What is a set-top box and what can it do?
Set-top boxes, also known as "boxes," are the popular term for digital video conversion boxes used to connect televisions and signals from the Internet. Its main function is to convert the external video compression signal into a content format acceptable to the TV and display it on the TV. These signals can come from cable cables, satellite antennas, broadband networks, and terrestrial broadcasts. The content received by the set-top box, in addition to the images and sound provided by the analog television, is more capable of receiving data content, including electronic program guides, Internet web pages, subtitles, and the like. In this way, users can watch digital television programs on existing television sets and conduct interactive digital entertainment, education, and commercialization activities via the Internet.
It should be pointed out that what is currently referred to in the market as a "box" mainly refers to a device that converts video content on the Internet to a television broadcast format. In simple terms, after the television in the home is equipped with a “box,†it will be able to broadcast a wealth of video content on the Internet in the television in the living room.
Outside the "box", domestic users can use it?
At present, both domestic and foreign hardware and software vendors have introduced corresponding smart set-top boxes. Apple launched AppleTV very early on and Google’s GoogleTV is already online. Amazon also released a new set-top box called KindleFireTV last month, similar to Apple's AppleTV, which is mainly playing video streaming media. With FireTV, users can watch streaming videos from companies such as Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu, and they can subscribe to Amazon's own InstantVideo video, Amazon MP3, Pandora, and TuneIn services. The highest supported streaming video format is Full HD 1080P. A friend will ask: Since I already have an AppleStore or Amazon account, as long as I think of a way to bring such a product from overseas, in the future can not be the same as the Americans to see the latest episodes and movies? the answer is negative. Whether it is Apple, Amazon, Google or Netflix, its video streaming media business has not yet officially launched in the country, and the possibility of obtaining a license in a certain period of time is very small.
What kinds of "boxes" are on the market?
The mainstream set-top boxes on the market today are roughly classified into three categories: The IPTV set-top boxes that consumers are most familiar with are undoubtedly telecom operators. In Shanghai, IPTV is the earliest "box" product, and to some extent it can be said to be the "enlightenment teacher" in this market. However, with the emergence of rising stars in Internet companies, IPTV appears to be a bit behind the beat and is gradually being “marginalized†among young people.
The second category is set-top boxes for broadcasting systems. In Shanghai, most households will generally choose radio and television set-top boxes after the digitization of cable TV at home, so the popularity is also quite high.
The third category of "boxes" is the OTTTV "box" to be discussed in this article by the domestic Internet companies and the cooperation of radio and television system companies. OTTTV is an abbreviation for "OverTheTopTV", and the accurate statement is "video service based on open Internet." According to different operating systems, OTTTV set-top boxes are divided into iOS "boxes" and Android "boxes" of Apple systems. At present, OTT "boxes" launched by domestic enterprises all use the Android operating system.
In simple terms, the biggest difference between OTT "boxes" and the first and second types of "boxes" is that the former is open and has a powerful video resource search and on-demand capability. The disadvantage is that the "box" itself does not carry live broadcasts of TV programs. Features. The latter can watch real-time broadcast of any free channel of a domestic TV station, but because such "boxes" are themselves a closed system, the on-demand content of the back office is very limited.
The last category of “boxes†wandered in the blind spots and gray areas of supervision, represented by such products as DishHD. The essence of the “boxes†was the satellite TV set-top boxes outside the cottage in a “code-sharing†manner. The use of such "boxes" not only has certain legal and policy risks, but because of the relationship of the gray industry, after-sales service is completely insecure. At the moment when OTT "boxes" products and programs are becoming more and more abundant, it is not worth the trouble to choose such products.
After buying a box, which smart applications
Like buying a new smart phone, the first thing to do after adding a “box†is to go online and look for various smart app apps. Only with all kinds of applications installed, the set-top box can only afford the title of “smartâ€. Otherwise, the "box" is really just a box.
