The term "second screen", which was not said in the former mobile phone era, is often used since the spread of smartphones.
This is called "First Screen" as a living room TV and is called the second screen "second screen" that can enjoy entertainment content, but from the Japanese perspective, enjoy entertainment content from the "feature phone (Garaka) era.Many people think that they were.
However, in Europe and the United States, the image of feature phones was a single -functional mobile phone, and the image of SMS/email and a little camera function on the phone, so the impact of "second screen" in the smartphone era is more than our sensation.
But now, the "second screen" is just the name, and the viewing experience of "First Screen" is decreasing.This is mentioned in Google's 2013 "Multi -Device Usage Trends Survey", and the media contact rate on TV is only 27%, whereas smartphones are 40%, the most in multi -devices.High contact rate is recorded.
This is probably because it doesn't despise TV, but because the device of smartphones is a "personal device" that is more close to people.
The role of a high -performance terminal that can be carried in a pocket every day without leaving the skin every day, and the device that only looks at entertainment content is different in the first place.Rather, despite the device that only passes the content passively, the 27%contact rate is 27%in the multi -device environment, isn't it still a proof that TV content has a strong power.。
Google has raised information from all over the world so that people around the world can access it, but it can be said that the appearance of moving on mobile is a matter of course considering the mission.
The Android OS accounts for about half of the mobile OS and supports search services, the basis of Google.Of course, iPhone iOS is also competing, and there are many market research that Google and Apple's two major giants account for 90 % of market share.
Wearable devices are said to be aiming for "next to smartphones".Google announced the smartwatch OS "Android Wear" in March, and in September, Apple's rumored "Apple Watch" was announced.It is finally said that the full -fledged wearable device era has arrived.
However, on the other hand, in the past one or two years, some products have not yet been announced, despite rumors that Apple will release products.That is the first screen "TV".There were times when various speculations were flowing, as if it were a sharp hand with Sharp, or that the Taiwanese Hon Hai Precision Industry had made a prototype, but the rumor itself came out at all for a while.It's gone.
Google shows the contrasting movement.Announcing an OS platform for TV called Android TV from this fall.We have been working with some OEM companies for some time, and have been working on "Google TV" to bring internet experiences to TV, but at this time when smartphones have settled down and the Internet experience has become more personal.It's like putting it in.
Android TV is based on Android OS, so developers who want to develop apps for television can provide more easily.It is said that set -top box type products are now available, but TV manufacturers such as Sony and Sharp are also expected to sell Android TV adopted televisions.
The battle between Google and Apple is the structure of the former Microsoft and Apple battle, "companies that provide OEM companies and share them, and companies that provide high -quality product experiences managed by the company."Of course, for users, we don't care about the share struggle, and both Google and Apple are in mind that both sides are "how the company's ecosystem can be turned better and the user can create an environment more than competition."
However, the new field has a large profitable profits, and if you can establish your position as a common platform, Google is likely to be dominant in the sense that the device leading to the Internet will be suppressed.That may not be as impactful as the iPhone/iPad when Apple entered the TV market in the future.
Android TV itself is not really new.Under the name of "Smart TV", including domestic manufacturers such as Sony, Sharp, Panasonic, Toshiba, and global manufacturers such as Samsung and LG, youTube, Hulu, and domestic services such as Nico Nico Douga and U-NEXT.You can experience the service that distributes the "entertainment content you want to see" on TV alone without purchasing a new device.
In addition, there is a device that can make a TV smart TV simply by putting it on the HDMI terminal, even if the television at home does not have a smart TV function.That is "Chromecast".It started selling in the United States in July 2013 and was released in Japan in May 2014.
CHROMECAST, which puts a device on the HDMI terminal to take power via USB, is operated with a "second screen" smartphone or tablet.Until now, in smart TVs, characters were input with remote controls, etc., but if you want to browse and search with Chromecast, search only on your smartphone.
YouTube is a chromecast app, and you can play YouTube on TV when you tap the Chromecast icon from the searched video.
The SDK has been released in the Chromecast app that supports the app, and any app developer can create a compatible app.The web service that distributes free/paid entertainment content as described above is also available for each vendor, and Google has a certain screening and has been certified in the recommended section of the Play Store as an officially compatible app.Introduced.
