CBHD v.s. BD

Explanation of two terms:

BD, Blu-ray disc, reads and writes data with shorter blue laser (405nm) and so gets its name. So far, Blu-ray is the most advanced CD format with super large storage capacity up to 25GB or even 50GB for a double-layered disc.

CBHD, used to be called CHDVD, means the Chinese high definition DVD. CHDVD was once the Chinese edition of HD-DVD alliance supported by Toshiba. As Toshiba announced to retreat from HD-DVD field, the Chinese edition changed its name to CBHD (Chinese Blu-ray high definition disc). CBHD, based on the latest blue laser technology, has a large storage capacity and supports HD videos up to a resolution of 1920×1080p.

BD and CBHD are not compatible with each other for the different compression techniques and CD structures applied. So customers can just choose them alternatively.

Player Price

BD players are famous for the high cost. When Sony released its first Blu-ray player in China, the price reached 4999 RMB. Although it has been reduced several times, it is still higher than CBHD ones.

CBHD came out with lower prices at the very start. The first CBHD players released last year, including Shinco CB-HD-9100 and TCL THBD-1008, were marked 2500 RMB. And both of them have been cheapened now.

From the data listed above, we can see CBHD is in the green tree.

Disc Price

The disc price is also one of the factors among customer’s consideration about whether to buy a BD or CBHD player. The Blu-ray disc price is about 105 RMB which is obviously higher than that of a CBHD one. Although both of the two alliances have tried to reduce the disc price, CBHD is still in the advantageous place.

Disc resource

As for a good Blu-ray player, the disc resource is also an important aspect to consider. Blu-ray disc, launched by BDA, is supported by seven film companies in Hollywood while CBHD is only supported by Warner Bros. and Universal Studios. But CBHD has successfully won the support of some Chinese video and audio corporations including China Record Corporation and China Film Corporation.

In terms of disc resources, BD is in the advantageous place.

To be honest, although Blu-ray owns excellent image quality 5 times better than that of DVD, it is not the best time to buy BD players, neither is CBHD ones. As for BD, the technology is advanced enough and its disc resource is rich, whereas its price is still high. And CBHD has more advantages except the less disc resources.