The following are several "box" applications recommended by experienced players -
Application Market/360 TV Assistant 360 TV Assistant is a helper software specially designed for Android smart TVs and smart set-top boxes (such as millet boxes). It first possesses a large number of high-quality video and game software suitable for TV users and provides a series of services such as download, installation, management, and update. At the same time, it can manage all kinds of downloaded apps for users and help users solve various problems encountered when using the “boxâ€, such as clearing up garbage for TV, killing viruses, and speeding up the system.
Video Play App/100tv TV Version Client 100tv TV Version Client (hereinafter referred to as TV Version) has a powerful video encoding and decoding function, can play almost all formats of video, aggregates the content resources of the Internet's mainstream video sites, only need to download One application, you can enjoy one-stop video viewing service.
In addition, the 100tv TV version has also done a lot of optimization in detail. The local LAN playback function can quickly scan the source of all the storage devices in the same local area network, and can be quickly viewed by directly clicking. If you do not have the movie you want to watch in the “boxâ€, you can also use the 100tv mobile version, or WeChat public account "100tv", search for the latest movie or popular video you want to see, then click to enter the playback page, and then click the "TV Watch" button on the screen. After this operation, the video content you selected will pass 100tv. , Cloud sync to your account, and then use the same account to log in 100tv TV, you can watch the video on the TV screen.
Spectators include on-demand content such as movies, TV dramas, anime, variety shows, and documentaries from mainstream video sites, as well as more than 350 live channels such as CCTV, Guardian Channels, and local stations, providing a one-stop content discovery and viewing experience on-demand and on-air. . The so-called “one cloud and multiple screens†smart guide engine has search recommendation functions such as smart recommendation, social recommendation, smart search, hot ranking, Weibo attention and award-winning albums, making it easy for users to easily find themselves from massive web videos. Favored, and achieved the interconnection and cloud sharing between mobile phones, tablet PCs, computers and TVs.
TV Live App/HDP Live HDP Live is an Android application that focuses on live streaming for the “boxâ€. It is compact and has a simple interface. It aggregates over 600 network channels from CCTV, TV to local stations and overseas. Updated daily. In addition, it also supports DIY channel function to customize your favorite channel.
The film and television aggregation app/TaiJi video TV version includes movies, televisions, serials, and variety entertainments of all major video websites. All film sources can synchronize with the network within 2-3 hours. In addition, there are weekly hot film special projects, launch a variety of exciting topics to meet the needs of film enthusiasts.
The browser type App/UC browser TV version continues the search method of “UC Video Encyclopedia†on the video search. It supports the functions of initial search, hot word recommendation, one-click search, etc., and is preferentially rendered through the search box while searching. Video resources can be played in full screen directly after selection. In addition, the "UC+" plug-in connects mobile phones and TVs for multi-screen interactions, enabling the use of mobile phones to control TV browsers and smooth TV purchases - the mobile payment cross-device home online shopping experience.
Video Player App/MXPlayer Android video player supports almost all network video formats including 3GP, AVIDIVX, F4V, FLV, MKV, MP4, MPEG, MOV, VOB, WMV, WEBM, XviD, etc. It is also the first multi-core decoding video player on the Android platform. According to tests on multi-core devices, it has improved performance by almost 70% over single-core decoding.
What are the strengths of Box?
The biggest advantage of the OTTTV "box" is its openness - it brings in a huge amount of Internet video content to the television in your living room. This kind of resource search and push capability is currently not possible for any TV station.
At the same time, the smart app App download service provided by the OTTTV “box†is equivalent to turning a home TV into a giant screen computer. Through various types of pre-installed and downloaded apps, consumers can enjoy various value-added applications and services provided by third parties online. For example, according to the policy, OTTTV "box" itself cannot provide real-time broadcast services for TV programs, but now many video aggregation apps have been able to synchronously push and look back the live broadcast content of TV stations and watch live broadcasts using OTTTV "boxes." Or the replay of hot reality shows is no longer difficult. In layman's terms, after the OTTTV "box", in addition to playing games (restricted by the remote control), what can only be done on a computer, TV can now be done.
