The Coming Tech Battle Over 'Smart TVs'

An anonymous reader writes "One persistent theme from this year's CES is that television manufacturers are racing to establish the concept of 'Smart TVs,' sets that integrate modern browsing features, control through voice or motion, application support, and even upgradability. This article suggests the living room will be the location of the newest tech war. Quoting: 'To compete, the companies will have to offer carefully curated, high-quality applications and be open to supporting mobile devices such as tablets. Other media companies have already started: Comcast, for example, announced that it's going to allow OnDemand streaming not only to Samsung Smart TV's but also to the iPad. The TV makers are hoping that the multitude of additional features will be enough to trigger turnover like the industry saw after the introduction of flat-panel screens, Bloomberg noted. It's a big market, if the television makers can figure out how to crack it.'"

Re:I want a dumb TV

[muon-catalyzed]

I want the opposite, what I want is a combo, TV+PS3+Blu-ray, a Playstation TV or Xbox TV. I think Sony could do this, if they were smart enough, that would be an unbeatable all-in-one solution. Personally, I hate multiple remotes, DVD players, Netflix dongles and such stuff. Just one bezel free huge rectangle with PS3 and Blu-ray drive seamlessly integrated, that would be nice. No more cables, no more input selection or remote controller fights.

Re:I want a dumb TV

[Asic Eng]

I second that. My dad has a Samsung smart TV. It can record to an external harddrive, but you can't watch that content on your PC at a later timer (someone managing your digital rights for you ...). It has a Skype app, but you can't use it in full screen mode, and mysteriously you can't make video calls to Linux machines with it. It can theoretically play youtube videos, but the playback interrupts so often to make them unwatchable. (Sure he has a slow internet connection, but every other device on his WLAN can handle youtube videos just fine.) ASCII input is taking the old cellphone input schemes to new heights - never seen something more inconvenient. Leaving the skype app in the wrong way will make it forget the password, and entering that again will keep you busy for 10 painful minutes.

A small media computer connected to his screen would probably be better in just about any aspect. Eventually I'll hook that up for him.

Re:I want a dumb TV

[The Grim Reefer]

I want the opposite, what I want is a combo, TV+PS3+Blu-ray, a Playstation TV or Xbox TV. I think Sony could do this, if they were smart enough, that would be an unbeatable all-in-one solution.

I'm sure Sony could easily do this. But it would cost you a small fortune. Plus it would really suck when one of those integrated devices breaks. It's much more economical to replace a broken PS3 or Xbox than the entire system.

Personally, I hate multiple remotes, DVD players, Netflix dongles and such stuff. Just one bezel free huge rectangle with PS3 and Blu-ray drive seamlessly integrated, that would be nice. No more cables, no more input selection or remote controller fights.

Both my TV and Bluray player can access Netflix (and other services) as well as my HTPC. Admittedly it was a pain to set up initially, but it's all done and I never have to think about it again(so far). I also only have one remote [amazon.com]for my TV, HTPC (though there is a wireless keyboard & mouse if needed),CD player, bluray, DVD player, reciever, and DTV PVR. Hell it even controls the digital picture frame in that room as well as a Roomba vacuum cleaner.

Re:Can't wait for the voice controlled TV's

[na1led]

The Kinect still requiers a good amount of lighting to see me waving on the couch, and with my 2 year old running around making noise, it's difficult for the TV to pickup my voice. The Kinect was designed for the perfect livingroom with couples who have no little kids to deal with.

Re:Can't wait for the voice controlled TV's

[SuricouRaven]

Use the Star Trek approach: A single-word, easily-recognised prefix command that informs the device that something important is about to be said and it needs to mute its speakers and listen. At least, I assume this is why voice commands in the series always started by addressing 'Computer.'

Re:I want a dumb TV

[Lumpy]

The two in the kids game room have been abused by being left on 24/7 and are going on 3 years now without a problem.

What models are you buying that have failures like that?

Re:Can't wait for the voice controlled TV's

[flirno]

Which is exactly how I 'program' my dog. :D

Component v. All in One

[ThatsNotPudding]

In high school some 3 decades ago, I and a buddy both received Zenith stereo systems as presents. Just about identical, by mine was components and his was an all-in-one. His lasted about two years; mine lasted about fifteen. All a TV should have is: a great screen, good connectivity, a tuner (required by law) and nothing more. I'll upgrade the external components as needed, thanks.