請(qǐng)準(zhǔn)備好,我們即將跨入一個(gè)消費(fèi)性電子新時(shí)代,屆時(shí)電視再也無(wú)法自己為自己下定義;這個(gè)趨勢(shì)在今年的美國(guó)國(guó)際消費(fèi)性電子展(CES)上顯而易見(jiàn),移動(dòng)裝置開(kāi)始重塑電視接下來(lái)該扮演的角色──從應(yīng)用程序、服務(wù)以及連結(jié)性等,硬件需要適應(yīng)的各方面。
在CES上最大力提倡以上趨勢(shì)的就是三星(Samsung),該公司挾其身為全球頂尖電視品牌、第一大智能型手機(jī)供貨商,以及半導(dǎo)體制造大廠的優(yōu)勢(shì),威逼軟件開(kāi)發(fā)商創(chuàng)作能讓手機(jī)、平板裝置、智能電視使用的“多屏應(yīng)用程序(multi-screen apps)”;三星的目標(biāo)是將不同裝置的內(nèi)容、應(yīng)用程序與服務(wù)界線打破。
而如果“多屏應(yīng)用程序”的趨勢(shì)確立,消費(fèi)性電子產(chǎn)業(yè)的下一個(gè)戰(zhàn)線何在?對(duì)此顧問(wèn)機(jī)構(gòu)Accenture的電子與高科技產(chǎn)業(yè)資深分析師Kumu Puri認(rèn)為:“(消費(fèi)性電子產(chǎn)業(yè))最后的戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)已經(jīng)由電視移動(dòng)到移動(dòng)裝置領(lǐng)域?!?在2011年的CES可以發(fā)現(xiàn),多媒體平板裝置在消費(fèi)者家中的客廳扮演了更吃重的角色;但在當(dāng)時(shí)很少有人預(yù)見(jiàn),平板裝置角色的變換,可能將導(dǎo)致傳統(tǒng)PC與電視的對(duì)決。
根 據(jù)Accenture的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查,有44%的平板裝置使用者會(huì)觀賞串流媒體內(nèi)容,此外有43%的平板裝置使用者至少每周會(huì)下載一次應(yīng)用程序。該調(diào)查更重要 的發(fā)現(xiàn)是,受訪消費(fèi)者在一個(gè)星期之內(nèi)透過(guò)電視機(jī)觀看廣播電視或有線電視節(jié)目的時(shí)數(shù)比例,已經(jīng)由2009年的71%,在2011年減少為48%。

如果你家電視這么大還能上網(wǎng),你還會(huì)選擇在平板上看節(jié)目嗎?e05esmc
在 CES上有數(shù)字半導(dǎo)體產(chǎn)業(yè)高層,都表達(dá)了移動(dòng)裝置將如何對(duì)電視產(chǎn)業(yè)的未來(lái)產(chǎn)生重要影響的看法。例如聯(lián)發(fā)科(MediaTek)總經(jīng)理謝清江(C.J. Hsieh)在接受EETimes 美國(guó)版編輯專(zhuān)訪時(shí),就強(qiáng)調(diào)了必須同時(shí)在手機(jī)與電視平臺(tái)占有一席之地的重要性,而且這同時(shí)適用于消費(fèi)性電子芯片商與系統(tǒng)供貨商:“你必須兼顧兩者,跨平臺(tái)將 帶來(lái)很大的優(yōu)勢(shì)。”
博通(Broadcom)的移動(dòng)平臺(tái)解決方案事業(yè)群副總裁Rafael Sotomayor則表示:“這種說(shuō)法也許有一點(diǎn)簡(jiǎn)陋,但我預(yù)測(cè)移動(dòng)裝置將會(huì)對(duì)電視的功能產(chǎn)生不少影響?!痹摴緞偼瞥鍪着?02.11ac芯片系列產(chǎn) 品,這種無(wú)線新標(biāo)準(zhǔn)號(hào)稱(chēng)允許較少的視訊壓縮,達(dá)到低延遲(小于50 millisecond)、高分辨率的效果。
這也就是說(shuō),該技術(shù)能讓移動(dòng)裝置分享內(nèi)容,并且與跨平臺(tái)的無(wú)線顯示器解決方案搭配──但問(wèn)題又來(lái)了,要連結(jié)所有的移動(dòng)裝置與電視,需要的是什么?所謂的“多屏”殺手級(jí)應(yīng)用可能會(huì)是什么模樣?
