Far’, an overview of the Halo universe up until the end of Halo 3.

Samsung Electronics says it has already commenced mass production of the panels needed for 3D LED TVs and 3D LCD TVs, making it the first manufacturer to do so.

Samsung will produce six panel types that use 3D Active Glasses technology – which first blocks the left and then right lens, causing a momentary lag when images are shown to each eye to achieve more lifelike 3D images.

“Samsung Electronics aims to lead the global 3D TV panel market,” said Wonkie Chang, president of the LCD Business at Samsung Electronics.

The LED and LCD compatible panels will be used in 40-inch, 46-inch and 55-inch full-HD 3D TVs.

The panels use Samsung’s true 240Hz technology, which operates at 240 frames per second.

“We’ve reduced the response time of the LCD and LED panels by 20 per cent to less than four milliseconds, eliminating any interference between left and right eye images,” Chang said.

Earlier this week we reported that the high-def war was still being waged, with Drakes Avenue Pictures releasing Tulpan on HD-DVD.

Now a reader at Absolute Gadget has pointed out that another title is also scheduled for a HD-DVD release.

Deadlands 2: Trapped is due in late March and is available for pre-order at Anthem DVD.

“Bio-Weapon on the residents of a small Maryland city is brings down a world of Horror for 6 strangers that take refuge in a large theater Cineplex,” says the badly-worded blurb.

Could this be the start of the fight back..?

Director Joseph Kosinski has revealed that Tron Legacy won’t be completely 3D, but it will switch to 3D for those all-important parts inside the Tron world.

"Our approach is not like Avatar, which I think is 3D from the first shot to the last. Ours is sort of a Wizard Of Oz approach,” Kosinski told MTV.com.

“Nintey-eight per cent of the 3D is in the world of Tron. The 3D really starts once we get into the Tron world."

Kosinski also talked about Jeff Bridges’ dual role.

"Jeff is playing two characters. He's playing Kevin Flynn, the character from the original film, and he's playing Clu, the avatar that Kevin Flynn created in the 1980s,” Kosinskiadded.

“I'd say he's Clu 2. There was a Clu in the first film who looked like Jeff but was very simple in terms of his abilities. He's very stiff. Clu 2 is a second incarnation of Kevin's avatar. He doesn't only look like Jeff, but he can think like him too. So it's a whole new level of artificial intelligence.”