Smart TV – The New Hub of Home Entertainment

Just before buying my LG Smart TV, I asked friends and family for suggestions – just like a usual Indian buyer, and I certainly got a lot of advice. When I mentioned my shortlist of TVs – which comprised of two or three Smart TVs of various brands - everyone was surprised! Why would anyone need a Smart TV – was the common refrain. Some people even suggested that Smart TV features aren’t really useful, just a new fangled marketing gimmick introduced by TV makers, who have nothing better to do than to fleece money from unsuspecting buyers!

LG Smart TV

Over the time, I have learned that this is the usual reaction of people to Smart TVs – that it is just a marketing ploy at worst, a useless feature at the best. Even most of the tech sites, which should take a more holistic view, have been somewhat critical - or unenthusiastic at best, about the Smart TVs, I respectfully beg to differ.

My thinking is – the Smart TVs are just an answer to what the users’ need – in the current scenario -where the very nature of entertainment has changed. Now, entertainment does not merely mean watching a couple of soaps or a movie in the evening. We also like to play an occasional bout of video games – everybody may not want to go the PC for that. We also want surf the web, read reviews or reports, or simply read what others are thinking about some program or issue. I remember reading a recent report that most smartphone users frequently access their devices while watching the TV – which vouches my hypothesis.

That is not all – there are other compelling reasons to see that the Smart TV is really the future of TV viewing. Some people compulsively need to check something on the net that they have seen in a TV show – I know I frequently do it! Sometimes, I check for online reviews of a movie before deciding what movie I should I spend my evening on. With a Smart TV that is connected to the internet, this becomes an easy task – rather than booting up my PC for doing that.

In this age of perpetual connectivity, we also like to stay connected with friends – at all times. With Smart TVs, it becomes easy to access and update the social networking sites from the TV itself – something that I find quite convenient. Whenever I don’t get something worthwhile to watch on TV channels, I often amuse myself watching funny videos on the internet (Break and Videobash are my favorites) – right on my Smart TV.

This is only the current picture – what you can do with your Smart TV right now. I think there are a number of future developments that will further strengthen the case for Smart TVs and make them more popular. For example, the recent launch of Box TV - a video streaming service - by the Times Group might well be the harbinger of more such services. A Smart TV is best equipped to make the most of these services. Moreover, with increasing internet penetration and increase in average available bandwidth, Smart TVs will become more viable.