Smart TVs are all the buzz these days, for most of the good reasons. TVs have been the beloved entertainment boxes blurting out streams of entertainment, information and the thrill of sports. With our growing dependence on the internet for everything, TV and computer communion came just in time. Nonetheless, there’s still room to consider a few things before making the purchase of this technology and bringing it home with you for a couple of years, to say the least.
You are NOT replacing your TV and Computer at the same time
Web-enabled televisions of today, however smart, are not intended to fill in for your computer. They aren’t designed to support hardcore internet surfing too. What they really are intended to do is to add to your living room a few of the most coveted websites and most desired features of a computer. A smart television, based on the manufacturer, can offer a feature like online video streams, scroll through your social media, share pictures and update a Facebook status, see the weather status, or watch ultra HD movies on Netflix, etc.
Check for the connectivity options
When I was buying one for myself, being a novice in this business, I had two concerns on top of the features I needed. The first one being, If I’ll have to change my cable TV subscription, or if these new machines will support my years old trusted cox cable TV plans. To my relief, nothing had to change. The second concern was, how will my TV connect to the Internet? Well, some brands require wired Ethernet to connect to the internet, while others have built-in wireless connectivity. Some, however, require the purchase of a small accessory to support wireless connectivity. Make sure you have a clear idea of how you wish to connect your TV to the internet and then decide on the right one.
Decide on the features that you want and will really use
If you have decided to go for a smart TV this holiday season then your next step should be to figure out the features you want to have in your device and you really are going to use. Beware of the lure of fancy features by all the different manufacturers. You might be enticed into buying something that you might not use at all.
For instance, some manufacturers like Panasonic come with specifications like YouTube accessibility, go through your pictures from Google Photos, and watch movies or your favorite season on Amazon Prime Video. Some providers, on the contrary, do not support Amazon Prime, Like LG’s Smart/internet-enabled TVs do not but they do support Netflix.
As newer and more advanced models keep coming to the market, it is crucial to understand what exactly you are looking for in a TV and what features you really need. After having that list sorted, you can go ahead in the market and choose the one that suits your needs the best.
Don’t forget to consider other devices
Smart TVs are a great invention, no doubt, as they come with a whole bunch of features packed in one unit. On the flip side, before you decide on switching your perfectly functional TV set, consider other alternatives too. You might not have to sell a limb to get those fancy features. Just like set-top boxes do, there are other devices that can smarten-up that regular HD TV you own. For example, if you have a gaming console such as Xbox 360, or a Playstation, you may or may not know that they can easily give your HDTV access to streaming services like Netflix or Hulu, etc.
There is a possibility that the Blu-ray player in your home theater system might include internet functionality in it and is capable of streaming HD movies from the internet. Some of them can also bring YouTube and Pandora content to your regular TV sets. If this is all that you have been looking for in a smart TV, they might as well not invest in that just yet.
How did you sort your features list and decide on the perfect TV set for your home? Share your thoughts in the comments below!