Who will be the next player in smart TV?

Smart TVs are like magnets, constantly attracting new companies to cross-border into the market. After LeTV and Xiaomi took the lead last year, traditional color TV manufacturers followed suit. At the end of April this year, XGIMI Technology released the "screenless smart TV" and officially joined the smart TV war. And this is not the end. A Beijing Business Daily reporter recently learned that domestic IT manufacturer Inspur launched a 55-inch smart TV product at the China International Consumer Electronics Expo last week. At the same time, the smart TV field will usher in more and more cross-border players in the second half of the year. Yatu, PPTV , and Zhiwo are all likely to become new entrants.

Coming soon: Yatu

Display and projection product technology supplier

As a giant in the field of projection equipment in China, ACTO will officially launch its smart TV products later this year. A reporter from Beijing Business Daily recently learned from Xie Mingyuan, General Manager of ACTO Global Marketing, that ACTO is currently negotiating promotion cooperation matters in the UK, the US and other parts of the world, and ACTO smart TV is expected to be released globally around November.

It is not the first time that ACTO has entered the field of smart TV. As early as the end of last year, ACTO showed its 2014 new concept projector product - screenless smart TV. Equipped with smart TV system, the new concept projector can realize all the functions of current smart TV, connect with a variety of devices (such as digital cameras, digital video cameras, DVD players, video recorders, etc.) at zero distance, and can surf the Internet wirelessly and download high-definition videos in WiFi environment.

"Small living room with big screen is what Yatu advocates," Xie Jing, chairman of Yatu, said in an interview with Beijing Business Daily. Yatu's goal is to join the battle for ultra-large screen living room terminals. The advantage is that it can provide users with the same functional experience as smart TVs while achieving a larger viewing size and visual enjoyment than smart TVs.

In terms of product types, the smart TV products that Yatu is about to launch are consistent with the screenless smart TVs of XGIMI Technology, which combine the smart TV system with projection technology to project TV content onto the wall. The main advantages of this type of product are that it is small and convenient, and the logistics and installation are convenient and fast. In addition, it breaks through the display screen limitations of traditional TVs and can easily achieve an ultra-large screen experience.

Yatu previously emphasized that the excellent picture effects of the new concept projector combined with the high-definition large screen can allow people to enjoy perfect effects that are no less than IMAX super-large theaters, allowing users to experience the real world of images.

However, while projection-type smart TVs have the advantage of large screens, they still have shortcomings in clarity and lifespan. According to Lu Renbo, deputy secretary-general of the China Electronic Commerce Association, in terms of clarity, the clarity of current projection-type smart TVs often does not reach the high-definition level of ordinary TVs, let alone ultra-high-definition 4K TVs. In addition, "screenless smart TVs" have a short lifespan. If a projection-type smart TV is used for 5 hours a day, its service life is about eight years, which is far from the lifespan of an ordinary TV of about 15 years. To win the market, these two major problems need to be solved urgently.

However, Zhong Bo, CEO of XGIMI Technology, believes that "screenless smart TVs" are not in competition with ordinary TVs, but can complement ordinary smart TVs and small-screen mobile devices. The advantages of large-screen TVs and backward-leaning video viewing cannot be replaced by mobile phones and iPads, while TVs are limited in size and position, and do not have perfect sensory perception and an experience anytime, anywhere, which can be achieved with "screenless smart TVs."

Rumors spread: PPTV

Providing online video content services

Compared with Yatu, PPTV has not yet determined the time to enter the smart TV market and launch new products. However, since Suning acquired PPTV, news that Suning will jointly launch smart TVs with PPTV has frequently appeared in major media. People related to Suning and PPTV told Beijing Business Daily that related products for home Internet are expected to be released in the second half of the year, and the specific implementation will be subject to official announcement.

