Can the transformation into a "living room computer" be a lifeline for OTT boxes?

After the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television completed a series of strong rectification measures for the Internet TV industry, the entire OTT market has undergone tremendous changes and is almost in a recession. Among them, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television’s strict order on the Internet TV integrated broadcast control platform has almost caused all kinds of "grey boxes" to suffer a devastating disaster.

An agent revealed that the recent daily sales volume of OTT set-top boxes in offline channels is only one-tenth of that before the rectification, and the company is facing a high inventory of nearly three times the sales volume, making it almost impossible to continue the brilliant sales volume of tens of millions of units in 2013. In addition to the sluggish sales volume, these box manufacturers have also encountered a large number of returns and complaints, and many boxes within the scope of return have been directly returned by users.

At present, there are three options for Shenzhen gray box manufacturers: first, comply with the requirements of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and transform into a radio and television set-top box ODM manufacturer; second, invest money to cooperate with the seven major licensees and whitewash themselves as legitimate OTT boxes; third, embrace the Dongle multi-system platform launched by Intel and change their identity to become a "new" category of TV products.

Compared with the first two paths, the third path, which was born not long ago, may be relatively unfamiliar to users. In fact, at the beginning of the rectification, some manufacturers have begun to try it. MeegoPad, which was the first in China to launch popular products such as netbooks and Win8 tablets in cooperation with Intel, has already launched a new "Mini PC" product. According to Wu Yebin, co-founder of MeegoPad, this "Mini PC" product is different from the previous TV boxes with concepts such as micro-hosts and light hosts equipped with Android systems. Instead, it is a miniature barebone PC based on three systems: Android, Windows 8, and Ubuntu.

It is reported that the Mini PC can switch the system at any time according to the usage scenario. In the Android system interface, it has the same functions as a traditional OTT TV box; in the Windows 8 and Ubuntu interface, it is a portable computer host that can complete tasks such as processing documents and online videos. The current market price is about US$50 (about RMB 320).

Although it is called "mini computer" and tries to be classified as a living room computer (HTPC), MiniPC is very similar to an OTT TV box in terms of product form and usage scenarios. Since the explosive growth of flat-panel TVs, the evolution of video playback devices has gone through living room computers HTPC, high-definition players, network video players and OTT boxes, and smart TVs. Re-throwing the concept of "living room computer" seems to be a historical reversal. Of course, this approach also seems quite helpless, and it is a last resort to circumvent the strict regulatory policies of radio and television. According to the provisions of Document No. 181 on Internet TV, this Mini PC equipped with Windows 8 and Ubuntu system is not within its jurisdiction.

According to Wu Yebin, the Mini PC has been submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for filing. According to the ninth category of 3C of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it is filed as 3C Mini PC.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is not indifferent to Internet TV products. After the Radio and Television Administration issued a series of rectification measures, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also gathered all the well-known companies in the field of Internet video software and hardware on September 2 to hold a meeting to discuss the next regulatory measures for TV boxes. For example, restrictions will be imposed on TV box product chips, or users will be prohibited from installing software on their own in the future. Various rumors are flying around.

Yang Kun, deputy secretary general of the Telecommunication Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Interactive Media Industry Alliance, once said that the party with policy advantages in the domestic TV box market does not have an advantage in the market, and the party with market advantages does not have an advantage in policy, which has led to a state of chaos with no one leading the battle. In this case, it may eventually form a situation where one party dominates and multiple parties compromise.

After the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology began to place the Internet TV industry under its jurisdiction, it would be difficult for products like Mini PC to bypass the supervision of radio and television by filing with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Although this Mini PC is defined as a computer, its biggest use is actually to provide video playback as an OTT box. This change in product form is guided by the regulatory policy of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. In this regard, Wu Yebin frankly said that the development of the OTT industry is based on the needs and experience of users, while the supervision of radio and television is more based on the interests of its own TV stations. After the gradual decline of user choice and experience, the OTT industry is doomed to die.

The market reaction is already very obvious. Neither Internet TV users nor OTT box manufacturers want to see the decline of the OTT industry. The original intention of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's supervision was to maintain the healthy and orderly development of this industry, but it has caused continuous damage to user experience. If so, under the guidance of the socialist core value of "people-oriented", the relevant supervision should be limited.

Similar to the TV version APP rebranding of major video websites at the beginning of this month, the Mini PC may avoid a series of regulatory measures from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television at the beginning of its launch, but if it wants to continue the bloodline of the OTT box market in this way, it seems a bit of a cop-out. The industrial development of the OTT box market still has a long way to go, and it is probably wishful thinking to regard the living room computer like Mini PC as a "life-saving straw".

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.