ShareThinking about buying your first – or maybe another –HDTV? Make sure to look for a label that says “Internet connected” or “Web enabled”. In addition to their role of delivering traditional broadcast programming, “smart” HDTVs are browsers, app stores, and online entertainment powerhouses.
Using a specialized remote control, you browse through a menu of widgets, applications designed and optimized specifically for big-screen TVs. These apps let you check in on Facebook®, catch local or national news, and watch many of the same movies and TV shows that are available through cable and satellite providers, all on the biggest, brightest screen in the house. No extra boxes are required, just a broadband connection, and if the TV has Wi-Fi built in, as many new models do, you can put it anywhere in the house without worrying about stringing Ethernet cable.
The Internet connected TV ecosystem offers myriad ways to interact with your "smart" HDTV. As part of your wireless network, your TV has access to hundreds on online information and entertainment services and can also be used to view media streamed from DNLA-certified devices. Touchscreen smartphones and tablets replace the conventional TV remote with simpler on-screen menu navigation.
With a connected TV, you can partake in as many online goodies as you like without turning on a computer and squinting at a monitor. Don’t especially care about live programming, such as sporting events, which are still scarce on the Internet? Then you might even be able to ditch your expensive cable or satellite subscription altogether. Sweet.
Setting up speakers inevitably raises the question: How do you get the signal from the receiver to the surround speakers? The simplest method is to run speaker wire along the top of the wall, but that can be unsightly. If you're comfortable working inside your walls (or willing to hire someone who is), you can put the wire there. Or you can spring for a wireless sound system; expect to pay about $100 more than you would for a wire-only set of similar quality.
Internet TV has Arrived
Internet-friendly HDTVs debuted a couple of years ago with a handful of weather and stock widgets on select high-priced models. Today the selection has grown to hundreds of information services and entertainment sites on sets priced as low as $299. While each brand of TV has its own look and a slightly different set of basic widgets, some have joined forces with popular online venues to develop richer connected-TV services.
For instance, Toshiba has partnered with Yahoo! Connected TV to enhance its latest connected HDTVs, including the SL415U, SL417U and the TL515U series LED TVs. Yahoo! Connected TV is one of the biggest providers of television apps with over 120 offerings, most of them free. Free Yahoo widgets include eBay, CBS, USA Today, Pandora® for Internet radio, Skype® for video chatting, Picasa® and Flickr® for accessing your online photos, Twitter® and Facebook® for social networking, and dozens of other news, casual gaming, streaming music, social networking, sports, and entertainment sources.
In addition to the freebies, some of Toshiba’s connected HDTVs come with the popular online pay-per-view and subscription options Vudu®, CinemaNow®, Netflix® and Hulu™. The HDTV versions of these services offer the same massive selection that until now you might have enjoyed only on your laptop or through an extra box hooked up to your TV.
For instance, Vudu.com boasts a library of over 3,000 HD on-demand movies, the most of any PPV service. You can choose to either buy standard-definition or HD movies ($4.99 to $24.99) or rent them (usually $2.99 to $5.99). Home theater buffs with fancy surround sound systems will love the fact that Vudu is the only PPV service that offers true 1080p high definition (HDX) and Dolby Digital Plus audio output. It also offers new movies the same day they come out on DVD.
Best Buy’s new CinemaNow service has an even bigger library of over 12,000 movies and TV shows for rent ($2.99 to $3.99) or purchase ($9.95 to $19.99). However, most are available only in standard def.
Netflix’s subscription plan is less expensive than Hulu - $7.99 a month for unlimited, instant streaming of TV episodes and movies. But Hulu lets you watch ABC, NBC and Fox TV shows the day after they air, and Hulu+, an augmented subscription service that costs $7.99 a month, allows access to entire seasons and a larger back catalog, at streaming resolutions up to 720p.
As though these options weren’t enough, connected TV offerings are set to explode. Yahoo recently demonstrated a new feature coming to its Connected platform later this year called Internet-enhanced broadcast TV. This feature will let viewers vote for a particular reality-TV participant, get more information about certain TV characters, or make purchases, all while watching the related show.
That’s not all. Eventually, it will be easy to see all your videos, photos and music on your new HDTV, too. Some connected TVs are compatible with the Digital Living Network Alliance (“DLNA”) standard, which means you’ll be able to use one menu to seamlessly stream files between any DLNA-certified PC, smartphone or TV over your home Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet network. Goodbye to copying vacation pictures from your laptop to a thumb drive to plug into a USB port on your HDTV. Hello, fast Windows Explorer-like sharing.
Before you shop
Before bringing home a connected HDTV, you’ll want to think about a few technical details.
In case you hadn’t guessed already, you’ll need a broadband Internet connection. Most online video providers require around a 2.5 Mbps connection for streaming standard-definition-quality TV shows and movies. To watch Vudu’s top-tier 1080p HD streams, you’ll want at least a 4.5 Mbps connection. To find out how fast your connection is, visit speedtest.net, which can quickly determine both your average download and upload speed.
Next, think about how you will connect your broadband service to your TV. Either wired Ethernet or wireless Wi-Fi is fine. However, if your network router happens to be located within a cable’s reach of where you want to put the TV, Ethernet will provide better performance. In addition to their Ethernet jacks, many connected TVs are also Wi-Fi ready, with the radio either built in or plugged in via a separate adapter. Connecting wirelessly not only eliminates cables but gives you the freedom to place the TV anywhere you want.
In the store, look for an HDTV with LED backlighting. There are two types of LED HDTVs: edge-lit and backlit. Both are more energy efficient than traditional LCD screens, and the picture is amazingly bright, crisp, and vivid. Edge-lit LED screens are much thinner, which makes them a nice choice if you’re itching to hang a big TV on the wall. Backlit TVs are thicker and more cumbersome because they distribute a full array of LEDs behind the screen, but the picture quality is even better.
The future of connected TVs
Connected HDTVs are only getting better. Improved search functions are being worked on that scour the Web for precisely the shows, video clips, and other forms of entertainment you want. Also in the works are apps that let you control your connected TV via smartphone. New touchscreen smartphones and tablets make typing and on-screen menu navigation simpler, especially compared to using a cumbersome TV remote. Before long, TVs will anticipate what you want. Search and recommendation features will learn whether you're an HBO junkie or a sports fan and offer better suggestions and tell you what friends and family are watching.
There's a lot to look forward to in the world of connected TVs. The Web transformed music, print, and other mediums. And it's about to do the same to your television.
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