Pirates using camcorder codec to target Blu-ray
Content Agenda
By Paul Sweeting -- Video Business, 11/17/2008 8:29:00 AM
DVD pirates in China have come up with an innovative approach to churning out cheap counterfeit Blu-ray Discs, the Wall Street Journal reports this morning.Using Blu-ray ripping software from SlySoft, bootleggers extract the high-def content from legitimate Blu-ray discs then recompress the video using AVCHD, a compression format developed by Sony and Matsushita (now Panasonic) for use in HD camcorders.
Although the resulting file is only 720p--rather than the 1080p of the original Blu-ray disc--the lower resolution allows the pirates to squeeze the film onto a standard DVD-9, which is far cheaper to mass produce than Blu-ray discs.
The discs are then packaged in Blu-ray's distinctive blue cases to fool the unwary.
While the bootleg Blu-rays have not yet appeared outside of Asia, Motion Picture Assn. Asia-Pacific managing director Mike Ellis told the Journal, "We are concerned and are assigning priority to this issue."
Click here to read the full report from the Wall Street Journal.
