Data 5: VCD and Jiang Wanmung

Jiang Wanmong, founder of Anhui Wanyan Company

In 1992, at the International Radio and Television Technology Exhibition held in the United States, an inconspicuous MPEG (image decompression) technology exhibited by C-CUBE in the United States aroused the interest of Jiang Wanmung, then general manager of Anhui Modern Group. He immediately thought by intuition that using this technology to make images It is stored on a small CD at the same time as the sound. Since then, Jiang Wanmang has invested $57 million. In September 1993, he successfully applied MPEG technology to audio-visual products and developed a good and inexpensive audio-visual product - VCD. In December of the same year, he and Sun Yansheng, a Chinese-American, jointly invested 17 million US dollars to establish Wanyan Company, each taking a word in the names of Jiang Wanmeng and Sun Yansheng as the company name.

In the face of the reporter's interview, Jiang Wanmung looked extremely calm, and he seemed unwilling to mention the past.

In the VCD feasibility report of Anhui Institute of Modern Television Technology in 1993, there is a description that this is the only opportunity that China may lead in the field of consumer electronics at the end of this century. To this end, Jiang Wanmg conducted a series of market surveys and obtained a series of figures: in 1993, the sales volume of combined audio in China was 1.42 million units, the sales volume of video recorders was more than 1.7 million units, the sales volume was 1 million units of LD video recorders, and the sales volume was more than 1.6 million units. At that time, the LD CD was four or five hundred yuan, while the price of the VCD machine was only about 10% of its CD, so it can be predicted that the annual sales volume of the VCD machine will reach about 2 million units.

Chinese people did not gradually understand VCD until the end of 1994. In this year, Wanyan produced tens of thousands of VCD machines. Not only that, Jiang Wanmong also has to develop discs. He can't let the people buy guns without bullets. To this end, he purchased copyrights from 11 audio and video publishers and launched 97 kinds of karaoke discs. Less than a year after its initial establishment, "Wanyan" gave everything it had, created a market, established a resounding brand, and formed a set of molding technologies, dominating the VCD world.

It can be said that Wanyan's start-up is successful and brilliant. However, Wan Yan also made a glass of bitter wine for herself. To Jiang Wanmung's sadness, almost all of the first 1,000 VCD machines launched by Wan Yan were bought as prototypes by home appliance companies at home and abroad and became the object of dissection.

Some people think that the biggest mistake made by Jiang Wanmung was not knowing about patent protection. When the reporter asked him about this matter, his answer was quite frank: "At that time, I thought it didn't make much sense to apply for a patent without applying. The key is to let the product occupy the market as soon as possible."

Perhaps it is the difference in this idea that makes Jiang Wanmong lose an excellent opportunity to dominate the market, and also makes China lose half of the country that should have taken the initiative in the development of this industry. Today, many years later, when the reporter asked him if he regretted it, he just smiled faintly. The smile was a little helpless, a little guilty, and even more with his permanent regret.

Jiang Wanmung founded Wan Yanshu and raised the flag of China's VCD machine, and he should also be praised by the Chinese people for this. But judging from Wan Yan's final ending, Wan Yan's rise and fall is somewhat sad. If Jiang Wanmung immediately applied for a patent when he developed the first VCD machine; if the state invested 240 million yuan at that time, the plan of Anhui as the production and development base of China's VCD machines became a reality; if... the development history of China and even the world's VCD machines may be another kind. How to write - an epic with Chinese people singing the main theme!?

Therefore, some people compare Jiang Wanmung to the "revolutionary martyrs" on the road of China's digital optical disk technology development.

When it comes to the VCD machine, it is necessary to talk about its founder Jiang Wanmung. The world's first VCD machine was produced in China.

The world's first VCD

It was developed by Jiang Wanmung in September 1993.

After graduating from Jiang Wanmeng University, he has been engaged in TV technology. He felt heartbroken to see that most of the core technology of China's TV equipment is in the hands of foreigners, and Chinese enterprises spend a lot of money on it every year.

In the 1980s, the spring breeze of reform and opening up urged people to forge ahead. Jiang WanmENG, an engineer of the Institute of Modern Television Technology in Anhui Province, wants to "go out and have a look" like thousands of intellectuals in China who are determined to start a business.

In April 1992, the American International Radio and Television Technology Exhibition was held in Las Vegas, USA. This was the world's largest TV technology fair at that time. Jiang Wanming, the current general manager of Anhui Group, took his colleagues to the beauty exhibition.

