The term “smart TV” is so vague that any TV with built-in Internet connectivity and just a couple of lame apps can proudly and boldly claim to be one. The market is, hence, loaded with a whopping number of TVs that claim to be smart, no matter what built-in features they might come with. But then, there are, thankfully, a few deserving smart TVs on store shelves, which come with some amazing capabilities. However awesome a feature might be just doesn’t mean that you are going to use it. Herein, we discuss five must-have features that a smart TV should come with:
Fast user interface
Speed is one of the most important features of any smart TV and it is a feature that you don’t think about at all if you have it. Not all smart TVs come equipped with this feature as they take eons to switch from one app to another. A fast user interface is simply a must if you don’t want to get irritated by how sluggish your smart TV really is. A fast interface lets you do what you want to do even before you know you want to do it. That is how fast some good smart TVs are.
Streaming video services
Watching online streaming videos with services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crackle or Hulu will be a breeze with a good smart TV. However, you will need to keep in mind that you can only watch them if your smart TV has an app that supports the online services that you would like to use.
Media player
Looking at family pictures on your 50-inch TV will definitely be much better than scrunching in front of your laptop or passing around your smartphone. A smart TV that comes equipped with a basic DLNA-compliant media player can provide access to all your digital photos, videos, and music. Media players like Plex are more advanced and can organize, categorize, and even convert all your content, making it really easy to access all your digital stuff.
Universal search
Finding what you want when you are surrounded by so many online streaming services can often become a daunting task, as it is time consuming when you have to search through each service one-by-one. The biggest advantage of a smart TV is that it comes with a built-in search engine or guide that will look for a particular movie or show that you want to watch. But the capacity of the search engine is different in each TV; some of them will look virtually everywhere whereas others look at only some services. Getting one with the widest search capabilities will get you a really smart TV.
Games
Gaming is an ever-evolving technology, and although many smart TVs have game apps, some smart TVs come with access to PlayStation gaming services as well. Most of the technology in smart TVs are also compatible with augmented-reality devices.