On the 9th, LINE's children's services "LINE KIDS Video", "U-NEXT" and "Rakuten Show Time" are compatible.You will be able to move back and forth between TV and smartphones more easily.
Compatible with LINE KIDS videos |
Yutaka Hayashi, director of the Google Partner Business Development Headquarters, compares the competition function with Chromecast and talks about the benefits as follows.
"Chromecast does not need to be connected by wire so that it is output to a TV via HDMI, and does not" mirror "the screen as it is like a miracast. Mirroring is to send the display information to the TV in real time. , It is inevitably visible at a low bit rate, and even if you try to watch high -quality images such as YouTube on TV, you can not see it beautifully. CHROMECAST works with your smartphone to say "See this video of YouTube". If you tell the Chromecast, the device itself pulls the content directly via the Internet, so you can see the video with high image quality. Of course, you can control everything with a smartphone, so because of the current feeling of operation, "mobile first" is progressing. I think it's a "Future Tea Motomi Entertainment System" that allows you to enjoy content without changing the user experience "(Mr. Hayashi)
Also, Chromecast works with smartphones in Wi-Fi (via access point), but can work with multiple smartphones instead of 1: 1.For example, go to a friend's home at a party or the like, connect Chromecast, and say, "I like this song. No, I'm here, I can communicate with TV happily."Chie Kuga proposes a usage that does not limit how to use it.
The true value of Chromecast is that it can operate independently, but also supports the mirroring function. | When another smartphone connects to Chromecast, it is displayed that 〇〇 has participated. |
"LINE KIDS videos have been newly supported from the 9th. The child says" I want to watch a video "and steals my mother's smartphone, plays as it is, breaks the battery, or makes a phone call.I often hear it. But if you connect to Chromecast, it is easy to connect, and simply selecting "Play the video with Chromecast" will flow on TV. You need to worry about strange operations.I don't have a battery, and I can see videos on the big screen, so I think my child will be satisfied. "(Mr. Koga)
Basically, it was a Chromecast that only casts (flow) content, but a new "background" function has been added so that you can use Chromecast regularly.Until now, specific images have been played, but the images they have raised in Google+ photos are set as the background, and the TV can be tailored as if it were a "huge photo frame".
Beautiful images by photographers and personal photos are also flowing to the "huge photo frame".The image on the right is Mr. Hayashi's dog |
For those who say that their photos are delicate ... Google has also played professional content, such as "Google Cultural Institute", which archives photos with the cooperation of museums around the world, and an impressive aerial photograph of Google Maps.Because of the coming, you will be able to appreciate art at home.
"I think some people put posters from their favorite artists, but I think it's good to use it instead. It's 4200 yen (excluding tax), and it's a good amount to give others. In Amazon in the United States, 2013.Popular in the holiday season of the year.It was one gift "(Mr. Koga)
According to Hayashi, millions have already been sold worldwide, and sales partners are expanding in Japan, and sales are well -known.
Not only video apps, but also simple Chromecast game apps.This is a game in which the content flows to the TV, but the characters are entered with the smartphone at hand and applying the correct keyword. |
"In Japan's Amazon, it has been ranked first in the device department that casts the video. (In question about how it will be sold in the future), 5000 people who are watching YouTube in Japan.It is said that there are many people. Docomo's D video, one of the chromecast compatible apps, has millions of contractors. Among them, many people want to see content on TV.I guess there is so much demand. Market needs are very large. "(Mr. Hayashi)
In order to spread and penetrate, it is necessary to appeal to the elderly and the so -called late majority.Mr. Hayashi finally said about that.
"The usage itself is very simple. I can set up without reading the instructions, and I think it is important. The number of smartphones has a majority, and most of the TVs in Japanese families are completely terrestrial digital transitions.It has an HDMI. I think the prerequisite environment is already in place. For example, you can leave Chromecast in your parents' home to get your grandchild to see your grandson's photos.If you can give "notice", I don't think it is so difficult to buy it. "(Mr. Hayashi)
Google Partner Business Development Division Manager Yutaka Hayashi (left) and Chie Koga (right) |