A Smart TV, also known as a connected TV, is a traditional television set with integrated Internet and interactive Web 2.0 features, which allows users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. Smart TV is a technological convergence of computers, television sets, and set-top boxes.
1.Fast User Interface
One of the most must-have of the must-have features in a Smart TV is one that
you won’t give a second thought—or a second’s thought to—if you already have
it: speed. If you have a Blu-ray Disc player, you know how annoying it is to
wait for what seems like an eternity for the disc’s main menu to load and
finally appear on your screen. Likewise, some Smart TVs take eons (okay, maybe
it’s only decades) to switch from one app, function, or input to another. A
blazingly fast interface that lets you do what you want to do almost before you
know you want to do it is a must if you don’t want to find yourself endlessly
irritated by how sluggish your Smart TV is.
2. Streaming Video
Services
If all you do is watch movies rented from a red kiosk or tune in to the local
nightly news broadcast, then you don’t need a Smart TV. Frankly, if that’s the
case, you need to get a life. The other option is to get a Smart TV and sign up
for at least one (but probably more) online streaming video service, such as
Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant, Vudu, Hulu Plus, Crackle, or even Funny or Die.
There’s also Showtime Anytime, HBO Now, and CBS All Access. If you have a fast
Internet connection, there are more movies and TV shows to stream than you’ll
ever have time to watch—but, you can only stream them if your Smart TV has an
app(s) that supports the online service(s) you want to use. Sling TV, for
example, is an affordable alternative to your cable subscription, but it might
as well not exist if your TV isn’t compatible with it.
3. 4K UHD Streaming Video
At the moment, there isn’t a deluge of 4K Ultra HD content available to stream
from the Internet. There is a bit, though, mainly from Netflix, Amazon Instant,
M-GO, and a few others. While it might seem logical that owning a 4K UHD Smart
TV with a subscription to one of these services would automatically provide
access to their particular 4K UHD selections, it doesn’t. Your Smart TV has to
be compatible with that specific service. Not all TVs are, nor are all the
services, and vice versa, and…confused? If 4K UHD streaming is important to
you, check with the websites for these services to see which Smart TVs are
compatible—and make sure you have a fast Internet connection. (Netflix
recommends “at least 25 megabits per second to stream Ultra HD titles.”)
4. Music Streaming
Listening to music might not be the first activity you think about when
considering a new Smart TV, but—if it’s available on your TV—you’ll be
surprised at how much you’ll use it, especially if the TV is in a kitchen, a
bedroom, or some other location in the house where you don’t already have an
audio system. As with streaming video services, though, not all Smart TVs have
apps for some of the most popular services, such as Pandora, Spotify,
iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Check the Smart TV’s app store to see if your favorite
music streaming service is available. The speakers in nearly every TV—smart,
average, or dumb as a brick—sound weak and wimpy, however, so we highly
recommend using a set of bookshelf speakers or a decent soundbar with the TV to
make the experience more enjoyable.
5. Media Player
It’s much more pleasant to look at family photos on a 50- or 60-inch screen in
your living room instead of scrunching everyone together in front of a tiny
computer screen—or, worse, passing around a smartphone. A basic DLNA-compliant
media player can provide access to all of the digital videos, photos, and music
located on a network-attached storage device or computer on your home network.
More advanced media players and servers, such as plex, can organize,
categorize, and convert your content, making it super-easy to access all of
your digital stuff.
6. Recommendation Engine
Netflix does it. Amazon does it. Even friends do it. “If you liked this,” they
say, “then you might like…” or, “Other people who bought this also bought…” So
why shouldn’t your Smart TV offer suggestions, too? It’s true that sometimes
recommendations from these single-minded algorithms can be a little strange and
creepy—especially when multiple people get swirled together under the same
profile—but more often than not they can provide some very useful suggestions
when the specific movie or TV show you want isn’t available to stream.
7. Universal Search
One blessing of the Internet is that we have so many choices of online
streaming services, but it’s also a curse because finding what you want to
watch is often a daunting, time-consuming task of searching through each
service one-by-one. Most Smart TVs have a built-in search engine or “guide”
that will look for the particular movie, TV show, actor, genre, or whatever.
They’re not all equally as thorough, though. While some look virtually
everywhere, others only peruse certain services. If you want a really smart
Smart TV, get one with the widest search capabilities.
8. Games
You can use your Smart TV to watch movies and listen to music, so why not use
it to play games, too? Many Smart TVs have game apps, which is okay as long as
you like playing Solitaire or Angry Birds. But gaming is getting more
sophisticated on some of the newest Smart TVs. Several models from Sony and
Samsung, for example, can access the PlayStation Now game streaming service.
Take note: These require using a Sony Dualshock 3 or Dualshock 4 controller.
9. Transfer Smartphone Content to the Smart TV
Different companies call it different things, such as “flinging,” “casting,”
“second screen experience,” or “swipe & share.” Whatever the name, the
ability to send content from your smartphone or tablet to your TV can be
priceless. (Well, maybe not priceless, but extremely valuable, at least.) With
a compatible app on your phone or tablet, you can display photos, play videos,
and transfer streaming content wirelessly from your smart device to the Smart
TV. It’s not limited to just your smart device, either, so friends and family
can “fling” their photos and videos to your Smart TV if their devices and apps
are compatible.
10. App Store
Your Smart TV may be the smartest in the world today, but technology doesn’t
stand still. It’s important that your Smart TV has access to an app store that
offers a wide variety of applications so it can keep up to date with new
services and features as time goes on by downloading new and updated apps. Some
Smart TV companies, such as Samsung, Vizio, and LG, have their own proprietary
app stores with different numbers of apps. Smart TVs from Sony and Sharp, which
are based on the Android TV operating system, have access to over 600 apps. The
recently developed Firefox OS, which Panasonic is beginning to use in its Smart
TVs, will have its own app store, as well.