The Shanzhai box is a secret fad

Absrtact: When the Double 11, this kind of box our side one shop one hours can sell 1000 units, like selling vegetables. Standing in Huaqiang North SEG Electronics market that less than 5 square meters of small counters, a cottage-top box vendors in a good mood. Set-top box, this existence

"When we're 11, we can sell 1000 units in a shop one hours a day, like selling vegetables." "Standing in Huaqiang North SEG Electronics market that less than 5 square meters of small counters, a cottage-box vendors in a good mood." Set-top box, which has been for many years but not in the inflow of products, has recently been warmly sought after by consumers.

Television, which is far inferior to mobile phones and flat-screen markets, is now a gathering of players. Hardware manufacturers, Internet TV operators, video sites have killed will come in, and now even shanzhai manufacturers are not far behind. A war without smoke, is being quietly staged in people's living room and bedroom.

Not long ago, the high-profile launch of the Millet box was then quickly halted, and the gold miners in the television market suddenly woke up – a field that is still very strict in policy control.

However, many people want to use technology to break the barriers of policy. Several industry insiders pointed out that with the advent of a new generation of technology such as multiple-screen interaction, the future of mobile phones, tablets on the Internet video can be very easy to seamlessly synchronized in the TV play, the future of policy-controlled set-top boxes may no longer be useful, from the current trend of development, the future may be the mobile phone is A tablet computer is a set-top box.

This may make a subtle change in policy regulation in this area.

A race for technology and policy has been opened.

The Shanzhai box is a secret fad

"After the millet box was halted, some large set-top box manufacturers were nervous. "The owner of an internet TV set-top box manufacturer in Shenzhen told reporters because over the years these vendors have always been on the brink of legal and illegal gray."

According to SARFT regulations, in the domestic sale of internet TV set-top boxes need to have the number of Chinese, such as the license holders of the code, and the market is popular with a large number of unlicensed shanzhai set-top boxes.

Reporter in Shenzhen huaqiang north to 500 yuan to buy a brand of a Shenzhen set-top box, with network cable or WiFi connection, you can be very fluent to watch Youku, potatoes, thunder, pplive, Archie Art, music, such as many video sites high-definition video content, you can also watch many overseas television stations live TV, content is very rich.

Shenzhen, the founder of a cottage box company told reporters that the introduction of millet box greatly stimulated the sale of Shanzhai box market, "people in the past did not know there is such a thing." ”

On Taobao, the reporter saw a large number of 100-500 yuan in the Internet set-top box and TV bar hot, and in this circle of small famous "picturesque" set-top box even hit "Hot Ben 30000" slogan. According to the reporter understand, the domestic current Internet TV set-top box size than the larger manufacturers have gold Asia-Pacific, the United States such as painting, billion, and so on, most of them are concentrated in Shenzhen.

Another product similar to a set-top box is a TV Stick (TV dongles)--It's also a generalized set-top box that looks like a U disk, just plugged into a USB port on a TV, and can surf the internet with a TV with WiFi to watch rich video content.

These shanzhai boxes, which use Android more than anything else, are rich in content, technically incorporating many of the Android video-class software into the box and playing them on TV.

What is the output of this box without a licence?

Shawiding chairman of the best friend to the reporter estimated that the domestic shanzhai box shipments of less than 2 million a year. And the owner of a box manufacturer in Shenzhen also estimated that the entire cottage market box monthly shipments of about 100,000.

Because of concern about the department's crackdown, most of the Shanzhai box manufacturers are very "self-conscious", strict restrictions on the state does not allow video content, but only the legitimate network of Youku, potatoes, Sohu, music, such as the content of the site aggregation.

"The box is the chance of a cottage-shop." "A senior person in Shenzhen Electronics Circle said. In the field of Internet TV set-top box, the formation of such a situation, manufacturers will die. The Millet box is a typical example, because it is too high-profile to be nipped in the bud. And those low-key sales of small and medium-sized set-top box is quite popular in the civil.

Internet TV Players

Just in Shanghai, the end of the 2012 network Audio-visual Industry Forum, Internet television is probably the hottest topic, almost all the speakers will say that internet TV.

Throughout the 2012, a large number of players began to exert internet TV.

January 5, Blockbuster and Lenovo launched the first Internet TV set-top box.

January 11, the video network and CNTV on the Internet television business and other agreed, and on February 16, the introduction of the music TV 3D Cloud videos Super Cleaning machine. September 24, le Video network launched its own TV terminal products "Super TV." ”

November 14, Millet high-profile introduction of Millet box, since November 23 announced the "system maintenance" reasons to stop service.

December 3, Skyworth, the southern media, the three-member of the company announced the launch of "direct Hollywood" service to users to sell recharge cards to watch high-definition movies on TV.

In Youku, potatoes, Sohu, lok See, Thunder Look, pps and other video sites, television ratings have been a great impact, people have to use computers or mobile phones online watching TV, which greatly affected the business of the TV station.

But watching online high-definition video on TV is just beginning in China.