How to choose a reliable "box"
According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 20 domestic manufacturers of legally manufactured OTTTV set-top boxes, and the “box†models legally sold in the market have reached three digits.
Although there are various varieties of “boxes†and each product has its own strengths, one thing to note is that, according to the state’s relevant management policies for online video distribution, all legally sold OTTTV set-top boxes must hold Internet TV. The corporate cooperation of the license is considered to be a "pass" similar to the mobile phone network access license. The seven licensed companies are Hua Digital Media, BesTV, CNTV China Internet TV, China National Radio, China Radio International, Hunan Satellite TV and Southern Satellite TV.
After confirming that the "box" is not a "black account," the rest is simple. Like smartphones, the “box†on the market is also “a price for one product†- Haimeidi, Kaiboer and other smart TV set-top boxes are mostly 200-300 yuan; the price of millet boxes is also 299 yuan. The smart set-top boxes introduced by color TV manufacturers are relatively expensive, mostly at 400-600 yuan, and the price of music boxes is 200-600 yuan. Skyworth's recently launched iKan smart set-top box sells for 799 yuan.
Although the appearance, function, and operation of the “box†are similar, the production of each product is still somewhat different in terms of hardware configuration. For the average consumer who does not require much, the following points need to be kept in mind: Android 4.0 and above (adapts to most intelligent applications); processor is dual-core or more, preferably quad-core; memory is above 1G, preferably 2G; storage space is above 4G, preferably 8G (ensure "box" can be smoothly viewed Effects); Supports HDMI and AV output (to deal with various types of video output formats on the Internet to ensure that they can be viewed on most TV sets).
Need to be reminded that in order to use the "box", the home broadband must be at least 4 trillion or more; want to watch smooth HD 1080p format video, the best broadband at home is more than 10 trillion. In addition, the output interfaces of mainstream products on the market are all one-on-one configurations. In other words, a “box†can currently only correspond to one TV.
Set-top boxes, also known as "boxes," are the popular term for digital video conversion boxes used to connect televisions and signals from the Internet. Its main function is to convert the external video compression signal into a content format acceptable to the TV and display it on the TV. These signals can come from cable cables, satellite antennas, broadband networks, and terrestrial broadcasts. The content received by the set-top box, in addition to the images and sound provided by the analog television, is more capable of receiving data content, including electronic program guides, Internet web pages, subtitles, and the like. In this way, users can watch digital television programs on existing television sets and conduct interactive digital entertainment, education, and commercialization activities via the Internet.
There are more and more people around you who have access to the Internet through the "box" of the television in your home. There are seven things you should know about the box.
It should be pointed out that what is currently referred to in the market as a "box" mainly refers to a device that converts video content on the Internet to a television broadcast format. In simple terms, after the television in the home is equipped with a “box,†it will be able to broadcast a wealth of video content on the Internet in the television in the living room.
Outside the "box", domestic users can use it?
At present, both domestic and foreign hardware and software vendors have introduced corresponding smart set-top boxes. Apple launched AppleTV very early on and Google’s GoogleTV is already online. Amazon also released a new set-top box called KindleFireTV last month, similar to Apple's AppleTV, which is mainly playing video streaming media. With FireTV, users can watch streaming videos from companies such as Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu, and they can subscribe to Amazon's own InstantVideo video, Amazon MP3, Pandora, and TuneIn services. The highest supported streaming video format is Full HD 1080P. A friend will ask: Since I already have an AppleStore or Amazon account, as long as I think of a way to bring such a product from overseas, in the future can not be the same as the Americans to see the latest episodes and movies? the answer is negative. Whether it is Apple, Amazon, Google or Netflix, its video streaming media business has not yet officially launched in the country, and the possibility of obtaining a license in a certain period of time is very small.
What kinds of "boxes" are on the market?
