(Yicai Global) Aug. 20 -- Chinais in the midst ofa slowdown inthe televisionindustry and most listed TV makers are loggingfalling profits,yetthe value of the large display of intelligent home appliances continues to attract new giantsfromothersectors,nonetheless,HuaweiTechnologiesamong them.

Shenzhen-basedHuawei is hiring peopletobuilda TV project group and contact upstream panel makers, a source told Yicai Global.The group willstudyhardware and user interfaces.In contrastto Xiaomi, Huawei may lay its emphasis onpositioning itself in8K displaysinthefifth-generation communicationsera.

However, relevant personnel of Huawei told Yicai Global that it "had notheard" thisnews.

Huawei started to researchthecolor TV market five years ago and recentlygot in touchwith TV panel makers,Peng Xiandong,generalmanager ofthe consumerelectronicsdepartment ofresearch firmChina Market Monitor, told Yicai Global. "Thus,it is notstrangethat Huaweiisstartingto produce televisions," Pengsaid.

Huawei will notjustcontinue todevelop its business inthecommunicationsindustry assuchdevices--including smartphones--no longer enjoy rapid growth,but mustalsoembark ona new strategicsector,Peng believes. Since Internet of Things and'smart family'hold forth rosy future prospects, the companyhas alsodeployed in family routersand family internet. Large intelligent displaysare likewise a key featurein smart home appliances.

Amultitude of peoplealsouse Huawei-branded phones andthe company thusneedsto meet their needs toexploittheir value. TV usersaregradually gettingused to payingfor videos, witheachuser ofChinese intelligent TV payingon average CNY60(USD8.75)per year to color TV makers. If a company has tens of millionsof users ofintelligent TV, it can achieve operating profit of CNY600 million(USD87.5 million),which showsthepotentialfor futuredevelopment ofthelargesmart display market.

Huawei wanted to exploretheTV business two and three years ago and planned to provide overall solutions for European clients,encompassing communication devices to terminal products.Itnegotiated with panel makersat that timeabout 4K TV, but hasstillmadenoclearprogress today, anunidentifiedinsiderwithupstream TV providerstoldYicai Global.

Huawei willhenceforthtarget 5G applications to explore TV businessesasit is meaningless to develop 5G applications onlyformobile terminals, since5G has two applications in terminals: driverless cars and 8K displays. Sinceafamily needsto paydearlyto increaseitsbroadband speed,5G wireless communication technology can meet the demand of 8K ultra-high-definition displays,andthe companythereforeprojects huge potentialfor the8K television market.

Huaweihasteamed with BOETechnology Group -- whose"three core businesses aredisplay andsensordevices,smartsystems andhealthcareservices,"per its website --several timesthis yearto explore businesses in 8K display market and exhibited 8K display solutions inthe5G communication era.

Following CSTB Telecom and Media 2018 in Russia in January andtheMobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona, Spainin February, Japanese communicationsoperatorDocomo, together with Huawei and BOE, firstly realized the 8K+5G video livestreaming and 8K video-on-demand during the EXPO COMM Wireless Japan in May.

8Kresolutionisthe highest ultra-high TVresolution in digital televisionand cinematography, and denotes a7,680-pixelhorizontal resolutionthatformsan overall image dimension of (7680×4320),alsoknown as 4320p.

Editor: Ben Armour