A number of industry insiders to reporters that in the network high-definition long video This piece, TV will still be the future overlord. "Watching blurry videos on PCs and mobile phones is like eating a snack, and watching high-definition video is like chicken soup." "Shawiding CEO," he said.

"High-definition video content playback, I think the next 3-5 years there will be a very obvious trend is that their final playback terminal must be on the home TV." "Thunderbolt look at CEO Liu Feng points out, because so many years accustomed to come down, people prefer to lie on the couch or bed watching video."

From the international development trend, Internet TV is increasingly replacing IPTV as the mainstream network High-definition TV video development direction.

There are two forms of internet TV, one is to use the television directly on the Internet (also known as Internet TV or Smart TV), the other is to use the Internet TV set-top box with traditional TV. The latter, by contrast, costs less and upgrades faster.

According to the 2012 China Network audiovisual Industry Report, as of the end of 2011, China's Internet TV set-top box number of users 3 million.

However, in China, Internet TV is a very strict area of the current state policy control. According to SARFT's "article 181th" regulation, users to access the Internet through television all the film and television programs, must go through the 7 major licensees of the broadcast control platform.

The 7 major licensees are CNTV, hundred-Vision, Hua, South Media, Hunan Radio and television, China International radio and radio, all of which are broadcasting enterprises. These broadcasters also need to look for more competitive internet companies to help them make profits.

SARFT's 181th text clearly stipulates that "Internet TV integration platform can not be linked to the Web site set up on the public Internet, can not be directly available to users on the public Internet content." "It is widely believed that the millet box was" stopped video service "because it violated the ban.

At present, Internet TV operators such as the Music network, gifted friends need to find a license to cooperate. Le Video Network and CNTV cooperation, and the southern media to set up a joint venture company.

Shawiding told reporters that by the end of next year, you will develop at least 2 million users, and hope to develop to 10 million users in 2015. And would like to use this to form a new strong channel on television, for example, to become the online cinema line playing on TV.

Technology upgrades will impact regulation?

The reporter visited some technical personage to discover, along with the more and more screen transmission technology mature, the future handset, the flat content above will be able to easily seamlessly synchronize on the television broadcast-these technologies will make the Internet television pattern again the subtle change.

September 19, 2012, the WiFi Alliance announced the launch of the "Miracast" certification program, making TV and mobile phone, flat between the video transmission becomes very convenient.

Shenzhen, a company that developed miracast transmission software, told reporters that only to plug a TV stick on TV, mobile phone and TV pairing, you can make the mobile phone network video content seamless on the television playback.

The principle is, using a mobile phone to find a video site of the HD video source, and the link to the TV, by the TV Stick to open the network link directly to watch high-definition video, so play on TV can also be very clear.

And TV bars are now moving toward mobile-phone accessories, which means that people who buy a smart phone will be able to put a TV stick on the phone to play on TV.

And the Thunderbolt look also said that the company is gradually achieving high-definition content across the terminal seamless link. Liu Feng that this is also the future of the video industry a major development trend. "We think that in the future, the mobile end and the PC end are able to achieve high-definition content to the TV on the seamless connection." CEO Liu Feng said that by then, laptops, tablets, mobile phones could be a box.

Compared with the tightly regulated internet TV, the advantage of mobile network video to broadcast on TV is that there is a lot of content on the Internet.

The seamless connection between mobile phones and televisions may also make the current domestic internet TV regulatory policy more subtle, as it is hard for authorities to block users from uploading their mobile content to television. At that time, many PC Internet video sites could go straight to the TV market, which did not need a licence, but could actually reach the Internet TV.

At the same time, the advent of these new technologies will change the fortunes of Internet TV operators who spend all their money on licences, channels and copyrights.

Because the internet TV and traditional video site play completely different--at present Youku, potatoes, Sohu, Archie Art, such as PC video site has been in the "Free + advertising" on the road farther and further, very few users are willing to pay. And the fledgling Internet TV business is hoping to make a profit by charging.

At present, the Internet TV operators like peer music and music video want to charge the content on TV, once the HD free video content on the mobile phone and PC can be conveniently aired on the TV, it may also hinder the internet TV manufacturers from asking users to collect the money.

The CEO of Shawiding doesn't seem to worry. He said people would go home and turn on the TV to watch the film more easily than the user would have to connect to the TV via their cell phone or PC, so there would still be a large number of users choosing Internet TV. He insists that, because of the different technologies such as streaming media, the fluency of Internet TV is better than that of mobile network video.

Some insiders pointed out that the Internet television user experience is also improving, the future of these two ways may be coexistence, "this market is big enough."

A top-one executive told reporters that the current video content on cellphones and PCs had not been broadcast on television, and that regulators would have to find a way to control the situation once the climate was formed.

So, the future of radio and television may also be through those ways to control these new technologies?

The founder of a cottage box manufacturer in Shenzhen said that, theoretically, regulators could not prevent users from synchronizing the contents of their handsets to the television, "unless they were sealed off."

In addition, the film copyright party also must be on the mobile phone in a large number of high-definition content on TV will be very criticism, because the film and television copyright often only authorized the PC and mobile phone copyright, and did not authorize their copyright on television.

The race for regulation and technology may be long.