Smart TV: It companies walk in the gloom

At present, the development of the color TV industry has been upgraded from a simple competition of hardware equipment to a "combination of soft and hard". In the trend of the IT of color TV industry, the appearance of intelligent TV has become a revolution in color TV industry, and it has become the main tendency of TV development in the future. As an Internet TV upgrade version of Intelligent television, with an open platform, equipped with the operating system, customers appreciate the content of ordinary TV, while they can install and uninstall all kinds of application software, continue to expand and upgrade the function of the new TV products. Since 2012, the development of intelligent TV has been more rapid, and even attracted Lenovo, millet, music Network (300104, shares bar) and other IT companies have to fight, they are trying to talk with the Internet TV set-top boxes of Google, Apple and the traditional color TV companies rob market cakes. Of course, these IT companies are not enough to realize that the smart TV industry is faced with the huge policy risks associated with the failure of millet in fact, seemingly old-fashioned color TV industry, its capital, technology, channels of the threshold is far higher than IT companies expected. May 2012, coveted color TV market for a long time Lenovo held "Lenovo PC strategy and intelligent Television Conference", announced the official launch of Smart television. Before, Dell, BenQ, Acer, ViewSonic, crown Czech, Tsinghua Tongfang, Shenzhou, seven-Hi and other IT companies have been frustrated in the color TV market, Lenovo has not become a special case. Over the past six months, Lenovo's Smart TV in the market is very few traces, sales dismal. Lenovo in the computer city, PC stores in the IT channel, in the color TV market completely play no role in the home appliances chain stores, large supermarket chains, department stores, regional home appliances distributors and other types of home appliances sales channels, Lenovo needs to start from scratch. The author believes that the Lenovo Intelligent TV Sales channel is not smooth, coupled with the brand positioning too high, expensive, marketing methods errors, poor user awareness and many other factors, led to the traditional color TV companies see a fragile Lenovo Smart TV. Lei founded by the Millet company in the smartphone market firm, threatened to enter the field of intelligent television, Millet is the internet TV set-top box as the entry point. November 14, 2012, Millet in Beijing headquarters released a TV set-top box products "millet box", the price of 399 yuan, and the official website of Millet bought Millet mobile phone user discount price is 299 yuan. In the press conference, Lei called the Millet box "daily updates, the system weekly upgrade." Compared to the $99 Apple TV, the Millet box supports more terminals, has more localized functionality and is cheap. Lei, who has been immersed in IT industry for years, has no idea that a set-top box is a mine-infested industry. Although the millet box has been in cooperation with the number of Internet TV integrated licenses, it can also directly connect Tencent video, Sohu Video, pplive, popular content providers, which clearly violates SARFT's regulatory policy. The fate of the millet box became very miserable, the conference only a few days, the millet box is said to enter the system maintenance and suspended video content services. Obviously, milletThe box was hit by SARFT. The author thinks, the policy ban actually also gave the Millet box technology promotion opportunity, because compared with the competitor, the Millet box will the multimedia video wireless transmission to the television speed is slower than the snail, even if from the user experience angle consideration, the millet box also does need "the adjustment". Watch the IT industry peers like a moth into the intelligent television industry, network video service providers, and finally can not restrain, in September 19, 2012 convened the theme of "Subversion Day" of the conference, officially announced to enter the television market, will be combined with the company's existing research and development capabilities, technical reserves, Based on the tv3d Cloud Video intelligent Machine, the company produces its own-brand TV--------------------- Le video network called the introduction of TV Super TV, for the "platform + content + Terminal + Application" of the whole industry chain added on the "last Screen", but also marked the music as a complete set of ecological system. The production of video TV Super TV will be commissioned by the professional generation of factory operators. But how long has it been since the video TV Super TV conference has been going on in the past few months? What's so surprising about that? Which day can be listed? No one knows yet. Le video network hype unavoidably have "thunder, rain" suspicion. In addition, many traditional color TV enterprises can independently research and development production of LCD panels, plasma panels, LED backlight, digital chips, such as the upstream core components, high efficiency, low-cost production of the whole product. Le video network only on behalf of the color TV industry to open up the situation, it is easy to repeat the "Lenovo TV production costs are high, the price is high," the mistakes. After all, like television such a high price of large appliances, in production, sales, promotion and video network before the launch of the Internet set-top box is a big difference. As for Google's Internet TV and set-top box Google TV, as well as Apple's Internet set-top box Apple TV, although in the wireless transmission, search function, APP, online watching TV programs and other aspects of the extraordinary, but because of the SARFT policy barriers, Google TV, Apple TV has not yet been sold in the Chinese market. Wandering in the haze although smart TV can continue to bring customers a wealth of personalized experience, but almost all Chinese consumers believe that the television is a one-time consumer products, after the purchase of the necessary cable TV monthly fee, very few people are willing to pay extra for the film and television play on demand. The saddest thing is that, under SARFT's policy, it is hard for the smart television