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Chinese electronics makers plan to start marketing EVD players as early as Christmas
21.11.2003
Shanghai. (Interfax-China) - China's electronics makers will begin marketing their EVD (Enhanced Versatile Disc) players as early as Christmas, Interfax learned after interviewing several companies. Manufactures, however, are worried about how the market will respond to the first Chinese developed digital laser video system.

Shanghai-based SVA Group said it would start selling EVD players ahead of Christmas, while Jiangsu Shinco Electronics Group said it would begin sales in January of 2004, ahead of China's Spring Festival holiday (Chinese New Years). Both companies produce DVD players that are popular among Chinese consumers. Meanwhile, however, Xiamen Xiaxin Electronics said it would wait and see how the market responds to EVD technology before beginning sales of its own EVD players. All three of these companies are among a group of 15 leading Chinese industry players that co-funded the EVD standards developer Beijing E-world Technology.

Additionally, Hao Jie, president of Beijing E-world, disclosed to Interfax in an interview that Shinco has already ordered 5 mln EVD movie disks to be bundled with the sales of their EVD players. Shinco officials, however, declined to comment on the issue.

Hao, furthermore, estimated that sales of EVD players would to hit 1 mln sets for the full year of 2004, and that sales would increase to 12 mln sets by 2006.

Worries, however, continue to linger over the prospects of EVD players on the Chinese market. These worries exist partly because of the higher prices EVD players will demand, as compared to DVD players. EVD players are likely to be priced between RMB 1,000 (USD 120.8) and RMB 2,000 (USD 241.6), as compared to the RMB 500 (USD 60.4) to RMB 1,000 (120.8) price range most DVD players fall into.

Moreover, although EVD is reportedly capable of delivering video that is five times clearer than DVD technology, this difference in quality is only perceivable when an EVD player is connect to a high definition television (HDTV). China's current HDTV market has been limited by higher prices, but has shows recent signs of growth. Nevertheless, manufacturers fear that China's small HDTV market will also limit the popularity of EVD players and that the new technology will get the cold shoulder from price sensitive Chinese consumer.

Despite these worries, some electronics producers are still pinning big hopes to the EVD market, largely because EVD players enjoy higher profit margins than DVD players, SVA spokesman Tao Jun explained to Interfax.

"The cut-throat competition on the DVD market leaves almost no margin for domestic producers," Tao noted.