Karaoke returns: an old friend of home entertainment and a new partner of smart TV

Looking back to more than a decade ago, setting up a good karaoke equipment at home was already a very "fashionable" way of family entertainment at that time. If someone bought a professional karaoke equipment, he would not only be considered a "rich person", but would definitely invite a few friends to sing at home on weekends. Later, with the rise of entertainment venues such as "KTV", karaoke gradually walked out of the living room.

With the popularity of smart TVs and smart hardware products, more and more TVs and TV boxes support karaoke functions. There are even home and portable hardware products designed specifically for karaoke being launched, allowing karaoke, an old friend of family entertainment, to return to the living room.

Currently, users can sing karaoke at home in the following ways. The most direct way is to connect a microphone device to the smart TV, and then download TV karaoke software from the app store, such as Tianlai Karaoke, Kuwo Karaoke, K-Ker, etc. A more complicated way is to use the built-in function of the TV box, because most boxes do not provide audio input function, so if you want to use them for karaoke, in addition to the microphone, you also need a mixer and good speakers.

In addition, some manufacturers have also launched hardware products specifically with karaoke functions, such as ZIVOO Smart Box and Mele K8.

It is understood that TV boxes featuring home karaoke function have very good sales in Shenzhen Huaqiangbei and Beijing Zhongguancun. According to the store, there are many consumers who come to inquire about home karaoke products every day, and the sales of this product have continued to rise in the past six months. "It's selling very well!" From the words of the merchants, we can feel the popularity of karaoke boxes.

According to data from the Consumer Electronics Product Research Office of the China Electronic Commerce Association, the penetration rate of smart TVs reached 62.3% in the first half of 2014, and the annual penetration rate is expected to be about 70.0%. At this stage, the configuration of smart TVs can guarantee the basic effect of home karaoke, and coupled with the existing market share, it provides favorable development conditions for the home karaoke entertainment market.

Meanwhile, physical KTV stores, which once brought karaoke out of the living room and were popular among young people, have seen a wave of closures this year. In Beijing, for example, many KTV stores such as Lesheng and Melody are shrinking their stores or simply reselling them.

On the other hand, the price of home audio equipment is no longer as high as it was a few years ago. The market prices of recently launched portable speakers, Bluetooth speakers, and smart speakers range from a few hundred yuan to a few thousand yuan. Consumers can build a home "KTV system" at a very low cost.

Changes in the consumer environment and the hardware market have also led to more and more users choosing to relax and unwind by singing karaoke at home. Family members or a few friends can hold a family karaoke competition in the living room, which is a relaxing and bonding leisure method.

However, it is worth noting that most of the home karaoke products with relatively good sales mentioned above are generic "boxes" produced by some unknown manufacturers. In addition to built-in massive song libraries, these products are often also equipped with video playback functions and are priced at around 200 to 300 yuan.

The karaoke boxes produced by regular manufacturers are priced at around 500 yuan. Affected by copyright and radio and television policies, their built-in content is not as rich as that of generic products. In addition, the publicity for such products is not prominent, and their market performance is suppressed by copycat boxes.

From this point of view, the market status of home karaoke entertainment products is very similar to that of TV boxes. The products that regular manufacturers have tried so hard to promote are not as well accepted by consumers as cheap, unknown products.

From the popularity of karaoke machines in the VCD and DVD era, to the decline of this family entertainment method after the rise of KTV, to the popularization of smart TVs in the Internet era, which has brought this trend back to the living room, family karaoke has experienced ups and downs. Although family karaoke entertainment products have not yet achieved the expected "hot sales" at this stage, this old friend of family entertainment will eventually return to the user's living room in the future.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.