Interview with Liu Jianguo, President of the Radio and Television Research Institute of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television: "Double governance" allows TV users to return to the big screen

The Paper

2024-05-24 09:54Posted on the official account of Shanghai The Paper

From May 23 to 27, 2024, the 20th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair (hereinafter referred to as Shenzhen Cultural Expo) was held at Shenzhen World Convention and Exhibition Center (Bao'an).

During this period, the exhibition of the achievements of the "dual governance" organized by the State Administration of Radio and Television attracted media attention and heated discussions at the Shenzhen Cultural Expo.

Since August 2023, the State Administration of Radio and Television has carried out the "dual governance" work (i.e., the management of TV "matryoshka" fees and complex operations) in the three major fields of cable television, IPTV, and Internet TV, and has achieved good results.

After months of hard work, cable TV, IPTV and Internet TV have achieved the standardization of live start-up, simplified TV operation, clear page display and simplified charging items, achieving the governance goal of "reducing the charging package by 50% and improving consumption transparency", and strengthened the supply of high-quality free content, greatly improving the viewing experience of users.

According to relevant data, the lost TV large screen users have "returned".

This year, the "dual governance" related working group will continue to work hard to optimize and strengthen the broadcast control management of cable TV, IPTV and the Internet by formulating relevant industry standards.

In order to eradicate the problem of "matryoshka" charging and complicated operation, the Radio and Television Research Institute of the State Administration of Radio and Television has developed an automated supervision system to prevent rebound.

At this Shenzhen Cultural Fair, the plug-in micro set-top box and unified remote control developed by the State Administration of Radio and Television also aroused heated discussions, which solved the problem of "difficult to watch TV and annoying to watch TV" that has plagued users for a long time from the technical level.

At present, the first step has been taken in the work of "dual governance" of TV, how to continue to consolidate the results of governance, and ensure the healthy development of the TV industry through technical means and regulatory constraints? The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) interviewed Liu Jianguo, president of the Radio and Television Research Institute of the State Administration of Radio and Television.

Interview with Liu Jianguo, President of the Radio and Television Research Institute of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television: "Double governance" allows TV users to return to the big screen

Liu Jianguo, President of the Radio and Television Research Institute of the State Administration of Radio and Television. Photo by surging news reporter Xue Song

"Let TV users return to the big screen through dual governance"

The Paper: Since last year, the State Administration of Radio and Television has carried out "dual governance" (that is, the management of TV "matryoshka" charges and complex operations) in the three major fields of cable TV, IPTV, and Internet TV.

Liu Jianguo: At present, it seems that the results are obvious. Whether it is cable TV or IPTV, it has become convenient, and it has been realized to watch live broadcasts when you turn on the computer, that is, you can directly enter the live channel when you turn it on, and you can also easily see live TV programs. The "nesting doll" charging model that was previously criticized by TV users has also been governed,At present, all kinds of unreasonable charges have been reduced to more than 50%,The reduction is relatively large,For some paid programs and content,After governance,The user ordering operation process is also more standardized and transparent。

In addition, our TV programs have also increased the supply of many free and high-quality content, especially the opening of a channel similar to "Revisiting the Classics", attracting users with traditional classic film and television programs, and allowing users to return to the big screen. In particular, the "Revisit the Classics" channel has been launched to provide high-quality and free content for the audience, and since the launch of "Revisiting the Classics", it has more than 40 million users.

The Paper: What do you think is the value and significance of allowing users to return to the big TV screen?

Liu Jianguo: I think that through "dual governance", TV users can return to the big screen, which can not only build a better family atmosphere, but also better spread the party's voice and serve the people.

The display of the achievements of "double governance" attracted attention at the Shenzhen Cultural Fair. Photo by surging news reporter Xue Song

"The plug-in micro set-top box is not only convenient for elderly users, but also helps young users to watch large TV screens"

The Paper: In this Shenzhen Cultural Expo, a set-top box launched by the State Administration of Radio and Television has aroused heated discussions, what do you think, what are the outstanding advantages of this set-top box?

Liu Jianguo: The plug-in micro set-top box newly developed by the State Administration of Radio and Television provides scientific and technological support for further solving the problem of "difficult and annoying to watch TV" that the people are concerned about. In my opinion, the most intuitive improvement for TV users is to make wiring easier, and the operation of the unified remote control is also convenient. In the development of this plug-in micro set-top box, we started from many aspects such as chips, domestic smart TV operating systems and process levels, and also improved the processing capacity of 4K ultra-high-definition programs, which is a strong support for large-screen TV programs, especially the development of high-definition programs.

The Paper: This time, the State Administration of Radio and Television not only takes into account the needs of the elderly for inconvenient operation, but also takes into account the use of large TV screens and viewing experience in the future?

