A smart TV claims to make watching movies easier; newer models are capable of smart home integration and voice control as well.
Its holiday season and everyone is out there shopping for something. Amazing sales are observed in this season not just on the apparel but also on the electronics. People look for reasonable sales to get themselves new smart TV, sound systems, gadgets etc. We often get confused with the term “Smart TV” and a great many companies are competing against each other to provide a good smart TV experience to their customers. Most of us are left startled by the sparkly displays wondering what really a smart TV is? Almost all TVs on the market now claim themselves to be smart. Well, it is very human to get confused between all those features and fancy marketing techniques. If my current cable subscription works well with the smart TV? What is the difference between smart and internet-enabled TV? Which one is the smartest? What features do I really need?
Regular TVs have been around for a few decades now, entertaining us with broadcast shows, sports, news, and movies, reliably. However, why is everyone dinging around calling them “dumb”? Well, with the growing times, the expectations from a television set have grown too. Receiving signals from an antenna, cable audio/video source and transmitting on the screens is not enough anymore.
It is the age of “smart” TV. These TVs just like smartphones and other home devices come internet connectivity enabled and are capable of supporting a whole range of apps. This now opens a whole world of better entertainment options like playing video games, making skype calls, streaming videos, scrolling through your social media and controlling a smart household, the options are enormous. Some models also come with voice recognition software like a Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa.
This happened to me when I decided to switch finally from the regular HDTV to a “Smart” TV. I have been a very satisfied customer of cox cable tv for over a year now, and one major concern for me was if I could continue my cable subscription with this new device or if I’ll have to let go of it. To my relief, these TVs are actually “Smart”. After getting it, the only change in your home will be that TV (which gives you control over your watching options, gaming, and other things) on the wall and nothing else. Isn’t that great?
When they claim access to social media, smart home control, voice recognition, and video streaming, the next question arises, how a TV will connect to the internet? Well, a smart TV uses the same internet connection that your house has, it works equally fine with a wired Ethernet or a built-in Wi-Fi to stay connected to the internet. However, an Ethernet connection offers more unperturbed connectivity as compared to Wi-Fi. As for a Wi-Fi connection, you’ll have to bear the router’s range in mind, like a TV in the basement might get weaker Wi-Fi signals from the router resulting in video buffering, that we all hate.
Not all smart TVs have a generic interface or operating system. Every Smart TV manufacturer has a differently designed operating system and a different user interface/ display or graphics. However, some of the common features offered by all smart TVs include support to streaming apps like Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video, and Hulu, etc. Lower priced Smart TVs have a selected set of supported applications but the higher-priced variants offer a wide range of supported applications. Smart TVs also support online gaming and have an app store of their own offering access to a whole bunch of smart apps. Some manufacturers are now adding the voice assistant feature to their smart TVs so you can switch channels just by asking the TV to do so.
In one word, Yes. As smart TV slowly dissolving the fine difference line between a TV and a PC, the chances of its system being crashed or hanging are increasing in parallel. Just like smartphones and PCs, Smart TVs also run on Operating systems and they can crash as well. How to fix them. The simplest and tried and tested method is to restart the device altogether and you’ll most probably be good to go.
I have fleetingly touched the main offerings by a smart TV, enough to convince you to get one. Nonetheless, comment below if you have more questions to ask about the breakthrough in Television technology that came in 2013.