Boob tube takes on new image
(LIANG YU)
08/17/2001
Like many people, Xu Min has high expectations of digital televisions' performance. "Sometimes I feel annoyed about my analog TV. Vague pictures, poor sound - how can you stand such performance that always lets you down?" said the 25-year-old technician. "I believe digital TVs will fix these problems." His belief is stronger after a visit to the recent weeklong exhibition of high definition televisions (HDTVs) at Xujiahui's Huijin Department Store. The exhibit was designed to give people a better idea of what lies ahead by showcasing products of digital TV research institutions and companies. "It was amazing to see sharper pictures, clearer sound and livelier colours that HDTVs present," said Xu. He was amazed that, through an HDTV, he can access value-added services like video-on-demand and information programmes. Rosy prospect Xu's wishes are likely to become reality soon as the city government, seeing the rosy prospects for digital TVs, has intensified efforts to make the technology available to local residents. After a trial run involving about 100 families seven months ago, using the city's cable TV network, the city has decided to expand service to more than 3.5 million cable TV users on January 1. In June, the city's major hotels that will host attendants of various Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) gatherings in Shanghai were equipped with digital TVs and auxiliary boxes, required to receive signals. Many analysts believe digital TVs are the next phase in the television industry. Statistics indicate that Chinese families own more than 350 million televisions. Analog technology dominates the production, broadcasting and receiving of television programmes. The weak profits of television production has driven the central government to cast its eye on digital television. "As a key sector in the national economy, China's television industry needs an overall restructuring," said Xie Linzhen, senior official with the Ministry of Information Industry, who is now in charge of the supervision of electronic and information products. "Digital TVs and TVs that allow compatibility of both digital and analog technology should be the future mainstream," he said. Xie estimates that by 2015, when the broadcasting of China's analog television programmes is predicted to end, the domestic digital TV industry will be valued at 1.8 trillion yuan ($216 billion) to 2 trillion yuan ($240 billion). Most of the value will be in manufacturing TVs and set-top boxes, according to Xie. Pilot cities Digital TV means great opportunities, especially for companies engaged in the manufacture of digital broadcasting equipment, production of TV and information service programmes, and development of related software products, according to Zheng Shibao, vice-director of Shanghai High Definition Digital Technology Innovation Centre. Given the prospects, the State Planning and Development Commission has chosen Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen as pilot cities for testing digital television broadcasting. According to a schedule set by the government, the national transmission standard for digital television signals is to be unveiled in 2003, and China will formally begin to broadcast digital TV signals in 2005. In Shanghai, local institutions and companies, including Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai Video & Audio Electronics Co Ltd, Shanghai Chinips Technologies Inc and China Display Co Ltd, have racked up significant research achievements in areas like digital TV display equipment and related software. Lofty price However encouraging the sector's prospects seem, some problems threaten. "While lacking sufficient talent in the sector, we are short of support from local government, especially in finance," Zhen said. "And our technical co-operation with local peers is rather weak." Even if these problems are solved, the high price of digital TVs, especially HDTVs, and their auxiliary equipment, will remain an obstacle to families who want to buy the new equipment. In Shanghai, a 32-inch HDTV with a set-top box costs nearly 15,000 yuan ($1,800) compared to an average of 4,000 yuan ($480) for a same-size, high-quality analog TV. Television makers must significantly lower production costs before digital TVs can be widely accepted by the market, analysts said.
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