"General Manager Feng, you are saying that we will start to manufacture TV top boxes now?" Zong Qingxian frowned and looked at Feng Yu.
"Yes. Why? Can't we do it?" Feng Yu is puzzled. In 1998, China had started to provide cable TV to every village. Although some remote areas are still using their own antennas to watch TV, most of the areas are using cable TV.
In the cities, there are satellite TV and some TV top boxes. These TV top boxes are produced by Optoelectronics' subsidiary companies. But the sales are not that good, mainly because many people feel the fees are too expensive.
In the past, the cable TV is not bad. Do they need so many channels to watch TV? Of course, some cable TV companies can only receive a dozen TV channels, but it is cheap. If you can receive so many programs, the fees will be too expensive!
Another advantage of cable TV is that you can use a cable distributor to connect to more than one TV. But TV top boxes are different. One TV needs one TV box. If your family has three TVs, you will need three TV top boxes and pay for three sets of TV!
Many people feel it is too expensive to pay for one set of TV top boxes, let alone three sets of TV top boxes.
This year, Hua Xia Optoelectronics had selected 49 cities as the pilot cities for TV top boxes. Since the beginning of the year, there are more than 100,000 TV top box users.
But most of the TV top box users are government employees or employees. Anyway, the fees are paid by their companies, and they will not feel it is expensive. To their families, it is better to watch a few more TV channels.
These people did not buy their TV top boxes. They are given to their cable TV customers for free by the local operators. They are waiting to earn back the fees. Of course, these TV top boxes are trial users, and some of them will not continue to pay for it in the future.
But next year, TV top boxes will usher in a boom. Now, the higher-ups had plans to develop digital TV channels, and the European and US countries had started this in 1998.
Based on Feng Yu's previous life, TV top boxes will enter millions of households next year. From the Southeast coastal areas to some pilot cities, TV top boxes will blossom. In Feng Yu's previous life, this was also the time when he installed the TV box. It was said that at that time, his family was ranked below 1 million in the country. That meant that in 2004, there would be at least 1 million TV box users.
As one of the world's leading producers of set-top boxes, many of Hua Xia's set-top boxes were exported. Therefore, this meant that the market for set-top boxes this year would have at least tens of millions of sales. It was not too late to enter now. If he waited any longer, he would miss this good opportunity.
"General Manager Feng, are you planning to export this set-top box first?"
Zong Qingxian didn't see any market for Hua Xia's set-top box. Many people probably hadn't heard of set-top boxes yet.
In the past, Wind and rain appliances and Aiwa Home Appliances had been introduced in China. After conquering the Chinese market, they will expand overseas.
But now, this product is only available overseas, and the domestic market is just starting. That means this time, Feng Yu will have to start selling overseas first.
In the past, no matter what electrical appliances or electronic products were produced, the domestic market was enough to take up a large portion of the market. But now, the domestic market was not established yet, and Feng Yu had to start selling overseas first.
If the product fails overseas, it will have a huge impact on the brand. Wind and rain brand was very famous overseas, and all their products were successful.
If they had failed before, it would be fine. But if this set-top box became Feng Yu's first failure, it would be a huge blow to Wind and rain brand.
"We need to focus on the domestic and overseas markets. I know not many people in China know about this set-top box now. But in the next three years, the set-top box will become popular. Maybe in 2006, the number of set-top boxes in China will exceed 10 million units. Furthermore, the overseas market is also experiencing an explosion of set-top boxes. We must not miss this opportunity. "
"Then are you going to make a cable set-top box or a terrestrial set-top box? Are you going to make a satellite set-top box? "Zong Qingxian suddenly remembered Feng Yu had mentioned he wants to buy a satellite.
"What's wrong? There is no market for terrestrial set-top boxes now, and cable set-top boxes and satellite set-top boxes are selling well. Satellite set-top boxes are mainly for export, and cable set-top boxes are for the domestic market. Of course, we still need to make two-way set-top boxes, HD set-top boxes, multi-function set-top boxes, etc. "
Other than the basic functions of watching analog and digital TV, this set-top box should also have high-speed data broadcasting, internet connection, online software upgrades, video phones, video on demand, music on demand, shopping, games, etc.
The future set-top box will have many functions, and Bill Gates had wanted Microsoft to enter the set-top box market. He also wants to produce this type of multi-function set-top box. The main purpose is to combine the modem with the set-top box, and the set-top box can be connected to the internet.
Many people had used this type of set-top box cable, and it can also be used as an internet cable.
"This technique isn't simple, right? We are starting from scratch. Can we make it in time? "Zong Qingxian is worried.
"Why not? In fact, this basic circuit is not very difficult. With our company's technology, we can easily develop our own technology by disassembling some other people's circuits. Then, we can introduce a multi-function set-top box and occupy the high-end market. But the chips and software are slightly more difficult, and we need Lenovo Kingsoft and other companies' help. "
"What about the marketing?"
"Let Changhong do the marketing in China. They are selling TVs, and it should not be a problem for them to sell a set-top box. Also, don't forget that Changhong is a company that the higher-ups are supporting. It should not be difficult for them to sell this set-top box to Optoelectronics. Also, it is a branded product, and it should sell well. "
"As for overseas, I think with our Wind and Rain brand's distribution channels, it should not be too difficult. If there are any obstacles, I will look for Bill Gates. In this aspect, we can cooperate with them. They have a lot of experience in developing STB software. "
It would be better not to look for Bill Gates to work with them. If they look for Bill Gates, it will seem like Wind and Rain cannot handle the market by themselves.
"I will pass on this idea to my subordinates and see which company is willing to take on this project. If no subsidiary company is willing to take on this project, we can only force them to do it. "
"That's right, if we want to separate the hardware from the card, we need to separate the core smart card, software, and basic receiving equipment. We can specialize in developing the smart card and software, and outsource the basic receiving equipment to other small factories. This will lower the cost of manufacturing and users' access costs. This will increase our competitiveness. "
Zong Qingxian's eyes brighten up. With the Wind and Rain brand, it will not be difficult for this product to succeed!
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