Smart TV

Felicia May 15th, 2015

From Cathode Ray Tubes To LED Flat Screens To Modern Curved Television

The word Television is from the ancient Greek word “tèle” means “far” and the Latin word “visio” means “sight”. Television is a device or a form of technology that receives and transmits moving images or otherwise known as “movies” that are sometimes monochrome or black and white and at other times in full color.

The moving images that it receives from a nearby broadcasting station is projected in three dimensions by the cathode ray tube or “CRT” and it also has an audio decoder to reproduce the sounds from the transmitted radio signals through the audio speakers. It is mainly used for entertainment, information and education. It is also referred to as a television set, television transmission or television program.

Unlike the internet where it is still struggling to compete with TV even nearing the completion of its third decade since it was made for public use; TV took over print media and radio broadcasting overnight! The world quickly catch on and before we knew it, TV had become a global phenomenon. Today there are approximately 4.7 billion units of television throughout the world and they range from the old cathode ray tubes to the flat LCD and plasma screens and all the way up to the latest LED curved TVs. In fact, there are more TV sets than computers in the world today and it seems computers and the internet has yet to surpass TV’s dominance in the mainstream media world.

Here are some of the latest innovations on television today:

The various innovations that companies have developed today makes television almost unrecognizable except for developers and providers adding the suffix “TV” at each new idea that they conceived. Apparently it’s no longer just about a broadcasting station and the box with moving pictures in it! In order to understand what these innovations are allow me to break it down to you in bite sizes. TV nowadays could be…

1) 3DTV – is a semi-total immersion television system that uses multiple techniques such as multi-view display, stereoscopic display, 2D-plus-depth, and other forms of 3D display which makes the object on the TV screen appear to have dept and form just like real objects are. In other words it makes viewing movies on a 3DTV seem realistic! It is one notch below holograms as you will need a specially-designed 3D glasses in order to see the images projected from this type of TV set. The benefits of having a 3DTV is that it makes learning more fun for kids who wants to learn about space and the universe or what’s in our oceans at the comfort of their living rooms. Watching movies that are heavily incorporated with CGI (computer generated imaging) takes you right in the middle of it, which is a completely different experience than just watching the same movie from an ordinary TV. One way 3D images are produced is by offsetting the images and separating them to each eye (left and right), then use passive color filters and a light source to project the image in a singularity all the while the 3D glasses help solidify the images from the viewer’s perspective.

2) Cable TV – CATV or cable television is a system that delivers TV programs through the use of coaxial or fiber-optic cables. Those who wish to subscribe to TV programs offered by CATV companies has to pay for them and that’s why cable television has been a major success back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The benefits of subscribing to a cable TV network is that you’ll have hundreds of channels and vast TV programs to watch all day everyday; while the disadvantage is that due to the fact that TV shows and movies are sometimes played more than 3 times a day, you will get bored eventually. The take-away is that when you have a busy schedule and you absolutely need to catch up with the episodes of your favorite TV shows or when there’s some very interesting shows that you need to take down notes from.

3) HDTV – or otherwise known as high definition TV or hi-def TV is a modern innovation that came out in the latter years of the first decade of the new millennium. HDTVs has a resolution display between 720p – 1080p which is basically 0.92 megapixels to 2.07 megapixels and that’s like more than 5 times normal! In February 2008 the FCC ordered all TV broadcasting frequency in the United States be set to high definition standards, because the federal government will use all the lower bandwidths exclusively. Perhaps the best benefit that HDTV brings is that you won’t ever have fuzzy signals again.

4) Smart TV – is a cross-between TV and internet as it has the attributes of both. Examples of Smart TV include Apple TV, Amazon TV, Google TV, MeeGo, Plex, Roku, Samsung, TiVo and more! Companies that offer Smart TV programming requires users to buy a set-top-box which is some sort of a receiver (much like cable and satellite TV systems) where you can get exclusive access to paid TV programs. Besides gaining access to TV programs you can also get games, internet access and special offers through the Smart TV vendor which is even better than ordinary TV.

5) Satellite TV – it’s almost very similar to cable TV except for 2 things: a) network coverage can extend beyond the US, and b) providers always broadcast in HD bandwidth which is very desirable for subscribers. TV programs may or may not be the same as cable TV providers offers and severe weather conditions can disrupt satellite broadcast which is an obvious weakness for satellite TVs. Satellite TV providers also offer a bundled service that includes TV, internet and telephone service.

6) Internet TV – is also called Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) where mainstream media TV and alternative TV programs are converted into digital signals and are offered for either free or paid subscription over the internet through video streaming technology. Advantages of internet TV is that you can access it from your desktop home computer, your laptop computer, your tablet computer and even your smartphone. And what’s not to like about mobile TV watching your favorite shows while you’re on the go? Absolutely nothing! Another thing that you may like about internet TV is that you can participate in their forum discussions in real time as a fan and sometimes even interact with the stars and other people involved in creating and developing these shows.

7) PPTV – another emerging digital television is known as peer-to-peer television or PPTV. It is very popular in Asia, particularly in China, Korea, Thailand and other nearby countries – this is because the technology was developed in Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. For now the system is mostly compatible with Microsoft’s Windows OS (operating system) and you can watch TV shows, movies, sports, news and other special coverages right off of the browser. If it will be marketed worldwide, then we may see it soon on other platforms.

Other possible future TV innovations include holographic imaging and virtual reality TV although it may take years for us to see it into fruition as the marketing aspect of these innovations is such a huge obstacle to get around with. Still, the number of innovations that has so far been developed are leaps compared to what we had just a decade ago which are very impressive. Whatever your preference is you can be sure that you will absolutely enjoy these wonderful new innovations for TV.

