Sony Pictures Home Entertainment opened its new Blu-ray Disc manufacturing facility outside of Shanghai, China this week. According to the Nikkei Business Daily, this is is the first facility in China, capable of producing dual-layer Blu-ray Discs. Once up to speed, it will produce 500,000 discs per month, most of which will be sold in the Chinese market.
To help spur sales of Blu-ray Disc players, Sony Corp. (TSE:6758) has begun locally producing package software compatible with the format.
Shanghai Epic Music Entertainment Co., a joint venture between Sony and the Shanghai Media Group, invested about 920 million yen to install a software production line at its plant. Ceremonies to mark the beginning of production were held on Tuesday.
This is the first two-layer Blu-ray software production line in China. The facility can turn out 500,000 units per month. Most will be sold in the Chinese market, with exports a possibility as production capacity permits.