In addition, according to insiders, Suning's smart TV plan is progressing steadily. Industry experts generally believe that PPTV is likely to enter the smart TV market. As early as when Suning acquired PPTV, Suning said that it was of great significance to the company's realization of multi-terminal integration of Internet retail, development of video e-commerce, brand and product promotion, and overall solutions including content and smart home for individual and family users.

In addition, Suning.com also stated in its first quarter report this year that the company will continue to maintain its investment in PPTV, increase the coordinated development of its business, and improve operating performance. Hong Shibin, executive chairman of the Marketing Committee of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, also said that Suning has been transforming in recent years, and its transformation path is completely different from that of Gome Online. Suning emphasizes the layout of the entire industrial chain, including mobile phones, tablets, TVs, cloud services, software stores, etc. As a home Internet center, the role of smart TVs is unquestionable. In addition, smart TVs are highly correlated with Suning, and it is easy for Suning to enter the market from production to sales. It is only a matter of time before it enters the field of smart TVs.

Xu Jianwen, the person in charge of the relevant industry website, pointed out that the huge market prospects of smart TVs are also something that Suning cannot refuse. The domestic color TV market did not perform well in the first half of this year. The estimated sales volume of domestic flat-panel TVs was only more than 20 million units, a decrease of 15.3% over the same period last year. However, the development of smart TVs is contrary to the overall market. Data shows that in the first quarter of this year, LeTV TV smart TVs sold well, and its online market share increased from 14.1% to 23.1%. It is estimated that the total volume of the domestic smart TV market in 2014 will reach 31.28 million units.

Expert prediction: Smart Me

Computer peripherals Rapoo Technology's subsidiary

Zhiye, which recently launched an Internet TV box, is also likely to launch its smart TV in the future.

Shenzhen Zhiwo Technology recently launched its smart home brand ZIVOO, as well as a number of new smart home products including OTT boxes, smart routers, and smart sockets. According to Zou Chao, founder and CEO of Zhiwo Technology, the ZIVOO box is different from the traditional OTT box video plus App operation model, and has made innovations in content and interactive control. The ZIVOO box uses a large module to simplify the UI design, which is more suitable for home operation.

The ZIVOO box has built-in iCNTV (Future TV under China Network Television) film and television content, and also supports the playback of content from local hard disks and network disks. In addition, the ZIVOO box has a personal network disk management function, so you can watch your favorite programs and movies anytime, anywhere.

However, it is unlikely that the ZIVOO box will grow together with its smart home brand because the TV box itself is a transitional product. Hong Shibin said that although many users still need to use TV set-top boxes to make their TVs smart, with the gradual development and promotion of smart TVs, this market will inevitably become smaller and smaller until it disappears. Therefore, in the future, those companies that want to deploy home Internet smart homes may launch smart TVs. However, Mr. Sun, the person in charge of the public relations department of ZIVOO, said that he has not heard of any plans to launch smart TVs.

It is understood that Shenzhen Zhiwo Technology was established by Rapoo Technology, a well-known domestic computer peripheral manufacturer, in order to cope with the development difficulties brought to the company by the current decline in the PC market and seek new growth points. Previously, Rapoo Technology's peer Shuangfeiyan also established the Filter Giant brand and entered the air purifier field.

Regarding the future development of smart TV, Hong Shibin believes that according to the current development trajectory of the home appliance market, big data, Internet of Things, O2O and other forms are running in parallel. In the future, smart TV is not only a terminal product, but also a platform that provides users with visual interactive communication, as the most important Internet entrance for home users. This is also one of the reasons why companies are flocking to the smart TV market.

Cao Shiping, general manager of Konka Multimedia Business Unit, said that if traditional color TV companies continue to focus on producing televisions as before, they may have no way out in this Internet era, or they may just be reduced to OEMs.

Nowadays, the competition in the smart TV market has become increasingly fierce, and competitive players are entering the market one after another. In addition to LeTV, Xiaomi, XGIMI, and Inspur, more companies may cross over and enter the smart TV market in the future, and the competition in the smart TV market will become more intense.

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.