China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII) announced on its Chinese-language website on February 23 the adoption of the domestically developed EVD (enhanced versatile disc) as a national DVD-player standard.

MII intends EVD to be a guideline for China-based makers in their development and production of ICs, software, discs and players for high-definition digital video entertainment. MII also intends EVD to be a means of freeing Chinese makers from having to pay DVD royalties to the 3C alliance and the 6C alliance, the local media Xinhua Online pointed out. A number of China-based makers of DVD players, including Amoi Electronics, Nanjing Panda Electronics and SVA Information Industry, are paying a royalty of US$10 per exported DVD player to the two groups of patent owners, Xinhua Online noted.

MII's decision is expected to frustrate the R&D of HVD (high-definition versatile disc) and HDV (high-definition digital video) technology, two other domestically developed DVD formats in competition for MII's recognition as a national standard, according to Xinhua Online.

Taiwan-based makers of optical disc drives think, however, that EVD players for export will still be subject to royalty charges because EVD is not really different, in its physical properties, from the existing DVD format.