Network media players

	Wi-Fi enabled model I7-R from mainland China's Shenzhen Ider has a 2.5in SATA HDD, HDMI and USB interface.

The outlook is rosy for this line populated by suppliers with expertise in diverse industries. Wi-Fi and HDD are mainstream.

The wireless media players line in Greater China is very promising but has yet to take off fully. Market acceptance has been lukewarm due to the product’s high-end status.

Suppliers accept OEM and ODM orders and have the capability to produce in bulk on demand. They come from the computer, telecommunications and other electronics-related industries. Many of the approximately 150 makers from mainland China, for instance, also produce HDD media players, digital photo frames, personal navigation devices, PMPs, MP3 players and DVD players. The majority of makers in Taiwan, meanwhile, also supply networking products, HDDs, set-top boxes and other computer-related products.

Most companies are adopting a wait-and-see approach toward the line. The few suppliers in Hong Kong, for example, are not rushing to develop the product. Most are closely observing the market response to branded models such as Western Digital before making any heavy investments in the line. Wired media players, at this point, are considered a safer bet over their wireless counterparts. Yet, many suppliers are optimistic that demand for the nonwired devices will eventually pick up. The proliferation of free downloadable software such as TVersity is also helping raise consumer awareness on media streaming.

There are many other makers in the territory with the capability to develop wireless media players, including those with strong consumer electronics and wired/wireless networking products background. These, however, mostly prefer to wait until market acceptance becomes more apparent.

Other than digital home entertainment, some suppliers are targeting corporate users by integrating the wireless media player function into office projectors. These devices enable high-definition wireless multimedia presentations, including video streaming from any laptop to a projector, TV or computer monitor.

	Home media players from Taiwan's Awind utilize the computing power in existing home networks.

Shenzhen Ider Technology Co. Ltd offers HDD media players with Wi-Fi capability in models I7-R, I8-R and HG-3501RTD.

The I7-R has a 2.5in SATA HDD. It features a composite video I/O, HDMI, USB 2.0 OTG/host and an SD/MMC/MS card slot. The unit is compatible with FAT32 and NTFS.

Model I8-R has a built-in 3.5in SATA HDD and cooling fan. Its supported I/O interfaces include CVBS, coaxial, optical, YPbPr, HDMI, DVB-T and USB 2.0. The unit has an SD/MMC slot.

Model HG-3501RTD, which almost has the same specifications as the I8-R, features a 1.8in LCD.

Shenzhen Mele Digital Technology Ltd’s HMC-M05L supports Ethernet and Wi-Fi. The product is capable of movie/music/photo playback and D1 resolution recording. It has a USB 2.0 port, YUV high-definition output and SPDIF interface. The model has a 3.5in SATA HDD and supports video streaming.

The majority of wireless media players from Taiwan are PC-like. These have compact form factors, and have a built-in HDD and processing unit.

Awind Inc.’s latest release is the iShow, marketed as a bridge between the TV and computer. The device’s function is based on the “networked home” concept, leveraging the computing power of existing PCs and virtually turning the TV into a giant computer monitor, rendering any image, video or movie files from any connected PC. The easy-to-install iShow supports Wi-Fi, Ethernet, VGA and USB connections.

D-Link Corp.’s DSM-750 is a wireless media center extender that is compatible with PCs installed with the Windows Media Center. The unit can play A/V files from the connected PC. It supports Draft N Wi-Fi and has the capability for high-definition media streaming. The device has HDMI.

In Hong Kong, most wireless media players support Internet multimedia streaming. Aztech Systems (H.K.) Ltd’s WL850MS enables users to watch IPTV programs, play online games and surf the Web. The model consists of a transmitter and receiver unit with a “Simple Connect” button for making a secure wireless connection. The button acts as a wireless bridge between the broadband modem and four digital entertainment devices, which can receive the content via four 10/100Base-T LAN ports in the receiver.

The media player streams Internet content up to 300Mbps using IEEE 802.11n with smart MIMO embedded antenna for bigger area coverage. It is suitable for watching high-definition content and is embedded with automated QoS for guaranteed bandwidth, reduced latency and jitter, and data loss prevention. Users can select between 2.4GHz frequency bandwidth for regular Internet surfing and 5GHz during dedicated multimedia streaming. WEP, WPA and WPA2 security standards are supported.

Red Lemon Inc. offers both wired and wireless versions of its AbTronic TV, a device that streams free Internet videos to any regular TV. The unit allows the user to easily access YouTube, ZDF, DW, ARD, Pro7, MTV, BBC, CNN, MyVideo and other news and video hosting sites. It is fully plug-and-play with no computer knowledge or software installation needed.

Inside the AbTronic TV is a dual video core high-performance multimedia SOC processor. An Ethernet 10/100M connector is available for the wired model and a Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n module is embedded in the wireless version. H.264 and FLV video, and MP3, WMV and Real audio are supported. Other formats such as MPEG-1, MPEG-4, Real Video, WMV9, ASP, DivX and H.263 can also be supported depending on licensing agreements.

