Wal-mart China now selling Blue Ray players and disks

[jimdagys]

I notice that Wal-mart in China is now selling (Sony and another Chinese brand, Hualu) Blue Ray machines (US$300) and movies ( US$17). I wonder how long before the $1 pirate disks are available.

[lordsmurf]

What happened to HD format the Chinese gov't was working on?

[jimdagys]

I'm not quite sure about all the jargon, HDMI, EVD, etc, but as far as I know, all the players in China are just ordinary DVD players (some up- convert) except for the few newly marketed Blue Ray machines. I consider Wal-mart as a good market barometer, so (based on what Wal-mart China sells) I would say that China has abandoned all other HD formats in favor for Blue Ray.

[zoobie]

I thought Blu-ray wasn't to be licensed to China...
China was last seen putting AVCHD on regular DVD discs to be passed off as HD...but a AVCHD supported Blu-ray player is still needed to play it

[sampalmer21]

China has designed their own version of the blu ray called "China Blue HD" or CBHD for short. It uses AVS as the video codec. CBHD was designed so that China didn't have to pay licensing fees to foreign countries.

[nitro1973]

China has designed their own version of the blu ray called "China Blue HD" or CBHD for short. It uses AVS as the video codec. CBHD was designed so that China didn't have to pay licensing fees to foreign countries.

they should also start shooting chinese versions of transformers 2 etc so they will not have to pay other countries for movies

[jman98]

they should also start shooting chinese versions of transformers 2 etc so they will not have to pay other countries for movies

I'm not sure what to think of this comment. China only allows a limited number of Hollywood movies into the country each year and there is a very active domestic film industry so it's not like they don't have movies to watch. I don't think the decision to limit Hollywood movies is so much about money as it is about encouraging and promoting a domestic film industry. South Korea has similar limits and it's also about promoting a domestic film industry.

[sampalmer21]

they should also start shooting chinese versions of transformers 2 etc so they will not have to pay other countries for movies

You do realize that more than 95% of Chinese consumers watch Chinese domestic films. Hollywood films being bought in China are almost entirely pirated.