Are you ready for smart TVs?

Will smart TVs revolutionize the industry the way smart phones did?

Darren Foster from M&M said the technology is becoming more popular as more people are using their TV to enhance their Internet experience. 

They often use set-top boxes to help the TV function as a giant-screened computer. 

Just as smart phones have surpassed regular cellphones, smart TVs are expected to do the same with televisions.

Foster said: “This is basically a TV you can use the Internet on. You can browse the web or stream on your TV. Some people don’t use all the Internet capabilities because they buy it for the quality of the picture, but it’s becoming more popular. We have a lot of people coming in and asking for it.”

He added if people want to avoid the cost of buying a smart TV, a simpler solution is to purchase an Apple TV or Blu-ray player.

“The Blu-ray player has the apps on it,” he said. “This one has a web browser, YouTube, Pandora, Netflix, Hulu.”

He said one of the problems with pre-loaded apps is that programmes like Pandora and Hulu are blocked in Bermuda. Mr Foster said many people get around that by “masking the IP address. That has to be changed in the router.”

He said some people use the Apple TV, which M&M does not sell, “People can then just stream from the Internet. It is designed to stream the programmes onto the screen.”

Mr Foster said besides smart TVs, M&M carries the traditional LED and plasma TVs all the way from 19 inches up to 80 inches.

Mr Foster said: “A basic 19 inch TV is good for the kitchen or a small room. It’s very small, but when I was a child this was the standard-size for the main TV. Now the standard size is like a 32 inch.”

And back to the age-old argument on LED or plasma? Mr Foster said it all depends on what type of performance you want from your television.

 “The plasma TVs will use more electricity and has more of a glass front whereas the LED is softer panel.”

Mr Foster added the plasma TVs have more of a burn in factor, but the performance has improved considerably over the past five years.

“But the movement on the plasma will be faster than an LED for gaming.”

What’s up next for the industry?

“OLED is the next technology but it’s too expensive. They have to bring down the price for the consumer. It’s supposed to be better than the plasma, but it’s so expensive.”

He added the 4K TV is also making slight headway, mainly because the price point is so high. 4Ks refers to the horizontal resolution instead of the vertical, which are all 4,000 pixels.  n