Andre Yoskowitz
18 Nov 2008 19:00
According to a new Wall Street Journal article, Hong Kong based movie pirates have begun selling bootleg Blu-ray films on standard DVDs, using the AVCHD format to fit a 720p film onto a cheap DVD-5.
Although the AVCHD discs only offers 720p and not the full HD 1080p, most consumers cannot tell the difference, and just see it as an upgrade from standard DVD anyways when playing back on their Blu-ray players.
The MPA warns that because blank DVDs can be had for, on average, 30 cents a unit, the pirates are making a huge profit on every bootleg sold.
"We are concerned and are assigning priority to this issue," said Mike Ellis, the Asia-Pacific managing director for the MPA.
The industry only first began taking notice last month when a large stash of the bootleg Blu-rays were found during a raid in China. Some of the 800 discs seized included popular titles such as "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", "Transformers", and "X-Men 3." The bootleg discs were packaged in blue cases and even included holograms to make them look like the originals.
"Pirated DVDs from this region...have been exported all over the world in the last few years. These syndicates are very quick to spot market opportunities," said Mr. Ellis.
The MPA added that while retail Blu-ray discs retail for $25 or so, the pirated AVCHD discs sell for $7. Fortunately for the industry, the MPA says, the discs have not yet appeared outside of Asia.
"When we created the specifications for Blu-ray, we were very serious about trying to stem the tide of pirate discs regardless of where they were in the world," noted Andy Parsons, a senior vice president at Pioneer Electronics Inc.'s Home Entertainment Group and the U.S. chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association Promotions Committee.
Unfortunately for them, all Blu-ray protections have been broken and BD rips can be found around the Internet, usually before the retail even hits shelves.