January 17, 2011
The advent of online video databases such as Hulu, Youku, and Megavideo, created panic at traditional television companies as users abandoned TV sets en masse in search of uninterrupted online streaming television.
Fearing obsolescence, TV manufacturers have embraced virtual interactivity with the Smart Television. The new generation of online viewers is accustomed to watching television on their PCs while multitasking: making Skype calls and updating their Facebook pages. Realizing that if you can’t beat them the best thing is to join them, electronics manufacturers such as Sony, Samsung, and LG joined computing giants such as Google and Apple to create Smart TVs.
Smart Television is a High Definition TV set able to run mobile apps, surf the web, and download information. This new technology lets you view regular cable or satellite programming, watch streaming video online, use mobile apps, connect to your hard drive, or interface for interactive media such as Skype, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter.
Many remain skeptical about whether the public will accept fusion of the home PC and the television. But manufacturers seem convinced Smart TVs are the future of broadcast media. Their massive presence at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show indicate that this innovations is probably here to stay.
TV accessories such a cable boxes, Blue Ray Players and Video Game Consoles, are now manufactured to meet Smart TV capabilities. So you can now use your Play Station or Xbox controller as a remote to access not just for your gaming library, but for all other media files such as photos or web content, on your television screen, along with regular programming.
To top it off, these things just look ridiculously cool. Check out some of the latest models displayed at this years CES.
http://www.spike.com/video/hulu-alec-baldwin/3104851
http://mashable.com/2011/01/05/gallery-samsungs-outlandish-hdtvs-pics/
http://mashable.com/2010/05/18/google-tv-will-you-pay-for-it-poll/
http://mashable.com/2011/01/05/lg-launches-android-phones-and-smart-tv-live/
http://www.compellingmind.com/samsung-displays-smart-tv-as-center-of-digital-hub-at-ces/243329752/