消費(fèi)者已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn),他們其實(shí)不太需要用電視上網(wǎng),用平板裝置就好,而且同時(shí)可以坐在沙發(fā)上看電視。而且,消費(fèi)者已經(jīng)了解到,他們其實(shí)不必一定要坐在沙發(fā)上看電視,可以躺在床上用平板看網(wǎng)上視頻;所以干嘛要把PC、平板裝置或是手機(jī)上的內(nèi)容傳送到電視機(jī)上?
本文下一頁(yè):PC與TV,三十年河?xùn)|與河西
本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times,版權(quán)所有,謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載
相關(guān)閱讀:
• 蘋(píng)果的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)電視(iTV)靠譜嗎?
• 2012 CES開(kāi)幕,帶你看值得關(guān)注的5大趨勢(shì)
• Google TV遭Intel羅技相繼拋棄,明年氣象如何?e05esmc
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那些推廣 Wi-Fi Direct 與Wi-Fi顯示器解決方案的廠商,包括Sigma Design與博通,都認(rèn)為一個(gè)小小的接取點(diǎn)裝置,或是搭載Wi-Fi Direct功能、內(nèi)建Netflix等應(yīng)用程序的機(jī)頂盒,會(huì)讓實(shí)現(xiàn)以上的視訊分享愿景變得簡(jiǎn)單,而且商機(jī)更為可行。這是沒(méi)錯(cuò),但現(xiàn)在并沒(méi)有一種步驟簡(jiǎn)單 的解決方案,能實(shí)現(xiàn)數(shù)字內(nèi)容的多屏分享。
三星可以合理地預(yù)期該公司的Galaxy手機(jī)、Galaxy Tab與大屏幕電視機(jī)使用者,能把三種裝置連結(jié)在一起;蘋(píng)果(Apple)的擁護(hù)者們也相信,可建構(gòu)一個(gè)整合性的“蘋(píng)果家庭網(wǎng)絡(luò)環(huán)境”。但對(duì)大多數(shù)擁有一堆不同廠牌消費(fèi)性裝置──采用不同的操作系統(tǒng),視訊功能也大不相同──的人們來(lái)說(shuō),新一代的Wi-Fi Direct機(jī)頂盒就將扮演關(guān)鍵角色。
該種機(jī)頂盒必須具備足夠的智能功能,擁有一種能應(yīng)付不同操作系統(tǒng)需求、不同屏幕分辨率需求的中介軟件;這聽(tīng)起來(lái)好象很簡(jiǎn)單,但不同移動(dòng)裝置與消費(fèi)性設(shè)備之間順暢的點(diǎn)對(duì)點(diǎn)連結(jié)體驗(yàn),還是一種開(kāi)發(fā)中的技術(shù)。
還有其它意見(jiàn)認(rèn)為,能在大屏幕電視上玩社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)或是使用實(shí)時(shí)通,將會(huì)重新定義電視的未來(lái);事實(shí)上,消費(fèi)者早就會(huì)邊看電視球賽轉(zhuǎn)播邊互傳手機(jī)簡(jiǎn)訊,所以讓電視化身社交平臺(tái)的點(diǎn)子,可能還蠻符合消費(fèi)者的習(xí)性,這感覺(jué)是個(gè)好預(yù)兆。但,這足以讓消費(fèi)者換臺(tái)新電視嗎?對(duì)于這個(gè)問(wèn)題,Accenture的Puri回答: “我不確定?!?15年前,消費(fèi)性電子產(chǎn)業(yè)為了PC可能入侵客廳而奮戰(zhàn),該場(chǎng)PC與TV的對(duì)決推動(dòng)了雙方陣營(yíng)的技術(shù)進(jìn)展,從使用者接口、視訊壓縮、處理器到操作系統(tǒng)、中介軟件、Java語(yǔ)言等等,而且催生了數(shù)字電視標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
在那個(gè)時(shí)候,產(chǎn)業(yè)各界在許多怪題目上爭(zhēng)論不休,包括誰(shuí)將掌控家庭娛樂(lè)并從信息高速公路(information superhighway)中獲利?是否將會(huì)出現(xiàn)可提供500個(gè)頻道的有線電視機(jī)頂盒,或是具備智能化功能的電視與PC?
