Law enforcement in Shenzhen, China,
raided a warehouse last month that contained HD copies of a number of
popular movies. There were over 800 discs (so, what is that, like eight
spindles?) that were packaged in faux Blu-ray boxes, complete with holograms to
make them appear legitimate. According to the Motion Picture Association
International, this is the "first ever" seizure of these types of discs in
China. The pirates are apparently ripping high-def movies (cracking Blu-ray's
AACS and BD+ encryption in the process) and re-encoding them using AVCHD, which
offers a 720p picture. Because of the reduction in resolution, file sizes are
smaller and can be burned to regular DVDs instead of the more costly Blu-ray
discs, netting a tidy profit. Needless to say, the film industry isn't thrilled
by the news. "We are concerned and are assigning priority to this issue," the
MPA's Asia-Pacific managing director Mike Ellis told the
Wall Street Journal.
