Lord of the Rings Trilogy [Blu-ray] [US Import]

This is NOT the review of the movies. I am solely reviewing the facts that what EXTRA you get in this set than the previous editions. I will start with very basic facts for those who are baffled by so many editions being out there.
The basic facts-
LOTR series has basically two types of movies- a) Theatrical and b) Extended, each edition are available in both-DVD and Blu ray format.
Extended versions of the movies have humongous amount of extra film footage added to the theatrical editions (approx. 30, 40 and 50 additional minutes for movie 1, 2 and 3 respectively). So, go for the extended editions only if you are a die hard fan of the movies. If you are not, the review ends here. Buy whichever movie you like in your preferred format and enjoy. Thanks.

FOR LOTR FANS-
Let's get straight to-the-point. Now, many of you may as well own the DVD versions of LOTR (Either Theatrical or Extended ot both), and if you are trying to make a decision whether to spend more money on this blu ray extended, here is the comparison-

Extended DVD set-
For each movie they have 4 discs (2 movie discs and 2 extra features); So total 12 discs. Sound is DTS ES 6.1, which is significantly better than regular dolby digital. This set is probably the most gorgeous I have ever seen for any DVD. Colorful and feature packed, it stands out in your entire collection.

Extended Blu ray set-
For each movie they have 5 discs (2 movie blu ray discs, 2 extra feature DVDs and 1 behind the scene DVD). So, total 15 discs. Audio is spine chilling DTS HD 6.1 and it has the all the betterments of blu ray (HD pic, HD sound, BD live). Also, blu ray set includes the Digital copy of the Extended Versions of all three movies (Standard definition, not HD). The set itself is a delight, with a sturdy golden cardboard package that is durable and beautiful. The remastering of these movies have been handled excellently and with respect to both picture and sound, this one is SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN THE DVD.

The GOOD (Blu ray set over DVD set):
1. Video and Audio significantly improved. Excellent blu ray transfer. I have not noticed any 'darker' colors as mentioned by some other viewers.
2. Blu ray set has THREE EXTRA DVDs (Behind the Scene for each movie) apart from the 2 extra feature DVDs.
3. Blu ray set has Digital copies of Extended versions of all three movies.
4. They did not waste a DVD for digital copy. You download them straight from the server.
5. Digital copies are great downloads and super easy. Together, it's almost 10 GB download, which was overwhelming for me.

The NOT-SO-GOOD:
1. Extra feature DVDs (2 for each movie) are the SAME as those of DVD editions. In fact, the DVDs are identical when I do head-to-head comparison. These DVDs are pulled straight from the older DVD editions, nothing new added there.
2. The overall appearence of the set is not as beautiful as the DVD sets. This one is excellently packed though, lacks the colours of the DVD set.
3. Extra feature discs are DVDs and not Blu rays.

FINAL VERDICT-
If you own the extended DVD set, then buy this only if you want to have a great improvement in pictutre and sound quality. The only extra features you get is 'behind the scenes' DVDs. All other extra feature DVDs (total 6 of them) will be a duplication of what you already own in Extended DVD set. Actually, I noticed that all the extra feature DVDs here are from the various older DVD editions. The two DVDs are from the Extended DVD set, and the one 'behind the scene' is probably pulled from the limited editions of LOTR (the double sided DVDs that New Line Cinema released sometimes back).
However, if you do not own the DVD versions, then this is a must buy as this includes almost everything that you can think of (HD movies, extra features, behind the scenes, plus digital copies).

UPDATE: Also check the images I uploaded which may help make the comparison.

Q - Is it worth it, especially if I already have the DVD edition?
A - To me it is because I like to watch movies at home on the biggest possible screen at the highest possible resolution. I still have the DVD editions - which I'm keeping because I like the artwork - and the quality gain on the Blu is significant.

Q - Could this edition be viewed as 'the gold standard'?
A - Yes. It has the extended cuts at the highest resolution with the best sound and the most extensive collection of special features.

Q - How many Blu-ray discs are in the box?
A - There are SIX Blu-ray discs. The additional 9 'extras' or 'bonus' discs are DVDs.

Q - Are the movies delivered on one disc each?
A - No. See above. Like the DVD extended edition, the movies are delivered on 2 discs each.

Q - Why aren't the movies delivered on one Blu-ray disc each?
A - Most Blu-ray players can only read single layer (25GB) and dual layer discs (50GB). Each of the Extended Edition movies require more than 50GB. Compressing them to 'under 50GB' would have degraded the quality of the picture and sound track.

Q - Is the audio superior to the DVD editions?
A - Yes, the movies sound track is DTS-HD 6.1 MA.

