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City leads digital TV production
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Winton Dong
BACKED up by four major colour TV makers, Konka, Skyworth, TCL and SEG, the research and development of digital TVs in Shenzhen now takes the lead nationwide.
The exciting message was revealed yesterday at a seminar held in Shenzhen.
Latest statistics also indicate that colour TV production in the city now accounts for more than 50 per cent of the country's total.
While other producers still focus on traditional products, local TV makers have shifted their attention to digital technologies. As the largest colour TV maker in Guangdong Province, Konka Group firstly presented two years ago a series of new products such as high-definition digital TVs and mirror-surfaced TVs, which not only led the domestic consumption trend but brought about considerable profits.
To keep pace with other local rivals, Skyworth has recently put 50 million yuan (US$6 million) to establish a digital TV centre in Shenzhen. Much more than that, its R&D centre in Silicon Valley in the United States has also been further wheeled up.
TCL King Electronics, another major colour TV maker based in Shenzhen, also rises to the challenge of fierce competition.
Xu Hongtao, deputy general manager of TCL, said the company will rely on technological improvement rather than cutting price of products.
In August last year, TCL successfully developed audio TV, which is said to be the first of its kind nationwide. Equipped with high fidelity amplifier and digital stereo systems, this new type of TV can perfectly integrate the functions of TV set and stereo facilities into one body.
Compared with those big TV producers, the advantage of SEG lies in its advanced IC design technology. Closely connected with ST, the largest IC maker worldwide, SEG is expected to offer technological support to local TV producers.
Insiders also pointed out that despite its leading position nationwide, only a small part of the colour TVs made in Shenzhen are now sold to developed countries such as the United States, Germany and the UK.
According to statistics, at present, France's Thomson as well as the Netherland's Philips Electronics and Japan's Sony still dominate the US TV market with a total annual sales of 22.2 million sets.
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