• January 26, 2023

What is smart TV?

The latest waves of flat-panel digital TVs hitting our shores this year are being marketed as “smart TVs.” What does this mean and what benefits do they have? Let’s try to explain this concept in a simplified way.

First up: a very quick story about the evolution of television.

Television technology has advanced rapidly over the years, progressing from the basic “Square” 4:3 analog CRT tube. The introduction and sharp rise in popularity of DVD saw the implementation of widescreen televisions to accommodate this format. As the trend to watch movies in widescreen digital format became the standard, similar steps had to be taken for everyday television viewing. So the integration of digital set-top boxes started, and our TV networks started airing our TV shows digitally to coincide with that. As audiences began to embrace the “theater” experience, the next natural progression was larger screens, thus plasma, LCD, and later LED panels were introduced. In the years that followed, aside from the obvious improvements in clarity, sound, and design, the only major change made to TV technology was size: demand called for larger, thinner TVs. Over the last year or so, the introduction of 3D technology was the next “big thing,” as was the demand for greener panels.

So we’ve seen televisions evolve from a bulky square picture tube with a choice of five stations to watch in analogue, to large, ultra-thin, high-definition panels capable of displaying 3D images and a choice of more than twenty TV channels. transmission. many digital widescreen programs. Add to that a very steep drop in price and an increasing focus on green performance – we’ve certainly come a long way. So where from here?

Introducing Smart TVs…

The Internet is now a dominant part of our daily existence. Our mobile phones have now evolved from devices used just to make phone calls to “smartphones”, basically mobile phones with internet access. The same technology has seeped through our televisions and coined the phrase: “Smart TV.” The new waves of smart TVs today have a very broad focus on interactive online media such as Internet TV, streaming media, social networking, and web browsing. Similar to how internet browsing, web widgets, and software like games or apps are integrated into today’s smartphones, the same trend towards such connectivity has now become part of today’s televisions, creating a convergence. between computers and digital television. Smart TVs allow viewers to search and find movies, video clips and photos on the internet, stored on a home hard drive, through their TV, using their remote control.

Smart TVs will eventually change the way we access media in our homes

This convenience will eventually change how we access media in our homes, or more precisely, where we access our media from. An example would be not having to run to our local video stores just to rent a movie. By pressing a couple of buttons on our TV remote, we suddenly have access to hundreds of movies available to stream from the comfort of our living room. Apps (or “apps” as they’re commonly known) add yet another facet for us to explore. There is an unlimited number of applications that can be created. If you are an I-Phone user, you will have already come across dozens and dozens of nifty apps that you now find it hard to live without. There are apps for everything from live news and weather forecasts to catch-up episodes of TV shows, the latest sports news from your favorite team, as well as live scores and, of course, the entire social media forum like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. These are now at your fingertips, transforming televisions into a highly diverse media network. The ability to call via Skype is also an option, with the help of a brand-specific Skype camera. While a small number of these features have been available in some form over the past year from some TV manufacturers, 2011 will see the introduction of unrestricted web browsing on some models. This opens up an unlimited range of possibilities by transforming your TV into a fully functional web browser.

Smart TV: Internet in your living room

There’s a distinct benefit to not having to go to the effort of turning on your PC, which is usually in another room, to perform tasks like shopping for items on eBay, checking your email, or Googling something you just grabbed. his interest in television. With large HD screens and web pages fully optimized to fit, there is certainly a clear advantage to surfing the internet from the comfort of your living room rather than through a small laptop screen or sitting at your computer desk. . Even if you have photo, music, movie or video files stored on your home computer, you can access them all wirelessly through your home network and stream them directly to your TV.

So, in short…

Smart TVs are the next generation of digital flat screen TVs, merging the functionality of your TV and computer into one.

With the ability to stream HD movies, connect with your friends via Facebook and Twitter, stream TV shows and get instant access to news, sports and weather – all from the comfort of your living room and on a big screen HDTV. Some of the higher-end digital TV models will offer built-in web browsers, opening up unrestricted web browsing right to your TV. As plasma and LED displays have evolved to become thinner, more energy efficient and giving us amazing full HD clarity. We now have an unlimited variety of media applications open to us, giving us versatility and cross-functionality like never before.

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