With a concept like the giant glassless 3D TV on display from the Japanese, very few expected Smart TVs to be a bigger hit at the IFA 2011, but as it turns out, that was indeed the case. It seems that the concept of glassless 3D or anything else related to three dimensional pictures on the television screen did not attract people as much as the concept of being able to access YouTube or Facebook right from the television did. The integration of YouTube 3D as announced by Samsung earlier in the IFA 2011, gained even more attention than was expected, making it one of the hits of the year. What we take away from all that we saw and heard in the IFA this year is that web and 3D capabilities will soon become the minimum standard for all TVs in the near future. These features can no longer be treated as features reserved only for the high-end consumers.
In the year 2010, all the television manufacturers were big on promoting 3D HDTVs but this year will see the manufacturers focusing on a relatively new feature known as “Web TV”. The function of a web TV is to bring the TV and internet together with the aid of an Ethernet cable or wi-fi connection. The remote control unit acts as the mouse as well as the keyboard while you surf, video chat and socialize. You would in most cases, might also have a choice of separately buying compatible accessories like a wireless keyboard, a web camera or a USB dongle (if you do not have built-in wi-fi in your model). The latest HDTVs from the leading manufacturers also allow you to use your Google Android phone or the Apple iphone for controlling all the features on your TV, after the necessary apps are downloaded from the app store.
Be it the Panasonic Viera Connect, or the Smart TVs from Samsung and LG, most of them have the common features and applications like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Skype etc. Some of the best models that have the Web TV facilities now, include the Samsung LED D8000 and UND7000, Sony HX929, LG PZ950 and the Panasonic TC-PVT30. What will be interesting to see is how the different manufacturers improve the User Interfaces and incorporate the internet more into their latest models.
