Tell me about smart tvs

[angelinajolie]

Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ

I don't think it's about the "new" thing but rather as something that can replace other gadgets. And as SMART TV's get better software, eventually they will probably replace the majority of computer usage at home.

oh no! PCs will be obsolete in the future and this dude will be even more upset:

//www.city-data.com/forum/scien...-obsolete.html


and like i told him, old gadgets will only be obsolete if everyone gives in to the new trend everytime as for me, i dont mind bajillion cables around my gadgets if i believe my 'obsolete' gadgets can do what those new gadgets can and even better and faster, i see no reason to ditch it.

I actually believe stand alone GPS will be obsolete if it is not already since almost everyone has smartphones now and GPS comes built in to smartphones. But I won't ditch my hacked GPS anytime soon, or even ever.

[destinedtodave]

Can we expect smart tvs purchased now to get free software or OS upgrades when they become obsolete in 1-2 years?

How likely is it that 2012 smart tvs will be supported in the future?

[Jean71]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

I think the answer is a bit simpler. A "smart TV" is simply a TV that can connect to a network/the internet and stream content from a variety of sources. Samsung actually labels their better TVs "Smart TV."

Smart TVs | 59-inch Plasma 8000 Series | Samsung PN59D8000FF - Plasma TVs

Many DVD players can do the same thing, but these TVs can play Netfix (for example) on their own.

^^This.
Because it can be connected online, the TV can also receive software(firmware) updates.

The TV can also connect to other DLNA devices like phones and tablets to share pictures or stream/share music and videos across the devices.

You can pretty much make any TV a "smart" TV by using one of the DVD/Blu-ray players like mentioned in the above quote. Many people are also doing it by making a Home Media Server. That is essentially a PC that all other devices connect to and get the same results. A media server is also better because it can house much more storage and of course has much better hardware than a TV or DVD player.

The TV will never replace the PC.

[Jean71]

Originally Posted by destinedtodave

Can we expect smart tvs purchased now to get free software or OS upgrades when they become obsolete in 1-2 years?

How likely is it that 2012 smart tvs will be supported in the future?

TVs now really have proprietary OSs(firmware). So it's unlikely that the "OS" will be upgraded. You will get firmware(software) updates though. Often just bug fixes in the firmware. It may update the apps or add new apps or update(change appearance) of the menu too.

In the future we will almost definitely see TVs running OSs like Windows or some flavour of Linux like Android though. Im sure you would be able to update the OS then though.

[Jean71]

Starting very soon, the next latest wave of technology will be 4k and OLED TVs. After that will be 4k OLED(combined).
MUCH better pictures than on current generation TVs. But the prices are also currently MUCH bigger. Probably won't be affordable for most for at least a few years.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by destinedtodave

Can we expect smart tvs purchased now to get free software or OS upgrades when they become obsolete in 1-2 years?

How likely is it that 2012 smart tvs will be supported in the future?

As of right now I know there is updates to the software every so often, the TV checks for them and upgrades it by itself. It will be like any OS and become obsolete at some point. Having said that these aren't exactly complicated features so they should be supported for a long time. When I bring up youtube it's not like bringing up youtube on the web.