Tokyo (Japan) – The HD DVD is dead, but the DVD Forum apparently has not given up hope on the Chinese version of the format yet. Toshiba will chair the Steering Committee over the next two years.

The first documents released about the latest DVD Forum Steering Committee (SC) meeting indicate that all HD DVD topics were nixed from the agenda, however the committee is still spending time discussing the Chinese version, commonly referred to as CH-DVD. Few details about the state of the format have been made public at this time; the decisions chart of the 41st SC meeting, however, shows that new review and approval rules for modifications to the format have been approved.   

While the change or creation of the specification will be the responsibility of the China High Definition DVD Industry Association (CHDA) and the Optical Memory National Engineering Research Center (OMNERC) at Tsinghua University, the DVD Forum will receive reports of changes and analyze potential impacts on other DVD Forum specifications. The review approval authority remains with the DVD Forum. It is expected that the format will use a codec (Advanced Audio Video Encoding Standard in Information Technology, AVS) that is owned by the Chinese government.

In a separate decision, Toshiba was confirmed to chair the Steering Committee from February 2008 to February 2010. The vice chairs are held by Sony as representative for the consumer electronics industry, Intel from the IT industry and Warner from the Content industry. Other SC members include Hitachi, IBM, ITRI, LG, Matsushita, Memory-Tech, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, NEC, Paramount, Pioneer, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Thomson and Walt Disney.

local titlees only.

Feb 29, 2008 14:07     

Toshiba is not going to earn much in china if you think they can come back from HD DVD. who buy originals in china? everywhere is $1 each fake copies. Even rental places has fake DVDs. may be 1 in a 100 is original. in the market of fake goods, people with low salary can only afford the $1 a disc fake goods rahter than pay $30 for a CH-DVD movie that has slightly higher quality. so good luck Toshiba!!

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CH-DVD

Mar 01, 2008 07:34     

It is my understanding that all Chinese CH-DVD players will be constructed primarily of lead.
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U.S. is treated "differently". Why? Here's why..

Mar 01, 2008 15:24     

The U.S. treated differently because the major World-wide corporations don't trust us. Sony is backing CH-DVD, because they trust them. Sony won't give up on BR in the U.S. and Europe because they don't have any trust in those areas. Now, given that, do you trust Sony???
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Misconception

Mar 02, 2008 11:56     

Gruener's claim on AVS as a Chinese government owned standard is not right. There are two types of standards in China: national standards and industry standards. AVS is an industry standard in China and Chinese government does not own it. Over 150 universities and companies participated in drafting the specification. Much like ISO MPEG, AVS Forum includes membership of many international companies, such as Sony, Intel, Broadcom, Nokia, TI, and Panasonic. While in MPEG the specification drafting (ISO/IEC) and patent pool licensing (MPEG LA, VIA) are separate, AVS does both specification drafting and patent pool management.

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Another misconception

Mar 02, 2008 12:01     

Don't mix up the price of entertainment titles with the price of hardware (player, decoder chip, and encoder equipment). Toshiba makes money out of the latter.
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china

Mar 03, 2008 09:13     

china wants it's own format so they don't have to pay company like sony. although toshiba and sony are on the board for the new format...I can assure you they they are not going to get any loyality for the format. However, they can sell hardwares which makes money. In china, most software are fakes so money is to be made there.
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like the VCD?

Mar 03, 2008 10:49     

Perhaps it would be like the VCD? (video compact disc). It is rarely seen but still available on the internet. One just has to look.
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Heroes are back!!

Nov 29, 2008 00:08     

The heroes are back. I’m so exciting to see more wonderful powers. I have bought season 1,2 from www.dvdsetpro.com I’m eager to purchasing the season 3.
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