Local media reports from a recent Blu-ray Disc Association press conference that Shanghai Epic Music Entertainment Company Ltd. will start producing Blu-ray Discs in mainland China.
The company is increasing its production capacity in Shanghai by extending its workshops to an area of 13,000 square meters and Blu-ray Disc production is expected to commence in or around December this year.
Meanwhile, Sony, is actively promoting Blu-ray Disc players in China with offers such as sets of three reserved-copy Blu-ray movie discs — Kung Fu Hustle, Spider-Man 3, and Open Season — bundled with every BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc player.
At present, Blu-ray products have entered a rapid development phase in the Japanese market; Blu-ray disc player sales amount to over 50% of the market-share in Japan's entire disc player market. In the United States, over 11 million Blu-ray movie discs have been sold.
In markets such as Europe, America, and Japan, Blu-ray Disc players, which have up to five times the definition of traditional DVDs, are steadily replacing DVD. To encourage producers in China the Blu-ray Disc Association has pursued a "good will" policy to China's own intellectual property rights with regard to locally developed technical standards.
The Blu-ray Disc Association, with 180 member companies, is dedicated to developing and promoting the Blu-ray Disc format. Its Board of Directors comprises 18 member companies including Apple, Dell, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Disney, and Warner Bros.