The AbTronic TV supports D1 resolution DVD-quality video efficiently at full frame rates. It comes with a TV-optimized user interface and remote control.

Red Lemon accepts partnerships with device manufacturers for integrating the model’s internal module into LCD TVs and other products. Value-added features such as RSS weather and news feeds are available for integration.

	HDD media player model HMC-M05L from mainland China's Shenzhen Mele has Ethernet and Wi-Fi.

The wireless media player industry is relatively young and as such, no maker in Greater China is focused on just one product. The high technology barrier and the line’s still-unrealized high-profit potential, for the meantime, assure that the suppliers who make the device have the required know-how, success and experience in their respective electronics and computer products-related fields.

Mainland China’s Shenzhen Ider and Shenzhen Mele, for example, are primarily HDD media player manufacturers. Other companies involved in the line such as Longshow Information Technology Co. Ltd and YF Intl Ltd have developed expertise in producing wireless digital photo frames and ultra-slim portable GPS devices, respectively.

Awind of Taiwan, meanwhile, has core competence in software integration of various networking protocols and standards. The company specializes in projectors with networking capability.

Zinwell Corp., also of Taiwan, is a supplier of cable, satellite and terrestrial signal receiving equipment. The company has a series of media boxes that support HD multimedia playback from an A/V device transmitted to the TV. The maker’s expertise, lies in STBs. It also makes LCD TVs, and VoIP and IPTV receiving equipment.

A number of suppliers that deal with voice and data communications devices such as ADSL/DSL modems, routers and DECT phones have also tossed their hat in the wireless media player ring. These include Taiwan’s D-Link, and Hong Kong’s Aztech and Red Lemon.

	Hong Kong supplier Red Lemon's AbTronic TV streams free Internet videos to any regular TV.

The majority of suppliers export to advanced countries in North America and Western Europe. They also ship to Central/South America, the Middle East and Asia.

Guangdong province is the major manufacturing hub for wireless media players on the mainland. A few companies from both Taiwan and Hong Kong have manufacturing facilities there. Other makers are scattered in the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu.

Shenzhen Ider’s product development team is composed of more than 10 engineers. The supplier is capable of releasing five new models monthly. It has two manufacturing facilities with a monthly capacity of 50,000 units. The company’s major market is Europe but it also exports to North and South America, and Asia.

Longshow has more than 200 employees. The supplier owns a 10,000sqm facility with a computerized management system. The company, which has more than 20 core products, can release one new model per month. Its products meet CE, FCC and UL requirements.

Longshow exports to more than 40 locations in the US, Europe and Asia. The supplier has an annual sales revenue of more than $50 million. It can be contacted directly or through local distributors such as ToCAD and Gentec.

Shenzhen Mele does OEM and ODM business for customers that include Siemens, Philips and Nissan. The supplier has a 30-member product development team that deals in both hardware and software. Its products meet FCC and CE requirements, and the company can produce 50,000 units a month with the help of its fully automated Yamaha and Panasonic assembly processors.

Awind is an R&D-centric company that has headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan. Design flexibility and software integration capability are its strengths. Founded in 2003, the supplier started to develop home media players beginning 2006. The company’s first mass production model was scheduled for launch in June 2009. TI is its technical partner for the model.

D-Link operates more than 90 global offices that serve North America, Europe and Asia. Its branch locations include the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Russia, the Middle East, South Africa, Chile, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, India and Australia.

Founded in Taipei, 1981, Zinwell is a publicly listed company that operates production sites in both Taiwan and the mainland.

Hong Kong-based Red Lemon has been developing and manufacturing a wide range of communication and industrial products since 1995. Its factories in Dongguan, Guangdong, and Ningbo in Zhejiang are ISO 9001:2000-certified. These are equipped with an automatic COB bonding machine, a high-speed surface mount device mounter, a hot-air reflow oven, and plastic mold tooling and injection machines. Its design and engineering teams are based in Germany.

Red Lemon targets OEM buyers, major importers, retail outlets and mail order houses for its Internet TV box. It ships to more than 30 countries, with the US and Western Europe as the main export markets. Belkin, Metro, Maplin and RadioShack are among the company’s previous clients.

Founded in 1986, Aztech has R&D centers in Singapore, Hong Kong and the mainland. The supplier’s factory is in Dongguan. The plant boasts mixed SMT and through-hole technology, COB, plastic mold fabrication and injection, 5DX 3D x-ray inspection, in-circuit/functional testing, solder assembly, and process capability for 16-mil pitch, BGAs and 0402 components.

Aztech promotes its own brand and renders contract manufacturing services. It has sales offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the mainland, the US and Germany. Telecom operators, including AT&T, SingTel, Bezeq, ETI-Salat and T-Com, are among the company’s customers.