AfterDawn: News

Sony debuts Blu-ray in China

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.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Nov 2008 16:03

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• 8 comments

• res2cue

  no wonder there is such a high rate of piracy, why wouldn't they have made them available in China long before now?

  22.11.2008 19:09 #1

• Leningrad

  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.

  22.11.2008 21:34 #2

• res2cue

  Hmmm, I didn't realize it was that tough, I just thought Sony as an entire company was in pretty good with China.

  22.11.2008 21:58 #3

• xtago

  Why it be too high priced?
  
  China has been churning out the highest amount of millionaires per hour for the last few years.

  23.11.2008 06:18 #4

• 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.

  23.11.2008 08:40 #5

• susankie

  Chinese products should be very low-cost, why it is so expensive?, there's not much profit left over for us SPAMMERS

  23.11.2008 22:43 #6

• susieqbbb

  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.

  28.11.2008 00:55 #7

• avoidz

  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.

  29.11.2008 06:04 #8