Toshiba, Warner, ITRI Engaged in Licensing Of China's High-Def Format - Printer Friendly version without Comments

Appeared on: Friday, April 11, 2008
Toshiba, Warner, ITRI Engaged in Licensing Of China's High-Def Format

Toshiba will be the licensing company for the consumer electronics devices that will support the CH-DVD (China High Definition DVD) High-def DVD format.

Toshiba will be the licensing company for the consumer electronics devices that will support the CH-DVD (China High Definition DVD) High-def DVD format. Approved by the DVD Forum last September, the CH-DVD includes Chinese-owned intellectual property, and is based on HD DVD. The format is supported by the Chinese government and the Optical Memory National Engineering Research Center (OMNERC).

Despite Toshiba's announcement to stop the development of the HD DVD business, the DVD Forum has decided to include the company in the Licensing body fro the new format, for the consumer electronics products. The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan is also engaged in the licensing comittee for the China HD DVD format, being responsible for the products related to the IT industry. Warner will be handling the licensing of content to the publishing industry.

All the above companies will be the DVD Forum's representatives in the recently established License Enforcement Committee that will control the licensing issues related to the China HD DVD Format.

Toshiba has been supporting the CH-DVD format since its announcement last September. The company believed that the format would help them penetrate the developing entertainment market in China. China is expected to start broadcasts of high definition TV programs this year.

Taiwan's e Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) had been also supported the development and promotion of the FVD format some years ago, a red-laser high-definition DVD format developed in 2004 by Taiwan as an alternative to the HD DVD and Blu-ray disc high-definition formats. Previously, ITRI and other companies had formed the Advanced Optical Storage Research Alliance (AOSRA) in an effort to put control of the intellectual property (IP) for next-generation disk formats in the hands of Taiwanese suppliers, which dominates - and still dominate - the market for disc related products. The alliance had been always in contact with the DVD Forum, trying to gain support for its ambitious plans, which finally seems to enjoy some success through the CH-DVD format.

The DVD Forum approved on March 26 the "China HD DVD-ROM Disc TS Ver.10.0" ,"China HD DVD-Video Profile Disc TS Ver. 10.0", "China HD DVD-Video Profile Player TS Ver. 10.0" as well as the "PC HD DVD-Video Format Authoring Software for HD DVD/DVD writable discs TS Ver.1.0" .