CA Market Strategy: Watching National Brands Interpret "New Three Kingdoms"

CA Market Strategy: Watching National Brands Interpret "New Three Kingdoms"

As we all know, the CA system or conditional acceptance system is not only the core technical guarantee for digital TV encryption control, but also an indispensable technical means for digital TV operation. Among them, the CA system must complete the work of obtaining, generating, encrypting, and scheduling control of user authorization and management information. Digital TV operators rely on CA systems to manage products, serve users, and develop value-added services. At present, in the domestic cable digital TV system, the CA smart card used to protect users' legal access is used with a digital TV set-top box. In a sense, the CA system can be regarded as the technical lifeblood of digital TV.

As the saying goes, science and technology are the primary productive forces. The same is true in the field of digital TV. Who has mastered the technical lifeblood of the CA system means that it has taken the lead in the huge domestic digital TV market. Initially, many people in the industry worried that inexperienced national brands could not escape the destiny of making wedding dresses for foreign CA manufacturers. However, through unremitting efforts, national brands finally dispelled these people's concerns. In recent years, many professional organizations surveyed China's cable digital TV CA system and smart card market, and local CA manufacturers have occupied most of the domestic market share. Among them, Yongxin Video, Digital Video and Tianbai account for about 70% of the market, and they have become Wei Shuwu under the new pattern.

Wei-Yongxin Vision

In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, although heroes came out in large numbers, it was only Cao Cao who could really compete in the Central Plains. At that time, having a wealthy Central Plains meant dominating the world's capital. So Cao Cao finally took the lead in establishing the Wei Kingdom in the chaotic world of princes fighting for hegemony. Nowadays, in the domestic CA market, Yongxin Shibo is undoubtedly such a pioneer.

Growth log: a thousand miles a day

As the leader of China's digital TV industry, Yongxin Video is founded in 1998. By 2002, Yongxin Video had mastered the core technology of digital TV and became the general integrator of CCTV satellite TV transmission platform construction, and provided conditional acceptance system and user management system. One year later, Yongxin Video passed the actual measurement of the conditional access system of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and obtained the A-level network access certification. In 2007, Yongxin Shibo ushered in a milestone moment and successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange. By 2008, the end users of Yongxin Video Products have exceeded 20 million.

CA layout: half of the country

It is understood that as of June 2009, the actual number of cards issued by Yongxin Expo has reached about 30 million. The statistics of professional survey agencies also show that the number of operators, total card issuance and the number of set-top box partners using the Yongxin Video Expo conditional access system rank first in China. At present, Yongxin Seebo CA system can support products of many set-top box manufacturers such as Changhong, Skyworth, Haier, Hisense and Tongzhou. At the same time, many operators such as Jiangmen of Guangdong Province, Hubei Provincial Network, Hubei Chutian Video, etc. used the CA system of Yongxin Video. Statistics show that at present, Yongxin Video has almost occupied half of the domestic CA market.

Features: Experienced, strong technology

Compared with mature foreign manufacturers, experience and technology are common shortcomings of domestic CA companies. These two points are precisely the key to Yongxin's monopoly in the domestic CA market. While some national brands pin their hopes on "bringing ideas", Yongxin Video has chosen the more difficult path of independent research and development. It is precisely because of the bumps and frustrations on this road that Yongxin Seebo can accumulate rich experience to continue to maintain its position as a market leader.

Of course, relying on experience alone cannot continue to maintain the leading position in the CA market and requires strong technical support. As a professional technology and service provider in China's radio and television industry, Yongxin Shibo not only has a technology research and development team from Tsinghua University, but also brings together many domestic authoritative technical experts. For many years, the Yongxin Video Conditional Access System has won wide recognition from domestic operators for its open system, superior performance, strong security system, stable on-site operation and high-quality service.

