We have to buy a modern TV and we do not know what Smart TV means, an inscription that we find on the advertising sign or on the TV label that we have chosen "> how 3D TVs work we will enter the world of Smart TV with its advantages and disadvantages, so that we can make a precise decision also based on our interests and needs. At the end of the reading we will be able to decide completely independently if it is better to buy a Smart TV or focus on TV models without smart components.
READ ALSO: Best Smart TVs for operating system: Samsung, Sony, LG, Panasonic
What does Smart TV mean?
Smart TV is the type of TV that we can define as intelligent (hence the use of the term smart) because the viewer can interact with it, obtaining additional information, services and features through an Internet connection.
Therefore an important component to take advantage of a Smart TV is Internet connectivity, obtainable via Ethernet cable or via WiFi connection .
Practically all modern Smart TVs adopt both types of connection, but there are also some TVs on the market that only have an Ethernet port but that do not have Smart functionality (so watch out when we buy this type of TV, the presence of an Ethernet port is not synonymous Smart TV as it can also be used for DLNA).
If the TV we have viewed instead has a WiFi connection module , you have almost absolute certainty that it is a Smart TV (TVs with WiFi and no Smart functionality are very rare, since in this case the module would be of the everything useless).
To connect, simply enter the Settings menu of the Smart TV, look for the Network or Network section and configure access to the home WiFi network to be able to take advantage of all the Smart features of the TV.
Both if we connect the TV to the Internet and if we do not connect it, the TV channels will always be visible since they will be managed like any other TV (i.e. by connecting the antenna cable, starting the channel search and finally typing the preferred channel number for the vision).
Smart TVs can be controlled by voice, with Smart remote controls or with gestures and have an internal operating system (upgradeable at the manufacturer's discretion) with which apps (very similar to those available for Android and iOS) can be installed: this mix of features allow us to do many additional things besides seeing the classic channels on digital terrestrial.
Advantages of a Smart TV
A Smart TV is able to stream movies and videos, both offered for free ( RAI or YouTube apps for example) and for a fee from sites such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Vodafone TV, TIM Vision, Now TV and Infinity.
Using these services is really very simple and rewarding, since we can bring most of the Internet services accessible from PC and smartphone to the living room to be able to view them in high quality on a very large screen.
On a smart TV we can connect a USB stick or portable hard drive to play videos and music or you can play movies that are on the computer connected to the same network with DLNA streaming, thus transforming our home into a true advanced multimedia center (the PC in your room or office that downloads and manages multimedia content, the TV that plays them faithfully reproduces in the living room).
On a Smart TV we can also surf the Internet as if we were on the PC thanks to the integrated browsers and we can install a large number of different apps such as Skype, Facebook or games like Angry Birds.
Another not insignificant advantage is the recording of the television programs transmitted on a USB stick or on an external disk to be able to view them calmly at another time (as if we had a real video recorder) or to see the channels transmitted on the Internet via IPTV (both with dedicated apps both via the browser).
Disadvantages of a Smart TV
Although the list of advantages that we have listed could immediately make you think of Smart TV as something with many advantages and zero problems, technology is not all roses.
The main problem of Smart TVs concerns the installed operating systems which are often very limited, full of bugs and not very flexible to technological changes.
Imagining that an average TV lasts even more than 5 years we run the risk of often finding ourselves with an obsolete and almost unusable Smart TV after only two years, because the operating system or firmware are no longer updated by the manufacturer, the streaming apps more famous are no longer compatible and therefore we can no longer do anything "Smart" if not browse the browser or access content shared on the network via DLNA.
This problem is very evident and must be kept in high consideration, because unlike a real computer it is not possible to update the internal components of a TV.
We can minimize the obsolescence effect by focusing on TV with constantly updated operating systems for the first period (such as Samsung, Sony and LG) or on modern Android TV, or TV with Android as operating system and therefore full support for apps normally available for smartphones (which tend to be compatible with older systems even after 3 years, so they become obsolete more slowly).
Conclusions
As we have seen with Smart TVs, on the one hand we have enormous potential that is certainly very useful, but on the other the rather frustrating technical limits that can make us regret the purchase after a few years or even a few months (if we buy an already obsolete model even if Smart).
The market situation is similar to that of 3D TVs, although this technology has not broken through much in the home market and is rapidly disappearing.
Let's summarize in a complete list whether or not we should buy a Smart TV:
- If we have a Full HD TV but without Smart functionality, we can integrate them using a Chromecast or an Amazon Fire TV Stick, spending much less and obtaining excellent results in terms of multimedia and viewing quality.
- If we have a first generation Full HD Smart TV, most likely, we will immediately feel the effects of obsolescence on some services and apps; we recommend to immediately point to a Chromecast or an Amazon Fire TV Stick to stay "updated", even more if 2 years have passed since the purchase.
- If we have a non-Full HD TV (cathode ray tube TV, plasma TV or the first LCD TV models) we recommend buying a Smart TV to immediately enjoy the benefits of apps and 4K streaming services, avoiding the most Full HD TVs possible (often already obsolete or near obsolescence).
- If we have a 4K TV we already have Smart TV features and they should be enough for at least another 2 years.
We fall into one of the categories where we recommended changing TVs "> Samsung Smart TV
- LG Smart TV
- Sony Smart TV
- Panasonic Smart TV
- Smart TV Hisense
- Philips Smart TV
In another article we also saw how to create a home cinema system to connect to the TV to watch movies and videos online.
Furthermore, as shown, you can easily connect a laptop to the TV and you can create a multimedia station with a few Euros using a Raspberry PI.
READ ALSO: Best Smart TVs to buy