At the exhibition, in front of a 2-square-meter booth, employees of C-CUBE in the United States were introducing the MPEG (image decompression) chip they developed, which attracted Jiang Wanmang's great attention. With the unique ** of intellectuals and the nature of exploration and pursuit, Jiang Wanmung circled around the booth like a demon for three days in a row. He thought about this inconspicuous technology and made a leap in understanding: with MPEG technology, images and sounds can be stored on a small CD at the same time to make an audio-visual product VCD (VideoCompactDisc). In this way, the radio and television industry can end the history of tape recorders unifying the world and usher in a new era of CD recording.

This pioneering idea inspired Jiang Wanmung to search up and down.

At the exhibition, Jiang Wanmeng met with Sun Yansheng, chairman of C-CUBE. Coincidentally, Sun Yansheng is a Chinese-American, and the two of them are like old friends at first sight. Jiang Wanmang said his ideas and interests, and the two sides agreed and decided to work together to create consumer electronic products using MPEG technology.

After returning to China, Jiang Wanmung quickly set the topic. To this end, he has done a serious market research and predicted that the annual sales volume of VCD machines for audio-visual products will reach 2 million units. In the feasibility report of the project, Jiang Wanmg clarified that this is the only opportunity for China to take the lead in the field of consumer electronics in this century.

On March 18, 1993, Jiang Wanmeng and Sun Yansheng jointly invested 17 million US dollars to establish Wanyan Company, which is intended to develop new audio-visual products with American MPEG technology.

Any technology used in new product research and development will not be smooth. In order to achieve a technological breakthrough in research and development, Jiang Wanmg has been sleepless all the way. He exerted great intelligence. After repeated experiments, the world's first VCD machine was successfully developed on September 4 and passed the national appraisal. This is the only world-leading achievement in the history of consumer electronic products, which attracts the attention of the world.

In the exhibition room of scientific and technological achievements of Anhui Institute of Modern Television Technology, people can see the world's first VCD machine. It is gratifying and heavy in people's hearts. Its fate is a flash in the pan.

In September 1993, Wanyan's first batch of 1,000 VCD machines went offline. It fully complies with the previously officially promulgated international image compression standard (MPEG1). Wan Yan is going to make a big plan. In 1994, Wanyan produced tens of thousands of VCD machines. At this time, Jiang Wanmeng promoted products to the market, advertised, acquired the copyrights of 11 audio and video publishers, and launched 97 kinds of karaoke discs, so that consumers could enjoy the rich audio-visual feast provided by VCD. Thanks to unremitting efforts, Wanyan VCD machine quickly occupied 100% of the market share. Wanyan VCD machine was successful in the first battle.

A wise man must have one mistake. Jiang Wanmang "lost" too much. Thinking of the development of audio, video and audio-visual products with MPEG technology, and the successful development of VCD machines are his independent intellectual property rights, which should be applied for patent protection, but he believes that it is impossible to collect patent fees in the case of unsound laws and give up. When he saw that Wanyan's first batch of 1,000 VCD machines were almost bought by domestic and foreign home appliance companies to dissect and make prototypes, he could only feel sad and helpless.

Subsequently, in 1995, all kinds of imitation VCD machines entered the market, and advertisements were also overwhelming, spending nearly 1 billion yuan a year on CCTV. The price war continues to heat up, and the competition has become a crazy battle.

By 1996, the national sales volume of VCD machines exceeded 6 million units, while Wanyan VCD machines had a market share of less than 3%, which had lost its leading position in the market. In just three years, Wanyan's VCD machine has been gone from gorgeous to brilliant.

VCD, VideoCompactDisc (VCD), is a standard for storing video information on CompactDisk. VCD can be played on personal computers or VCD players and most DVD players. The VCD standard was jointly formulated by Sony, Philips, JVC, Panasonic and other electrical manufacturers in 1993. It is a white paper standard for digital CDs.

VCD disc

VCD is the abbreviation of VideoCompactDisc: video compression disk.

Technical specifications

VCD is a full dynamic and full-screen video standard. Its format can be divided into:

The resolution is 352x240 pixels, 29.97 frames per second (suitable for NTSC standard TV playback)

The resolution is 352x240 pixels, with 23.976 pictures per second

The resolution is 352x288 pixels, with 25 pictures per second (suitable for PAL standard TV playback)

Overall, the resolution is about a quarter of the corresponding TV standard resolution. VCD video is encoded by MPEG-1 compression, and the audio is encoded by MPEG1/2Layer2 (MP2). The bit rates are 1150kbit/s for video and 224kbit/s for audio. The whole video quality is comparable to the VHS videotape.

