EVD Disc Catalogue: Titles and Publishers
What the catalogue evidence actually shows
No title-level catalogue of Enhanced Versatile Disc (EVD) releases was found in the research set. There is no verified spine list, no complete 版号 register and only one named demonstration title. What survives instead is a run of aggregate counts from 2003 through 2008, a short publisher roster, a thin price table and a recording template for the next disc that surfaces. Building an EVD filmography therefore starts from those aggregate claims and from publisher identity, not from a finished list of programmes.
Catalogue-size claims over time
| Date | Count | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2003 | About 12 | Hong Kong-sourced titles at the launch | EE Times (via pass 1) |
| 2004 | 12 | Gome launch batch | 赢周刊 (via pass 1) |
| Jul 2004 | 14 | Jindian Global’s first release (“今年7月，今典环球首推14部碟片”) | gzhifi |
| Dec 2004 | “上百种” (hundreds) | Claimed by a Gome salesperson | 新闻晚报 via Douban |
| 2005 | ≥20 new titles a month promised | Zhongkai Culture on joining | pass 1 |
| c. 2006-2007 | “More than 100” titles, with at least 20 a month to follow | E-World FAQ | PjTime |
| Nov 2006 | About 100 movie titles | Relaunch-era coverage | EE Times |
| Oct 2005 | 100 film licences offered free to every EVD hardware maker for bundling | Jindian “five measures” | Sina |
Keep the disagreements side by side. Early 2003-2004 figures cluster around about 12 to 14 titles. A Gome salesperson in December 2004 claimed “hundreds.” E-World material around 2006-2007 speaks of more than 100 titles with further monthly supply promised. EE Times in November 2006 says about 100 movie titles. Jindian’s October 2005 “five measures” offered 100 film licences free to every EVD hardware maker for bundling, which is a licensing offer, not a proof that 100 distinct pressed SKUs already existed on shelves.
Reading rules follow from that spread. Launch-batch numbers (12, 12, 14) are the most concrete early counts and agree within a narrow band. “Hundreds” from a single salesperson is the most aggressive claim and sits alone. The later “100+” / “about 100” cluster is consistent with a mid-life catalogue that never grew into a mass Blu-ray-scale library. Promises of twenty new titles a month (Zhongkai joining language; E-World FAQ follow-on language) are supply pledges, not audited shipment logs.
Publishers
| Publisher | Chinese | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jindian Global Digital Technology | 北京今典环球数字技术有限公司 | Main content company; “the only EVD disc maker” (2006) | PjTime; EE Times |
| Zhongkai Culture Group | 广东中凯文化集团 | Joined March 2005; major legitimate distributor | PjTime; Ministry of Culture article |
| China Film Group | 中影 | Publisher; alliance member | PjTime; Baidu |
| China Record | 中唱 | Publisher | PjTime |
| Shanli Culture | 山力文化 | Publisher | PjTime |
| Feishi Audio-Video | 飞仕音像 | Publisher | PjTime |
| Yingyi Culture | 盈艺文化 | Publisher | PjTime |
| CITVC | 中国国际电视总公司 | Alliance member | pass 1 |
Zhongkai is documented as having released hit titles such as 《无间道》, 《手机》 and 《天下无贼》 on disc in other formats. Whether those titles were actually issued on EVD is not confirmed; they are listed only to identify the company. Catalogue rows must not promote Zhongkai’s known DVD or other-format hits into EVD SKUs without disc-face evidence. Jindian Global’s “only EVD disc maker” status in 2006 EE Times coverage remains the central production claim for commercial pressing.
The only named title
《九寨沟》(Jiuzhaigou) appears as a scenic HD demonstration disc shown at the Zhongguancun computer festival and not for sale at the time (gzhifi). That is the only EVD title named in any source retrieved for this series. Identifying further titles requires physical discs, 版号 searches in the national audio-video product database, or Kongfz / Xianyu listings discussed in the buying post. Until those appear, “about 100 titles” remains a count without a filmography.
Prices
| Date | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2004-2005 | “20多元” (twenty-odd yuan) | pass 1 |
| Mar 2005 | Promise of ¥3-5 per disc (“EVD digital cinema”) | Sina Finance |
| Oct 2005 | Jindian would buy 1,000-2,000 discs at ¥15-20 each from publishers | Sina |
| 2006 | ¥18-28 | pass 1 |
| 2008 | “Several tens of yuan”, against hundreds for Blu-ray | gqjd.net |
| 2008 (HD-EVD) | ¥15-30 | Baidu |
Price claims mix retail talk, wholesale buy commitments and later comparative rhetoric against Blu-ray. The March 2005 ¥3-5 “digital cinema” promise is an aspirational figure in Sina Finance coverage, not a verified shelf average. October 2005’s ¥15-20 band is what Jindian said it would pay publishers when buying discs in thousand-unit lots. Mid-2000s retail notes of twenty-odd yuan and ¥18-28 sit closer together. 2008 language comparing “several tens of yuan” with hundreds for Blu-ray is marketing contrast as much as a price list. HD-EVD’s ¥15-30 Baidu figure belongs to the 2008 successor branding, not to the 2004 launch catalogue.
Recording template for new finds
For each disc record: title (Chinese and English); publisher; 版号 / ISRC; disc marking and logos; single or dual layer; running time; audio tracks; subtitle languages; file tree (preservation post); ffprobe output; SHA-256 of image; player it was tested on; bundle source (retail, player bundle, promotional). Separate commercial standalone discs from player-bundle and demonstration objects so that catalogue counts do not quietly mix free giveaways with shelf SKUs.
Bundle versus retail status also belongs in every new row. Jindian’s October 2005 offer of 100 film licences free to hardware makers for bundling means some discs may have lived only inside player cartons. Catalogue discipline should mark retail standalone, player-bundle, demonstration and promotional objects as separate classes so that “about 100 titles” claims are not quietly inflated by counting the same programme twice under different distribution modes.
The EVD catalogue file is therefore still a method, not a filmography. Early counts of about 12-14, later claims of about 100 or “hundreds,” a named publisher list headed by Jindian Global, one demonstration title (Jiuzhaigou), and a price band mostly in the teens to twenties of yuan are all that the public sources currently support. The next confirmed commercial title will matter more than another round of aggregate adjectives.
Further reading on historic video formats
If you want to learn more about historic video formats, get The History of Physical Video Formats from the Frontier by Stephen Driver on Amazon:
