11 things you didn't know your smart TV could do
11 things you didn't know your smart TV could practice
We've gone from the television to smart TVs, so why does it feel like more of the same, but with Wi-Fi?
Today'south Tv amusement earth is broader and deeper than information technology has ever been before. Completely gratis streaming services give y'all hours and hours of shows and movies, with linear and on-demand programming. Paid streaming services offering huge libraries that range from old favorites to the latest Emmy and Academy Honor winning originals. And every major channel or media company is jumping on the streaming bandwagon, putting vast back catalogs of content onto their own branded services. The amount of TV that you lot tin can lookout man on your smart TV is pretty phenomenal.
Only what if you want to practise more with your Tv? The best TVs have all of the capability of the internet and the processing power needed for interaction and apps, so why does information technology feel like the goggle box is simply equally stupid as ever?
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Well, the good news is that smart TVs are actually a great deal smarter than most people assume. And while shows and movies are the obvious use case for the middle of home entertainment, it'southward not all your smart Television tin do.
Just similar your smartphone or laptop, your smart TV can do a whole lot. Going beyond entertainment, smart TVs have functionality that extends to education, productivity, home automation, fitness, mental health, and much more.
Don't believe me? Nosotros've put together a sampling of some of the smartest things you lot can do with a smart TV. It'due south non a comprehensive list, and it's definitely non exhaustive, with new capabilities coming to TVs all the fourth dimension. But it gives you a good idea of how much more your smart TV can really exercise.
A note well-nigh Tv brands and smart Boob tube software
The TV world is a competitive 1, with the best TV brands jockeying to observe a identify in your abode. Smart features offer a huge opportunity for one smart Television set to stand out in an aisle of nearly identical looking 4K TVs, so manufacturers have washed a lot to drive the smarter side of smart TVs, adding new capabilities, expanding app selections and providing exclusive features. Some Television receiver makers take developed proprietary smart Tv platforms (like LG'southward webOS, or Samsung's Tizen) while others turn to big names like Roku, Google and Amazon.
Only they aren't all exactly akin, and one app may be available on some TVs but not on another. Exclusive features may be unique to one TV brand, merely the broader functionality can also be constitute on other sets (though it may accept an actress step or ii).
That's all to say that most of the capabilities below tin can be found on most of the best smart TVs out in that location, whether it's 1 of the best Samsung TVs, the all-time Roku TVs, or i of the latest sets with Google Tv. And if an app nosotros've highlighted isn't bachelor on your TV's app store, don't give up hope! Y'all can probably find an equivalent service, or utilize mutual functions like screen casting from your phone or tablet to put new apps and services on the big screen.
Replace your smart speaker
The majority of smart TVs offering some kind of voice control for searching content and controlling basic TV functions, but quite a few of them go to a higher place and beyond, offering Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant on the TV.
That ways that you can apply your smart TV's voice input for all sorts of things – virtually let you speak into the remote, but a few have room-listening microphones for hands-free voice input. With a unproblematic "Hey, Google" or "Alexa!" you can search for news headlines, check stock values, become questions answered and even get a bedtime story told to your child.
Check out some of the best Alexa skills and best Google Home commands to get a wait at what those vocalisation assistants can really exercise.
Control your smart home devices
We've already discussed how y'all tin can use Alexa and Google Banana from your TV, and by linking your smart Tv to your Alexa or Google Banana accounts, yous can control a whole business firm full of smart home gadgets right from your TV.
Only what does that mean? What sort of devices can you command and what's improved by calculation your smart TV to the mix? For starters, pretty much annihilation found on our lists of the all-time smart home devices or best cheap smart home devices can exist controlled from your TV.
That means you can control the lighting in your house with a command. You tin can bank check the camera feed from your video doorbell or home security photographic camera, turn ability on or off on a smart plug, unlock the front end door with a smart lock, and even open up and close the garage door. With and so many smart appliances in our homes, you lot tin can also find plenty of refrigerators, ovens and dishwashers with smart features that can all be tied into your TV, making it the middle of an array of smart home devices.
Yous tin can even make your movie watching improve with a few clever smart home additions. Dim the lights with a few of the best smart lite bulbs or smart light switches. Spill some popcorn or chips while watching a picture? Call in a robot vacuum to make clean it up. And if y'all don't want to interrupt your Netflix binge to make dinner, yous can even lodge food correct from your smart Television receiver through Uber Eats or Doordash.
Stream music, podcasts and audiobooks
There are plenty of ways to heed to music these days, but ane you lot might have forgotten is your smart Television receiver. If you want music without music videos, there are enough of options for streaming music in high quality, and frequently for free. And music isn't the simply thing you can listen to. Podcasts and audiobooks are another great use of those TV speakers or soundbar, letting you heed to your favorite podcasters on the best speakers in the firm.
Available for every major smart TV platform (LG, Samsung, Android, Roku and Burn Goggle box), Pandora provides personalized music streaming, with both free and ad-free premium account options.
Spotify offers fifty-fifty more control, letting you choice and cull from a massive 70 one thousand thousand song catalog of music, browsing past artists, albums, songs and playlists. You can likewise listen to podcasts, as Spotify has grown to become a leading source of podcasts, every bit well. Spotify is available for LG, Samsung, Google TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TVs.
You can even listen to audiobooks on your smart TV. Amazon Fire TVs have an exclusive app for the Amazon-owned Audible (which tops the listing of the best audiobook apps), but other smart TVs can also play audiobooks by casting from your phone to the Television set through Chromecast, Airplay, and other sharing methods.
