HD DVD to implement region coding

[Chris Beveridge]

According to this Japanese article, the committee to study region coding on HD DVD has come back and a new committee is being set up to figure out how to implement it. In other words, they've talked about it for an age and decided that they need to implement it at the request of certain studios and now have to figure out how to do so.

Current players and discs are not region coded. Personally, I'm pretty sure it's something they could add as a firmware update though and I've never liked being told that it can't be done. The talk of being able to make the players TL45 compatible or the TrueHD and other updates show that these "pc's in a box" can be updated really easily all told.

[Chris Beveridge]

Here's some mildly badly translated quotes about it:

"AD-022" is a group that examines region (region) control in HD DVD. The region reproduction limitation etc. of classification by countries of HD DVD video disk on the market like DVD have not been installed now. However, the voice to request the region control comes out of the contents holder etc. , and it is said that the examination will be advanced aiming at the introduction.

The reproduction control not only is introduced into classification by countries as simply as past DVD but also an interactive function of HD DVD is used, and it is said, "The control of new as the region is controlled from the sale only for a certain period that is is examined". However, it has not become a conclusion at present.


The examination of the region control is advanced, and "WG-1" that examines a technological specification of HD DVD receives the activity etc. of TCG, and examines how to build it in. It is said the schedule to which the project book is updated in the first ten days, 2007.

[zombie]

Chris, please post this at AVS with a link to the original article.

BTW, what is the date of this article?

Anyway, I think region coding sucks but if HD DVD's going to have it then it levels that aspect of the playing field back to what it was.

[Chris Beveridge]

The article is new as of today - 10/5/2006 - at Watch Impress in Japan.

I would post it at AVS but I had my account removed from there. I'm unable to post, PM or anything else.

Reading the translation, it's curious in its wording that may be attributed to translation, but it looks like they're talking about codes by country that may be time limited.

[bferr1]

Hmm, another thing amirm said wouldn't happen, like PiP video commentary on BDs!

[Chris Beveridge]

I'm sure the spin will be that this isn't going to happen. But my reading of it along with some folks who are doing full translating seems to say that they are basically sitting down now to meet the demands of the content providers. One reading that someone gave me based on interpretation (and we all know how Japanese can be interpreted by now I hope) is that if it's not implemented that you'd find someone jumping ship to Blu-ray.

Now, keep in mind, this is a Japanese article and it may not be speaking entirely about Hollywood studios. A studio from the US may demand coding but wouldnt jump ship, but HD DVD can't afford to lose a number of smaller publishers who are far more dependent on domestic sales vs imports who would jump ship to a system that protects their interests.

The "AD-022" paragraph really has some interesting nuggets in it though. All told, it sounds like it could be fairly complicated, especially if the idea of time-locked region coding is put in. Makes BD seem simple in its coding.

[zombie]

I couldn't find a direct link to that article on their site but then again I can't read Japanese and babelfish isn't the best translator. A google search did give me these articles from this past May which confirm that a committee was made to decide how to implement region coding on HD DVD:

HD DVD Forum working on region codes and China-only format (5/26/06)
http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/26/h...a-only-format/

DVD Forum to assemble HD-DVD region coding team (5/27/06)
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13475

So it definitely sounds to me like region coding is coming soon for both formats.

[Chris Beveridge]

I'm amused to see it being written off as old news or "we knew it was going to happen" by HD DVD owners. It's been studied for quite some time now and you figured it would be something they would have nailed down long before launch.

[zombie]

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

It's been studied for quite some time now and you figured it would be something they would have nailed down long before launch.

They've gotta spin it some way. Lord knows it's Blu-ray that's always behind. HD DVD is right on schedule on every aspect.

[Rio]

Here is the another version of bad translation by me

Within the TCG, it has established 4 adhoc groups since 2005, been doing activities like investigation of regional control, creating guide line for compatibility, and so on.

"AD-022" is a group studying regional control on the HD DVD. As to current HD DVD commercial discs, there is no regional control limitation nation by nation basis like DVD are implemented, however, there is a demand from content holders to have regional control, the group has been studying to implement it.

According to the group, they are studying not only simply implement the playback control nation by nation basis like DVD, but also a new type of playback control by utilizing HD DVD interactivity to do regional control only certain period of time from the release of a disc, however, they have not reached to the conclusion.

"WG-1", which is a group studying technical specification of the HD DVD, also has been studying regional control and how to implement it, by receiving the result of TCG's activities. The specification is expected to be updated by early 2007.

[Chris Beveridge]

Thanks Rio; I did mine via the excite translation engine which isn't the best but handles Watch Impress better than babelfish does. At the same time, I have a friend who speaks it fairly well but is still working on the reading (but spent 6 months living in Japan) going over parts of it with me.