Because the bit rate of VCD is equivalent to that of ordinary music CDs, a standard 74-minute CD can store about 74-minute VCD format videos.

VCD standard

VCD has three official standards: 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0:

1.0: Original version.

1.1: Revised version.

2.0: Added playback menu function (PBC), clear still screen playback function (704x480 or 704x576 pixels) and support for 352x288/25fps format.

3.0: Many people are said to have version 3.0, but no finished product has been published.

VCD application

VCD is widely used in Asia. In Hong Kong, VCD and DVD have completely replaced video tapes and laser discs in the distribution market.

VCD is expected to be replaced by DVD, but due to some of its characteristics, it will remain in the market for a period of time.

VCD does not have the same area code limit as DVD, which means that it can be viewed on any compatible machine.

Some programs will not produce DVD or VHS video versions due to cost problems, and buyers can only buy VCD versions.

VCD is cheaper than DVD, and the production cost is also low. Of course, VCD lacks many additional features provided by DVD, such as multilingual, multi-subtitle, multi-angle, menu, hyperlink and large capacity.

SVCD

SVCD is an improved standard for VCD. It adopts MPEG-2 compression and variable compression rate to obtain better video quality.

It is the same size as an ordinary CD, and there is no difference in structure. It is just that it stores film and television programs, so it is commonly known as "video disc", and because it is smaller than the LD video disc used on the laser disc player, it is also known as "small video disc". Its video playback quality is better than that of video tapes, but slightly worse than large DVDs. VCD discs can be played directly on the VCD machine or in a computer equipped with an optical drive.

VCD file format

VCD format is usually MPG or DAT

MPG is the format used for computer editing and saving

DAT is the format after being burned to a CD

What is VCD?

There may be many people who don't understand what VCD is. VCD is actually the abbreviation of VideoCompactDisk, which is a compressed image format. It uses MPEG-1 compression method to compress images, with a resolution of 352*240 (NTSC) or 352*288 (PAL) 1.15Mb/s VideoBitRate, and the sound format uses 44.1KHz sampling frequency and 16Bit sampling value. , Stereo stereo, (Before it is compressed, such an audio format is CD sound quality, that is, the sound quality of the music CD we often listen to.) MPEG-1layer2, 224Kb/s AudioBiteRate compression method. With this compression method, after restoring it to the music CD format, even trained professional auditioners can't tell the difference in sound quality from the original CD. That is to say, this compression method is a non-destructive compression.

The difference between DVD and CD and VCD discs

In addition to distinguishing from the logo, it can also be distinguished from the color of the disc. Generally, the color of the CD is aluminum white, or a little light with a little disk-based material

Blue, light green, etc. The DVD disc is a very obvious dark purple. In addition, there is also a difference in capacity. The capacity of the general CD disk is 700M, and the capacity of the DVD disk is 4.7G. Whether the two disks have been burned (or have data), you can see whether there is a color difference between the burning surface of the disc. If it is a burned CD, there will be two colors, and the place with data (inner circle) should be darker. The CD disc is not very obvious. You should look at the light diagonally and repeatedly, especially the fully engraved disc. It is easy to see whether the DVD has data or not.

It is necessary to clarify the difference between DVD discs and VCD discs. Their disk structure is very different, resulting in a big difference in capacity (CD: 600-700MB; DVD: about 4.3GB), and the amount of data stored is also different. VCD is a VideoCD disk, which belongs to CD. So if it is a Video disk, the duration or picture quality of DVD and CD are different. DVDs are better than CDs.

DVD is a CD format, while VCD is VideoCD, which means to store video content, but it is still the category of CD white paper. There are two storage media, DVD and CD, in industrial standards. In fact, physical standards such as the data density of the disk, laser wavelength, track spacing, rotation speed, and the material thickness of the disk are specified.

And VCD only means that the video is stored in this CD disk, just like MP3CD.

Let's clarify the concept of DVD player and VCD player. As the name implies, a DVD player is a device for playing DVD discs; VCD is a device for playing VCD discs. The main difference in the hardware of their equipment should be the different laser wavelengths emitted by the laser light-emitting tube.

