Are you thinking of changing your TV and buying a smart TV? See what smart TV really is, if it really is as good and smart as the ads, and why you might want to avoid it.
Smart TVs follow the financial policy of almost every gadget. In the beginning they were very expensive and now they are almost everywhere and at an affordable price. Now every new TV that is on store shelves, in addition to all the goodies it offers, is probably smart as well.
Although its rating is tempting (smart) and at first glance you want your TV to be smart, it would be good to think about it when it comes time to choose what to buy. Let's look at the reasons why a TV may not be smart.
What is smart TV?
Smart TVs actually have a small computer built into them as well as the ability to connect wirelessly to the internet. This means that your TV itself connects directly to the internet via Wi-Fi, rather than having to use an external device such as your computer, laptop or even a device TV box (like a Roku) or a game console.
As a small and basic computer connected to the internet, and running basically functional Android, like the mobile σας τηλέφωνο, σας επιτρέπουν να κάνετε λήψη εφαρμογών όπως θα κάνατε και με το τηλέφωνό σας. Οι περισσότερες platforms for a smart TV, they have apps for major streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, as well as deals for major TV networks and many specialty services. You can also use them to browse the web and access other resources on your home network.
Having your TV connected to the internet is definitely a useful feature and at the same time their affordable price means that you do not have to spend extra money for these features. However, nothing is perfect and they certainly have many serious disadvantages. Let's go see them:
1. Security risk
Smart TV is nothing more than an IoT. In other words, it is a device that has the ability to connect to the internet. And on all IoT devices (Internet of Things) security is their Achilles heel. Respectively the smart TVs. They endanger your privacy and security in a number of ways. Even the The FBI has issued warnings about this with the dangers of smart TVs and IoT in general.
Almost all smart TVs use automatic content recognition (ACR) to track what you watch. Use this information to show you more relevant ads. Although you can usually limit the collection of this data, it is quite difficult to find the relevant setting in their menu to stop it. Do you really want to share what you watch with your TV maker?
Another major security issue with smart TVs is the lack of updates. Each individual platform depends on its provider for application and operating system updates. If you have a TV that no longer receives updates or needs a lot of time to receive software updates, your TV could be a vulnerability in your network.
Finally, some smart TVs have built-in cameras and most have a microphone. If they break into your TV they could take advantage of the above security vulnerabilities to spy on you via webcam. And it's not just hackers who do it: in 2015, CNN reported that Samsung TV was broadcasting the conversations in the room where he was in third party smugglers.
2. Corresponding devices are much superior
The main design of smart TVs is that you can access Netflix, Youtube, Spotify and similar services directly from your TV. While this idea is great, these services are not exclusive to smart TVs. And in fact, you can get a lot more out of alternative devices.
Other devices, such as the Roku, Chromecast, etc., are much better. They offer less complicated menus and screens, which are easier to navigate than your smart TV. And depending on the brand, these platforms offer greater convenience and connectivity with your phone and other devices.
TV-Boxes, like Chromecasts, do what smart TVs can do, but much better. They are cheap and much more flexible. Since you can add them to any TV, your TV itself remains a simple screen, while the TV-Box handles what you watch. The downside here is that you have two remote controls in your hands. One for the TV and one for the TV-Box.
Not to mention the ability to connect your TV to a desktop or laptop. Where security remains at its highest, you have all the capabilities of streaming channels, many additional movie and audio playback options, and your TV remains just a passive screen.
3. Inefficient interface
Smart functionality requires a proper interface. Smartphones and computers have fine communication with the user, because they both support two important input methods: typing and pointing. Smart TVs lag behind in both, and this can lead to a lot of frustration.
When you want to watch something on a smart TV, you actually have to do a lot more work than you would expect. It's not a huge issue, but it is quite annoying when you turn on your TV to relax.
A typical example is when you want to search for a specific TV show or movie on a streaming service. With a normal TV remote control, typing is a case in point, as you may need to press up to twelve buttons per letter. Some TVs have microphone support for commands, but as a solution it does not work so well.
On the other hand, most tv-boxes have remote controls with much better voice assistants. Some of them also have support for remote typing via smartphone or tablet.
4. Unreliable performance
Using content tracking applications is quite convenient, but these applications are on smart TVs almost always inferior to those available on your phone or computer. Aside from the interface issues discussed earlier, another problem is that smart TVs do not have nearly as much processing power as other devices.
Poor performance and neglect by application developers is a common occurrence. Most smart TV users have experienced login delays when pressing buttons, freezing, and shutting down when apps are trying to do something intensive and other performance issues. This will force you to restart the "stuck" applications, which is never fun.
And apps are limited in functionality. For example, the YouTube app for TVs doesn't let you change the playback speed, which is available on both desktop and cell phones.
These issues are not really surprising. TV makers need to run on technology to keep up with new developments. Since you do not change the TV every 2 years like on your mobile phone and sometimes you are with the same TV for 10 years or more, there will come a time when you will find that technology is ahead and your smart TV is struggling to reach it.
This low consumption of smart TVs, compared to smartphones and tablets, reinforces the low priority shown by manufacturers in software upgrades.
This raises another potential issue: the usefulness of your smart TV is limited by the applications available for it. If manufacturers stop updating smart TV apps for any reason, your smart TV loses a lot of what makes it "smart".
In just a few years from now, your smart TV can end up becoming a stupid TV, through no fault of your own. If this happens, you will have to rely on decoders and other streaming methods.
Should You Buy a Smart TV?
Smart TVs certainly have many advantages, so we do not necessarily try to prevent you from buying them. However, it is important for you to know why smart TVs are not always what they appear to be or what they are called.
Security and privacy issues are one of the major drawbacks, but clumsy interfaces and glitches are also obstacles. You could argue that smart TVs have dropped in price because they are now a mature data collection platform. If on the other hand you are not interested in the fact that it monitors what you see and shows you the ads that are right for your interests, consider the issue that you have left open a back door to a hacker.
If you want to buy a simple TV and the one you choose is necessarily "smart", you can simply avoid connecting it to the internet to keep it "dumb". You can always put a TV-Box in it, if you decide to connect to the internet in a more reliable way.