The mainstream set-top boxes on the market today are roughly classified into three categories: The IPTV set-top boxes that consumers are most familiar with are undoubtedly telecom operators. In Shanghai, IPTV is the earliest "box" product, and to some extent it can be said to be the "enlightenment teacher" in this market. However, with the emergence of rising stars in Internet companies, IPTV appears to be a bit behind the beat and is gradually being “marginalized†among young people.
The second category is set-top boxes for broadcasting systems. In Shanghai, most households will generally choose radio and television set-top boxes after the digitization of cable TV at home, so the popularity is also quite high.
The third category of "boxes" is the OTTTV "box" to be discussed in this article by the domestic Internet companies and the cooperation of radio and television system companies. OTTTV is an abbreviation for "OverTheTopTV", and the accurate statement is "video service based on open Internet." According to different operating systems, OTTTV set-top boxes are divided into iOS "boxes" and Android "boxes" of Apple systems. At present, OTT "boxes" launched by domestic enterprises all use the Android operating system.
In simple terms, the biggest difference between OTT "boxes" and the first and second types of "boxes" is that the former is open and has a powerful video resource search and on-demand capability. The disadvantage is that the "box" itself does not carry live broadcasts of TV programs. Features. The latter can watch real-time broadcast of any free channel of a domestic TV station, but because such "boxes" are themselves a closed system, the on-demand content of the back office is very limited.
The last category of “boxes†wandered in the blind spots and gray areas of supervision, represented by such products as DishHD. The essence of the “boxes†was the satellite TV set-top boxes outside the cottage in a “code-sharing†manner. The use of such "boxes" not only has certain legal and policy risks, but because of the relationship of the gray industry, after-sales service is completely insecure. At the moment when OTT "boxes" products and programs are becoming more and more abundant, it is not worth the trouble to choose such products.
After buying a box, which smart applications
Like buying a new smart phone, the first thing to do after adding a “box†is to go online and look for various smart app apps. Only with all kinds of applications installed, the set-top box can only afford the title of “smartâ€. Otherwise, the "box" is really just a box.
The following are several "box" applications recommended by experienced players -
Application Market/360 TV Assistant 360 TV Assistant is a helper software specially designed for Android smart TVs and smart set-top boxes (such as millet boxes). It first possesses a large number of high-quality video and game software suitable for TV users and provides a series of services such as download, installation, management, and update. At the same time, it can manage all kinds of downloaded apps for users and help users solve various problems encountered when using the “boxâ€, such as clearing up garbage for TV, killing viruses, and speeding up the system.
Video Play App/100tv TV Version Client 100tv TV Version Client (hereinafter referred to as TV Version) has a powerful video encoding and decoding function, can play almost all formats of video, aggregates the content resources of the Internet's mainstream video sites, only need to download One application, you can enjoy one-stop video viewing service.
In addition, the 100tv TV version has also done a lot of optimization in detail. The local LAN playback function can quickly scan the source of all the storage devices in the same local area network, and can be quickly viewed by directly clicking. If you do not have the movie you want to watch in the “boxâ€, you can also use the 100tv mobile version, or WeChat public account "100tv", search for the latest movie or popular video you want to see, then click to enter the playback page, and then click the "TV Watch" button on the screen. After this operation, the video content you selected will pass 100tv. , Cloud sync to your account, and then use the same account to log in 100tv TV, you can watch the video on the TV screen.
Spectators include on-demand content such as movies, TV dramas, anime, variety shows, and documentaries from mainstream video sites, as well as more than 350 live channels such as CCTV, Guardian Channels, and local stations, providing a one-stop content discovery and viewing experience on-demand and on-air. . The so-called “one cloud and multiple screens†smart guide engine has search recommendation functions such as smart recommendation, social recommendation, smart search, hot ranking, Weibo attention and award-winning albums, making it easy for users to easily find themselves from massive web videos. Favored, and achieved the interconnection and cloud sharing between mobile phones, tablet PCs, computers and TVs.