On August 24th this year, DVBCN reporters learned at the press conference of the signing of the unified platform of Jinzhong Broadcasting and Yongxin Video Set-top Box Software that in the future, Yongxin Video will focus on avoiding the hardware differences and software of various digital TV systems Compatibility risks help operators quickly and easily embed various new services. Because the unified platform of the set-top box software that Yongxin Video is currently working on is similar to the computer's operating system, many industry insiders believe that Yongxin Video will want to become "Microsoft" in China's digital TV field in the future. Everyone knows that it is difficult to become Microsoft, and it is even more difficult to create a Microsoft myth in the field of digital TV that has just started. But with experience and technology as a backing, Yongxin Vision's "Microsoft Dream" is not out of reach.

Shu-Digital Video

Although in terms of absolute strength, there is still a certain gap between Shu and Cao Wei in the Central Plains. But being able to split the world with Cao Wei and Sun Wu shows that the Shu Kingdom is also not a general. In the domestic CA market where Yongxin Video is currently occupying almost half of the country, digital video, like Liu Shu, has gained a place with its own efforts.

Growth log: step by step

In 2000, Beijing Digital Video Technology Co., Ltd. was incorporated and its products cover DVB-C / DVB-T / DVB-S front-end hardware systems, CA systems, middleware systems and other value-added service systems. In 2004, it was recognized by the National Development and Reform Commission as the country's first digital TV front-end system industrialization base. In 2006, the digital video CA system was successfully applied to the digital broadcasting platforms in 14 cities in Hunan. Since then, the CA system of digital video has successively shined in the cable digital TV transformation in Jining, Deyang, Shaanxi and Anhui. During this period, Digital Video was also invited to participate in the formulation of China's cable digital TV front-end equipment standards.

CA Layout: Later on

Prior to this, some industry insiders pointed out that in 2008, digital video has begun to show its market operation capabilities, and there is a trend that will later prevail. At present, the digital video CA card can already support the products of mainstream set-top box manufacturers such as Changhong, Skyworth, Motorola, Hisense and Tongzhou. The operators of digital video CA cards are mostly broadcast and television network companies in various regions, including Fujian, Jiangxi, Anhui, Liaoning and other provincial network companies.

Features: Pragmatic attitude, diverse business

At present, with the continuous development of digital TV in China, more and more operators have become the backbone of the digitalization of cable TV. Digital Video has seized the opportunity of radio and television operators around the world to actively promote the market share of CA. As of now, the vast majority of operators using digital video CA are provincial broadcasting companies. It is understood that in 2008 alone, digital video has developed millions of users in the Anhui and Shaanxi provincial networks. At the same time, the digital video CA system also took the lead in government procurement bidding in Deyang, Sichuan. Taking the provincial broadcasting network companies as the breakthrough point for expanding the CA market fully reflects the pragmatic nature of digital video.

It is precisely because Digital Video is committed to seeking market share among the provincial broadcasting network companies, so helping operators develop more value-added services has become a top priority for Digital Video. According to the introduction of digital video, the current CA card of digital video can support a variety of value-added services, including prepayment, sub-payment, IPPV and IPPT. Moreover, the system is already compatible with single- and two-way networks, and can achieve a smooth upgrade from a single item to a two-way CA in the true sense, facilitating the connection of various value-added services.

However, since the set-top box terminals used by various operators are not the same, the development of value-added services is not very smooth. Faced with this situation, at the 2009 ICTC "International Transmission and Coverage Seminar" held recently, Su Yuwen, vice president of digital video, believes that middleware will be the key to reducing the difficulty of developing value-added services. It is understood that the current digital video middleware system has adopted the Java virtual machine and browser "dual-engine" technology, which can shield the software and hardware differences of different types of set-top box platforms, and can also provide an independent development of the application for the underlying hardware. 3. Operating environment, which further improves the set-top box's compatibility with the business. As a result, radio and television operators will be able to develop more value-added services.

