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China accelerates pace of digital transition in TV industry
Last Updated(Beijing Time):2009-11-26 10:48
By Zhuang Guangping

Qi Haidong, who lived in Orient Home in Huli District, Xiamen City, said there is nothing happier than watching wonderful TV programs with his family in a day."Previously, only 30-odd channels can be received by means of analog signals; nowadays, digital TVs can receive 60-odd channels, as well as interactive game channel and tailored film& TV channel, which are too abundant to watch." said Qi Haidong,"There are also some bulletin channels broadcasting the latest municipal bulletins and life information, which is even more convenient than reading newspapers."

The change occurred in Qi Haidong's life is only an epitome of China's digitized TV industry. In 2003, China initiated the digitized course of cable TVs comprehensively; in 2005, the digital satellite living broadcast business was conducted, meanwhile, the ground digital TV testing was also conducted; in 2008, digital TVs were promoted comprehensively. Currently, the nationwide TV population has exceeded 450 million sets, among which the number of family subscribers of digital TVs has exceeded 7,000, mobile multi-media broadcasting signals have been opened in China's 200 cities, and the number of hand-held mobile TV subscribers is close to 120 million.

Digitization promotes industrial transformation

From black and white to multicolor, from spherical surface to plane, from CRT to LCD, and from traditional TV sets to the popularization of digital TV and the emerging of hand-held TV terminals, the digitization of TV industry has not only enhanced the service function of TVs, but also led and driven the upgrade and expansion of TV terminal industry.

Since entering into the new century, digitization has become the development orientation in TV industry. Color TVs have been endued with richer and richer contents, which are close followed by the exit of color CRT TVs and the emerging of flat panel TVs. Traditional color TV manufacturers have also expedited their transformation, among which, Skyworth has taken the lead in announcing the complete exit from CRT TV market; Hisense has also expressed the complete exit from CRT TV market; TCL has also accelerated the transformation from its existing CRT production line to LCD TVs.

In 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, all-digital high-definition broadcast was realized for the first time, which also marked that China's TV industry has entered an era of developing digital high-definition."Since the beginning of 2009, driven by such policies as¡®household electric appliances going to the countryside' and¡®old for new' and benefited from support from the government to the investment on upstream panels, China's color TV industry has accelerated the promotion towards flat panels, digitization, high definition and Internetization." said Bai Weimin, an inspector with electronic information department of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Up to the third quarter of this year, the sales scale of flat panel products has come closely to 80 percent of the total color TV scale, among which, liquid crystal products have become the main body in marketing and kept a rapid growth.

In accordance with the survey data from A-View Consulting Co., Ltd, a color TV consulting institute, the aggregated sales volume of LCD TVs in the first three quarters of 2009 achieved 15.48 million sets with the sales amount of RMB 72.6 billion yuan, up 87 percent and 20 percent respectively year on year; and the retail volume in the third quarter of this year is 6.35 million sets with the sales amount of RMB 29.9 billion yuan, up 127 percent and 63 percent respectively year on year; the sales volume and amount of LCD TVs in the first three quarters of 2009 have occupied 65 percent and 81 percent respectively in the overall TV color market.

Impacted by the price of LCD TVs, plasma TVs have shifted the role quickly and launched into the market with large-screen top products. In accordance with the survey data from A-View Consulting Co., Ltd, the aggregated sales volume of plasma TVs in the first three quarters of 2009 achieved 1.21 million sets, and the retail scale is basically equal to that in the same period last year.

It's noteworthy that the sales proportion of CRT TVs keeps lowering while flat panel TVs are advancing triumphantly. In accordance with the survey data from A-View Consulting Co., Ltd, the aggregated sales volume of CRT TVs in the first three quarters of 2009 achieved 7.27 million sets with the sales amount of RMB 8.5 billion yuan, decreasing 60 percent and 67 percent respectively year on year; and the retail volume in the third quarter of this year is 1.95 million sets with the sales amount of RMB 2 billion yuan, decreasing 65 percent and 73 percent respectively year on year.

Hand-held TVs have a promising future

The digitization transformation of TV terminals has directly stimulated the rise of hand-held TVs, a new field in industries. From the debut in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to the celebration for the 60th anniversary of the foundation of People's Republic of China, then to the complete support for the 11th Chinese National Games, within the short period of one year, the industrial chain of hand-held TVs has shaped up quickly, showing a broad and promising future.

On October 16, the opening ceremony of the 11th Chinese National Games was held in Jinan City, Shandong Province. The hand-held TV of China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting(CMMB), as one of the scientific and technological highlights in this National Games, provided convenient and prompt services for audience. When watching wonderful events via hand-held TVs, audience can also search various kinds of service information, referring to venues, game scheme, game item introduction, weather forecast and transportation travel, at any time.

As understood, currently, China Broadcasting Corporation as a network operator has opened mobile multi-media broadcasting signals in 200 cities nationwide, inked framework agreement with 27 main provincial-level operating bodies, and had official trial operation in its 15 provincial-level branch companies. The hand-held TV terminals sold in the market has exceeded 1,000 types; the first channel"Jingcai Movies" exclusive by hand-held TVs has also been broadcasted officially recently.

The hand-held TV set is a kind of mobile TV set that is independently developed by China, based on the technology of mobile multi-media broadcasting and takes the digital products with 7-inch-below small screens as carriers."The promotion of China's mobile TV industry has established a position for native industry in terms of scientific and technological innovation and the development of new technologies." said Sun Zhaohui, Deputy Director General of Bureau of Radio, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

As a new industry resulted from new technologies, new media and technological reform, hand-held TVs have created an excellent platform for the integration between the newly emerging media and traditional media, and promoted their co-existence and development. Presently, the number of the subscribers of China's mobile TVs is about 120 million with the market capacity of more than RMB100 billion yuan. More and more manufacturers are bullish on hand-held TVs' future development. Those traditional TV manufacturers represented by Hisense, TCL and Haier have launched dozens types of hand-held TV terminal products successively.
Source:CE.cn 
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