Blu-ray Development Set to Increase in China

As one of the most important emerging markets, China is being courted by many of the world's big corporations and now, thanks to several key announcements, their Blu-ray production and therefore adoption, is likely to increase.  Probably most important is the Blu-ray Disc Association's acceptance of China's DRA digital audio format as an option on all BD-ROM discs on players running 2.3 specification.

DRA (Dynamic Resolution Adaptation) was developed by DigiRise Technology and is an alternative audio track to Dolby and DTS, although just how much it will be featured remains to be seen, which was put forward as a national standard back in October 2008 and has been previously used in China's mobile TV broadcasts and on satellite TV.  Primarily, it will be used for Chinese disc releases, but DigiRise is said to be planning an international launch too, however we've yet to see any word on the first discs set to use the format.

On a related note and perhaps in response to the above news, Dolby Laboratories have decided to support Chinese electronics manufacturers in developing Blu-ray products.  Three companies, including Lite-On, will be licensing Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus in order to provide an improved high-definition experience.  Because these companies produce players for the world market, this could mean we'll see a few more reasonably priced Blu-ray players hitting the market soon.