Wu-Tianbai

In the Three Kingdoms, Sun Wu is inferior to Cao Wei in terms of military and economic strength; and Sun Wu is inferior to Liu Shu in his thesis. However, Sun Wu has the longest survival time among the three countries. It can be seen that Sun Wu is not a mediocre generation, but is just covered up by some appearances. Just as Tianbai's development in the CA market has been obscured by its set-top box.

Growth log: steady and steady

In 2000, Tianbai Group was formally established, mainly engaged in digital TV technology development, product promotion and application services. In 2005, Tianbai promised to provide its industry peers with licenses for multiple technical solutions including set-top box solutions, CA and value-added services. Subsequently, a number of set-top box manufacturers reached a CA authorization agreement with Tianbai. In 2008, Tianbai directly cooperated with chip manufacturers to integrate CA into the underlying driver of the chip, and strive to improve the security of digital TV. Since its establishment 10 years ago, Tianbai has independently developed a complete set of end-to-end solutions for digital TV and has dozens of international and domestic invention patents.

CA layout: ranked in the top three

Since the beginning of this year, Trimble has frequently reported in the CA market and has received orders for tens of thousands of smart cards in Changchun and Rizhao. According to Tianbai, at present, the actual issuance of Tianbai CA cards has exceeded 14 million. Statistics from multiple surveys also show that Tianbai has always ranked among the top in the domestic CA market. With the opening of Tianbai CA to all set-top box manufacturers, it can now support mainstream set-top boxes such as Tianbai, Tongzhou, Skyworth and Changhong on the market. Today, there are 110 provinces, cities, counties, and enterprise digital TV platforms in China that have applied the Tianbai CA system.

Features: Bold innovation and courage to develop

In fact, in the growth process of Tianbai, there has never been a lack of pioneering and innovative spirit. In 2005, Tianbai announced the opening of its CA system. The open strategy has broadened the development path of the Tianbai CA system, and the number of CA smart cards issued has also shown an upward trend. In the coming NGB era, two-way interaction has already become the development trend of digital TV in the future, and to complete the two-way interactive business requires mature two-way CA as support. According to reports, Tianbai CA is the only domestic CA system that truly supports bidirectional applications and has practical application cases. Its symmetric + asymmetric key algorithm structure can truly realize the application of digital signatures.

In addition, this year, Tianbai also announced that it will completely withdraw from the design, manufacturing and sales of free-brand set-top boxes. Rather than making money for a year, Tianbai also wants to get rid of the image of a set-top box seller, which shows its courage. At the same time, DVBCN reporters also learned from the seminar on "2009 Tianbai Group's New Strategy for Digital TV Development" that in the future, Tianbai will transform into a system service provider and will concentrate all its energy on the construction of digital TV interactive application platforms. In Lu Pin's view, the current domestic value-added applications of no more than 100 kinds of digital TV seriously restrict the development of the digital TV industry, and also provide external conditions for Tianbai to replicate Apple's business model of building service platforms to earn service profits.

Although many people in the industry believe that to achieve the "Apple Dream", Tianbai still has many problems to solve. However, the Tianbai people who dared to do so still gave up the set-top box business and launched the digital TV value-added application business platform, namely the DASS system. According to reports, the DASS system developed by Tianbai can provide end-to-end TV operators with a complete solution for various application services including JAVA applications, FLASH playback, HTML browsing, and can also be applied to cable, satellite and terrestrial wireless. Broadcast network. At present, domestic mainstream chips and set-top boxes can support DASS applications without changing the hardware.

Looking at today's domestic CA market, the pattern of three-tier national brands has basically been determined. The development direction of these three CA leading enterprises also indicates the future trend of the domestic CA market. Whether it is the "Microsoft Dream", or middleware, or the "Apple model", it more or less implies that CA vendors are eager to have more room for development in the new era. But to truly realize their vision, TV front-end companies still have a long way to go. In a nutshell, in the future, opportunities and challenges coexist!

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