Analysys International, a leading Internet-based business information service provider, rates China's IPTV investment value in the coming three years at 2.8 and says the investment value is low in its report China IPTV Market Development 2005.

Analysys International says China's IPTV market will still be in the cultivation phase in the coming three years. Although China's IPTV commercial trial is in process, China's IPTV market progress is limited by technology and content restrictions, and the improvement of consumer recognition is slow.

Analysys International gives this rating based on its TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry investment value-rating model (see Table 1).

Table 1 - China's IPTV Short-term Investment Value Evaluation



Source: Analysys International

"China's IPTV industry has low investment value in the coming three years to those investors who are looking for short-term returns.", said Li Jing, an analyst from Analysys International. "Policy and technology are the key factors restricting China's IPTV development", added Li Jing.

The most important concerning IPTV technology is the standard. China's IPTV video coding/decoding standards are not unified yet. The compatibility and inter-connection among different devices and contents are still to be solved.

Analysys International says the unification of IPTV standards is not just a matter of technology but the benefit gaming between the broadcasting industry, the telecom industry and the whole industry chain, which demands some time.

However, Analysys International also notes that although China's IPTV investment value is low in the short-term, in a long-term point of view, IPTV still has high investment value, because of its huge market potential in the future.

This subject is further discussed in Analysys International's report China IPTV Market Development 2005. For more information, please check the website: http://english.analysys.com.cn.