In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for users to buy an "unsmart" TV. According to statistics, the penetration rate of domestic smart TVs has reached 84.5% in 2015. The penetration rate in 2016 is expected to reach 95%, and the full coverage will be basically completed. In terms of sales volume, it is expected that in 2016, smart television will reach 60 million units, which is an extremely large market.
From the product point of view, from early ordinary LCD TVs with low-performance boxes to smart TVs with integrated TV boxes and services, from 1080P to 4K, from flat to curved surfaces, smart TVs continue to improve. In the competition of smart TVs, there are mainly two groups, one is a home appliance group represented by traditional Haier, Hisense, and TCL Skyworth, and the other is an internet manufacturer represented by millet, LeTV, and micro-whales. So, how will smart TVs develop in the future and what kind of products will win the future?
Actually, as early as before the appearance of smart TVs, players began to try to make TV do more things. The stuff played in the enthusiasts' circle that year was called “HTPCâ€, which means that TVs are used as monitors on computers to realize the entertainment functions of multimedia computers. Is the origin of smart TV, that is, TV plus PC mode. Later, with the advancement of technology, the PC was simplified into a hard disk player, watching HD 1080P video through an external hard disk is far more enjoyable than watching a TV D1 resolution program. Later, with the popularity of online video, time-consuming download methods were abandoned. There was a "box" that could play an online video program directly, and the "box" combined with the TV was the smart TV we see today.
Therefore, in the final analysis, smart TV is still used to "see". People upgrade from ordinary TV step by step in order to see more and better content. The development of various technologies is to better "see" the experience.
Nowadays, the technological progress of smart TVs is mainly reflected in several aspects:
First of all, it shows the progress of technology.
The display effect of television is similar to that of other screens, and mainly includes resolution, brightness, contrast, color area, number of hair colors, viewing angle, response time, etc. These indexes are all higher as possible. In terms of display, there are currently two popular technologies. The most popular technology is 4K TV, that is, the TV uses a resolution of 3840x2160 LCD panel, but the current 4K source of the program is still too little. As for online video 4K content, downloading 4K will require a lot of time and storage space, so 4K technology is more designed for the future. In addition to 4K, there is a popular technology is a large-screen curved TV. Most of these TVs use OLED panels. The surface itself is not significant because the living room is not a movie theater. The viewing distance has not yet reached the point where curved surfaces are used. However, the display effect of OLEDs is indeed better than that of LCDs because the display principle of OLEDs is self-luminous. , Can show true black, have higher contrast, also have wider color gamut, manifest on TV, it is the color is more bright and beautiful. So curved TVs usually have a better display, but the price is much more expensive.
Followed by the increase in processor performance.
Smart TV's processor is basically behind the level of smart phone 1 ~ 2 generations, before the smart TV processor is mostly ARM A7, a few high-performance products using the ARM A9, and now many smart TVs are using the A53, Some high-performance products also use a four-core A17, and the GPU is also upgraded. The video module can support 4K.
The high performance of the smart TV processor not only brings faster response and more HD video support, but also brings better game performance. The performance of four-core A17 chips such as Xiaomi and LeTV has reached the Meizu MX4 level.
Again, the design changes.
There has been controversy about whether smart TVs and "boxes" are merged or separated. Last year, Millet TV 3 had even more interesting innovations. It integrated the speakers with boxes and various interfaces. The screens were implemented separately, so that the chips with faster upgrades could be easily upgraded, and the screens with slower upgrades would not have to follow. Upgrades help users reduce costs. Although Haier had also engaged in modularization before, but it was not popular, and the design of Xiaomi triggered the follow-up from other manufacturers. Obviously, the upgrading of modularity is more beneficial to consumers.
Since smart TVs belong to the downstream of the industry chain, there is no core technology, so the innovation of smart TVs will be quickly imitated, and in the hardware cost, the downstream manufacturers do not have much right to speak. "Seeing" the hardware of demand is homogenous, and competition naturally comes to software. Like smartphones, the UI of smart TVs is also part of the user experience, but UI design is not too high. After experiencing several generations of products, it will also be homogenized. Just as today's mobile phone manufacturers UI are like Apple, the UI of smart TVs. It will be more and more like you can't see the difference.
In the end, the competition will be implemented into the content, users will “seeâ€, the hardware will be the same, the UI will be similar, and the amount of content seen will determine the sales of the product.
