Audio Video News

For Blu-ray fans in China, last week brought a couple of audio-related milestones.

First, Dolby Labs began licensing its next-generation surround codecs, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus, to Chinese companies making Blu-ray players for the world market. The first licensees are MIT Technology, Lite-On IT, and TCL (the company that bought the RCA TV brand). Since the new codecs are among Blu-ray's biggest attractions--despite their optional, not mandated, status in the BD format specs--this may enable more Chinese manufacturers to build BD players. That in turn may further narrow price gap between DVD and Blu-ray. Presumably more of China's 22 licensed BD player manufacturers will jump on board.

Meanwhile, even as Dolby pushes its lossless surround codec into the Chinese market, it may get outmaneuvered by a Chinese domestic technology. The Blu-ray Disc Association announced that the format specs will include a new surround codec--a Chinese technology that hails from neither Dolby or DTS. The DRA codec was developed by Guangzhou Digital Rise Technology of China. It was proposed to the BDA by China Hualu Group in 2007, tested in the U.S. and Japan by the BDA, and finally folded into the BD-ROM 2.3 format specs. DRA stands for Dynamic Resolution Adaptation. In addition to Blu-ray, the Chinese are also using it in satellite and cable TV. Another Chinese audio codec, AVS, is also seeking recognition.

Why this, why now? China wants a domestic audio codec for its own disc releases, thus enabling Chinese software companies to avoid paying royalties to Dolby or DTS. Digital Rise also plans "a big push into the international market," according to a Chinese press report, though it seems unlikely that Hollywood will be eager to add yet another codec to North American Blu-ray disc releases.