Q - Are there alternate soundtracks?
A - Yes. Each movie disc includes 4 additional commentary sound tracks: Director & Writers, the Design Team, the Production and Post Production Teams and Cast commentaries.

Q - Is BD-Live supported?
A - Yes, on the movie discs.

Q - Is the BD-Live content specific to LOTR?
A - No. It contains WB promotional material.

Q - Will the Extended Blu-ray edition allow us to play the Theatrical cut?
A - No.

Q - Is the Extended Blu-ray cut be in any way different from the Extended DVD cut?
A - No.

Q - Are the bonus discs in the Extended Blu-ray edition in any way different from the bonus discs found in the Extended DVD edition?
A - Yes. There is an additional 'Special Features' disc for each movie holding the Costa Botes documentaries from the Original Theatrical & Extended Limited Editions.

Q - Are the commentaries different from the Extended DVD Edition?
A - No.

Q - Are there subtitles?
A - Yes, subtitles are available in: English (for the hearing impaired), Spanish and Portuguese.

Q - What spoken languages are available?
A - English and Portuguese.

Q - Are the Digital Copies on disc?
A - No. The Extended Blu-ray Edition has access codes for downloadable Digital Copies.

Q - What are the Digital Copies for?
A - iTunes or Windows Media.

Q - Will the Digital Copies be available to download forever?
A - No. The Digital Copy offers expire on June 26, 2012.

Q - What is the resolution of the Digital Copy?
A - For iTunes, it's 853x352 (less than DVD).

Q - Will there be separate Extended Blu-ray editions for each of the three movies?
A - Yes.

Q - Why get the Extended Edition instead of the Theatrical Edition?
A - The Extended Edition adds about 2 hours to the Theatrical cut.

There are other reviews, official and user, that scream about the amazing video and audio, special features, and how basically, you can get rid of your extended dvd copies of the films (and theatrical releases, if you have those, I guess. Why would you even have those?). I'm just here to address the concerns over the supposed flawed color correction in Fellowship.

First of all, I viewed the the films (DVD and Blu-Ray) on an LCD television, calibrated a few years ago using what is considered its ideal settings, taken from AVSForums. Nothing special beyond that, and those settings haven't changed since I first bought the television. I viewed Fellowship in its entirety on Blu-Ray, and then specific scenes that were known to be altered, between the DVD and Blu-Ray.

When watching Fellowship as a whole picture, and looking for anything odd in the picture, I must admit I noticed nothing. During the initial Hobbiton scenes, I noticed no green sky, no cyan grass, nothing like what was shown in the side-by-side comparison video that popped up not too long ago. Any changes that were made to the picture worked well enough that when viewed in context with the scenes before and after, worked perfectly. Even when trying to find anything that looked out of place, I was unable to do so (and keep in mind that having viewed the DVD of Fellowship many times, I had an idea in my head of how the film should have looked).

By the time I got to the infamous shot of the ring in the snow, and that entire scene, I had completely forgotten that I was supposed to be looking for color correction, and everything looked fine; nothing stood out to me. When I finally remembered that I was looking for color correction, I rewound to the beginning of that scene (The Ring goes south), and again watched for the color change. At this point, I did notice a difference, but there was no green sky, no green snow. If anything, there was a slight bluish sheen to the shot, but the snow was still white, and as with the Hobbiton scenes, the color grading fit so well in context to the shots before and after, that it fit perfectly in the scene, especially considering the emotional impact the scene was supposed to convey.

When comparing those specific scenes (and a few others) to the DVD version, there is a noticeable difference in the color. However, this is not a bad thing. As I understand it, Jackson and Lesnie changed the color grading in those scenes to make them fit better into the film as a whole, and this is accomplished. In fact, when watching The Ring goes south scene on the DVD after watching the Blu-Ray, the old color scheme created such a tonal shift for me that it made me squirm. The realism of the snow shots took me out of the fantastic world they were trying to create.

So, are the changes made noticeable? Only if you're doing a straight comparison of different versions of the film, which is pointless. Watching the scenes in context, not only are the color changes not really noticeable, they actually fit better than the original versions, just as Jackson and Lesnie intended. Those people who are complaining and saying that the color changes are horrible, or stick out like a sore thumb, are either EXTREMELY nitpicky, sore at having to buy another version of the films and complaining about anything except complete unaltered perfection (which come on, why would you have ever bought anything beyond the extended DVD's almost a decade ago?), or, having heard about the color changes, are looking for something that's not really there.

This version of the films are the definitive, comprehensive version, and can't get any better in terms of video, audio, or special features. Get rid of your previous versions, and enjoy. What we've been waiting for has finally arrived, and is as good as we've hoped.