"Hundred Box Wars"

Absrtact: According to the industry estimates, the formal legal smart TV set-top box is about 3 million, but this figure is not half of all the boxes on the market, cheap and content "rich" shanzhai box flooded the market "box" is the top of the smart TV

According to industry estimates, the formal legal smart TV set-top box is also around 3 million, but this figure is less than half of all the boxes on the market, cheap and content "rich" shanzhai box flooded the market

Box”

Is the smart TV set-top box, which is equipped with an intelligent operating system, equivalent to a simplified computer host, access to TV this monitor, the TV can achieve web browsing, video movie viewing, chat office, shopping games and other functions.

The rumored "Ali Box" was finally unveiled. July 23, Alibaba Group officially released Ali Intelligent TV operating system, and joined hands with the number of Chinese media (000156. SZ) launches the first generation box product which carries the system. At the same time, Alibaba also announced that Skyworth, Haier, Changhong will also be launched in the recent intelligent TV operating system Ali Smart Television.

Ali "box Plan" is Alibaba CEO Lu directly responsible for the project, by the CEO personally "secret system", which inevitably attracted outside speculation "box" for Ali's important significance.

Ali's intentions are clear: to extend its "ecosystem" to your living room. From the past PC Internet, to the now hot mobile Internet, to the future of the family Internet, the living room is becoming the third battlefield of the Internet war.

Gold-Sucking TV

From Microsoft, Intel to Apple, Google, Lenovo, Samsung to Ali, Tencent, it internet company's vision of the living room has not stopped, because it is full of temptation: the huge number of users, especially some traditional Internet users difficult to obtain The larger screen brings a better user experience and a stronger demand for pay, and new possibilities for video, gaming, social applications on TV platforms ...

At the same time as the launch of the box products, Alibaba also announced the establishment of a smart TV ecological Alliance, at present, the alliance has covered the Internet TV Broadcast control platform, box manufacturers, TV manufacturers, chip dealers and other sectors of the entire industrial chain, the first batch of enterprises to join the alliance, including the number of Chinese media, Huawei Heiss, Cisco, Skyworth, Haier, Changhong, Konka, Mstar (Morning Star), Amlogic (Crystal Morning), Canzhi and so on.

"TV is not old, but it needs some extra material." Alibaba CEO Lu said. And Lu words, the most fierce material is in the Ali box will introduce electric business platform, including Taobao, the cat and the cost of clustering, payment platform will also be implanted, users can view the goods through the Ali box, orders, payment, operation even more convenient than on the PC and mobile phones, which can attract a large number of non-netizens, such as older people who do not use computers to surf the internet and smartphones.

"The introduction of the electricity quotient function into the television screen not only adds a function to the television, but also introduces a new business model." Huanze, vice president of Alibaba Group, told China Economic Weekly, "So far, Internet TV has been supporting the industry more by paying for the benefits of video and advertising." We think that we can introduce more Internet content, besides the most important service, games and educational information, we will introduce them gradually. ”

Huanze said that on the PC Internet, the profits and benefits generated by the electric dealers accounted for more than 50% of the whole PC Internet profit, this advantage can be copied to the TV Internet completely. "I believe that in the near future, television will create more benefits for the electricity business than the PC Internet," he said. "Huanze said.

After the news of the Ali box launch, the capital market was very excited. The stock price of the Chinese media for 4 consecutive days trading, 7 trading day nearly 64%, will be far behind the market, become the week's most cattle shares.

Past Life

The so-called "box", is a smart TV set-top box, it is equipped with an intelligent operating system, the equivalent of a simplified computer host, access to TV this monitor, the television can be achieved web browsing, video movie viewing, chat office, shopping games and other functions. And Smart TV is just a "box" embedded directly in the TV.

However, from the final development of products, TV set-top box This peripheral product is only a transitional phase of the product, mainly for the current television set of the stock market, and the integrated intelligent TV will be the living room internet future development of the final form.

Due to policy constraints, business environment, network base level, product cost and other reasons, the Internet into the living room process is also very tortuous. Many forerunners are "dead on the Beach": The Grand box, Halberd's Lenovo Smart TV and the millet box that had been hit by a short pause, because it was too early to "pioneer to become martyrs".

However, these pioneers have also urged the smart TV set-top box (commonly known as "box") and the smart TV market, not only the traditional appliance manufacturers in the great efforts to make up the internet, the internet giants are also gradually infiltration TV screen, from small meters, music, to the hundred-vision, pplive, and then to today's Internet giant Alibaba ... But whether the internet can really "grab" the living room is a big unknown.

At present, the best-selling smart TV set-top box is the video box and the Millet box, but both said the Ali box is to bring a total win rather than competition.

"Welcome more Internet peers into the field of intelligent television, together with the Internet to change the spirit of the traditional TV market pattern." Peng Gang, senior vice president of video TV, told China Economic Weekly, saying that the living room battle is not a war between internet companies, and that rivals may come from other industries more, and the cake is far from big.

Peng Gang that the advantage of the music vision is to be able to rely on the huge content of the video network, as well as "platform + content + Terminal + Application" The whole process of the music-vision ecology. "Le Vision is the vertical integration of the industrial chain, rather than the horizontal integration of hardware, with a very high replication threshold." "he said.

"In fact, the mainstream boxes are in their own latitude development, there is no strong alternative relationship, such as Ali's advantage lies in its own system, and embedded in the electrical business module." "As a millet box manufacturer, Beijing Millet Science and Technology Co., Ltd. PR director Liu told China Economic Weekly," the advantage of the millet box is to have a better user experience and user reputation, such as millet box Day active degree 40%~50%, much higher than all other boxes. ”

"Hundred Box Wars"

In fact, even the best-selling two box of video and millet, sales are only in hundreds of thousands of units. According to industry estimates, the formal legal smart TV set-top box is also around 3 million, but this figure is not half of all the boxes on the market, cheap and content "rich" shanzhai box flooded the market.

The reporter also found on Taobao, the box's brand enough to dazzle people, and in Beijing Zhongguancun Hailong, Ding good electronic market, all kinds of names of the "black box" (that is, the cottage box) price low to hundred yuan, but also "anything can see."

"Normal box can only see the limited content, but the cottage box, Youku, potatoes, thunder, pplive, Archie Art, music, video, fast to see what can be seen, but also to watch the television broadcast overseas TV." A dragon salesman highly recommended the cottage box to reporters.

The so-called "legal" box refers to the national press and publication of SARFT, "holding internet television licensing agencies operating management requirements" of the formal products, that is, the formal legal box can only be connected with the SARFT issued a license to review the content of the resources. At present, the content of the national press and publication licence has CNTV, hundred-Vision, Chinese media, China International Radio, CNR, Hunan TV, southern Media and so on.

These illegal boxes will inevitably affect Ali, millet and other regular "box" manufacturers market promotion. Still, Tencent and Baidu, the Internet's big Three, are also trying to "slice". As early as last March, MA publicly said: "China's next internet breakout point in the living room, Internet TV will become the PC Internet, mobile Internet after another new industry." And Baidu's video site Archie Art will launch the box rumors are also rife.

"Last year they all made mobile phones and made boxes this year. "This is just a joke in the IT circle, but indeed, in addition to internet companies, traditional home appliances manufacturers, IT companies, radio and television companies are also in the coveted, planning to bet the future, lined up to grab your living room." Reporter Sun