Is the audio format of VCD MP3?

The correct name of

MP3 is MPEG-1layer3. In the audio part of the VCD format, although it is a compressed audio format, it is not the well-known MP3 music format, but MPEG-1layer2 format. Therefore, you can't use it to transcribe it into music CD format. Because most of the burning software only supports the function of W** file and MP3 file to burn CD.) If you really need to make the sound part of the VCD into a music CD, you only need to use a sound card with a recording program, record it into a W** file, and then use the burning software to burn the W** file into a CD format. There is no need for an image acquisition card. ( The built-in recording program in Windows itself is limited to 60 seconds and cannot be used, so you need to use the public program attached to the sound card to record.) MPEG-1layer1 and layer2 are compression processing methods specially developed for processing VCD audio formats, while layer3 is a well-known MP3 music format. The compression method of MP3 is 192Kb/s AudioBitRate, and the rest are the same as layer2. However, after restoring it to the music CD format, if you listen carefully and compare it, you can hear that it has a slight distortion in the sound quality of the original CD. That is to say, MP3 is actually a destructive compression method, so if you have high requirements for sound quality, MP3 is not a good choice for you. But relatively speaking, the file size of MP3 is only 1/10 the size of W** files with ordinary CD sound quality!

Please pay attention to the size of the image file

In terms of a blank CD, the capacity is about 650MB-680MB. The recorded music CD format can be put into a length of 74 minutes, while the recorded VCD image can be put down for about 50-60 minutes. Therefore, if the length of your image is more than 1 hour, please intercept it. So as not to exceed its maximum capacity when burning to a blank disc. Most importantly, when capturing images, you must pay attention to whether the image capture format parameters you set fully meet the VCD standards. As long as any of them does not match, the burned CD cannot be played, which is a failure.

Of course, the recent blank CDs are advertised as "ultra-long", with a capacity of 700MB. If it is converted into the format of a music CD, it is about 79 minutes, while the image of VCD can squeeze out nearly 70 minutes. However, in order to preserve the image for a long time, the author still recommends that users try not to burn so full and leave some space in the outer ring, because the track of the outer ring of the CD-R blank CD is usually not uniformly coated with the dye layer (that is, the part that can be burned), and it is also easy to touch the outside when you take and play. Circles, there are scratches or blurs on the surface, and it is easy to be unreadable after a long time.

Why can't the recorded VCD be played? I believe this is a headache that many people will encounter: why can the images I have made be played on the computer, but not on the VCD player after burning them into a CD? In fact, most of the problems are in the above "VCD-compliant parameters" option. Because VCD has its strict format regulations, and if the image format you make does not meet the VCD standards, the VCD machine will not recognize the CD you have burned, and of course it cannot be played. From this, you can know that not all MPEG-1 files can be burned into VCD! In addition, it may also be that your VCD machine has "picked the disk"!

So complicated?! How can I remember so many parameters?!

You may feel that paying attention to a lot of standard parameters makes you dizzy, but the author has no choice but to remind you to pay attention. Don't be timid. You can rest assured that most MPEG-1 image acquisition cards have a thoughtful design: you just need to check the "VCD" empty cabinet in the "Options" before you start intercepting, and the system will automatically lock the relevant parameter options and prohibit you from changing them. With images that meet the VCD standard, you can use it to burn VCD image discs. Isn't this very convenient?

How can I check whether the CD I burned is correct?

Here is a simple check tips to ensure that the burned VCD discs can be played on the VCD player. You just need to press the right mouse button to call out the function menu before burning, select "Property" and confirm that each data track is "YES" in the "Build StandardCompliant" item.

If after you confirm that the "StandardCompliant" has been met, your VCD machine still can't read the CD, but it can be played normally on the computer or other VCD machines, then your VCD machine is "picking the disk". You can try another brand of CD-R blank CD, or try again after cleaning your VCD machine with a cleaning CD.

What burning software should I choose?

You can use any burning program to burn, as long as it has a standard template that supports VCD. Well-known burning software include CDMaker, Nero, WinOnCD, EZCDCreator, EasyCDPro... and so on. When choosing the burning software, you must also consider whether this burning software can "know" your recorder. (You can find the answer on this point on the original website of each burning software.) And most importantly, whether it can support the burning of standard VCD format. For example, burning a CloneCD that players love can only be copied as a CD, but it does not support VCD burning! So even if you have this burning software, you can't burn VCD.