在PC與TV大戰(zhàn)期間,網(wǎng)絡(luò)繁榮興盛,讓消費(fèi)性電子業(yè)者爭(zhēng)相開(kāi)發(fā)一系列包括網(wǎng)絡(luò)電視(Web TV)、具備上網(wǎng)功能電視、客廳專(zhuān)用PC,以及具備有限上網(wǎng)功能的有線電視機(jī)頂盒等等。經(jīng)歷數(shù)年的嘗試與錯(cuò)誤,產(chǎn)業(yè)界對(duì)于網(wǎng)絡(luò)電視的初始熱情逐漸消退,而且終于放棄、承認(rèn)TV與PC基本上就是不同的。
可能除了英特爾(Intel)之外,沒(méi)人再將PC視為家庭娛樂(lè)的核心。而在過(guò) 去幾年,Google TV重新塑造了一種更強(qiáng)大、更聰明的TV形象,再度炒熱了“智能電視(smart TV)”這個(gè)名詞;在 2012年的CES展場(chǎng)上,則到處可以聽(tīng)到有人在說(shuō)“連網(wǎng)電視(Connected TV)”。
消費(fèi)性電子市場(chǎng)變得越來(lái)越復(fù)雜,但總而言之,目前已經(jīng)演變成智能手機(jī)與平板裝置等具備聯(lián)機(jī)功能的移動(dòng)設(shè)備,與電視機(jī)爭(zhēng)奪消費(fèi)者心目中重要性的局面??梢钥隙ǖ氖?,未在移動(dòng)領(lǐng)域有所著墨的電視業(yè)者,恐怕日子要難過(guò)了;電視供貨商需要擬定一個(gè)有效的新策略,讓消費(fèi)者能不費(fèi)力地在各種移動(dòng)裝置與電視之間,進(jìn)行內(nèi)容的連結(jié)、操作與播放。
編譯:Judith Cheng
本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times,版權(quán)所有,謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載
參考英文原文: CES Analysis: Mobile defines TV,by Junko Yoshida
相關(guān)閱讀:
• 蘋(píng)果的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)電視(iTV)靠譜嗎?
• 2012 CES開(kāi)幕,帶你看值得關(guān)注的5大趨勢(shì)
• Google TV遭Intel羅技相繼拋棄,明年氣象如何?e05esmc
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CES Analysis: Mobile defines TV
Junko Yoshida
LAS VEGAS – Brace yourself for the dawn of a new consumer electronics era, one in which TV no longer defines itself. Evident in this year’s Consumer Electronics Show was the notion that mobile devices are beginning to redefine what TV must do next – in terms of apps, services and connectivity that hardware will need to accommodate.
Samsung made the strongest pitch for this approach at CES. Leveraging its position as the world’s top TV brand, No. 1 smartphone vendor and one of the strongest semiconductor manufacturers, the Korean giant is challenging developers to create “multi-screen apps” that take advantage of mobiles, tablets and smart TVs. Samsung’s goal is to break down the boundaries for content, apps and services among disparate devices.
If multi-screen apps are indeed the way of the future, then where is the CE industry’s next battle line?
According to Kumu Puri, a senior executive with Accenture’s Electronics & High-Tech Group, “The last battleground [for the CE industry] has already moved from TV to mobile.”
Last year’s CES will be remembered for the increasing role media tablets could play in the living room. But few predicted the extent of the changes tablets could bring to the traditional PC-vs.-TV debate.
Accenture found that 44 percent of tablet owners stream media content while 43 percent download applications at least once a week. More important, the same survey found that the share of consumers watching broadcast or cable TV in a typical week on televisions plummeted from 71 percent in 2009 to 48 percent in 2011.