Tinaya Feb 11th, 2015

Samsung Smart TVs Raising Privacy Concerns Regarding “Digital Spying”

They say that you should always read the “fine print.” When it comes to Samsung’s smart TV sets, this statement is officially being taken to whole new level. The tech industry giant’s small, fine print in its Smart TV security policy states that its Smart TV set’s voice recognition system both captures conversations that are supposed to be private and ultimately passes these private convos on to 3^rd parties.

The actual sentence in the security policy statement that is raising the most concern and causing the most commotion and debate quotes: “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a 3^rd party through the use of Voice Recognition.”

What this basically means is that if you activate your Voice Recognition feature on your Samsung Smart TV and let’s say, you turn on a video game using just your voice, your Smart TV will translate your statement from speech to text as well as anything else you may happen to say and send the information to 3^rd-party companies.

Because of this, websites have been accusing Samsung of using digital spying methods on its users and profiting off of their data by selling it. There is, however, no hard evidence whatsoever available at this time that proves any data-selling has actually occurred.

Samsung apparently defended itself against these accusations with claims of employing “industry-standard security safeguards and practices.” These safeguards and practices employed by the Samsung company include data encryption, which is used to secure the personal information of consumers and prevent any collection or use that is unauthorized.

Samsung added that any Smart TV user always has the option of either turning off the feature or completely disconnecting the TV from their wi-fi connection. Samsung is not the only company that does this, as Tom’s Guide mentioned that back in 2013, the LG company was actually in a similar situation.

Shilpa Lama Feb 9th, 2015

Smart TV: The Dumbest Concept in the History of Television Technology?

When they first surfaced in the market, Smart TVs were the in-thing that a large chunk of the tech savvy population worldwide craved for. It seemed the next step in the evolution of the television was finally here.

Many even went as far as speculating that the conventional, old generation televisions (dumb tv?) will soon turn into a distant memory. After all, who could resist the temptation of a television that comes blessed with integrated internet and Web 2.0 features, right?

Well, turns out, all those assessments were mere hype shrouded by a thick layer of impracticality – both in terms of cost and functionality. To put in the Darwinian context, the Smart TV was simply not fit enough to wipe the conventional television out of existence. Let’s examine why:

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Tinaya Dec 21st, 2014

New WebOS 2.0 For LG SmartTVs In The Works

LG’s newest updated webOS version, WebOS 2.0, will be the smartest and fastest webOS platform yet. Some of its features include: an all new “My Channels” app, and access to an expanded variety of 4K ultraHD streaming options. All “My Channels” app users will be able to customize the broadcast they enjoy the most, be it set-top box channels or cable.

Palm originally created the webOS mobile operating system to be used on its early smartphone models. HP purchased the company for nearly $1.2 billion and then closed it down the very next year. Last year, LG brought the platform back to life in its smart TV line. LG calls this latest update “an innovative smart TV solution.”

The vice president of LG, In-kyu Lee stated that the new, smarter webOS 2.0 features will enable its users to experience an easier, simpler, more intuitive than ever before, next-generation smart TV platform. LG considers the new platform to be another example of the company’s “commitment to its leadership role in the next generation TV market.”

LG’s new webOS 2.0 smart TV platform will come equipped with a 2015 “New Magic Remote” for its new smart functions. The new remote will be normal remote-sized and will feature a numeric keypad for manually keying in channels.

This new ultimate remote control will be a universal one, enabling the control of all LG devices. It also has the ability to be stood up on its short end, a feature that may be essentially helpful to those who tend to “lose the remote in the sofa cushions.”

With more 4K content, reduced boot times, faster UI navigation speed as well as a list of other new innovative features, the new platform will be making its initial debut on smart TVs from LG’s new lineup. The company’s new Quantom Dot as well as other LCD and OLED smart TV sets will be running the new platform.

The 2013 CES, was where LG first introduced webOS and over 5 million smart TVs equipped with the platform have been sold since then. According to an announcement made by LG, the company plans to reveal the new and improved webOS 2.0 smart TV platform at the 2015 CES.

Tinaya Dec 14th, 2014

Internet Pop-up Ads – Now On A SmartTV Near You

Delivery Agent Inc. is a San Francisco company that developed a software known as “ShopTV”. The company’s ShopTV software comes pre-installed on about 20 million Smart TV sets.

When SmartTV users are connected to the Internet they can now get the same annoying internet pop-up ads that have been irritating millions of PC browser users for years.

Apparently, the way the ShopTV application works is – Once a certain company’s commercial plays on the screen, it will automatically displays a pop-up sidebar. Any viewer can then use their smart TV remote to put their cellular phone number into the sidebar on the screen.

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Danny Dec 3rd, 2014

Scientists Encourage Governments to Broadcast Free Super-Wifi

KIT Scientists have recently come out urging governments to rethink selling old TV frequencies to the highest bidder, and instead to turn these relics into free ‘super-wifi’ for all. The change over from analogue to digital broadcasts has left many companies bidding for control, mainly from mobile phone networks who want to extend their mobile coverage. But scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany are claiming that if governments would instead put these old transmissions to better use, it would boost economies.

Transmitting wifi signals over lower frequencies would provide a far greater coverage than standard wifi, which is very limited in its reach. If the move was to go ahead and the old TV signals were used to broadcast wifi, the signal would travel a lot further than standard wifi. At the moment, wifi signals are limited in their reach, capable of only supplying a small area. The estimated area of coverage of the new wifi signals far exceed current distances, as they would be able to cover ranges of up to several kilometres.

One group that would not be open to such a suggestion are the mobile phone companies. At the moment, mobile phone companies plan to increase their mobile phone coverage by rolling out 4G. But if free wifi was available throughout cities and towns then no one would have any need for mobile internet. Currently, 3G and 4G technology is very expensive for the consumer and leaves users no other choice but to pay the premiums for internet coverage on the go.