"The development of the ultra-high-definition video industry has laid an important technical foundation for the development of the metaverse." Recently, Ding Wenhua, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said when referring to the development of the ultra-high-definition video industry and the metaverse, that the development of the metaverse will also give birth to a new form of the content industry. Ding Wenhua emphasized that in the metaverse era, various types of information such as graphics, video, and data will be integrated to form a content production, transmission and presentation system that integrates virtual and real reality, which will bring revolutionary changes to the content industry.
The content side is the shortcoming of the ultra-high-definition video industry
As a new round of major technological changes in the display industry, after years of rapid development, ultra-high definition has improved the industrial chain composed of four links: content production, content services, network transmission and terminal services. Ding Wenhua believes that 8K display has entered a period of stable development, and large-size TVs have become the mainstream of China's TV market.
Ding Wenhua said that relatively complete network construction is an important prerequisite and unique advantage for the stable development of China's ultra-high-definition video industry. He pointed out that in terms of broadcast transmission, China's radio and television content can effectively support 4K/8K content distribution; In terms of fixed-line transmission, China also has unique advantages. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of June 2023, the total number of fixed-line broadband access users of China's three major operators reached 614 million, fully demonstrating the characteristics of China's wide network coverage and large audience base. In terms of wireless transmission, the popularization of 5G and WIFI 6 technologies provides the basic conditions for the mobile dissemination of 4K/8K and VR content.
Although the ultra-high-definition video industry has made great progress, there are still shortcomings that cannot be ignored. According to the storage of TV programs of China Central Radio and Television in 2022, 4K programs accounted for only 4.72% of the annual programs, while 8K programs accounted for only 0.27%. Ding Wenhua believes that there are three main problems facing the ultra-high-definition industry.
First, limited by production costs and transaction prices, 2K content still occupies the current mainstream; Second, there is a large number of pseudo-4K content in the market, making it difficult for consumers to enjoy the quality and experience improvement brought by ultra-high definition; Third, high-end 4K/8K content lacks content protection capabilities, and the risk of content loss further compresses supply-side production willingness. "At present, the content side is still restricting the development of the ultra-high-definition industry." Ding Wenhua also called for paying attention to the protection of digital copyright while improving ultra-high-definition content.
The metaverse has spawned a new form of the content industry
Ding Wenhua believes that the development of the ultra-high-definition video industry has undoubtedly laid an important technical foundation for the development of the metaverse.
The entrance is one of the five must-have elements of the metaverse. Under the influence of metaverse technology, users' entry methods have changed from traditional entrance devices in media industries such as TVs, computers, and mobile phones to VR/AR entrance devices in the metaverse such as smart headsets and HUDs. The "Action Plan for the Integrated Development of Virtual Reality and Industry Applications (2022-2026)" jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other five departments mentioned that by 2026, the overall scale of the mainland virtual reality industry (including related hardware, software, applications, etc.) is expected to exceed 350 billion yuan, the sales volume of virtual reality terminals will exceed 25 million units, and 10 industrial public service platforms will be built.
Under the background of the simultaneous development of To B and To C dual-terminal application scenarios, China's VR/AR industry has ushered in an explosive period. Wellsenn XR data shows that in 2022, overseas VR equipment shipments will be 8.65 million units, down 13% year-on-year; In the same period, China's VR equipment shipments were 1.21 million units, a year-on-year increase of 218%, showing explosive growth. AR devices also show a similar trend: in 2022, overseas AR equipment shipments will be 290,000 units, a slight increase from the previous year; At the same time, China's AR equipment shipments increased by 133% year-on-year to 140,000 units.
With the development of the metaverse and virtual reality industries, many new products such as headsets and smart glasses have also emerged. Ding Wenhua believes that AR glasses will become a new generation of mass entrance terminals. "In addition to the unique see though ability, AR glasses provide a rich and enhanced information experience at the front end under the synergy of glasses presentation and mobile phone computing power; In the backend, the cloud platform combined with AI large models is used to solve the problem of instant generation of cross-modal information, with superior performance, which is very suitable for popularization as a popular product. ”
In addition to promoting new import terminal products, Ding Wenhua proposed that the development of the metaverse will also give birth to a new form of the content industry; The metaverse era has brought content forms based on immersion and scene interaction and decentralized user autonomy models. Ding Wenhua said that in the meta-universe era, various types of information such as graphics, video, and data will be integrated to form a content production, transmission and presentation system that integrates virtual and real reality, and will give birth to a new content form, which will bring revolutionary changes to the content industry.
Finally, Ding Wenhua said that the supply of metaverse content is not only limited to film and television entertainment applications, but will also penetrate into various industries, requiring all walks of life to jointly cultivate and build a content ecology. He called on the mainland to seize the opportunity to overcome the common key technologies that determine the direction of the industry, promote the construction of the content-side ecology, and lay the foundation for the development of the mainland metaverse industry.
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Author丨Zhang Qiwei
Editor丨Qiu Jiang Yongmei Editor丨Maria Executive Producer丨Lian Xiaodong