TV Live App/HDP Live HDP Live is an Android application that focuses on live streaming for the “boxâ€. It is compact and has a simple interface. It aggregates over 600 network channels from CCTV, TV to local stations and overseas. Updated daily. In addition, it also supports DIY channel function to customize your favorite channel.
The film and television aggregation app/TaiJi video TV version includes movies, televisions, serials, and variety entertainments of all major video websites. All film sources can synchronize with the network within 2-3 hours. In addition, there are weekly hot film special projects, launch a variety of exciting topics to meet the needs of film enthusiasts.
The browser type App/UC browser TV version continues the search method of “UC Video Encyclopedia†on the video search. It supports the functions of initial search, hot word recommendation, one-click search, etc., and is preferentially rendered through the search box while searching. Video resources can be played in full screen directly after selection. In addition, the "UC+" plug-in connects mobile phones and TVs for multi-screen interactions, enabling the use of mobile phones to control TV browsers and smooth TV purchases - the mobile payment cross-device home online shopping experience.
Video Player App/MXPlayer Android video player supports almost all network video formats including 3GP, AVIDIVX, F4V, FLV, MKV, MP4, MPEG, MOV, VOB, WMV, WEBM, XviD, etc. It is also the first multi-core decoding video player on the Android platform. According to tests on multi-core devices, it has improved performance by almost 70% over single-core decoding.
What are the strengths of Box?
The biggest advantage of the OTTTV "box" is its openness - it brings in a huge amount of Internet video content to the television in your living room. This kind of resource search and push capability is currently not possible for any TV station.
At the same time, the smart app App download service provided by the OTTTV “box†is equivalent to turning a home TV into a giant screen computer. Through various types of pre-installed and downloaded apps, consumers can enjoy various value-added applications and services provided by third parties online. For example, according to the policy, OTTTV "box" itself cannot provide real-time broadcast services for TV programs, but now many video aggregation apps have been able to synchronously push and look back the live broadcast content of TV stations and watch live broadcasts using OTTTV "boxes." Or the replay of hot reality shows is no longer difficult. In layman's terms, after the OTTTV "box", in addition to playing games (restricted by the remote control), what can only be done on a computer, TV can now be done.
How to choose a reliable "box"
According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 20 domestic manufacturers of legally manufactured OTTTV set-top boxes, and the “box†models legally sold in the market have reached three digits.
Although there are various varieties of “boxes†and each product has its own strengths, one thing to note is that, according to the state’s relevant management policies for online video distribution, all legally sold OTTTV set-top boxes must hold Internet TV. The corporate cooperation of the license is considered to be a "pass" similar to the mobile phone network access license. The seven licensed companies are Hua Digital Media, BesTV, CNTV China Internet TV, China National Radio, China Radio International, Hunan Satellite TV and Southern Satellite TV.
After confirming that the "box" is not a "black account," the rest is simple. Like smartphones, the “box†on the market is also “a price for one product†- Haimeidi, Kaiboer and other smart TV set-top boxes are mostly 200-300 yuan; the price of millet boxes is also 299 yuan. The smart set-top boxes introduced by color TV manufacturers are relatively expensive, mostly at 400-600 yuan, and the price of music boxes is 200-600 yuan. Skyworth's recently launched iKan smart set-top box sells for 799 yuan.
Although the appearance, function, and operation of the “box†are similar, the production of each product is still somewhat different in terms of hardware configuration. For the average consumer who does not require much, the following points need to be kept in mind: Android 4.0 and above (adapts to most intelligent applications); processor is dual-core or more, preferably quad-core; memory is above 1G, preferably 2G; storage space is above 4G, preferably 8G (ensure "box" can be smoothly viewed Effects); Supports HDMI and AV output (to deal with various types of video output formats on the Internet to ensure that they can be viewed on most TV sets).
Need to be reminded that in order to use the "box", the home broadband must be at least 4 trillion or more; want to watch smooth HD 1080p format video, the best broadband at home is more than 10 trillion. In addition, the output interfaces of mainstream products on the market are all one-on-one configurations. In other words, a “box†can currently only correspond to one TV.
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