At present, because the channels of different manufacturers are different, the effect is not obvious. In the next few years, this trend will be revealed as Internet companies' smart TVs gradually enter offline channels. Although smart TV is a terminal, it is still sold as a service. After all, hardware advancement will be done by all smart TV manufacturers, and vendors with content and services will ultimately win consumers.
From the product point of view, from early ordinary LCD TVs with low-performance boxes to smart TVs with integrated TV boxes and services, from 1080P to 4K, from flat to curved surfaces, smart TVs continue to improve. In the competition of smart TVs, there are mainly two groups, one is a home appliance group represented by traditional Haier, Hisense, and TCL Skyworth, and the other is an internet manufacturer represented by millet, LeTV, and micro-whales. So, how will smart TVs develop in the future and what kind of products will win the future?
Actually, as early as before the appearance of smart TVs, players began to try to make TV do more things. The stuff played in the enthusiasts' circle that year was called “HTPCâ€, which means that TVs are used as monitors on computers to realize the entertainment functions of multimedia computers. Is the origin of smart TV, that is, TV plus PC mode. Later, with the advancement of technology, the PC was simplified into a hard disk player, watching HD 1080P video through an external hard disk is far more enjoyable than watching a TV D1 resolution program. Later, with the popularity of online video, time-consuming download methods were abandoned. There was a "box" that could play an online video program directly, and the "box" combined with the TV was the smart TV we see today.
Therefore, in the final analysis, smart TV is still used to "see". People upgrade from ordinary TV step by step in order to see more and better content. The development of various technologies is to better "see" the experience.
Nowadays, the technological progress of smart TVs is mainly reflected in several aspects:
First of all, it shows the progress of technology.
The display effect of television is similar to that of other screens, and mainly includes resolution, brightness, contrast, color area, number of hair colors, viewing angle, response time, etc. These indexes are all higher as possible. In terms of display, there are currently two popular technologies. The most popular technology is 4K TV, that is, the TV uses a resolution of 3840x2160 LCD panel, but the current 4K source of the program is still too little. As for online video 4K content, downloading 4K will require a lot of time and storage space, so 4K technology is more designed for the future. In addition to 4K, there is a popular technology is a large-screen curved TV. Most of these TVs use OLED panels. The surface itself is not significant because the living room is not a movie theater. The viewing distance has not yet reached the point where curved surfaces are used. However, the display effect of OLEDs is indeed better than that of LCDs because the display principle of OLEDs is self-luminous. , Can show true black, have higher contrast, also have wider color gamut, manifest on TV, it is the color is more bright and beautiful. So curved TVs usually have a better display, but the price is much more expensive.
Followed by the increase in processor performance.
Smart TV's processor is basically behind the level of smart phone 1 ~ 2 generations, before the smart TV processor is mostly ARM A7, a few high-performance products using the ARM A9, and now many smart TVs are using the A53, Some high-performance products also use a four-core A17, and the GPU is also upgraded. The video module can support 4K.
The high performance of the smart TV processor not only brings faster response and more HD video support, but also brings better game performance. The performance of four-core A17 chips such as Xiaomi and LeTV has reached the Meizu MX4 level.
Again, the design changes.
There has been controversy about whether smart TVs and "boxes" are merged or separated. Last year, Millet TV 3 had even more interesting innovations. It integrated the speakers with boxes and various interfaces. The screens were implemented separately, so that the chips with faster upgrades could be easily upgraded, and the screens with slower upgrades would not have to follow. Upgrades help users reduce costs. Although Haier had also engaged in modularization before, but it was not popular, and the design of Xiaomi triggered the follow-up from other manufacturers. Obviously, the upgrading of modularity is more beneficial to consumers.
Since smart TVs belong to the downstream of the industry chain, there is no core technology, so the innovation of smart TVs will be quickly imitated, and in the hardware cost, the downstream manufacturers do not have much right to speak. "Seeing" the hardware of demand is homogenous, and competition naturally comes to software. Like smartphones, the UI of smart TVs is also part of the user experience, but UI design is not too high. After experiencing several generations of products, it will also be homogenized. Just as today's mobile phone manufacturers UI are like Apple, the UI of smart TVs. It will be more and more like you can't see the difference.
In the end, the competition will be implemented into the content, users will “seeâ€, the hardware will be the same, the UI will be similar, and the amount of content seen will determine the sales of the product.
At present, because the channels of different manufacturers are different, the effect is not obvious. In the next few years, this trend will be revealed as Internet companies' smart TVs gradually enter offline channels. Although smart TV is a terminal, it is still sold as a service. After all, hardware advancement will be done by all smart TV manufacturers, and vendors with content and services will ultimately win consumers.