MPEG-1=VCD? MPEG-2=DVD?

Many people intuitively equate VCD with MPEG-1, DVD with MPEG-2, and think that the picture quality of MPEG-2 must be better than that of MPEG-1, which is not the right concept. Correctly speaking, VCD is just an image file made by MPEG-1 compression. Not all MPEG-1 files can be made into VCD. Similarly, DVD is just an image file made by the compression method of MPEG-2. It cannot be said that DVD is equivalent to MPEG-2.

MPEG-1 does not necessarily have to be made into VCD. It can also be played on the computer. MPEG-2 does not necessarily have to be made into a DVD. It can also be played on the computer, just like this, because it is not the standard format of VCD or DVD, your VCD or D The VD player doesn't know it, so it can't be played. In fact, the reason why VCD's picture quality is not good is that when the standard was set, its VideoBitRate (video stream) was limited to 1.15Mb per second, which was not accepted higher or lower than this value, not because it used the MPEG-1 compression method. .

Can the image quality of VCD be improved?

Many people always think that it is good to make DVD quality. In fact, in addition to commercial use, if you spend so much money purely for personal interests, it is not the best choice. In contrast, although the price of current DVD burners and DVD discs is approachable, in terms of the current popularity, DVD is far less than VCD. However, according to the VCD standard, because it has been limited to VideoBitRate (video streaming) with only 1.15Mb/s per second, although it tries its best, the image quality cannot be improved much. But if you don't have to make it into a VCD, then MPEG-1 files can also achieve excellent picture quality, and you don't have to use MPEG-2 compression to get good picture quality.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? The advantage is that the picture quality is greatly improved, and the CD disk can be stored for a long time without all the files stuffed into the hard disk to take up space. The disadvantage is that it cannot be played with a VCD player, and the length of the image that can be accommodated by a CD-R blank disc will also be greatly shortened. (Because the increase in the number of the number of files, the files will also become larger!) Therefore, this approach is very suitable for users who require high image quality but do not have a long image length, such as advertisers.

If you don't need to play on the VCD player, but just on the computer, why do you have to stick to the VCD format? Improving the video stream can greatly improve your picture quality, and now the price of the hard disk is also relatively cheap. The cost of saving the same video is much lower than that of the engraving disk. Why not?

VCD player

In the early 1990s, the formulation and publication of the standard algorithm of the International Organization for Standardization formed a starting point for the rapid transformation of data compression technology into new products in various industries, which triggered a revolution in film and television technology and brought modern household appliances into a new world of digital technology. The first VCD video disk machine in China was first launched by Hefei Meiling Wanyan Electronics Co., Ltd. in 1993. VCD video disk machine is a digital audio and video product that integrates optical, electrical and mechanical technology. It is the product of the combination of MPEG digital compression technology and CD technology. It is low in price, cost-effective, and rich in software programs, which has been recognized by people. Although it is inferior to LD and DVD in image clarity and timbre, it does not affect its entry into ordinary households, but has become a hot spot for the consumption of household appliances.

VCD video player is a new type of CD player developed after LD video player and CD CD player. It is a digital audio and video signal playback device. The movement, laser head and its servo circuit and digital signal processing circuit of the VCD video disk machine are the same as the CD player, but a set of MPEG decoding circuit and video D/A conversion and coding circuit are added on the basis of the CD player. Therefore, the VCD video disk can play CDs and VCD discs. For the image quality played by the VCD video player, the horizontal definition is 250 lines, which is equivalent to the replay image quality level of the home video recorder (VHS). In fact, because the VCD video disk machine adopts the laser beam reading information method, there is no wear on the CD and laser head, and the image quality will not deteriorate due to the long use time. Therefore, the image quality of the VCD video machine is better than that of the home video recorder.

The world's first VCD player

In the early 1990s, Wanyan, Jiangmen, Guangdong, developed and produced the world's first family VCD, creating the world's first VCD. But in just two years, Wan Yan, who has this leading technology, was finally submerged in the fierce competition in the same industry -

When it comes to VCD and Wan Yan, we can't help mentioning Jiang Wan Meng and Sun Yansheng. In September 1993, they applied MPEG (image decompression) technology to audio-visual and audio-visual products, and successfully developed a new high-quality and low-cost audio-visual product, which is the world's first VCD.

"Wan Yan" made the Chinese people know VCD and created the world's VCD industry.

