How smart is a smart TV?
Over the last years computers have
gradually become more and more popular as the source of knowledge and,
especially, entertainment, thus eclipsing television sets which once used to be
one of the most luxurious products available. With time TVs have become bigger
and bigger; then they have become flatter and flatter; now, in order to be able
to compete with computers, they are becoming smarter. Today the market is being
swooped by smart TVs. What is it, though, that makes them so “smart”?
The first characteristic that one
may think of is naturally the ability to connect to the Internet, however this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Smart TVs have an embedded capability to access various online features, such
as social media sites and Video on Demand services. Therefore, depending on its
brand and model, a TV may allow the use of Facebook, Twitter, possibly Skype,
and more importantly Netflix, YouTube or Vimeo. Furthermore, the user is also
allowed to download miscellaneous applications which may largely extend the
content available. Nowadays the producers offer a wide choice of those: more
VoD apps, applications providing news, but also games and programmes which
connect to smartphones and smartwatches. Many of those apps are simply gadgets
one can brag about, but it is platforms like Netflix, with their online
premieres that are the future of smart TVs.
Another characteristic feature is
the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) which allows one to play the content
from one's smartphone, computer or other electronic device connected to the
same network on a smart TV. It is an extremely convenient property, since
searching for content with a TV remote control is still much less practical
than with the use of computer mouse or touch screen.
This consequently leads to the
disadvantages of smart TVs. Without another facility available, typing with a
remote control is a real nightmare and the only alternative is voice control
which, as many may know, is still imperfect. A much greater concern was caused
by the fact that smart TVs, just as computers with webcams and microphones, can
be hacked and monitor what their owners do and say. As it turns out, the users
are not able to verify which data is collected. The producers, on the other
hand, are either unwilling or unable to provide sufficient security. In today's
world information is one of the most precious resources.
With a view to enduring on the
market, TVs are forced to expand their offer and consequently become another
electronic device offering every possible feature their producers can think of.
The question that arises is: will they become the bigger, stationary versions
of smartphones, or just regress to serving as huge monitors?
Sources:
Comments
People of course will use Smart TV to use some avaliable apps, but I don't think that's device for games for example.
In my opinion the most useful apps in Smart TV designed to watch some movies and that's it.
The only think that annoys me about Smart TVs is the way you have to type. It’s really inconvenient using remote to type movie title or just navigate on screen.
Internet access lets the user enjoy streaming video services such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube. A number of more traditional stations, such as ESPN and HBO, offer online components compatible with smart TVs. Users can also listen to music with applications such as Pandora or through a web browser, which gives them access to any music that they can find online.
However, these features aren’t exclusive to smart TVs. Regular TV users can take advantage of these same features, but they can only do so with a connection to an external component. The most commonly used method of enhancing a regular TV’s entertainment options is through the use of gaming consoles. These are typically capable of Internet access and often come with a number of applications similar to those that are standard on smart TVs.
In fact, I'm kinda shocked how well they sell - I always thought that typical people still watching TV will be too afraid of technology to make use of them, while people familiar with technology will skip watching TV altogether. It looks like my assumptions were wrong, maybe not entirely, but at least a major part of it. Maybe I should take a look what is so interesting in this... :)
Our generation doesn’t watch TV, but most of the use do watch Netflix or Youtube. Why don’t I use smart TV? It’s a very expensive device. As a developer, I can have much more opportunities buying a good quality monitor with a mini-jack port for connecting speakers and a Chromecast - the device to stream youtube videos from my phone to the monitor.
Another great alternative is creating a smart TV out of a Raspberry PI. You can install Kodi and have the same smart TV for 200 PLN.
I think that they will make regular computer from TVs with some custom manufacturers OS and won't change anything else.
What I didn't like about this TV is uncomfortable using of pilot while browsing, but this minus is small.
I definitely will by a huge Smart TV when I'll have such an opportunity.
This solution has made my life so much easier and I can’t imagine myself going back to the times where I could not be using smart TV.
I'm using YouTube and Vimeo a lot - the first one for because it's popularity and availability of the content. Vimeo mostly for music and materials that are not available on YouTube.
Sometimes I'm using Skype (camera hides after connection is over so I don't have a problem that my TV is secretly recording me).
I have Android TV because I'm using few apps TVP Vod, many documentaries available and recently watched polish version of Kryptonim Szef there - it is great. For sport I have Eleven app with payed subscription - it easier to use then one offered from the TV operator.
Lot of things are easier with SMART TV - I had a problem with three TV's in the house, because my cable operator charged for every decoder/addon card to watch digital TV. Now in one of the rooms there is just an app from operator with all the channel's I'm watching directly from the internet. Easier, cheaper and it works :)
Someone can think "Right, it's because of technology which is still older than in case of rest devices, like smartphones, laptops". But not, just now people want to watch or read news which are interested for
them, make selection their own, not served by tv channels.
I imagine using your voice to control it can get annoying. Not to mention, it's an interesting observation that the TV can be listening to us at all times, I never thought about it.
As the article says - I hate this remote control navigation, but you can connect is with your smartphone and it will get better. I use this TV only because I already have it, but now I don't think I would buy it again. It is not necessary in my life.
And I think that all the devices would become smarter and smarter in future. Because now people tend to be interested in new technologies. Smart phone, smart tv, smart car, smart house - If only people would be that smart:)
I’ve never had a television at home so I can’t really answer all your questions.
Smartphones will never take the place of the television but the tv can become like stationary smartphones because of the integrations that will occur when people will start to have less time to spend in their homes. Tv like pc integration with smart home technology and Wi-Fi connection to all the home devices will save us a lot of time and effort. Home will become more like a life assistant, not only the place to rest. I hope it will happen sooner than later so we could all enjoy it.