The chaos behind Internet TV: counterfeit set-top boxes are rampant

With its vast resources and better audio-visual experience, Internet TV has pulled many people back to the living room from their computers. However, in this craze, many "fake services and fake products" have been mixed in, such as junk channels filling the gaps, harassing applications being implanted, etc., which not only affect the user experience, but also bring hidden dangers to TV security.

Counterfeit set-top boxes are rampant in online stores

At present, Internet TV terminals mainly include two types of products: Internet TV all-in-one machines and Internet TV set-top boxes. The former targets the new TV market, while the latter is affectionately called a "magic tool" for watching TV by users. Statistics show that about 80 million households in my country already have Internet TV receiving devices.

However, the huge market and low entry threshold have also attracted many copycat Internet TV manufacturers to enter the market to make money.

The reporter searched for "set-top box" on Taobao and other online stores and found that there are many set-top box products sold online, with prices ranging from tens of yuan to three or four hundred yuan. A set-top box priced at 74 yuan claims in its promotion that it can "watch more than 1,000 live TV stations" and "support 30-day TV playback". It also has functions such as WiFi hotspot and wireless router. Many products also use the words "brand genuine authorization" and claim to be "free for life" and "massive film sources". "Regular products are expensive, and the program content is much less due to authorization restrictions." A Taobao seller did not shy away from admitting that his product was a copycat when he was consulted by the reporter.

In the eyes of professionals, there is a lot of "water" in the promotion of counterfeit terminals. "Many claim to have 500 or even one or two thousand live channels, but in fact, more than 20% are junk channels, which are content produced by small production units collected from some places, even including shopping channels." said He Weiwei, director and general manager of the product center of Internet TV service provider Youpengpule. In addition, some terminals and content providers also access "overseas channels", "some of which cannot be played at all."

Regulation has begun to increase

Consumers of Internet TVs may also be tempted by a large number of free "pies". For example, manufacturers will take advantage of users' desire to get more free applications and induce users to flash their devices to implant harassing software.

"By exploiting a loophole in the set-top box's management permissions, a mobile phone can easily refresh the set-top box through the Internet and install software in the set-top box. Many set-top box manufacturers have pre-installed corresponding switches at the factory, which can expand users' game software and even implant malicious software, advertisements, and secretly installed software," said Hei Weiwei.

The reporter learned that at present, my country's Internet TV involves multiple links such as content providers, broadcast control license holders, terminal hardware manufacturers, and telecom operators, and the industry chain is relatively long. Many companies are not content to be only one link, and they are competing to penetrate upstream and downstream, which makes supervision difficult.

In this regard, Shao Yiding, Chairman and CEO of Youpengpule, said that "controllable and manageable" should be the ethics that the Internet TV industry must adhere to. Recently, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued a letter to Zhejiang, Shanghai and other provinces regarding the immediate closure of illegal video software download channels in Internet TV terminal products for Internet TV licensees. Industry insiders said that the government has sent a signal of increasing supervision, and content providers or hardware manufacturers are responsible for reviewing the content and services they provide and bear corresponding responsibilities.

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.