But to Jiang Wanmeng's surprise, VCD has risen rapidly in China in just a few years and has become popular all over the world, becoming a large industry with an annual sales revenue of more than 10 billion yuan. Even Japan and the United States, which have a developed electronic industry, have to refer to the Wanyan VCD he developed.

Since 1996, China's VCD market has grown several times every year, with sales soaring from 600,000 units in 1995 to more than 6 million units in 1996, and sales reached 10 million units in 1997. In just five years, VCD DVD players have sold a total of 50 million units, and has spawned well-known domestic brands such as Aiduo, Bubugao and Xinke. However, "Wanyan" has changed from a "pioneer" to a "mioneer" in this industry, and its market share has dropped from 100% to 2%.

Why is Wan Yanyuan stuck by technological innovation

Talking about the reasons for the failure, Feng Yidan, chairman of Wanyan Company, said sadly that in terms of technology, "Wanyan" invented the VCD machine, but did not apply for a patent. After listing, it was imitated by domestic and foreign companies. These manufacturers entered the VCD industry with less investment and had sufficient funds for market development. However, "Wan Yan" did not protect its shield in the face of a group of competitors. In terms of funds, "Wanyan" invested 16 million US dollars in research and development in the early stage. At that time, the Chinese people's understanding of VCD was almost zero. In order to develop the market, "Wanyan" invested another 20 million yuan. Due to too much investment in the early stage, "Wanyan" was already embarrassed. The shortage of funds makes "Wanyan" difficult to make it difficult; in the initial stage of market development, "Wanyan" lacks experience in marketing and does not pay attention to the market operation of products. The funds are mainly deposited in the stage of technology development and market development. Compared with the momentum of "Aiduo" and other brands spending a lot of money on advertising and manufacturing, the marketing of "Wanyan" seems to be unsuffering. The market share has been eroded, and finally it is a wedding dress for others.

After "Wan Yan" disappeared from the market, the whole VCD industry changed. Major manufacturers continued to launch VCD products with additional new technologies. By 1999, in the fierce competition, many well-known enterprises were in trouble, and the "Little Overlord" closed down, and "Ai Duo" was strict. With heavy losses, the whole industry is facing transformation. DVD products began to replace VCD.

The trump card of the DVD is played again

After experiencing a variety of setbacks, "Wanyan" lay down and tasted gall, looking for the opportunity to rise again. In 1998, Guangdong Yi'an Group reached a transfer agreement with Anhui Wanyan Electronics Company. "Wanyan" flew south to Beiyan, settled in Jiangmen, and became Guangdong Wanyan Group. Last year, Hong Kong Jingfa Group reached a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Guangdong Wanyan to establish Jiangmen Ruineng Wanyan Electronic Products Company. Wanyan entered the era of Ruineng Wanyan. According to reports, Ruineng Wanyan has become a large-scale enterprise integrating the research and development, production and sales of digital technology products, with an annual production capacity of 3 million units, and the sales volume of Wanyan video discs ranked 12th in the country last year. Strive to enter the top three domestic DVDs within three years, and the ultimate goal is to become the "aircraft carrier" of China's digital industry.

In the face of the market opportunity for DVD to replace VCD, "Wanyan" has made great use of its years of technology research and development advantages and huge financial support to create glory again. Chairman Feng Yidan said that the DVD produced by Wan Yan will never repeat the mistakes of VCD. We have summarized the lessons learned in the past. Starting from the management of enterprises, we will take the development mode of "product research and development" and "marketing" at the same time, and continue to launch advanced digital products according to market demand. The products seize the market. When asked about the current joint attack of foreign 6C manufacturers on Chinese DVD products, Chairman Feng did not show much concern. He said that the technology and quality of Wanyan products have unique advantages. The new generation of DVD players sold 300,000 units in nine months, with a repair rate of less than 1%, which is a competitive advantage. The layout of our export products has also been adjusted in India, Russia and other countries, which will not be greatly affected.

Comment: Enterprises should not become the "victim" of technological innovation

Why does Wan Yan not only not benefit from technological innovation, but also become a "victim" of technological innovation?

It is obviously a crucial issue to analyze what strategies technology and market pioneers should adopt to effectively protect themselves and benefit from new technologies and products, while not giving followers the opportunity to imitate themselves, so that technological innovation can be maintained for a longer time.

