Literally translated, “smart TV” stands for “smart” - such a device provides users with a number of additional capabilities. In addition to its intended purpose, the equipment is capable of entertaining users with media content (watching video files, music, photos), and in some cases working with data exchange applications. Smart TVs are no longer a novelty. At the dawn of their appearance, such devices were quite expensive, but in 2022 you can buy a model with smart functions for a modest amount. Let’s take a closer look at what the smart TV function means on a modern TV, and whether it’s worth choosing a Smart TV for your home.
What is smart TV
Smart TVs are TV models with a built-in operating system. Thanks to it, there is Internet access, an abundance of applications, game services and entertainment content. Smart TVs are like huge tablets that are controlled using the included remote control. The latter, by the way, are also not standard - they are compact in size, with a minimum of buttons and touch wheels for ease of control.
In addition, smart TVs can be a connection center for various home smart gadgets, including smart lamps, lamps, household appliances, and so on.
Registration in the online cinema
Before entering the activation code, we need to register on the start.ru website. You will learn about this from the web resource itself. To register on the site, we need to visit the page https://start.ru/signup. Or click on the “Try for free” button on the main page.
Click on the "Try for free" button
A registration form will appear on the right.
Further procedure:
- In the first empty line of the form you need to enter your mobile phone number or email address;
- Enter your password below and check the boxes to activate;
- Click on the “Register” button;
- The next page asks us to enter bank card details to pay for online cinema services. Or watch for free. To do this, click the appropriate button under the form.
You can cancel your subscription to start.ru at any time. The monthly cost of the service is about 200 rubles.
What can TVs with smart TVs do?
Replacement for regular television
Smart TVs can easily replace the coolest and most expensive cable package. After all, all this is here, but in a more pleasant and accessible form.
You can install games and applications on your smart TV. For example, there is a large selection of different services with hundreds of channels and huge databases of movies, TV series, cartoons, anime, documentaries, reality shows, and so on (Netflix, Megogo, ivi, Kinopoisk HD, PREMIER, and so on). A monthly subscription to such services usually does not exceed, or even less than, the cost of cable television, and there are much more opportunities and content.
Moreover, by subscribing to such a service, you can forget about advertising forever, which not only clears your brain of unnecessary information and eliminates the urge to buy something, but also frees up a lot of time while watching, because most of it is no longer occupied by advertising.
If you still like to watch TV channels, then you can do this on smart TVs. Moreover, on them you will have access to recordings of various broadcast programs, TV series, movies and more. Didn't get home from work in time to catch the latest episode of your favorite TV series? It doesn’t matter, because almost all the online cinemas described above keep all programs recorded and provide access to them for a week, two or even a month.
Replacement for smartphone and computer
Using SMART TV, you can easily surf the Internet through the built-in browser, hang out on social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, etc.), order food, goods and various services through downloaded applications.
Replacing a game console
On many smart TVs, you can easily play games from the Google Play app store. This means that your purchase is doubly profitable, because it partially replaced the capabilities of a PC and console.
You can play using the remote control, but it will be much more convenient to do it using a gamepad. Yes, the controllers easily connect to smart TVs and work without problems with racing, shooters, action games and other games that you download.
Smotryoshka
An excellent multi-platform TV and movie viewing service at a good price. Here, of course, there is a free trial period of 30 days, but it is better to focus on 249 rubles per month for the minimum tariff with 217 channels. Expensive? But you will have an excellent quality picture, the ability to pause, rewind or archive the broadcast for 14 days.
This application has another advantage - the ability to watch on several platforms at once. For example:
- Smart TV
- Telephone
- Tablet
- TV set-top box
- Computer/laptop
You can connect up to 5 devices for one subscription.
Advantages and disadvantages of smart TV
Advantages:
- The ability to connect to the Internet via cable or Wi-Fi for quick access to the necessary information.
- Possibility of control not only from the remote control, but also from a smartphone or tablet.
- The ability to play games without consoles and PCs.
- Access to entertaining and useful applications.
- Access to a huge database of cable channels, movies, TV series, cartoons and TV shows.
Flaws:
- Slightly higher price tag compared to regular TVs.
- A higher barrier to entry for users who do not deal with smartphones.
- Not the most powerful filling for mobile games.
Features of the operation of such a device
How to connect such a TV to the Internet? There are several ways:
- by connecting via a LAN port to a wired network (you will need an appropriate cable);
- using a Wi-Fi device;
- in outdated models a special set-top box is offered (in modern versions there are already built-in modules with wireless communication).
The operating volume and other parameters can be adjusted using voice commands - however, in inexpensive models you will have to repeat them several times.
