Putting joy back into small screen

A model takes a selfie with CHiQ TV in the background at the launch of the device in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Watching television in the digital era has just got a lot easier. Sichuan Changhong Electronic Co Ltd, a manufacturer of TVs, has ushered in the era of intelligent TVs.

Combining its expertise in sensor modules, speech recognition chips, artificial intelligence and big data, Changhong has produced a TV that promises to eliminate desperate browsing of hundreds of live channels during prime time to figure out what's on and what to watch. Freedom from the struggle with multiple remote-controller buttons is nigh.

The ultra-modern Changhong CHiQ TV can respond to the user's voice commands from a distance of up to 30 meters; that is, from any far corner in the home, and play select live TV programs or any other content from databases on a cloud.

"We focus on deep integration of artificial intelligence and TV," said Guo Dexuan, vice-president of Changhong.

CHiQ TV's cognitive and search abilities are so sophisticated it can comprehend semantic nuances and distinct features of each voice, memorize each user's preferences and viewing habits, and then come up with recommendations to suit the user at any given time. The Chinese speech recognition rate is said to be 97 percent accurate.

"Even if users give a relatively vague order, CHiQ TV can recommend programs," said Chen Keyu, product manager of Changhong CHiQ TV.

"Changhong has been researching artificial intelligence since 2012. Robotics, machine learning, human-machine interaction and computing applications have been part of our focus. The artificial intelligence is just the tip of the iceberg," said Li Jin, general manager of Changhong.

In March, Changhong released the world's first operations support platform for the internet of things, which refers to a network of devices, vehicles, buildings and other objects that contain software or sensors that allow them to exchange data.

That was preceded in 2013 by its first big-data competence analysis center in China, which was established with IBM Corp. It was also the first home appliances company to use big-data technology. It now has more than 100 senior R&D engineers focused on big data.

"Artificial intelligence, with big data as its core, is an important application and development direction for the IoT," said Yang Dan, chief technology officer of Changhong.

Liang Zhenpeng, a consumer electronics analyst, said: "Changhong's breakthrough in artificial intelligence will bring about new thinking among home appliances manufacturers. It has opened a new chapter in the era of large-screen displays. More enterprises are expected to follow in Changhong's footsteps."

Wu Ying, a professor at Northwestern University and an expert on artificial intelligence, said with the rapid development of computing and artificial intelligence technologies, human-computer interactions will become intelligent, natural and convenient.

Mu Sai contributed to this story.