A famous domestic economic expert believes that the durability of the pioneer's dominant position depends on the following four factors:

Source of technological innovation: The persistence of technology leadership depends to a large extent on whether this new technology is developed internally or externally. If it is the former, the dominant position of the pioneer can be maintained for a long time; if it is the latter, it will be difficult to maintain the technological leadership.

The ratio of technology development costs to enterprise sales: Compared with enterprises with a large market share, the research and development costs of enterprises with a small market share are relatively low.

Related process skills: If pioneers have unique process skills, scientific management, and innovative scientific researchers, they may maintain a leading position in technology for a long time.

The speed of technology dissemination: If followers can easily get the technology developed by pioneers, just as VCD technology is quickly imitated, the pioneers' technological innovation efforts will be "bamboo baskets". The means to prevent the rapid spread of technological innovation include: strict confidentiality system, patent application, preventing outsiders from visiting enterprises at will, developing production equipment by themselves, and retaining backbone technical personnel.

The development history of China's VCD

In September 1993, Jiang Wanmeng and Sun Yansheng produced the world's first VCD.

From 1996 to 1997, new brands such as Aiduo and Xinke began to enter the market on a large scale and occupied most of the VCD market.

In September 1998, there was a national debate over the SVCD and CVD standards. In August 1998, the Ministry of Information Industry formulated the Super VCD System Industry Specification, which took effect on November 1, 1998.

From October 1998 to July 1999, major DVD player manufacturers continued to launch VCD products with additional new technologies, such as super VCDs that can play MP3 and MIDI, handheld super VCDs and super VCDs that can be recorded. It even realizes functions such as VCD networking and voice repeating to realize VCD-assisted teaching in primary and secondary schools.

In January 1999, the advertising investment in the DVD player industry plummeted. In the fierce competition, many well-known enterprises are in trouble, such as the collapse of "Little Overlord" and "Ado" with serious losses.

In July 1999, major manufacturers coincidentally began to reduce prices on a large scale, and the prices of ordinary single-discs fell below 800 yuan/unit. DVD products began to replace VCD.

Maintenance and maintenance of VCD player

The first is shockproof

Although some brands of VCD machines have good shockproof performance, most VCD machines should not be used in places with vibration, otherwise it will affect their laser scanning accuracy and seriously affect the quality of audio and painting. Therefore, it is not appropriate to move the VCD machine frequently, let alone collision and impact. Even when handling, it should be handled gently to avoid affecting the components in the machine.

The second is dustproof

The precision of the components of the VCD machine is increased. If dust enters the machine, it will make its components not work properly, and even cause serious failures such as damage. Therefore, the VCD machine should be placed in a clean environment and corresponding dust-proof measures should be taken. When dust removal is carried out in the state of shutdown, it should be carried out by means of cold blowing or vacuum cleaner suction, and do not often disassemble the machine to remove dust.

The third is to prevent cold

In winter and spring when the temperature is low, if the VCD machine is placed at the door, window and other windward places, the VCD machine will inevitably be stimulated by the cold. This will make the VCD machine unable to use normally due to a "cold" and accelerate the aging of components.

The fourth is heat protection

VCD machine is afraid of both cold and heat. It is best to put it in a cool and ventilated place, not exposed to direct sunlight and close to stoves, heaters and other heat sources. Do not put the VCD machine on the amplifier and voltage regulator, and also avoid placing it on carpets, sofas and mattresses, so as not to hinder the heat dissipation of the machine.

The fifth is moisture-proof

VCD moisture easily blurs the optical lens, resulting in the laser beam not being able to pick up the signal normally. When the climate is humid or the weather changes suddenly, there will be dew or fog in the machine. If you use it, you should first turn on the VCD machine to warm up for a few minutes, and then place the disc to play. Usually, it should be kept dry around the machine. In wet weather such as rainy season, you should often turn on the machine to remove moisture. If the VCD machine is often wet, over time, the parts will rust and even the whole machine will fail.

Handling of common faults of VCD machines

1. It can't play normally after booting

(1) The disc is dirty. You can use VCD cleaner or soft cotton cloth to wipe and clean the discs with pure distilled water, and then try it after cleaning.

(2) The discs in the machine overlap, get stuck or slide out of the slot. You should open the enclosure to straighten the disc or take out the excess disc.

(3) If the ambient temperature is low and abnormal, you can test the machine while heating, and stop heating immediately when it is normal.