Several semiconductor executives here opined on how mobile devices are becoming important in the future of TV. In an exclusive interview with EE Times, MediaTek President C.J. Hsieh stressed the significance of having a big play in both mobile and TV platforms. It’s true for chip companies and system vendors alike that survival in the consumer electronics market means “you have to play in both. Being a cross-platform gives you a significant advantage,” said Hsieh.
Broadcom, which exited the DTV business last fall but maintains a substantial presence in the set-top box market, is building its product strategy on the mantra: “Easy to share and connect.”
At the company’s booth, every demo showed peer-to-peer connectivity (wireless or wired) among mobile devices, small set-tops and TV for sharing content.
Rafael Sotomayor, vice president of Broadcom’s mobile platform solutions group, acknowledged that the demos “may be a little on the rough side,” predicting that “mobile will influence a lot of features [in] TVs.”
Broadcom is pushing its first family of 802.11ac chips. The new wireless technology allows less video compression, resulting in much less latency (less than 50 milliseconds) and higher resolution, claimed Broadcom. The company is pushing the technology so that mobile device content move from small screens and get connected with a cross-platform, Wi-Fi display solution.
Questions remain, though. For example, what is needed to connect all these mobile devices and TVs? What would be the killer multi-screen app?
Consumers have already discovered they don’t really need to surf the Web on TV. They can do that on a tablet, while also stationed on the couch watching TV. Moreover, consumers already know they really don’t have to watch TV on the couch. They can stream video on a tablet and watch it in bed. Why bother streaming video content from PC, tablet or phone to the TV?
Those pushing Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi display solutions like Sigma Design and Broadcom believe that a small access point or a set-top featuring Wi-Fi Direct, loaded with Netflix and other applications, would make such a streaming scenario much simpler, and more viable commercially.
It’s true, however, that there isn’t a single, simple step available now to make content-sharing happen among multiple screens.
Samsung can reasonably expect customers with its Galaxy phones, Galaxy Tab and Samsung large screen TV to be able to connect all three devices – just as Apple’s constituency believes in a cohesive Apple home environment.
But for most consumers with a host of different consumer devices – each on a different operating system, with divergent graphics and video capabilities – the new Wi-Fi Direct set top will be critical. It needs to be smart enough to do everything from de-interlacing (dealing with different resolutions of screens) to developing a new middleware to handle different operating systems.
Sounds easy, but a smooth peer-to-peer connectivity experience among disparate mobile and consumer devices is still in development.
Others think that seeing tweets or instant chats pop up on their large-screen TV will redefine the TV. In fact, consumers are already sending SMS messages during sports events via their TV.
That alone may not require a behavioral change among consumers. And that’s a good sign.
But would it be enough to make consumers go out and buy a new TV? Answering her own rhetorical question, Accenture’s Puri said, “I am not sure.”
Fifteen years ago, the CE industry was sweating over the PC’s potential invasion of the living room. The PC-vs.-TV battle drove technology agendas in both industries -- ranging from interfaces, video codecs, CPUs to operating systems, middleware, Java, and of course, emerging DTV standards.
Each side argued over arcane issues such as who would control the home and benefit from information super highway? Would it be a 500-channel cable set-top box, a TV with smarts or a PC?
As the debate raged, the Web exploded, sending the CE industry scrambling to develop a host of new devices ranging from Web TV to Internet-enabled TVs, living room PCs and cable set tops with the walled-garden Internet experience.
After several years of trial and error, the industry’s initial excitement over “Internet TV” slowly faded, finally yielding to a realization that TVs and PCs are fundamentally different.
With the possible exception of Intel, nobody sees the PC as the heart of home entertainment. Over the last few years, though, Google TV has revived the notion of a more powerful, brainier TV, re-dubbed the “smart TV.” The “Connected TV” pitch was heard everywhere during CES 2012.
The consumer landscape has gotten more complicated, though, with smart phones and media tablets now in the mix of connected devices that now rival the TV for importance in the minds of consumers.
To be sure, TV companies without a big mobile presence are likely to struggle. TV vendors need a strategy, devising an effective way for consumers to connect, work and play effortlessly with a number of different mobile devices and TV.
責(zé)編:Quentin