China to get its own specific HD DVD format

[nekrosoft13]

Following requests by China's government-sponsored Optical Memory National Engineering Research Centre (OMNERC) and the state-run China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), China will get a HD DVD-ROM format designed specifically to be incompatible with the global HD DVD standard. The DVD Forum announced at a Japanese conference in that it is now planning to work on this blue laser HD DVD variant for the Chinese market.

The purpose of this format is to fight the huge on-going piracy of optical discs as well as produce a less expensive version of the HD DVD format that will not result in its cheaper players and discs being marketed outside of China. To make the Chinese HD DVD disc incompatible with the global standard, only the modulation scheme will be changed, where the Chinese version will use FSM (Four to Six Modulation), unlike the global HD DVD standard that uses ETM (Eight to Twelve modulation). This Chinese version is expected to be finished in December.

As China has a lower purchasing power amongst consumers compared with the US and EU, the aim of minimising the price of HD DVD discs and players, along with the DVD forum and makers promoting the HD DVD format will be to boost the format in China once HD DVD hits the Chinese market.

The China-specific format will differ from the global HD DVD-ROM format only in modulation codec, for the latter adopts ETM (8 data bits/12 channel bits modulation) and while the China-specific version will use FSM (4 data bits/6 channel bits modulation), the sources said. The Working Group 11 under the forum is drawing up the China-specific version, to be termed part 1 Version 10.0, and expects to finish it in the coming December, the sources noted.

From what I can see, even if China has its own HD DVD format incompatible with the rest of the world, this is unlikely going to help reduce piracy any further within China than if China used the same format as everywhere else, since if pirate copies of HD DVD discs can be made within China, then obviously these will play on Chinese HD DVD players. However, what it may likely do is reduce the amount of China produced pirated discs from being sold outside of China as well as the number of pirated discs being imported into China.

http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/14099

[L3thal Veteran]

What a great idea, honestly.

[Ji@nBing]

I lived in China for a few years. DVD piracy is so rampant there that if they can't pirate this format, the Chinese will simply stick to standard DVD's. They simply will not pay more than about 1USD for a movie. Most of them can't afford to.

[drshdw]

I lived in China for a few years. DVD piracy is so rampant there that if they can't pirate this format, the Chinese will simply stick to standard DVD's. They simply will not pay more than about 1USD for a movie. Most of them can't afford to.

They tend to download their hi-def stuff (and a lot is released over there). BT is pretty rampant over there too.

[canucksrule]

They simply will not pay more than about 1USD for a movie. Most of them can't afford to.

thats why they are making a "cheaper" version for china