Make video calls
If yous've got a USB webcam and a smart TV, chances are proficient that you can video chat with people right on your Tv set, without having to fuss with a laptop. Smart TVs have started adding support for some of the best video chat apps, with simple calling and controls that allow you lot skip the keyboard and mouse.
Google TVs from Sony and TCL offering congenital-in Google Duo support, while Amazon'south new Fire Television Omni models will also have Zoom support. With simple video-first interfaces and controls adapted to TV remote controls and voice commands, these video calling services brand information technology like shooting fish in a barrel to get in affect with family unit and friends right from your couch, and get a footling face-to-face time in, even when nobody lives nearby.
Check the weather condition
With a voice banana like Alexa or Google Assistant, you tin simply ask what the weather is like and get a quick update that includes current temperature and weather weather.
Merely there'south another option for smart TV users, who want to bank check the current atmospheric condition and a short term forecast, but may non desire to spend their time watching the Weather Channel. Apps like AccuWeather (one of the best weather apps) provide localized weather data, consummate with a 10-day forecast, in an attractive format that looks great on the larger screen. AccuWeather is available for LG, Samsung and Android/Google TVs.
Fitness classes
Your TV doesn't have to brand you a burrow potato. Every smart TV platform has a selection of fitness related apps that offer streamed classes and fettle communication.
Simply searching for "fitness" in your TV's app store will pull up enough of conditioning options, but the specifics will vary considerably depending upon your brand of smart Television set. Some, like LG, have their own apps, like LG Fitness, while other pop apps will be available on some TVs but not others.
A few pop favorites include Daily Burn (available on Roku and Amazon Fire TVs), Peloton (Google/Android TV, Roku, Amazon Burn) and Beachbody On Demand (Roku and Fire TV).
Samsung's most recent TVs take this fifty-fifty further, with Samsung Health tying an array of fitness activities and apps to your Samsung smartphone, smartwatch, and other devices. There'south even the option to connect a webcam for AI-driven fettle classes that tin can critique your technique and automatically suspension if yous have to leave the room. Samsung as well has a number of sectional fitness smart Boob tube apps included every bit function of Samsung Wellness.
Meditation
Your smart TV tin can assist keep your heed fit as well, with a number of apps and streaming services offer guided meditation. Granted, meditation can be enjoyed without any TVs or devices, just for those who demand a trivial help – and the popularity of these apps suggest that'due south a lot of folks – it'south prissy to have the selection to accept your smart Tv at-home things down a fleck.
Samsung TVs include the popular Calm app, and there are options to be found by searching for "meditation" in any smart Television app shop. Many of the best relaxation apps take TV apps, and so exist sure to cheque if your favorite can be found in your TV app store.
Merely yous might not need a new app. Netflix, in collaboration with popular meditation app Headspace, has a trio of interactive titles focused on meditation, relaxation, and sleep, respectively. Each includes several short episodes that share science-backed information and walks you through exercises that are great for beginners and long-time users alike.
Cook upwardly a meal
Your smart TV tin help out in the kitchen, besides. While cooking shows have been a staple of TV programming for equally long equally TVs have been in people'south homes, smart TVs offering a lot of useful features for any amateur chef.
Using a TV'south built-in voice assistant, you tin can enquire for nutritional information or fifty-fifty get recipe recommendations, consummate with step-by-step instructions. You tin can besides find substitute ingredients, add ingredients to your grocery list, prepare reminders to utilise things earlier they elapse, and set timers and then that y'all don't overcook annihilation. You lot can fifty-fifty control smart kitchen appliances, letting you start preheating the oven before y'all get off the couch.
There are as well many food-related apps just waiting to find a home on your TV. One of the most widely offered is iFood.goggle box (Available on LG, Samsung, Roku and Amazon Fire TV), which offers both cooking shows to sit dorsum and picket and a catalog of more than 40,000 recipe videos to follow.
Other big names in cooking have dedicated Goggle box apps, like Bon Appétit (Android, Roku and Burn Television), Nutrient Network Kitchen (Android, Roku and Burn Telly) and Kitchen Stories (Android and Fire TV.)
Become some work washed
With and so many of u.s.a. working from home, it'southward no stretch to look longingly at your smart TV as a large screen alternative to the tiny brandish on a laptop. And in that location are several options for doing just that!
Samsung has a special "PC on TV" way that wirelessly casts your PC to the TV, for employ as a 2d monitor. However, Samsung'southward wireless brandish characteristic requires installing and setting up an app on your PC or Mac. Samsung even offers a version of Microsoft 365 that'south optimized for working on the Telly.
TVs with built in Chromecast, such as Sony and TCL Google TV models, Hisense Android TV and Vizio SmartCast TVs, will all let you cast wirelessly to your Television using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
AirPlay back up is also available on many smart TVs, and with information technology, you can mirror your iPhone or Mac on the TV screen.
Only even without an app for casting or mirroring your laptop on the bigger screen, you always take the choice of connecting to a Telly over HDMI, and using your Idiot box as a larger monitor for productive work. Just continue in mind that non all laptops have a full HDMI port these days – you lot may need to observe an adapter. They're bachelor for mini- and micro-HDMI, USB-C, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort connections.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/features/11-things-you-didnt-know-your-smart-tv-could-do
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