Skyworth KooBox Cloud TV: Initiating the Cloud Era for Televisions
On August 18, 2011, Skyworth Group, a leading brand in the color TV industry, held a grand press conference in Beijing to announce the birth of the world's first cloud TV at Skyworth and plans for global mass production and launch during the National Day holiday. This means that after 3D TVs and smart TVs, Skyworth Group has once again ushered in a new era for the TV industry - the era of cloud TVs.
The Skyworth Cloud TV is based on a cloud platform and runs on the Android smart operating system. It realizes personalized applications such as cloud space, cloud services, cloud browsing, and cloud search for the first time on a TV. Utilizing powerful cloud computing technology, it provides users with various application resources through the network.
The press conference was held at Yunnan Grand Hotel in Beijing, where Skyworth unveiled the mysterious veil of the world's first cloud TV under the witness of hundreds of media journalists nationwide. Skyworth’s senior management team, including President and CEO Zhang Xuebin, President of the Color TV Division Yang Dongwen, General Manager of the Marketing Headquarters Liu Tangzhi, and Standing Deputy Dean of the Skyworth Research Institute Li Haiying, all made appearances.
Cloud TV, initiated by Skyworth
The promotion of smart TVs is in full swing, but the first application of cloud computing technology to TV products represents a completely new revolution for smart TVs.
Consumers may be unclear about the concept of "cloud," but "cloud computing" is not unfamiliar in the IT and telecommunications industries. According to reports, in domestic and international applications, many IT and telecommunications giants, including Microsoft, HP, Cisco, Apple, and ZTE, have already started their "cloud plans" and are making new layouts around cloud computing to occupy advantageous positions in the new industrial revolution. Through technological innovation, Skyworth has integrated cloud computing technology into the TV industry for the first time, becoming the first in the world to launch cloud TVs and initiating a revolutionary new era of development for the TV industry.
According to introductions, cloud computing is a resource delivery and usage model, referring to obtaining the resources needed for applications through a network. The network providing these resources is called the "cloud." Cloud computing has four major characteristics: on-demand service, infinite scalability, low cost, and scale. "The difference between ordinary TVs and cloud TVs is like the difference between a household well and tap water. A household well belongs to one family unit and is difficult to share widely, while tap water is supplied by a water plant, has abundant resources, can be shared by multiple parties, and used as needed." Senior management of Skyworth gave this vivid metaphor at the press conference.
Just like cloud computing in the IT and telecommunications industries, cloud TVs represent an industrial revolution in the TV industry. It will bring fundamental changes to work methods and business models. Li Haiying, the standing deputy dean of the Skyworth Research Institute responsible for the technical challenges of cloud TVs, told reporters: "In the era of cloud TVs, manufacturers provide massive cloud services to consumers. The cloud stores and organizes a vast amount of resources. Users only need to call up the required resources from the cloud without needing to upgrade or install programs on the TV itself. In other words, the technical focus of cloud TVs shifts from current hardware to backend and content services."
It is understood that the cloud platform in Skyworth Cloud TVs includes applications such as cloud space, cloud services, cloud assistants, cloud browsing, and cloud search. These can be realized through software support to enable interaction among TV screens, mobile phone screens, and tablet computer screens. Backend cloud servers handle data processing and resource integration, providing users with an expandable platform for personalized needs. The cloud TVs launched this time include five series: E99, E98, E96, E85, and E83, covering sizes of 65 inches, 55 inches, 47 inches, and 42 inches. Among them, E99 is the flagship product, adopting OGS (One Glass Solutions) integrated design for the first time, making the TV body seamless. When turned off, the frame is almost invisible.
Four Standards of Cloud TVs
At the press conference site, senior management of Skyworth introduced that the birth of cloud TVs means a comprehensive satisfaction and enhancement of users' TV usage experience. Cloud TVs are based on internet connection, using backend cloud servers for data processing and resource integration, enabling almost zero memory high-speed processing at the front end, creating a sharable multimedia entertainment center for the whole family. Cloud TVs have the following four standards:
First, they possess private cloud databases, supporting multi-device login.