industry to have a sustainable, profitable business model like the Internet video industry. Telecommunications network, radio and television network and the internet three nets, initially impinging. Over the years, in the IP television (IPTV), mobile TV, internet TV and other "triple net integration" of the industry, as the director of Radio and television network of SARFT on pins and needles. According to the SARFT issued on October 28, 2011, Document No. 181th--The Operation management requirement of Internet TV Licence organization, the Internet TV integrated platform cannot link with the website which is set up on the public Internet, can not provide the content of public Internet directly to the user. At the present stage, the Internet TV integrated platform in the function to support video on demand and graphic information services, not to open the broadcast TV program Live service Technology interface. The Internet television integration organization chooses the cooperative Internet TV Terminal product, only can connect the Internet television integrated platform, the terminal product may not have other accesses the Internet the channel, may not connect with the network operation Enterprise's related management system, the database. The provisions of document 181th clearly illustrate the position of SARFT--internet TV or set-top box after the network cable can not be arbitrary on the ground video site, and can not watch live TV, the user's home digital TV set-top box is not possible to be replaced. No matter how the Internet TV toss, do not move the TV network of cheese. The last provision in document 181th is: "The integration agencies selected to cooperate with the type of terminal products, manufacturers, models, to the SARFT submitted client number application, SARFT will be in accordance with the unified distribution, Volume licensing, one machine, and other existing Internet TV client number rules, For the qualified type of terminal products authorized distribution of the corresponding number, to allow the number of the scope of the production of terminal products. The Authorized Integration Agency is responsible for determining the number of each Internet TV client according to the sole principle. "This rule clearly indicates that each end product will be subject to the SARFT strict supervision of the position, through the net is impossible to exist, but also the internet TV and set-top box manufacturers dare not exist to play the lucky mentality." The author thinks, Sarft's psychology is able to understand, the intelligent television factory always takes "The Open platform", "the Subversion traditional business model" as the gimmick, the Pakistan cannot soon let the traditional cable, the wireless, the satellite television and so on traditional radio channel completely disappear, will send the broadcast television network to the museum, Expect to see what you want when you connect to a broadband line, and what you want to play. To be aware, TV media is one of the most important tools for national ideology to guide, persuade and instill official values with its huge authoritative power, and it is also the basic gist of contemporary Chinese TV culture to disseminate state ideology. So, for a long time to come, televisions are mostly used to watch closed TV channels, rather than allowing users to click and download video content as a PC. In this context, such as millet companies to dare to challenge the SARFT authority of the Internet companies, will naturally be hit. In China, there are three main ways for users to watch TV on the internet. The first is through the PC, tablet computers, mobile terminals, landing Youku, PPLive, pps and other video sites, through the public Internet to the Web page or app client to watch, this way will only be used by the Ministry of Industry and Information technology in the supervision of the telecommunications network, the Internet, SARFT, relatively open. The second way is through IPTV (interactiveNetwork TV), the user mainly to the television as a terminal, by telecommunications, mobile, unicom and other telecommunications providers through the network to provide video services (allowing the provision of live TV signals), as the cooperation of the SARFT in fact control the content of resources, IPTV as a typical representative of the three networks, has been diverted a part of the traditional user market audience, So the SARFT is strictly restricted in some provinces and cities, not in the nationwide promotion. The third is OTT TV (Internet TV), which uses a TV and set-top box as a terminal to provide video-on-demand services via the public Internet (not allowing live TV signals). Now Lenovo, Millet, music network and other Internet enterprises and Hisense, Skyworth, Changhong, TCL, Konka, Sharp, Samsung, Sony and other traditional color TV companies often launched the Intelligent television terminal products, is essentially built-in operating system, application software of the Internet television, The impact of Internet television on traditional radio and television networks and user diversion is undoubtedly the largest, so it is also the most severe minefield controlled by SARFT. In the haze of SARFT supervision, it has become an objective environment for the development of China's intelligent TV industry. However, with the rapid integration of three networks, the prospect of intelligent television still let the industry hope that many enterprises also in the Sarft "controllable" direction of the smart TV business model actively explore. In any case, the era of sheer hardware in the television industry has gone. Although in the color TV hardware production is extremely lack of industrial foundation, but, Lenovo, Millet, music, such as the network of the advantages of it enterprises in the content, platform, application software, services and other aspects of integration and build. But the traditional color TV giant is more proficient in quality improvement, process quality management, marketing channel promotion and radio and television policy understanding. If any company in the future can skillfully combine the advantages of both, it is likely to gain a significant competitive advantage in the area of smart television. (the author is a senior industry economic Observer, consumer electronics industry analyst)