China's Integrated TV Initiative to Deploy Tens of Millions of Units by 2026

China's National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), in conjunction with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, announced on September 17th the development of new technical standards for televisions. This initiative aims to embed set-top box functionalities directly into smart TVs as software, eliminating the need for separate physical boxes. The program targets the deployment of tens of millions of integrated units by the year 2026.

The new standards will enable a single television to receive all TV services, including live broadcasts and on-demand content, controlled by a universal remote. This integration is expected to significantly enhance the user experience, with TVs booting directly into live channels and all content delivered over secure, dedicated networks. The goal is to offer seamless channel switching and straightforward operation for viewers.

Ouyang Feng, head of the NRTA's Radio and Television Science Research Institute, explained that the "integrated TV" consolidates traditional set-top box functions into the TV through software, potentially requiring only a small adapter, possibly the size of a USB drive. Most 4K smart TVs purchased in the last five years are expected to be compatible, and even older models should work with the adapter. Despite the move towards integration, conventional set-top boxes will remain in the market for a considerable period.

NRTA emphasized that all content delivered via the integrated TV will travel through dedicated, secure networks, isolated from the public internet to ensure security and prevent unauthorized devices. The implementation of these standards seeks to standardize the TV viewing experience across different operators and support the advancement of domestic audio and video standards, as well as new remote control technologies like Bluetooth and StarLight.