CCID Consulting Predicts the Real Turning Point for the Ground Digital TV Chip Market

CCID Consulting Predicts the Real Turning Point for the Ground Digital TV Chip Market

BEIJING, July 3 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- CCID Consulting, China's leading research, consulting and IT outsourcing service provider, and the first Chinese consulting firm listed in Hong Kong (HKSE: 8235), comments on the implementation of the State-sponsored TV transmission standard DMB-TH. The standard is scheduled to go into effect on August 1, 2007, but CCID predicts that the Beijing 2008 games will be the real turning point for the Ground Digital TV Chip Market.

Pushed forward by the State Administration of Radio, TV and Film, the broadcasting of the Olympics Games will be used as an opportunity to fully promote ground digital TV in 2008. This is then an opportunity for the development of ground digital TV in China as a whole.

In August 2006, China released its ground digital TV transmission standard DMB-TH. This national compulsory standard will come into effect on August 1, 2007. As this deadline approaches, whether or not the standard can be smoothly implemented has become the focus of attention in industry circles. Channel decoding chips are critical for the implementation of the digital TV standard. Therefore, the technological maturity and industrialization of the channel decoding chips will determine the speed of the implementation of this standard.

Currently, relevant firms have introduced channel decoding chips that support the standard, and offered total solutions. With such support, there will be no obstacles to the smooth implementation of DMB-T on August 1, 2007. However, time will be needed to realize the large-scale industrialization of relevant products.

First of all, though standards-compliant solutions have been introduced, there is still a lack of implementation of existing standards for transmissions, testing instruments, and receiving equipment. No mature, whole- system standards-compliant products have been introduced so far.

Secondly, there are very few firms which research, develop or make channel decoding chips for ground digital TV. The reason is that the standard involves a completely new technology. Though chip firms can follow the standard to research and develop relevant products, it will nevertheless take them between one and two years for results. In terms of technical maturity, there is a rather big gap between standards-compliant products and other types of products. Meanwhile, because China owns the patent on the standard, foreign enterprises must spin their chips in China or share profit with domestic chip design firms. This is a main reason why some international firms have not entered the market.

Looking at the demand for channel decoding chip applications, ground digital TV STB accounts for a relatively small percentage. Over 75% of demand is from satellite digital TV STBs and cable digital TV STBs. Also, while many of the ground digital TV STBs are made in China, most are exported. They are not the target for the application of the compulsory standard. Consequently, firms like ST, Ali and Zarlink, which have an important position in China's channel decoding chip market, have not made China's ground digital TV STB application market their key target.

Pushed forward by the State Administration of Radio, TV and Film, the broadcasting of the Olympics Games will be used as an opportunity to fully promote ground digital TV in 2008. CCID Consulting estimates that in 2008, the number of new ground digital TV subscribers in China will reach 1.445 million. By 2011, the accumulated number of subscribers will hit 16.781 million. It follows that the compulsory implementation of the DMB-TH Standard introduced on August 1, 2007 will not push China's ground digital TV market to a new height. The broadcasting of the Olympic Games will be the real opportunity for China to develop its ground digital TV. As end-receiving equipment matures, 2008 will become a year of explosive growth for the ground digital TV chip market.

For more information, please contact:

Cynthia Liu
Coordinating Manager
CCID Consulting Co., Ltd
Tel: +86-10-8855-9080
Email: liuyan@ccidconsulting.com

Source: CCID Consulting Co., Ltd

CONTACT: Cynthia Liu, Coordinating Manager for CCID Consulting Co., Ltd,
+86-10-8855-9080, or liuyan@ccidconsulting.com

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