The cloud platform can provide users with an expandable platform for personalized needs. Without a private database in the cloud, the basic concept of cloud services cannot be demonstrated. At the same time, multi-device login breaks the traditional separate operation of TVs, linking mobile phones and tablets together, allowing users to enjoy the wonders of the cloud anytime, anywhere. Reporters saw at the scene that Skyworth Cloud TVs provide each user with 5GB of exclusive high-capacity storage cloud space. Users can share fresh things around them via TV, mobile phone, or computer at any time, uploading pictures, videos, music, and other resources. Under this family cloud space, multiple personal accounts can be set up, and the resources shared by each account are stored in the exclusive cloud space. Friends and relatives can simultaneously view and comment on the content you send.
Second, they have a platform for mutual sharing of user resources.
Resource sharing is a significant feature of the current internet age. Just like microblogs today, being able to share pictures, videos, music, text, and other resources with friends is an essential characteristic of cloud TVs. Reporters experienced Skyworth Cloud TVs on-site and found that resources could be shared between two TVs. By pressing a button on the remote control, the content currently being watched can be shared instantly, or events happening now can be shared immediately via mobile phone or tablet. These resource shares do not require entering a specific channel; similar to computer operations, click and play immediately.
Third, they have online services and electronic malls.
Cloud TVs have massive cloud resources, which meet users' personalized needs through online services. Electronic malls provide users with the convenience of handling business and shopping without leaving home. In Skyworth Cloud TVs' cloud platform, there are instant online services such as cloud search and cloud browsing. Users only need to input keywords in the cloud search window to comprehensively search for local and cloud resources on the TV and directly select and play from the search results. Cloud browsing utilizes the powerful computational capabilities of the cloud, integrates various website resources, displays web pages according to the size of the TV and browsing characteristics, achieving fast browsing while providing rich hot word searches.
At the same time, Skyworth Cloud TVs were the first in the industry to introduce a new electronic insurance policy business. This cloud service is based on cloud data processing, intelligently identifying user information, quickly responding to user needs, and promptly providing professional and reliable one-to-one services. After purchasing a cloud TV, users input identity recognition information, and in the future, they no longer need to show invoices or other vouchers for repair samples; the cloud TV automatically identifies the identity.
Fourth, they have a cloud backend, requiring no hardware upgrades.
This backend utilizes the powerful data processing capabilities of the cloud to integrate massive applications, intelligently pushing updates, easily installing online upgrades, and constantly bringing new application experiences. This is what was mentioned earlier, "the technical focus of TVs shifting from hardware to software." Cloud TVs do not consume the TV's own memory resources and do not require hardware upgrades.
Another Revolution for the TV Industry
In recent years, TVs have undergone drastic transformations, from LCDs, LEDs, 3D to smart TVs. Numerous technological innovations have appeared in just a few short years. However, these changes, essentially speaking, are still based on individual units of TVs, failing to connect TVs with commonly used communication devices like mobile phones and computers. Against the backdrop of increasingly mature 3C convergence, the birth of cloud TVs will bring revolutionary leaps to the development of the TV industry.
Experts at the press conference pointed out that cloud TVs might change people's definition of TVs. They are no longer limited to watching programs through TV networks but use the internet to further expand the scope of TV usage. Cloud TVs satisfy people's desires for resource allocation, sharing, communication, and expectations for convenient family services, making the role of the family multimedia intelligent center more prominent.
For TV manufacturers, the research and development of cloud platforms will be more important than the application of hardware. Future competitive advantages will be reflected in the level and quality of cloud services. Whoever can make the cloud platform more colorful and diverse will win in the next round of competition. Meanwhile, it can be expected that in the near future, cloud TV terminals will have very simple functional settings, and the rich resources of the cloud will fully meet users' needs.
From a survey dataset, among the respondents, 53% of consumers are interested in cloud TVs, finding the concept of cloud TVs fresh and the functions powerful, completely exceeding their imagination of TVs. And 41% of the respondents would consider purchasing cloud TVs. These data indicate that the arrival of cloud TVs meets the demands of future consumers. It brings a new TV era and entering thousands of households is inevitable.