Liu Jianguo: Yes. Through technical iteration, the State Administration of Radio and Television not only solves the problems caused by the current complex operation and many wiring, but also focuses on promoting the supply of high-quality content in 4K ultra-high-definition and enhancing the ability of human-computer interaction on the large TV screen, enriching and improving everyone's experience. In terms of service groups, we are not only convenient for elderly users, but also helpful for young users to watch large TV screens, because many ultra-high-definition TV programs still need to be enjoyed and watched on large screens, such as sports events, variety shows and film and television dramas, and the viewing experience effect of watching through large screens is completely different.

The Paper: How much time and labor have been invested in this?

Liu Jianguo: Since last year, the State Administration of Radio and Television has been making every effort to promote the charging of TV "nesting dolls" and the management of complex operations. Taking the plug-in micro set-top box and unified remote control as an example, since the second half of last year, we have begun to investigate and analyze, sort out the problems, and finally formulate technical routes and programs, and jointly determine the final technical solutions with the industry, manufacturing enterprises and operators, throughout the research and development process, the participating scientific research units, chip enterprises, terminal manufacturing enterprises and cable TV network companies, IPTV broadcast control platforms and operators, in accordance with the deployment and scheduling of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, clarify the division of tasks, establish a work account, and reverse the construction period. Working overtime and fighting on the wall chart, everyone has made great efforts, fully reflecting the sense of responsibility and mission to contribute to the high-quality development of the industry.

The plug-in miniature set-top box makes it easy for TV users to operate. Photo by surging news reporter Xue Song

"The plan is to put the prototype of the product into the live network at the end of May"

The Paper: In order to solve the current "pain points" of TV users, what difficulties did the team encounter in the process of specific R&D and product technology iteration?

Liu Jianguo:At present, TV users will encounter many inconveniences in the process of using and operating set-top boxes,For example, some set-top boxes need up to 7 cables to connect,The connection is very complicated; Some set-top boxes have different usage habits, which cause great trouble to users; Set-top boxes of different services, such as cable TV service set-top boxes and IPTV service set-top boxes, need to be controlled by different remote controls, and there are many remote controls.

Plug-in set-top box is aimed at the user's "pain point",In the case of maintaining the existing industrial chain structure without major changes,Inherit the results of the previous stage of complex TV operation,Choose the implementation path that can be achieved in the short term,Smoothly promote the integration of TV set-top box。 Therefore, the difficulties we encounter in the process of R&D and technology iteration are mainly reflected in the following aspects; The first is to miniaturize the set-top box. At present, the plug-in micro set-top box we have developed is not more than 9 cm in length and no more than 50 grams in weight, which can be directly inserted into the back of the TV and hidden, so as to reduce and hide the connection between the set-top box and the TV and other network equipment, and improve the aesthetics of the home layout and wiring, but the power consumption and heat dissipation are the great challenges we encounter, especially the heat dissipation problem, for which we have invested considerable strength to solve this problem, including circuit design optimization, operating system optimization, application software system optimization, etc., At present, the temperature rise requirements of micro set-top boxes have all met the requirements of the GB 4943.1-2022 national standard.

Secondly, for the previous stock TV users, how to complete the docking of the plug-in micro set-top box with the traditional set-top box business platform, realize the comprehensive inheritance of the original traditional set-top box business, and then complete the smooth transition of the business, this is also a challenge for us, which requires us to carry out a large number of adaptation and docking of different business front-end platforms.

Finally, how to keep the existing industrial chain structure unchanged as much as possible, and not change the rights, obligations, and responsibilities between existing operators, TV manufacturers, set-top box manufacturers, and users, without significantly increasing the cost of any of them, is also a great difficulty and challenge we encounter.

The Paper: So, how to control the cost in the process of the newly developed plug-in micro set-top box and unified remote control?

Liu Jianguo: Price and cost are our important considerations, just said that we will do our best not to bring significant cost increases to any party in the industrial chain, we do not want new products to increase the burden of users, so strict control of costs is also a "difficulty" in product research and development. From the current point of view, our new set-top box and remote control will not increase the cost very much, let alone bring a burden to the user.

The Paper: At present, when does the State Administration of Radio and Television plan to put it into use?

Liu Jianguo: We plan to put the product prototype into the live network at the end of May, and do small-scale tests in the existing network of 7 operators, each operator is expected to select about 35 user representatives, including cable TV and IPTV users, to participate in the verification work, through a month of verification, we will further modify and improve the problems existing in the use of users, and finally form products for large-scale production and application.

The Paper: Do you have confidence in putting this product into the market?

Liu Jianguo: After continuous improvement and upgrading in our research and development, I believe that the new plug-in micro set-top box and unified remote control will greatly improve the user experience, which can not only facilitate the elderly, but also allow more young people to return to the large TV screen.

Good results have been achieved in tackling the charging and complicated operation of TV "nesting dolls". Photo by surging news reporter Xue Song

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