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Sony debuts Blu-ray in China

22 November 2008 16:03 by Andre "DVDBack23" Yoskowitz | 8 comments

In an effort to stop the growing piracy of Blu-ray discs in the region, Sony Pictures has become the first Hollywood studio to distribute Blu-ray titles in China.

The studio will distribute 20 current and catalog titles in the format for 205 yuan ($30 USD) a price that it almost certainly way to high for the low-wage country.

A few of the movies available are "Hancock," "Kung Fu Hustle," the "Spider-Man" trilogy, "Hitch," "The Pursuit of Happyness" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."

None of the other major studios have announced plans to release Blu-rays in China but it appears that Disney and Warner Bros. are close.

"We will launch once (local) Blu-ray replication capability is ready -- hopefully in the first or second quarter," a Disney spokesman said.

At first, Sony's Blu-rays will be imported to China, but local production will begin within a year. The company expects local production to drop expenses and eventually the MSRP of the titles.

The MPA added recently that bootleg Blu-ray AVCHD discs will account for 10 percent of Chinese piracy within the next six months.

Permalink to this article | Topic: Blu-ray

First CBHD players released in China (24 April 2009)

Disney tries to give Blu-ray a headstart (26 January 2009)

Disney drops third 'Narnia' movie (3 January 2009)

Blu-ray players remain expensive in Europe (28 November 2008)

Apple adds more DRM to MacBooks (18 November 2008)

70 percent of Finnish youth are 'criminal' pirates (16 November 2008)

Microsoft banning Xbox 360 consoles again (12 November 2008)

ESA praises anti-piracy operation in Mexico (12 November 2008)

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res2cue (Senior Member) 22 November 2008 19:09
no wonder there is such a high rate of piracy, why wouldn't they have made them available in China long before now? [ + quote]
Leningrad (Member) 22 November 2008 21:34
*Originally posted by res2cue:* no wonder there is such a high rate of piracy, why wouldn't they have made them available in China long before now? There are many factors, for example china is non-democratic therefore it is difficult for a corporate capatalist company to sell their stuff without negotiations. [ + quote]
res2cue (Senior Member) 22 November 2008 21:58
Hmmm, I didn't realize it was that tough, I just thought Sony as an entire company was in pretty good with China. [ + quote]
xtago (Newbie) 23 November 2008 6:18
Why it be too high priced? China has been churning out the highest amount of millionaires per hour for the last few years. [ + quote]
domie (Member) 23 November 2008 8:40
It's worth pointing out that they are not bootleg blu ray discs - they are blu ray titles that are transcoded with the AVCHD codec and burnt on to crappy DVD-5 media at 720p resolution or on DVD-9 media at 1080p resolution ( the latter being better but still a transcoded copy in most cases) The cost of blank blu ray discs is still so high it's not worth the pirates' efforts to copy them identically. Even though they are burnt onto standard DVds , you still need a blu ray player that is AVC capable in order to watch them on a standalone. [ + quote]
susankie (Inactive) 23 November 2008 22:43
Chinese products should be very low-cost, why it is so expensive?, there's not much profit left over for us SPAMMERS [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 24 November 2008 6:58
susieqbbb (Inactive) 28 November 2008 0:55
But you still haven't solved the problem just placed a band aid on it. Why do you think people in china purchase pirated goods instead of the real thing. Answer price you think blu-ray is pricey here in the u.s.a imagine it in china. [ + quote]
avoidz (Junior Member) 29 November 2008 6:04
*Originally posted by domie:* It's worth pointing out that they are not bootleg blu ray discs - they are blu ray titles that are transcoded with the AVCHD codec and burnt on to crappy DVD-5 media at 720p resolution or on DVD-9 media at 1080p resolution ( the latter being better but still a transcoded copy in most cases) The cost of blank blu ray discs is still so high it's not worth the pirates' efforts to copy them identically. Even though they are burnt onto standard DVds , you still need a blu ray player that is AVC capable in order to watch them on a standalone. Yeah, but you know the (shit) quality most bootleg DVDs are like, and yet look how popular they are. It doesn't matter to most people who buy bootlegs about perfect PQ. Blu-ray is no exception. [ + quote]