(4) There is a foreign body on the laser head. It can be cleaned with a special cleaning agent for the VCD machine, or open the case, and gently wipe the laser head with a little pure distilled water with a soft cotton cloth. You should be very careful when operating. If necessary, you can ask a professional to repair it.

2. Suddenly out of control during playback

(1) The button of the remote control has not been reset or the battery of the remote control has failed. Check the remote control button or replace the remote control battery.

(2) The temperature in the machine is too high. It is caused by too long boot time or high ambient temperature. At this time, it should be stopped to cool down and then turn it on again. If necessary, use a fan to cool down.

3. Sudden downtime during playback

(1) The power outlet has poor contact with the plug or has a power outage. Identify the cause and troubleshoot.

(2) I pressed the shutdown button by mistake. It should be restarted.

(3) Work in the playback timing state. Restart and cancel the playback timing.

The purchase of VCD DVD player

Pay attention to whether the size of the disk (LD and VCD) capacity can be, and pay attention to whether it is an audio disc player or a multi-disc (usually a three-disc) machine. The single-disk machine is more economical, but the multi-disk machine is more convenient. The compatible machine is a little more expensive.

(1) Pay attention to whether it has dual-microphone karaoke function and digital reverberation digital echo, tone change (language, tone conversion), aphraser (multi-level muffler) function, with the trinity of vision, listening and singing, convenient and practical functions.

(2) See if it has the function of retrieving the program list. This function is the main symbol of distinguishing between modifiers and all-in-one machines. VCD machines with this function all adopt the latest VCD2.0 standard, which can display the program list directly on the fluorescent screen and are compatible with CDG, CD-DA and CD-1. It is the most fully functional model at present.

(3) Check whether there is a PBC function. PBC IS THE ABBREVIATION OF PLAYBACKCONTROL. When playing the version 2.0 VCD disc, the machine with this function can realize human-computer dialogue without a computer, and can insert high-resolution still images and enjoy VCD music in ordinary CD players. The PBC function is an important sign of the performance level of VCD machine.

(4) Check whether there is a standard selection function. If you have this function, whether it is manual or automatic, you can play the NTSC format on the PAL format TV; otherwise, due to the different format, the image will become narrow when playing. Therefore, this is also the most basic condition for purchasing.

(5) Check if there is an output with S terminal. A large-screen color TV needs a VCD machine with an S terminal to show its high-definition characteristics.

(6) Pay attention to the performance-price ratio. The performance of foreign famous brand products is generally more reliable, but the price is much more expensive than that of domestic products of the same grade. Some domestic products have good product quality, functions, images and sound quality, especially error correction ability. The ability to play back VCD-10 old films is strong, such as Anhui Wanyan CDK•320, Shenzhen Xianke VCD-10, etc. The price is much cheaper than that of foreign products of the same grade, which should be considered when buying.

(7) Pay special attention to the model. Whether it is an imported machine or a domestic VCD player, you should choose the model produced by the VCD2.0 specification, because the performance of the VCD DVD player produced according to the 2.0 brand specifications is much better than the video disc player produced according to the 1.0 version and 1.1 brand specifications.

(8) Pay attention to the origin and manufacturer of the product. If it is an imported machine, there must be a commodity inspection instructions or certificate; if it is a domestic machine, it must have a product qualification certificate to confirm that it is a regular product. From the outside, the formal product design is elegant, the craftsmanship is excellent, and the instructions are exquisitely printed and clear; the factory name, factory site and maintenance outlets are clearly introduced.

(9) Please refer to the instructions in detail. Understand the technical indicators and various functions of the DVD player. In addition to checking the above functions with the instructions, we should also pay attention to the trial of multi-track song selection, replay and memory, program pre-cabination, and wireless remote control. The display program list and high-definition fixed-frame screen are the performance that MPEG-1 standard version 2.0 should have and must be checked. If the above requirements can be met, it indicates that its performance is excellent. However, some VCD players have more than 15 functions, and there are single, three, five or even seven discs, which can be selected according to the actual situation and requirements of the individual.

There is a DVD series product that is trial-produced according to the MPEG-2 standard. It also uses 12cm diameter discs and can record film and television programs for more than 130 minutes on one side. The definition is higher than VCD and LD, but the technical feasibility and price do not meet the appropriate requirements at present, which should be noted.

Finally, it is an anti-quality disc. They will overload the laser device, which will not only shorten the life of the laser device, but also easily damage the laser device. The result is not worth the loss.