Hisense Achieves Significant Breakthrough for Core Technology Through Independent Innovation

Hisense Achieves Significant Breakthrough for Core Technology Through Independent Innovation

75 Million Color TVs Produced Each Year in China Will Have Their Homemade
Chips; Core Technology Problem That Long Puzzled the Color TV
Industry of China Resolved By Hisense

BEIJING, Aug. 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Hisense Group announces that its digital video media processing chip, a high-definition and high vision chip with core technology independently developed by Hisense, and its application have successfully passed the authoritative appraisal organized by the Ministry of Information Industry (MII). On June 26, Hisense Group officially announced this significant achievement known as ''the first China-made chip for our color TV'' in Beijing. Lou Qinjian, MII vice minister, and others attended the press conference in a high-key manner, fully affirming Hisense's achievement and described this chip as the first of its kind developed by China, which has been successfully industrialized in the audio and video industry of China.

According to expert assessments, this chip entitled ''Hiview'' has reached the world leading level in the field of structural design and key arithmetic design, etc. It will be applied on digital high-definition TVs and will completely replace the same kind of foreign products. An Yongcheng, a senior electronics expert said, ''The birth and application of this chip will terminate the history that the core technique of producing color TVs in China has long been monopolized by foreign countries since China began producing color TVs. From now on, the nearly 75 million color TVs produced each year by China will have their own homemade chips.''

As a project under the key support of the ''Electronic Information Industry Development Fund'' of MII, this achievement is a new significant breakthrough since the government began to encourage the development of IC core technology in 2000. Lou Qinjian, MII vice minister, introduced that up until the end of 2004, there were 68 color TV manufacturers in China with an annual production capacity of 86.6 million TVs, and an actual annual output of 73.288 million, with actual sales volume accounting for 55% of the global sales volume. China has become the world's biggest color TV manufacture and seller. But it's awkward that all these figures don't make China a TV giant. None of the over 70 million color TVs annually produced here have a ''Chinese Chip,'' which is the weakest point of the color TV industry in China.

''The birth of Hisense's Hiview will change the present situation completely. It will encourage Hisense to stick to the concept of establishing enterprises on technology and help Hisense cast off the passiveness of being under control of others in core technology fields. Relying on our own chips will introduce more capacities and functions for color TVs, reduce the cost and enhance the profit standard,'' said Zhou Houjian, Chairman of the Board of Hisense Group.

Different from previous chip research and development technological breakthroughs, Hisense's technology has stridden over the laboratory stage and realized batch production internally. The prospect of large-scale industrialization implemented by simple calculations is attractive to all.

This digital video processor named by Hisense as ''Hiview'' adopts the international advanced 0,18 micron CMOS (mutually complementary medal oxygenated semi-conductor, an IC production technique) process, with almost two million logic gates and more than seven million interior integrated transistors.

''The core chips for Digital TVs normally include receiving and demodulating chips, decoding chips and digital video processing chips. The development of the digital video processing chips not only require high design capability, but also have the most meaningful significance and the highest value'' said Zhou Houjian, the engineer-turned board chairman.

Since Hisense decided to establish an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) design center in 2000, it integrated resources, underwent hardships and made unremitting efforts in Shanghai. More than 1600 days of hard work without any result finally generated fruits. Up to now the chip has won over 30 patents (9 of them are invention patents). Its application experiment shows that it can be applied to various kinds of flat TVs (LCD Liquid Crystal TV, PDP Plasma TV, LCOS, DLP, etc.), CRT TV, and various rear projections and monitor equipment. All these patented technologies have independent intellectual property rights. They sufficiently prove what Zhou Houjian often said in the company, ''The Chinese companies are able to change the situation of lack of self-confidence in the branches and make breakthroughs in core technology.'' To him, Hisense has won the war.

Certainly, the success of Hisense is also attributed to the policy support of the national ministries, departments and governments at all levels. According to statistics of the Ministry of Commerce, the chips imported for the first half of 2004 valued at USD26.2 billion. It is estimated that the Chinese chip demands in China will reach 70 billion in 2010. Such a big Cake is attractive to all. Chips are regarded as ''industrial food'' in developed countries, but in China, it is a weakness. As a less competent chip designer and producer, but a big chip consumer, such contradiction will become increasingly intensified in China. Our government is aware of the situation and desires to solve the problem as early as possible. In 2000, the State Council promulgated the No. 18 document entitled ''Some Policies to Encourage the Development of Software and the IC Industries'' (No. 18 Guofa (2000) document). In response, the sales income of the chip industry in China grows yearly average above 30% within five years. The government greatly motivates the self-innovation ability of the national brands with controlling measures. In virtue of such policy support, Hisense resolved to enter into the chip R&D field and harvested fruits in the first five years.

It is introduced that Hisense's Hiview has been successfully used throughout TV production and obtained market validation. On July 2nd, they held the official Inauguration Ceremony, meaning the high definition TVs in China has formally activated their ''Chinese Chips.''

For more information, please contact:

Zhu Shuqin, Brand Management Department,
Hisense Group
Tel: +86-532-3878-888
Email: zhushuqin@hisense.com

Source: Hisense Group

CONTACT: Zhu Shuqin, Brand Management Department of Hisense Group,
+86-532-3878888, or zhushuqin@hisense.com

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