Piracy syndicates particularly in China are now starting to switch targets to the latest generation of DVD formats, the Blu-ray. In a recent raid, police in South China successfully seized hundreds of pirated Blu-ray discs.

According to the Motion Pictures Association (MPA), this is the first time that any authority successfully catches Blu-ray piracy syndicates.

Inevitably, the Managing Director of MPA Asia-Pacific Mike Ellis also concerned that pirate syndicates on Blu-ray may have spread into many countries.

As quoted from Wired, Wednesday (11/19/2008), pirated Blu-ray movie is sold for about $ 7. While, the price of an original Blu-ray disc is sold between $20 to $30.

The pirated products are packed very similar to original Blu-ray discs, which may fool uninformed customers. However, the pirated movies are not real Blu-ray technology; it is actually AVCHD DVD format movies with lower quality recorded in Blu-ray discs.

The hijackers are apparently taking advantage on the lack of awareness by many people who do not know the difference between the Blu-ray format and the AVCHD format. AVCHD format, although lower in quality than Blu-ray, have picture that is sharper than regular DVD.

Cases of piracy are seemingly give repetitive hits on the Blu-ray industry vendor, which were pioneered by Sony Japan. In the midst of the current economic crisis, Blu-ray business is predicted to experience a bleak period. While declining purchasing power may induce consumers to seek pirated movies in purpose.

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