If the model is top-end, then it can be equipped with a camera, as well as a gesture recognition system: for example, you can move your hand and move the cursor around the screen, and by clenching your fist you can activate the menu. But it is still better that the kit comes with a special additional remote control that has a gyroscope and ensures that the cursor moves during the corresponding movement of the hand.
What versions of smart TV are there?
Smart TVs from different manufacturers are equipped with different operating systems. They are all very similar, but have their own characteristics, pros and cons. The most popular OS for SMART TV: Tizen OS, Patchwall, Android TV and WebOS.
Tizen OS is installed on TVs from the Korean company Samsung and stands out for its simplest controls and flexible settings. Android TV is often installed on Sony smart TVs; it is characterized by a wide range of tools, greater functionality than competitors and compatibility with various gadgets.
WebOS is included in smart TVs produced by . They have a nice minimalistic interface and a useful Smart Share function, thanks to which you can display movies, photos and other files from external media. The Patchwall shell works on Xiaomi and Redmi TVs. It has a lightweight interface with smooth animation, horizontal content scrolling, and is easy to learn.
Features of TV OS
As mentioned above, most TVs work with three operating systems. Sometimes you can find Linux in the description of the OS, but in fact it is Android with a shell from a specific manufacturer.
TizenOS
TizenOS was developed in 2013. It was announced by a group of companies, but received the main support from Intel and Samsung. Today, a Korean company is developing it. This operating system is widely used in smart watches and Samsung TVs, but other devices, such as refrigerators and washing machines, also run on it. It is open source, which means that any programmer can develop an application for it. Currently it has 4 versions. The most current TizenOS 4.0, but it is installed only on 8K TVs; lower resolution TVs use 3.0.
System Features:
- simple and intuitive interface.
- a large number of applications.
TizenOS is as easy as possible to learn - at the bottom of the screen there is a panel with applications, services and a settings menu. By default, the operating system has everything you need for use, but if you wish, you can expand the functionality through the company store. This will require registration, which is quite simple.
The advantage of the system is that the choice of applications here, although not very large, has everything you need - clients for popular services and online cinemas, widgets and useful utilities specifically for the TV. It is difficult to find something unnecessary or not working on TizenOS. In addition, the TV is ready for use out of the box.
Advice! For those who are poorly versed in modern technologies or simply do not like to waste time “adjusting” the device to suit themselves, this is an ideal option.
WebOS
WebOS is an operating system that appeared in 2012. Many companies worked on its development, and initially it was designed for different devices, but the current history of development began in 2013. Then WebOS was purchased by LG for use in smart TVs. It is generally accepted that LG invented Smart TV and were the first to make them using this particular system. It is open source and based on Linux. At first, WebOS had all sorts of shortcomings. There are no problems in 2022.
System Features:
- thoughtful and user-friendly interface;
- large selection of applications;
- convenient control thanks to the adapted proprietary MagicRemote remote control with a gyroscope.
WebOS is a lot like Tizen. The interface here is implemented in a similar way - a horizontal panel with applications and services located at the bottom. The systems are similar not only visually, but also functionally; the capabilities here are equivalent. Like Tizen, TVs with WebOS have everything you need by default, and only if you really want to, you have to install something from the company store.
Android
Android is a system that needs no introduction. It is used on smartphones and tablets, and is available in almost the same form for TV. Despite this fact, the versions of this OS on TV and mobile devices are different. If for the latter the most current is Android 10, then for TV the latest is 9.0, but the overwhelming number of devices are based on 7.0.
The main advantage of the system is that it is familiar to many users, and to work in it you can use an account from a smartphone - that is, purchased applications are transferred to the TV if necessary without re-payment. The second plus is the huge selection of applications. Unlike WebOS and Tizen, there are thousands of times more applications for AndroidTV, but here lies the catch. Most of them were originally written for smartphones and tablets and take into account their features, in particular, small (compared to TVs) screens. This means that when installing an application on your TV, you may experience unstable operation. On the other hand, AndroidTVs have more customization options.
The downside of the system is that it is complicated for new users. To use, registration in PlayMarket and installation of applications is required. The second point is that stability may vary depending on the manufacturer. Often, the no-name brands of Android are cut down and work with serious lags, but the famous companies Sony and Philips were able to avoid a similar fate.
Iron
The “stuffing” of the set-top box is quite important and the performance of the device depends on it. When choosing a device, you need to pay attention to the processor. The device supports from 4 to 8 cores, the most powerful being Amlogic and Rockchip processors.
RAM is also important to improve the performance of the device and speed up the launch of applications. The minimum volume is one or two gigabytes.
A high amount of built-in memory is necessary to work with fairly large games and “heavy” applications. If the amount of internal memory is low, then applications may begin to slow down, reducing performance. You can expand its volume using a flash drive.
